Chapter 107: Haircut
During the lunch break, Li Mu decided to go get a haircut outside the school.
Just like Yang Ye had said, his hair was indeed getting too long.
His bangs had gone past his eyebrows, almost covering his eyes, and the hair on the sides was over his ears. His hairstyle used to be a regular layered cut, but now, paired with his pretty face, he really looked like a girl.
Yu Fan didn’t feel like going home at noon either, so he decided to go with Li Mu to get a haircut too.
He had hair that was a little wavy and parted to the side, and he wore fake glasses with gold frames. It made him look like a bookish artsy type. The only thing was, his hair was also getting a bit long.
“That Yang Ye must be acting weird lately. He keeps picking on the two of us. It’s just daydreaming in class, what’s the big deal?” Yu Fan complained while walking beside Li Mu. “I only zoned out for like one or two classes, and he just won’t let it go.”
Li Mu didn’t say anything in response. Instead, he changed the subject. “Where should we eat later?”
They had left in a hurry for the haircut, so neither of them had eaten lunch yet.
“You decide. My treat today.”
Yu Fan was still thinking about where to eat so he could make back the money he spent a few days ago on crawfish and BBQ, when suddenly a car parked nearby honked loudly.
He was startled and shook a little. When he looked up, he saw that it was Chen Yi in the driver’s seat.
Chen Yi handed a small bag to Li Mu and shrugged. “Now you really have no reason to follow me into this line of work, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve always been keeping an eye on your parents’ situation. If there’s any news, I’ll let you know right away.”
Then Chen Yi turned and smiled at Yu Fan. “Help me keep an eye on Li Mu. Don’t let her do anything crazy.”
“Sure.”
Yu Fan leaned in, curious to see what was inside the bag, but Li Mu quickly grabbed the top of it and held it tightly shut, he wasn’t letting him peek at all.
“Also, Yu Fan, hop in. I need to talk to you.”
Li Mu instinctively wanted to follow him into the car too, but Chen Yi shook his head twice at him. Only then did he quietly step back.
Even though his main goals for getting involved with supernatural stuff were to stop turning into a girl and to find his parents, he was also really interested in everything strange and mysterious.
And now that he was dealing with gender trouble, these weird events helped distract him from feeling down.
Still, the fact that Chen Yi wouldn’t let him listen probably meant this had something to do with his parents, right?
Even if Chen Yi wouldn’t let him hear it now, he could always ask Yu Fan later. That guy wasn’t exactly good at keeping secrets, just offer him something nice and he’d talk.
After waiting outside the car for about ten minutes, Li Mu saw Yu Fan get out with a big smile on his face.
Once Chen Yi drove away, Li Mu quickly ran up to him, eyes full of curiosity. “What did he say?”
Yu Fan glanced at him and immediately acted all proud, putting his hands on his hips. “Uncle said I can’t tell you. He wants you to focus on studying and learning right now, understand?”
“……”
“Come on, let’s go get our hair cut.”
They walked a few steps toward the barbershop, then Yu Fan looked back and saw that Li Mu was still standing there, staring at him with those cold eyes.
It didn’t feel scary, though. Actually, he thought Li Mu looked kind of cute, like a sulky little girl, upset and saying nothing with a straight face.
“Okay, okay, I really can’t tell you. But I’ll buy you a big lunch, how about that?”
Hearing that, Li Mu finally started walking over.
The barbershop was in a small neighborhood near the school. Because rent was cheap there, the haircut prices were also very low, only about 20 yuan per person.
Compared to the barbershops in the town, where it usually cost more than 30, Li Mu had been coming to this one for several years now.
The owner of the barbershop was a bald older man. He worked alone, but there weren’t many customers anyway. When the two boys entered the shop, he was still scrolling through TikTok on his phone.
“Same as usual, please,” Li Mu said as he went straight to the chair. He looked up at the large mirror on the wall, tilting his head slightly to check out his overly long hairstyle while waiting for the barber to wrap a towel around his collar and call him to wash his hair.
But after waiting for a moment, the barber came up behind him with a confused look on his face and asked, “Little girl, same as usual?”
“……”
Yu Fan burst out laughing, slapping the table.
Li Mu turned and gave Yu Fan a sharp look. That guy immediately stopped smiling and sat up straight like a well-behaved student.
Looks like my cold, expressionless face is still powerful, even after turning into a girl.
Feeling a bit better, Li Mu then looked up and told the barber, “Cut the bangs to the eyebrows, make sure both ears are visible, and trim the back short so it looks neat.”
The barber nodded enthusiastically and picked up a clean towel, placing it around Li Mu’s neck to protect his collar.
He smiled and asked, “Little girl, are you getting ready to start middle school? Only middle schools are this strict about hair these days.”
“You don’t look like a middle schooler though. You seem at least sixteen or seventeen.”
“I’m in vocational school…” Li Mu replied through gritted teeth.
“Vocational schools are this strict now?”
“I’m a guy!”
At that, the barber finally went quiet and started washing and cutting Li Mu’s hair as usual.
Just as the scissors were about to make the first cut, Yu Fan suddenly shouted, “Wait!”
Both the barber and Li Mu turned to look at him.
“I feel like I forgot something,” Yu Fan said, frowning and trying hard to remember.
Li Mu rolled his eyes, thinking Yu Fan was just messing around again. “Hurry up and cut. We still need to eat.”
The barber looked at Li Mu’s hair, which actually wasn’t that long, then looked at his scissors and asked again, just to be sure, “Are you really cutting it that short? Your hair is already pretty short. Just trimming the bangs and sideburns should be enough.”
“No need.”
Li Mu came here for a haircut exactly because he wanted to look more masculine. There’s no way he’d go with the softer style the barber suggested.
If he could, he’d even go for a buzz cut.
Yu Fan watched nervously as the barber snipped the bangs and then picked up the clippers to trim the back. The more he watched, the more anxious he felt.
What did he forget?
He thought hard about today’s schedule.
This afternoon is English and math... then vocal class...
Wait, Li Mu has to wear girl’s clothes to see Yang Ye!
But his usual “girl look” had short hair, and the wig he bought is long and reaches the waist!
He suddenly jumped up. “Stop!”
The barber’s hand shook, and he turned around angrily, “What’s with you jumping around like that? If I mess up the haircut, are you going to take responsibility?”
“No, wait, Li Mu!” Yu Fan jumped from his seat and rushed over, eyes wide.
Li Mu looked at him, totally confused.
“We have Yang Ye’s class this afternoon!”
Li Mu’s heart skipped a beat.
“What are you going to do with your hair now?”
Realizing the problem, Li Mu quickly snapped back, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
“You want me to remember your stuff for you?”
The two stared at each other, and the barber stood there holding the clippers, also confused. He asked, “So… are we still cutting or not?”