TNSFC – Chapter 14

The hair salon was on a pretty high floor, and as they went up in the elevator, Que Yining continued to press.

Que Yining: “You and my brother shouldn’t be in contact anymore, right?”

It was fine before, but not anymore. Que Yining didn’t want a little bug following her around.

Qiao Yuchu spread her hands: “We haven’t been in contact for ages, okay? I even deleted his contact information.”

Qiao Yuchu said in an exaggerated tone: “You don’t think I still have feelings for him, do you, sis? Get a grip. He’s an old man in his forties now, and a married one at that. I’m not interested in that kind of dish anymore. What I like now are hot guys with good bodies and plenty of energy.”

Qiao Yuchu was such a realist.

Que Yining nodded: “I trust your taste. But as my best friend, you need to keep some things quiet for me. If anyone asks, just play dumb. Especially my brother. I don’t want him controlling me at my age.”

Qiao Yuchu indicated she understood: “Got it.”

After the elevator arrived, Qiao Yuchu led Que Yining inside.

Inside, a man was resting with his eyes closed on a sofa. He was handsome, with trendy-looking short, silver-white hair. He came over when he saw Qiao Yuchu.

“Isn’t this our Qiao Jie? Why so haggard today, your face is all swollen. No man lately, huh? Oh…” When the man saw Que Yining behind Qiao Yuchu, he pushed Qiao Yuchu aside. “Where did this pretty little sister come from? Her skin is so good, what skincare products do you use?”

Que Yining mentioned a brand name and pulled her hand back, thinking this must be the ‘Tony’ Qiao Yuchu had mentioned.

When Qiao Yuchu mentioned ‘bottom,’ Que Yining was already mentally prepared. Many well-known male makeup artists and hairstylists in the industry were effeminate gay men. Que Yining had encountered many like that before, so she wasn’t surprised.

Qiao Yuchu rolled her eyes at him: “Get lost, you flamboyant chicken. You’re the one with no man. I have plenty of men, you can’t even be envious. My friend is here to get her hair done today, make her look good.”

The man lifted Que Yining’s hair and looked at it: “Good hair quality. In my hands, a beauty can only become more beautiful. Little sister, you can rest assured.”

Qiao Yuchu looked at Que Yining and said: “Yining, you get your hair done here. I’m going next door to find a handsome guy to wash my hair.”

Que Yining: “Okay.”

Qiao Yuchu: “Tony, just focus on doing her hair properly. Don’t say any flirty stuff to my friend, she’s innocent.”

Que Yining felt a subtle emotion; this was probably the first time a girl had described her as innocent.

The handsome man was exasperated: “How many times do I have to tell you, my name isn’t Tony! It’s Allen!”

Qiao Yuchu didn’t care, waved her hand, and left without a trace, like a cloud drifting away.

After she left, Allen retracted his gaze, carefully studied Que Yining’s features, thought of many suitable hairstyles, and then smiled and asked Que Yining what kind of change she wanted.

Que Yining: “Long wavy hair, the curls don’t need to be too tight. And change my color.”

She pondered for a moment: “A darker color. Do you have any good suggestions?”

Que Yining stated her requests while facing the mirror, maintaining a slight smile. When she turned to face Allen, her casual charm made Allen’s eyes widen slightly.

Allen thought to himself, what kind of judgment did Qiao Yuchu have? ‘Innocent’ clearly had nothing to do with the woman before him. Red and black were made for her; she was definitely the most captivating enchantress of the night.

He paused for a moment before speaking: “Many hair colors would suit you. Cool brown, reddish-brown, dark tea, or smoky grey would all be very suitable.”

Allen’s reply even seemed a bit reserved, which was not his usual style. But Allen indeed felt a sense of being suppressed now; in front of Que Yining, even his usual flamboyance felt like it would be outshone and appear merely risqué.

Que Yining didn’t take out her phone to ask Gu Shanxue. She chose smoky grey, followed Allen into the work area, sat down in a chair, and gestured for Allen to begin.

Allen immediately went to mix the color, without a single extra flirty remark.

While Que Yining was getting her hair dyed, Allen’s assistant came in.

“Allen Jiejie, there’s a customer outside who wants a haircut and specifically asked for you.”

Allen continued dyeing the hair without stopping: “I’m busy! No time today. Tell them to make an appointment and come back tomorrow.”

Doing hair, especially dyeing, is actually very time-consuming. A hairstylist like Allen, with good skills and high standards for the finished product, would definitely strive for the best, which also takes a lot of time.

The assistant looked troubled: “It’s Miss Gu.”

Allen: “I don’t care if she’s Miss Gu or Miss Li. I said I’m not free, so… Damn it, Gu Qianqian?”

Allen let out a breath: “But I have a customer here. Tell her to come back tomorrow.”

Que Yining opened her eyes with interest. Lu Su City wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t tiny either. Running into someone twice in one day could be considered fate.

She looked at Allen’s expression in the mirror and asked casually, “Is that Miss Gu very important? You look quite troubled.”

Allen forced a smile: “Not troubled, not troubled at all. Please rest assured. When doing business, there’s always a first-come, first-served basis. Miss Gu is just a regular customer here.”

Although Allen didn’t know the background of the person in front of him, he was at least perceptive. This person exuded an air of nobility and was brought by Qiao Yuchu. Allen didn’t want to offend this one for the sake of the other.

The assistant went out to reply and came back in a moment later: “Miss Gu asked if she could come in and take a look.”

Allen muttered under his breath: “This trick again.”

Allen was cursing inwardly but couldn’t show it on his face. It was like this last time. He was cutting someone’s hair, Gu Qianqian came, he said he was busy, but Gu Qianqian insisted on coming in.

She wasn’t aggressive, just chatted idly with the customer, but her words were full of hidden barbs. She subtly brought up her background, making the customer quickly tell him to attend to Gu Qianqian, saying she could switch to another stylist for her cut.

Although Allen fancied himself a socialite in their circle, he was no match for a truly wealthy young lady from a powerful family.

Besides, even though Allen was angry inside, the customer had requested it, so he couldn’t get mad. Fortunately, Gu Qianqian was very generous with money, so he couldn’t complain much. But the feeling of having his artwork half-finished and handed over to someone else was really unpleasant. If someone asked the customer who did their hair, Allen was afraid they’d mention his name.

Allen just hoped that one day the young lady would hit a snag and change her habit of cutting in line. However, he knew this was unlikely. Although Gu Qianqian cut in line, her methods were flawless. If she came in and saw someone difficult to deal with, she would just chat for a few sentences and leave, giving no cause for complaint.

Allen sighed inwardly, still applying the color with his hands, but he was already prepared to switch stylists at any moment.

Que Yining didn’t have anyone stop her and watched Gu Qianqian walk in.

The smile on Gu Qianqian’s face froze the moment she saw Que Yining. Retreating wasn’t an option, as it would make her seem afraid of Que Yining. But staying, Gu Qianqian knew she probably wouldn’t gain anything.

After all, Que Yining had, at some point, become sharp-tongued and merciless, not giving her any face at all. Wang Ruiyuan was still lying in the hospital.

“Yining Jiejie, what a coincidence to run into you here.”

Gu Qianqian forced a smile, inwardly wanting to point at Que Yining’s nose and curse her. For the sake of her image, she painfully held back.

Que Yining smiled, but her words were blunt: “Isn’t this our Wild Chicken Little Sister? What, are you here to dye your hair too?”

“Take my advice, even if you dye those few strands of yours, you’ll never become a phoenix.”

Gu Qianqian didn’t expect her to drop all pretense and angrily retorted: “Que Yining! I’ve been tolerating you to give you face! What right do you have to say that about me?”

Que Yining feigned annoyance: “I shouldn’t have said that about you. I forgot that even a wild chicken has dreams. I shouldn’t mock your dreams.”

Que Yining: “However, you can pursue your dreams tomorrow. Looking at you now reminds me of the stupid things you did before, and it’s really ruining my mood. Get out now.”

Gu Qianqian was furious and flustered. Just as she was about to lash out, she met Que Yining’s eyes.

Those eyes were extremely cold, sending an inexplicable chill down one’s spine.

It reminded Gu Qianqian of the look in Que Yining’s eyes when she had attacked Wang Ruiyuan that day.

Que Yining’s red lips parted: “I said, get out.”