Dazzling

So Liu Nian carefully used Du Qiyan as his test subject, while Qing Ye seized the time at the cashier counter to work on practice problems. In between, she even took a quick shower. When she returned from the bathroom, she checked the time—it was getting late.

Qing Ye felt that Liu Nian was quite meticulous in his work. He repeatedly adjusted the angle for each perm rod, pondering as he went along. The whole process took two hours. When the final application of perm solution was done, Liu Nian began removing the rods shortly after. Qing Ye also put down her pen and went over to watch. At that moment, the three of them were as excited as mad scientists observing a lab rat.

After Liu Nian removed all the rods, the slight wavy texture immediately caught Qing Ye’s eye. It had a bit of a woolly perm vibe. She patted Liu Nian on the shoulder and said, "You’re pretty good! Who knew you were a little perm genius? You figured it out just by studying on your own."

Liu Nian felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and shyly replied, "My third aunt once said I was a genius too."

"..."

Liu Nian rinsed the perm solution out of Du Qiyan’s hair and then picked up the hairdryer to blow-dry it. But as Qing Ye watched, the more she looked, the more something felt off. When the hair was wet, it still had a bit of the intended shape, but as it dried, it started to look like fermented dough. By the time it was completely dry, the three of them stared at Du Qiyan’s reflection in the mirror, utterly bewildered.

If Du Qiyan’s original Firework Perm made her hair twice the size of her face, this new afro was at least four times the size. From a distance, it looked like the mushroom cloud after an atomic bomb explosion.

And this was nothing like a ramen perm—it was clearly the spiral perm popular among older women back in the day.

Liu Nian said awkwardly, "Qing Ye, did I mess up the perm?"

What could Qing Ye say? Should she contradict his third aunt’s words and crush his young spirit? Of course not. All she could do was pat his shoulder and encourage him: "Hmm... I think it’s pretty good, really. At least when it’s wet, it still looks somewhat similar, right? And besides, it makes your face look smaller, hehehe..."

But Liu Nian seemed lost in his own thoughts, muttering to himself, "I should’ve done a cold perm. If I hadn’t used heat, the curls wouldn’t have turned out like this."

Du Qiyan tugged at her hair and turned to discuss it with him: "The rods were too small. We need a larger size for the perm rods."

"The shop doesn’t have any."

"Should we tell Boss Li tomorrow and see if one of us can go to the county town to buy some?"

Then the two of them started discussing everything from tools to perm solutions. Qing Ye didn’t understand the technical details, but she offered a suggestion: "There’s a big difference between a woolly perm and an old-lady perm—it’s about the volume and the messy texture. I think the technique might need adjusting. If you use the old method, you’ll just end up with a traditional hairstyle."

So the three of them discussed for a while longer, listing out the possible supplies they might need. Then they gathered around Qing Ye’s computer to browse Taobao, and she placed orders for the items they were sure about.

Qing Ye checked the time again—it was already past 11 p.m. Xing Wu often didn’t come back at this hour, but tonight, Qing Ye felt unusually restless. The thought of Xing Wu in his shorts, lounging at Shu Han’s place, made her increasingly uncomfortable the more she dwelled on it.While Liu Nian and Du Qiyan were still discussing, Qing Ye sent a message to Xing Wu: "I'm hungry."

After the three of them deliberated for another half hour, it was almost midnight and getting late. Liu Nian and Du Qiyan decided to head back first.

As they stepped out of Dazzle Island, Xing Wu happened to ride back on his Little Angel. Just as he swung off his motorcycle and looked up, he saw the mushroom cloud of hair emerging from the shop. In the dead of night, it startled Xing Wu so much he nearly flung the fried noodles in his hand right into Du Qiyan's face.

He cursed under his breath, but when he spotted Liu Nian following behind, he suppressed the urge to throw the noodles and asked them, "What the hell is this?"

Liu Nian replied foolishly, "Oh, we're planning to experiment with new styles, so we gave Yan Yan a perm."

"..." Thanks a lot, you'll run Dazzle Island into the ground sooner or later.

They exchanged greetings with Xing Wu and left. Carrying the fried noodles, Xing Wu walked into the shop just as Qing Ye was shutting down the computer. She lifted her eyes and gave him a cold glance.

Xing Wu set the fried noodles on the counter, but Qing Ye didn't even look at them before turning and heading upstairs. Puzzled, Xing Wu said, "Didn't you say you were hungry?"

Without turning back, Qing Ye replied, "I don't eat before bed."

"Then why did you tell me you were hungry?"

Qing Ye stopped in her tracks and glanced back at him, retorting, "Then why were you out so late? What were you doing?"

"???" Xing Wu looked at her with a face full of question marks.

He asked uncertainly, "Are you... angry?"

Qing Ye immediately turned her head away and stomped heavily up the stairs.

Xing Wu glanced at the fried noodles with amusement and shook his head helplessly.

After taking a shower, he went upstairs to find the room light still on. With a towel draped over his shoulder and wearing a loose T-shirt, Xing Wu leaned against the doorway. Qing Ye sat at the head of the bed wearing headphones, her knees bent with a notebook resting on them as she listened and wrote.

Rubbing his hair with the towel, Xing Wu said to her, "There's a factory on Old Street whose server stopped working. The previous technician couldn't fix it, and the pay looked good, so I took the job."

Qing Ye ignored him, continuing to write in her notebook.

Xing Wu cleared his throat and added, "Shu Han is the middleman. She knows quite a few bosses and often refers jobs to me. She takes a commission—we have a cooperative relationship."

Qing Ye finished writing the last line in her notebook and lifted her gaze to look at him.

A faint smile tugged at Xing Wu's lips. "Can't you sleep without seeing me?"

Qing Ye grabbed the pillow beside her and threw it at him. "Go dream your wild dreams!"

Xing Wu caught the pillow steadily—soft and carrying her scent. He walked to Qing Ye's bedside, returned the pillow to her, and pointed at his pants. "See these?"

"Sweatpants."

Xing Wu shook his head mysteriously. "They're extraordinary long legs. Do you know why I don't come back to sleep? Try leaving your legs on the floor all night and see how it feels."

Qing Ye found it inexplicably funny, and she actually looked up and laughed at him. Xing Wu said helplessly, "So, could you please accommodate my long legs?"

Qing Ye met his gaze for a few seconds, her eyes slightly narrowed with scrutiny. Xing Wu, however, appeared completely unfazed. So, Qing Ye got up and moved her study materials to the desk. Xing Wu slowly made his way back to his own bed and lay down.

A short while later, Qing Ye turned off the light.Before she knew it, Qing Ye had been living at Xing Wu's house for nearly three months. From summer to autumn, she had gone from bristling whenever she was around Xing Wu to actually being able to spend the night harmoniously in the same room.

This was Qing Ye's first time sharing a room overnight with someone of the opposite sex. Though separated by a curtain, she could seemingly sense Xing Wu's powerful breathing—a subtle sensation that left her tossing and turning with discomfort, yet paradoxically filled her with an inexplicable calm. These conflicting feelings smoothly led to her insomnia.

It wasn't until the light from the phone beside the curtain completely faded that she gradually fell asleep.

In the following days, Xing Wu became extremely busy. He had taken on several jobs at once, so occupied that he even skipped daytime classes and often returned very late at night. But since Qing Ye also stayed up late, she developed a habit of leaving a light on for him.

Whenever Xing Wu rode his motorcycle back at night and saw the light still on in Qing Ye's room, he would feel a faint warmth—a sensation he had never experienced from anyone in all his years. So no matter how late he worked, he always made sure to return.

However, by the time he came back grimy, took a shower, and returned to the room, Qing Ye was usually already asleep, and they hardly exchanged a word.

Meanwhile, the school was preparing for a major upcoming speech event. Banners had been put up early, creating quite a grand atmosphere, all to welcome a group of foreigners—employees from a joint venture recently established in the county's development zone. The county leadership attached great importance to this, as the rundown county needed development. To facilitate the joint venture's settlement, many preferential policies had been specially introduced, including resolving the schooling issues for employees' children. Thus, a special visit for these foreign parents to local high schools was organized.

The main schools to be visited were Jinlong High School and An Zhong. Jinlong High had already begun preparatory work early on.

Not to be outdone by Jin Zhong, An Zhong's school leadership had been busy drafting speeches, compiling detailed reports covering the school's history, educational philosophy, and faculty resources. They specifically gathered English department teachers to translate the Chinese speech content.

It was said that the English teachers had recommended Miss Yu, who had the best oral skills, to deliver the English speech and serve as the principal's accompanying translator that day.

How did Qing Ye learn about this? That very afternoon, Miss Yu secretly sought out Qing Ye and asked her to review the translated speech. Miss Yu knew Qing Ye had come from an international school—her elegant English handwriting and English grades were unmatched in the school.

Qing Ye went through the draft, circled several phrases with inappropriate contextual usage, clearly noted alternative expressions beside them, and explained the changes to Miss Yu.

Qing Ye had attended international kindergarten since preschool, where her classmates included both Black and White children, and teachers taught in a mix of Chinese and English. By the time she graduated kindergarten, she could communicate in English without any pressure.

Having grown up in such environments through elementary, middle, and high school, she had gained some understanding of Western backgrounds and history. Incorporating elements familiar to Westerners into the speech, citing classics, made it much more vivid than a dry translation and could even facilitate some interaction.After she finished explaining to Miss Yu, Miss Yu suddenly felt as if she had been enlightened. Without long-term exposure to foreigners, it would be difficult for teachers educated under the exam-oriented system to bridge such cultural gaps.

Then Qing Ye asked Miss Yu to read the passage aloud. She tried her best to correct the minor pronunciation errors at the beginning, but when she heard Miss Yu pronounce "important" as "impotent," Qing Ye could no longer remain calm.

"Important" means significant or crucial, while the word Miss Yu pronounced, "impotent," refers to sexual impotence. Thus, a sentence meant to welcome a group of important guests turned into welcoming a group of impotent guests. Qing Ye broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

After tactfully explaining the mistake to Miss Yu, the middle-aged woman also felt deeply embarrassed. As Miss Yu was leaving, Qing Ye could clearly see how unusually flustered she was. While Miss Yu had no problem grading papers or writing test questions, on-the-spot translation was likely an immense pressure for her. Qing Ye couldn't help but worry for her, silently praying that Miss Yu would manage to pronounce "important" correctly on the actual day.