Chapter 15: A Radiant White Lotus
The grading was anonymous, and Chen Fangzhou received a stack of elementary school-level papers that were painful to look at, with an average of one misspelling every five words, really testing the readers’ analytical skills.
After flipping through a few pages, Chen Fangzhou gave Jiang Xiaoyuan a meaningful look and began reading aloud: “Uneven pressure, scratched me twice with your nails.”
The brave courage Jiang Xiaoyuan had just summoned in the restroom was completely wiped out by the malicious intent behind this comment. She couldn’t help retorting, “I didn’t even have nails!”
Ignoring her, Chen Fangzhou continued, “I felt stiff in the neck after the hair wash.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan remained silent.
Could she really be blamed for this?
Chen Fangzhou added, “The wash wasn’t good, and the water was too cold.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan glanced at the group of colleagues huddled together, realizing they weren’t critiquing her skills but isolating her.
Chen Fangzhou read another comment, “The water was too hot… Do you guys have some kind of problem? Can’t you decide if it’s cold or hot?”
The men didn’t target Jiang Xiaoyuan much. Whether they liked her or not, they were willing to give her some face because of her appearance. However, the women didn’t buy into that. They laughed and gossiped like a flock of unsightly birds.
At this moment, a teenage boy scratched his freshly dried hair, glanced around nervously, and cautiously said, “Actually, I thought the wash was pretty good…”
Before he could finish, a sharp and powerful girl next to him stepped on his foot. “You’re so fair-minded.”
Another stout fat, female technician poked him in the back. “Do you think as long as a pretty girl washes, it’s all good?”
The boy seemed to be under twenty and lacked the resilience to withstand such teasing. He is a child who has not had time to develop the ability to be invulnerable. He was squeezed in the wild duck pit until his face turned red.
With a stern expression, Chen Fangzhou shoved the pile of papers into the trash bin and gave a cold glance around, silencing the room.
“Come here, wash my hair,” he commanded.
A bold senior technician spoke up, “Boss, it’s supposed to be off this afternoon. Can we leave now?”
Chen Fangzhou retorted, “Get lost.”
The group cheered and quickly dispersed. This was their only half-day off each week, a chance to go out together, even if they couldn’t afford much with their incomes, just being together was enough.
The shop quieted down, with only the distant sounds of cars and people outside audible through the closed doors. Jiang Xiaoyuan followed Chen Fangzhou into the shampoo room without a word. As she grabbed the shampoo bottle, she accidentally dropped it with a loud clatter. Then, she roughly pulled the showerhead and collided with the enamel basin on the shampoo station, emitting a cold, crisp sound.
“Boss Chen,” she said sarcastically, “it seems like the culture of challenging and undermining each other in your shop is quite strong.”
Ignoring her, Chen Fangzhou grabbed the showerhead. “Hold on, what should you say to the customer first?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan stared at him expressionlessly, and the two of them stood still in the small space of the shampoo room. She was too proud to lose her temper in public but felt like her anger was about to erupt.
“You feel unfairly treated, don’t you?” Chen Fangzhou’s tone softened a bit.
Jiang Xiaoyuan refused to admit it. She felt that “unfair treatment” was reserved for weaklings. Strong people should silently hold grudges and seek revenge one day—though she hadn’t figured out how to do that yet.
Chen Fangzhou’s expression softened even more. “I watched your hair washing technique. It’s not particularly good, but it’s passable. You’re quick to learn. Do you know why they don’t want to give you good feedback?”
“I don’t know, maybe they’re sick,” Jiang Xiaoyuan replied stiffly. Then, her face suddenly lit up as if she had just realized something, and she flashed a malicious smile. “Oh, I understand now. They’re afraid I’ll steal their performance bonuses.”
Their monthly income, besides the basic salary, was mostly based on performance bonuses. For shampoo girls like her, their performance bonuses depended on how many heads they washed. If these customers returned within a short period and specifically requested her, she would receive five times the performance bonus for each head. Competition was fierce, especially on weekends when the shop was busy.
“Some people are just unreasonable, always trying to scrape together every penny. They’ll never achieve anything significant in their lives,” Jiang Xiaoyuan sneered.
Chen Fangzhou couldn’t help but laugh at her sharp words.
Jiang Xiaoyuan paused, suddenly realizing how shameful her words sounded. She, a shampoo girl, was destined to follow a career path of “apprentice technician – technician – senior technician – technical director – shop manager.” It was a linear progression with Chen Fangzhou’s position marking the end of her career path. What else could she achieve?
Could she still be able to sneak into Chang’e-31Chang’e-3 refers to a robotic lunar exploration mission launched by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in December 2013. It consisted of a lander and China’s first lunar rover, named Yutu (meaning “Jade Rabbit”). with her superb “washing, cutting and blow-drying” skills?
“You shouldn’t blame them. They’re teaching you how to behave” Chen Fangzhou said.
Jiang Xiaoyuan sneered, “Haha.”
Chen Fangzhou lazily leaned back in the shampoo chair, closing his eyes. “You don’t need to be respected, rich, or powerful to teach you how to be a person. Those people won’t say it. You have to spend hundreds or thousands just to listen to their lectures. Those who truly teach you how to be a person are the ones around you. Jiang Xiaoyuan, let me ask you, everyone is raised by their parents, so why do you look down on others?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan was now particularly sensitive to this kind of talk. As soon as she heard the phrase “look down on people,” she would immediately think of her argument with Feng Ruixue, and then she would think of why she had ended up in this terrible place. The phrase “look down on people” had become a sore spot for her.
She exploded with anger. “Who do I look down on?”
“Count it yourself. How many of your colleagues you know?” Chen Fangzhou asked.
“I have social anxiety. Is that not allowed? I’m naturally quiet. Is that a crime? Boss Chen, some people are just too insecure. Do they need others to worship them before they can recognize their own self-worth?” Jiang Xiaoyuan retorted.
Chen Fangzhou was stunned by her words. Most of the girls in his store were not well-educated and were young, and they had not yet cultivated the aura of a national scold. There were few who were so sharp-tongued, and for a while, they were almost about to look at Jiang Xiaoyuan with new eyes.
After a moment of silence, Chen Fangzhou asked, “Did you go to high school?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan thought to herself, “I’m a legitimate overseas student.” She snorted and remained silent.
Chen Fangzhou pondered for a moment. “Then why didn’t you go to college and study properly instead of doing this?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan casually lied, “No money, it’s nonsense.”
After a moment of silence, Chen Fangzhou didn’t pursue the topic further. “Alright, stop talking nonsense. Start washing, and don’t forget to greet the customer first.”
Reluctantly, Jiang Xiaoyuan moved her fingers and began her foolish work filled with anger.
“After enduring this, I’ll resign and leave immediately,” Jiang Xiaoyuan thought bitterly. “A fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken2“落魄凤凰不如鸡” (luò pò fènghuáng bù rú jī) translates to “a fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken.” It means that someone who was once powerful or important is now much worse off and even less valuable than someone who was always ordinary..”
Chen Fangzhou didn’t offer any guidance from start to finish. He seemed on the verge of falling asleep until they reached the stage of rinsing with conditioner.
“If you truly respect someone, you would take the initiative to talk to them, even if there’s nothing to say. Chatting about your age or hometown is always possible. Others can tell you’re fishing for conversation, but they can also sense your willingness to communicate,” Chen Fangzhou said. “If a customer feels bored and asks you to talk, will you still ignore them?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan remained silent, focusing on the water. She seemed determined not to listen to this well-intentioned advice.
Just as the United Nations has a veto, Chen Fangzhou had the power to pass. The next day, he used his authority to ensure that Jiang Xiaoyuan was officially hired. She now had an “intern” badge.
During slow times, when Chen Fangzhou took a break at the water dispenser, Jiang Xiaoyuan reluctantly approached him. “Thank you, Boss Chen.”
“Thank me?” Chen Fangzhou glanced back at her and smiled. “Don’t thank me. They couldn’t get to you, and they don’t dare to do anything to me. But they’ll intensify their bullying of you in the future. Just wait.”
He was right. In the shop, Jiang Xiaoyuan became a b*tch in the store.
Although she had temporarily accepted her identity as a shampoo girl in order to survive, she was psychologically unwilling to go along with the crowd. With this spirit of “My heart is in Han while my body is in Cao3“身在曹营心在汉” (shēn zài Cáo yíng xīn zài Hàn) is a Chinese idiom that literally translates to “My body is in Cao, but my heart is in Han.” It refers to someone who is physically in one place but mentally in another.,” she kept herself clean and tidy, standing out from the crowd all day long, coming and going alone.
Jiang Xiaoyuan also bought a dozen second-hand travel magazines from the second-hand book market at the entrance of the beauty salon. Three catties for five yuan, which was very affordable.
When others gathered together to chat about nails and family matters, she would sit aside and read books with a noble and cold air.
Her choice of magazines was very deliberate. Jiang Xiaoyuan knew her own level well. She couldn’t read serious books with too many words, and fashion magazines with more pictures would also be read by others, which wouldn’t make her stand out from the crowd. After careful consideration, she decided that only travel magazines, which were rich in both pictures and text and were not popular with the young people in the store, were a cost-effective shortcut to pretentiousness.
Jiang Xiaoyuan paid no attention to Chen Fangzhou’s words. She was determined to become a radiant white lotus among a group of rednecks.
The white lotus fought against the sky, against people, and against her own ups and downs, keeping busy and happy until she received a text message from Qi Lian inviting her to have hotpot. Jiang Xiaoyuan was dumbfounded—she had completely forgotten about this!
She hadn’t even finished fabricating her lies. Could the former owner’s family and friends accept such a ridiculous excuse as “suddenly lost memory while walking on the street”?
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