Chapter 49

After about two days, Shu Lingchen seemed to have eased, and the whole person returned to normal.

It was as if nothing had happened, but he still brought his textbook to Shu Shu's place to recite classical Chinese.

Shu Shu sized him up for a moment, then said, "Start reciting."

Then, after Shu Lingchen finished reciting, Shu Shu took over the ledger to record his reward.

The part‑time job she had mentioned was still valid; she was about to press the pen tip to write, but was stopped.

"No need."

"Huh?"

Shu Shu looked over and heard Shu Lingchen speak in a low voice: "Mom, I know you set up this part‑time job so I would study hard and attend class; cancel it. From now on, I will start studying seriously."

Shu Shu's eyebrows slowly rose, looking quite surprised; she didn't answer Shu Lingchen right away, but instead poked her head out to look outside.

She muttered: "What wind is blowing today?"

Shu Lingchen: "……"

He felt a bit embarrassed, solemnly saying: "I'm not joking; I really mean it when I say I want to study hard."

Shu Shu looked at him again for a moment, then covered her mouth with her hand: "Good heavens, has the Bodhisattva really shown its power?"

Shu Lingchen froze, just about to ask his mother when she had taken him to a temple, when he saw Shu Shu pull out her phone, open a full‑body photo of the Bodhisattva, place the phone neatly against the stack of books, then press her palms together against her forehead, close her eyes, and bow.

"……" Shu Lingchen's mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but retort: "Mom, if that actually works, that would be weird."

Shu Shu replied calmly: "Sincerity brings efficacy."

…

After school.

Pei Muyin came over with her backpack to find Shu Shu, and Shu Lingchen asked where they should go to eat.

Shu Shu said: "We're not going to eat; let's go somewhere first."

Fifteen minutes later.

The three of them got off at the entrance of the most prosperous mall building in the city center.

Shu Shu followed the signs and pressed the elevator button.

Inside the bustling mall, the transparent elevator rose all the way up.

Upon reaching the floor, Shu Lingchen looked around, puzzled: "Why are we here?"

"Haircut." She had long disliked that rooster‑like hair.

The elevator doors opened, and Shu Shu strode straight to a stylishly decorated hair salon.

"What?!"

Upon hearing the two words 'haircut,' Shu Lingchen stopped dead in his tracks, face full of resistance: "I'm not going; my hairstyle is so cool! Nobody can touch it!"

"? Your taste must be off— that rooster‑hair is ugly as hell." Saying that, Shu Shu turned to Pei Muyin seeking agreement: "You agree, right, Xiao Musi?"

Pei Muyin, cued, also glanced at Shu Lingchen's head, then nodded.

Shu Shu: "See, we both think it looks bad— two votes to one, minority follows majority. Come on, let's go in and cut it off."

"Huh? When did the voting start, and why just us three?" Shu Lingchen protested: "If you're able, drag Bo Luo Zai and the others into the vote too— you two are a gang, of course you'd side together!"

Hearing the words "you two are a gang," Pei Muyin's eyes lit up, as if especially pleased, and she silently moved a few steps closer to Shu Shu.

Shu Lingchen stubbornly stuck out his neck: "Anyway, I've had this hairstyle for years; I will absolutely not change it."

"Come here."

"No!"

Shu Shu narrowed her eyes: "Are you coming over or not?"

"I'm not!"

Then Shu Shu stopped wasting words, walked toward Shu Lingchen, who immediately became wary, stepped back, turned, and lifted his leg to run.

But before he could take two steps, his collar was grabbed, and he was held in place.

Then the shoppers on this floor of the mall saw the following scene—

A non‑mainstream "kill‑matte" teenager clung desperately to the railing with both hands, while a pretty girl with peach‑blossom eyes gave a flick, and like lifting a little chick, she effortlessly hauled the teenager into the back of the hair salon.

…

Inside the shop.

A staff member in work uniform, with an earpiece hanging from the ear, walked over and smiled politely: "Hello, customer. May I ask who wants their hair done?"

"Him."

Shu Shu pressed Shu Lingchen into a chair.

"Not me!" Shu Lingchen writhed like a loach trying to spring up, and Shu Shu gave a dark smile: "You'd better cooperate while I'm in a good mood, or I don't mind knocking you out and bringing the barber over—but when you wake up, I can't guarantee you won't turn into a braised egg."

"……"

Threat! This is a blatant threat!

To avoid becoming bald, Shu Lingchen struggled for a while and finally had to compromise.

Shu Shu flipped through the hairstylist's catalog, stopped on a page, and pointed: "First dye his hair back to black, then cut it like this."

"Sure."

Shu Lingchen was draped in a cape, his face full of despair, letting the stylist apply the chemicals to his hair.

This shop isn't low‑end; a comfortable, light fragrance fills the air, and there's a dedicated lounge area with tea and desserts.

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin each ordered a slice of tiramisu.

While waiting, Shu Shu took out her phone again, searching for the latest news about art related to her daughter.

Seated beside her, Pei Muyin, holding a small plate and nibbling tiramisu, inadvertently glanced at Shu Shu's screen, looked curious, and asked: "Sister Mushi, do you also follow violin news usually?"

Shu Shu could hardly tell Xiao Musi that she was looking at these things to find her daughter, so she made up another excuse: "I just came across it and was casually browsing."

…

This barbershop is upscale and efficient.

After two and a half hours, Shu Lingchen's hair was done.

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin looked over.

They saw that, in front of the mirror, the boy's originally unruly, overly long turkey‑hair was gone, replaced by a neat black short cut.

Shu Shu picked a short, choppy hairstyle for Shu Lingchen.

On both sides, small sideburns were trimmed, layered upward; the hair was left slightly longer, with the front bangs reaching just above the eyebrows by over an inch, cleanly revealing the whole face.

He had been good‑looking since childhood, and with his parents' genes, he was destined not to grow up awkward.

The youth had dark eyes, a straight nose, and perfectly thin lips.

His face increasingly overlapped with the one in his memory.

If his gaze were colder, his expression thinner, he'd be even more like him……

Shu Shu stared dazedly for a moment, but that feeling passed quickly; she regained her composure, raised an eyebrow, walked over, circled Shu Lingchen twice, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Not bad."

Pei Muyin stared at Shu Lingchen, feeling that his post‑haircut appearance gave her an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

Shu Lingchen uncomfortably touched the back of his neck; having changed his hairstyle, he felt unaccustomed.

Shu Shu paid, satisfied.

The three left the barbershop, still not going to eat, and took the elevator up to the luxury clothing store.

…

Shu Lingchen had only heard the saying that women go crazy when they shop.

But now he saw it with his own eyes.

Shu Shu pulled out a few items from the rack, then pointed at Shu Lingchen and said, "Let the models try the remaining pieces on the rack and buy clothes for him."

The clerk immediately called over several male models roughly matching Shu Lingchen's height and build.

Like a runway show.

From clothes to pants to shoes, full outfits were displayed.

Clerks at such high‑end clothing stores all have keen eyes; although Shu Shu looks young and like a student, she exudes a faint air of refinement, and the clerks attend to her wholeheartedly and enthusiastically.

As expected, when checking out, Shu Shu placed a seven‑figure order without blinking.