"I heard you can double the pleasure!"
That sentence struck Gao Yuan like a bolt from the blue, leaving him with the embarrassing feeling of being stripped naked.
Seeing Li Mengqing ask such a question with a perfectly straight face in the mirror, Gao Yuan wanted to retort, 'Is that really any of your business?'
'Even if you did know, is something so private a question a best friend you've just met for the first time should be asking?'
'No, you shouldn't ask that even if you know each other well!'
'And Lin Wanyu is sitting right behind us, playing on her phone!'
Gao Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 'Lin Wanyu really tells her everything, doesn't she?'
Seeing that Gao Yuan didn't respond, Li Mengqing paid it no mind. After observing his face shape and the whorl of hair on his crown for a moment, she started snipping away with her scissors without even asking what kind of style he wanted.
"What kind of car do you drive?"
Gao Yuan hadn't expected Li Mengqing to ask another question while cutting his hair. 'Are all barbers the same, regardless of their level?'
'When they're cutting a customer's hair, they're either pushing a membership card on you or just making all sorts of small talk.'
"My own two feet and the subway."
Gao Yuan saw her scissors pause for a second. The corners of her mouth curved up, and then she continued trimming.
This left Gao Yuan utterly baffled. 'As her best friend, shouldn't she be looking down on me right now?'
'Why does Li Mengqing seem a little happy about it?'
As she continued to cut, Gao Yuan could start to see the general shape of the style.
It was a side part, but not as long as the styles young people wear these days—it was about three to five centimeters long. It looked like she was going for a side-swept look.
"Do you have a house in Hang City?"
Li Mengqing asked again.
"A 52-square-meter rental."
As Gao Yuan answered truthfully with a hint of annoyance, the smile on Li Mengqing's lips widened even more.
Gao Yuan looked at the inexplicable Li Mengqing in the mirror, and a chill started to creep into his heart.
'Lin Wanyu's best friend is a little... strange!'
'Her first words to me were about my... abilities. Then she asked about a house and car. And after finding out I have neither, she's actually smiling this happily?'
'It's not normal!'
'This is way too not normal!'
When Gao Yuan came back after having his hair washed again, Li Mengqing worked some styling clay into his blow-dried hair, and a side-swept haircut appeared in the mirror.
Sure enough, with a new hairstyle, Gao Yuan's entire aura changed qualitatively. Combined with his current face shape and features, he looked much more mature and stylish.
Lin Wanyu put down her phone and walked over to the mirror. Seeing Gao Yuan's new look, her face filled with delight.
"As expected, you're as reliable as ever!"
Lin Wanyu gave her best friend a thumbs-up and then started carefully straightening Gao Yuan's clothes.
Standing to the side, Li Mengqing watched the two of them with another smile. "Don't you think your boyfriend looks a bit like Hu Ge?"
"That celebrity uncle?"
Hearing her friend's words, Lin Wanyu couldn't help but take a closer look at Gao Yuan. With this new hairstyle, there really was a slight resemblance to Hu Ge.
Gao Yuan was also very satisfied with his new look. More importantly, the system notification sound chimed in his mind.
It meant the mission was complete.
As he followed the two women out, Gao Yuan immediately claimed his system reward.
「The next moment,」
the hair on his head instantly changed. Not only did the few gray hairs he had vanish, but even the texture of his hair became soft and silky smooth, immediately giving it a high-end look.
As he walked out of Li Mengqing's exclusive styling room, everyone outside, from the online influencers to the service staff, was staring at Gao Yuan.
"Is... is he a celebrity?"
"Sister Qing is incredible!"
"His physique doesn't quite match, though. What a waste of such a great head of hair."
Gao Yuan left the dressing room under everyone's constant gaze. When the three of them returned to Li Mengqing's office, she herself seemed a bit dazed as she looked at him again.
'I just cut his hair myself. Its texture wasn't this good a moment ago!'
'Could it be the lighting?'
She couldn't help but look up at the sunlight pouring into the office.
With the makeover complete, Gao Yuan and Lin Wanyu didn't leave right away. After all, Li Mengqing had helped him out. Even if it was for Lin Wanyu's sake, he couldn't just show no appreciation.
Since it was only an hour until closing time, Gao Yuan went ahead and booked a table at a restaurant.
...
「Night fell.」
On the 52nd floor of Raffles on the Hang City Qiantang Riverfront.
A man and two women sat by the window, savoring fine food and wine while enjoying the riverside view under the night sky.
The man was none other than Gao Yuan. He had booked a table at this restaurant, HOMS, in the afternoon. He had only ever seen it on TikTok before and knew it had a great atmosphere.
It was the perfect place to bring a date. You could not only have a great meal and enjoy the scenery, but your partner could also take a set of perfect photos.
On the table now were charcoal-grilled live Boston lobster, charcoal-grilled Australian Wagyu chuck short ribs, a seafood paella stir-fried with a variety of seafood, and black truffle beef bone marrow rice.
Of course, Lin Wanyu once again ordered for Gao Yuan the Gillardeau oysters, a high-quality variety with a laser-engraved "G" mark, known as the "Rolls-Royce of oysters."
Faced with such a feast, Gao Yuan didn't bother putting on gentlemanly airs, even in front of two beautiful women.
That kind of act was just asking for trouble. When it was time to eat, he just dug right in, paying no mind to the two beauties at the table.
Moreover, Lin Wanyu had placed the plate of oysters directly in front of him, the meaning of which was self-evident.
The three of them chatted leisurely over their meal and white wine, gradually growing more familiar with each other.
However, Gao Yuan discovered that he and Li Mengqing were like natural-born rivals. She always found a topic to jab at him with, making Lin Wanyu, who was sitting on the side, burst out laughing.
After they finished a bottle of white wine, it was already past eight o'clock.
Having eaten and drunk their fill, the three of them got up to leave at Lin Wanyu's urging.
She knew about Gao Yuan's fitness plan and didn't want him to stop right after he had just started.
Since all three had been drinking, Lin Wanyu couldn't drive her Porsche 718. She called a rideshare for herself and Li Mengqing to go home together.
Gao Yuan, on the other hand, checked the map on his phone. It was about six or seven kilometers from Raffles to Navi City.
It wasn't good to run on a full stomach, so he decided to walk back, which would also fulfill his evening fitness plan.
Soon, the rideshare arrived, and Lin Wanyu got in first.
As Li Mengqing was getting into the car, she turned to look at Gao Yuan and asked in a low voice, "Have you considered marrying into the family?"
After asking her question, Li Mengqing didn't wait for a reply. She just gave him a brilliant smile and slipped into the car.
Even long after the rideshare had driven away, that one question echoed in Gao Yuan's mind.
In modern society, it's actually become quite common for men to marry into their wife's family.
Especially in a place like Hangzhou's Xiaoshan district, it's practically become a cultural phenomenon.
However, Li Mengqing's move left Gao Yuan completely baffled.
'Has she taken a liking to me and wants me to marry into her family, or is she testing me on behalf of Lin Wanyu?'
Gao Yuan walked along the bustling streets, his mind replaying the day's encounter with Li Mengqing. He just couldn't believe she had fallen for him at first sight.
The odds of love at first sight were lower than winning the lottery. Besides, in his current state, what was there about him to fall in love with at first sight?
After walking along the street for a while, Gao Yuan, who wore a mask the whole time, actually attracted quite a few second glances from girls.
This was something that had rarely happened before, and it boosted his confidence quite a bit.
Just then, his phone rang.
He took it out and saw that Lin Wanyu and Li Mengqing had arrived home and were messaging to let him know they were safe.
Gao Yuan replied with a "head pat" emoji and continued on his way home.
By the time he got home, it was almost ten o'clock.
He had work tomorrow, and he was covered in sweat after walking for so long, so Gao Yuan immediately went to wash up.
After washing up and lying down in bed, Gao Yuan saw that he had dozens of unread WeChat messages on his phone.