“Hello, Jiang Zhi.”
“…”
The urge to beat someone up was growing within Jiang Zhi.
“Anything I can help you with?” Zhou Xufang asked.
Her voice now sounded far softer than when she had initially picked up the phone. It was a wonder how much distance could be created from just the tone of one’s voice over the phone. This change was welcome though, as Jiang Zhi too, began speaking in a friendlier tone.
“We have a new scene that needs mass actors.”
Without even stopping to think, Zhou Xufang turned down Jiang Zhi’s request.
“Sorry but I’m busy right now.”
She had turned him down!
How dare she turn Jiang Zhi down!
Jiang Zhi rose instantly from his seat with no regard to the blanket still resting on his lap. Coughing loudly a few times, his face started to flush, reflecting the anxiety and internal conflict he was currently experiencing. That look of his was cuter than any other maiden. “Where are you now?”
“I’m at Changdu Street,” Zhou Xufang replied truthfully, as she would always do toward this man. “Part-time job,” she added.
Again, she was out there hustling for cash. This was the reason why he couldn’t see her whenever he felt like it.
Jiang Zhi swirled the can of milk in his hand. “20 grand. You coming or not?”
Fortunately, the thing he had in abundance was money, lots and lots of money.
As expected, Zhou Xufang’s interest would be roused by the smell of cold, hard cash. “Would it be fine if I arrived 2 hours later?” She spoke briskly, meaning she must’ve been elated to hear Jiang Zhi’s offer.
So, she was more interested in money than him, huh?
Jiang Zhi began to swirl the milk can even more aggressively.
“Just hurry up and get here!”
He sounded pissed off now.
“Okay,” came Zhou Xufang’s reply.
Jiang Zhi hung up immediately upon hearing that.
Zhou Xufang stared at the line of numbers on her screen. Finally, she decided to save his number. At first, she typed the words “Jiang Zhi” to be set as the contact name, but then changed her mind and deleted it. “The World’s Most Beautiful Person” was what she settled for in the end.
Shortly after, the hair salon’s owner walked over. He was a man in his thirties but the way he dressed looked as though he had come straight out of a fashion magazine photoshoot, even his hair was dyed in an emerald shade of green. This man was Fang Lixiang’s cousin, Cheng Zeng. He was also working as a senior hairstylist at the salon.
Zhou Xufang looked at the bottle of hair dye Cheng Zeng was holding with a reluctant look on her face. “Can we not use this color?”
As if they had been besties since forever, he referred to her as his “baby gurl”. With a beaming smile on his face, he gave Zhou Xufang some reassurance. “This color really suits you well, hun. Trust me, you’ll make them boys’ jaws drop after we’re done dyeing your hair.”
Zhou Xufang was a little skeptical about that, but still, five grand was five grand. For that amount…
“Alright, fine,” she replied.
Zhou Xufang arrived at the set two hours later. Because it was a particularly windy day, she made sure to wear her mask and cap, leaving only her dark, inky eyes uncovered. Those eyes made her appear like a lone wolf, traveling through a desolate desert in search of its prey.
Fang Lixiang stared at her for over ten seconds, eyes full of horror.
“Lixiang,” Zhou Xufang greeted her.
Fang Lixiang jumped back instantly. She hugged herself nervously like the melodramatic girl that she was. “Who are you?”
Zhou Xufang removed both her mask and her cap at the same time. “It’s me.”
Still wearing that surprised look on her face, Fang Lixiang couldn’t help but reach out to grab a feel of her hair. It was curly and seemed to be as fluffy as a cloud. “Is this what my cousin decided to do to your hair?”
“Yeah.”
Still not used to her new hairdo, Zhou Xufang tried to flatten the hair majestically resting atop her head like a crown.
“What’s this color called?”
“Gunmetal Blue.”
It was a cold, blue color with a little Gunmetal Gray mixed in. Her hair was now mere inches below her ear and was curled slightly near the tip, giving her an exotic look. Apart from her default cool, silent personality, there was now a hint of rebelliousness or even playfulness about Zhou Xufang.
She looked like a beautiful mess.
No doubt, this person was Zhou Xufang.
Fang Lixiang gulped. She couldn’t bear looking at her any longer, otherwise, she’d bend over in surrender. Hastily, she called up her cousin. “Hey, it’s me. I want my hair dyed Gunmetal Blue too. Yup, I want the same hairstyle as Zhou Xufang.”
On the other end of the line, Cheng Zeng did not hold back on his words. “You think everyone can pull off that look? Think again. Be patient and I’ll dye your hair fluorescent green like it’s St. Patrick’s Day.”
“…”
Fang Lixiang wondered why she was still holding on to such a person. She should just cut off all ties with this cousin of hers.
“Zhou Xufang.”
Out of nowhere, someone who sounded severely out of breath called out her name.
It was Jiang Zhi. When had he come here? Had he been standing in the middle of the crowd the entire time?
Zhou Xufang turned around to lock eyes with the man.
She mumbled a response.
His eyes then looked up at her hair. “You. Come with me.”
Zhou Xufang followed Jiang Zhi to his lounge.
He sent Ah Wan out of the room and made sure that the door was properly shut before turning around with a grumpy expression. “Why did you dye your hair?”
Zhou Xufang cautiously maintained a distance between her and Jiang Zhi. “I’m working as a styling model at a hair salon.”
He stared at her hair, then down into her eyes. “Zhou Xufang.”
“Hmm?” she responded with a head denser than wood.
One step at a time, Jiang Zhi approached her. His gaze was like a spider’s web, wrapping around her with no intent to let go. “Could you let me hug you for a sec?”
She thought about it long and hard but shook her head in the end.
No hugs. She had a secret she had to protect at all costs. Thus, she couldn’t let anyone get close to her. She must always hide in the corner, never making eye contact, and making sure that no one remembered her face.
Jiang Zhi was an exception to this rule.
“I can’t do that,” she replied seriously.
Jiang Zhi had already expected her to react this way, and so, without any warning, he closed in on her. “Since you’ve disagreed, I have no choice but to do this the hard way.” Reaching out, he dragged her into his warm embrace.