Chapter 10: The Dressing Up
Although vocational high school did not have weekends off, most of the time was self-study, with no teachers coming to hold classes.
The school never expected their grades to improve; their main concern was that if left unchecked, the students might cause trouble outside of school.
When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Mi Xiaoyue groggily opened her eyes, preparing to head to the cafeteria for something to eat.
An entire morning had passed in a daze. Mi Xiaoyue’s mind was still half-shut down; her vacant eyes made her look like a soulless zombie, driven only by instinct to move forward.
At the cafeteria, Mi Xiaoyue ordered a meal consisting of one meat dish and one vegetable dish for 8.8 yuan. When she reached to pay, she realized her campus card was missing.
Had she left it at the internet café?
There were quite a few classmates in the cafeteria; if Mi Xiaoyue just spoke up, borrowing a campus card wouldn’t be a big deal. But with her introverted nature, she would rather go hungry than initiate any interaction.
With nothing better to do, Mi Xiaoyue decided to return to the dormitory for a hot shower and changed into a clean uniform.
Suddenly, her roommate came back to the dorm. “Mi Xiaoyue, didn’t you go eat?”
Mi Xiaoyue, drying her hair, replied perfunctorily, “I’m not hungry…”
“Oh, by the way, your brother came looking for you.”
“My brother?”
“Yeah, he’s waiting for you in the classroom, said he came to bring you your campus card. Xiaoyue, your brother’s kinda handsome…”
Mi Xiaoyue set down the hairdryer, about to check the classroom, but just as she stepped out, she remembered something and turned back to the mirror.
“XXX, do you have a hairband? A hair tie will do too.”
“Huh…”
Her female roommate looked at Mi Xiaoyue in surprise. In three years of high school, it was the first time she’d seen Mi Xiaoyue borrow something from anyone.
Besides, Mi Xiaoyue usually let her hair loose and never bothered with hairbands.
“Here.”
Her roommate handed over a pink hairband, teasing, “Xiaoyue, that’s not really your biological brother, is it?”
Mi Xiaoyue gave a small hum, like a buzzing mosquito, tied her still-damp hair into a ponytail, and quickly left the dorm.
In the classroom, Yan Xuan sat in Mi Xiaoyue’s seat, chatting and laughing with her classmates, most of whom were girls, who giggled at his jokes.
Mi Xiaoyue stood quietly at the classroom door, feeling both inferior and timid.
Cheerful, handsome, humorous... Yan Xuan radiated such a dazzling light that it seemed utterly incompatible with her dark and gloomy self.
“Xiaoyue.”
Yan Xuan turned and spotted her. He stood and came over, handing her the lost campus card.
“Sorry, I was too out of it this morning and accidentally took the wrong one.”
“It’s... it’s... okay.”
Mi Xiaoyue took her campus card without thinking for a moment whether Yan Xuan had done it on purpose.
“I’m off then, bye.”
Yan Xuan left the classroom without another word.
He was just here to return the card...
Though Mi Xiaoyue had expected this, she couldn’t help but feel a touch of loneliness. She touched the ponytail at the back of her head and suddenly found herself a little ridiculous.
From beginning to end, Yan Xuan’s gaze never lingered on her for even half a second.
Back in her seat, classmates gathered around, chattering about Yan Xuan.
“Mi Xiaoyue, your brother goes to Nanjiang University, right?”
“Is that... so?”
“His phone case is the commemorative edition from Nanjiang University’s anniversary. My cousin has one too. Isn’t he your brother? You don’t even know that?”
“Distant... distant relative.”
Nanjiang University, ranked among the top ten or even top five in the nation, felt too unreal and distant for vocational students like them.
But why would a student from Nanjiang University come all the way to their remote county town to stay up all night at an internet café?
When the next class bell rang, Mi Xiaoyue sneaked a glance at her phone and mustered the courage to message Yan Xuan.
Mi Xiaoyue: Brother Yan, are you from Nanjiang University?
Yan Xuan: Yes.
Mi Xiaoyue: Then why come to our county town?
Yan Xuan: Taking advantage of the weekend to help a friend with something. Didn’t want to stay in a hotel, so just spent the night at the internet café.
Mi Xiaoyue: I see. Did you get the job done?
Yan Xuan: Not yet, probably will come again next week.
Will come again next week...
Mi Xiaoyue: Will you come to the internet café again next week? I’ll treat you to a late-night snack.
Yan Xuan: Deal!
Mi Xiaoyue put down her phone. Unconsciously, her thoughts had already leapt to next Saturday night.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed again. She opened it.
Yan Xuan: Your single ponytail looks kind of weird. Want to try twin ponytails next time?
Mi Xiaoyue: Twin ponytails?
Yan Xuan: Like this (photo)
Mi Xiaoyue opened the photo Yan Xuan sent. The girl in the picture sat in the passenger seat of a luxury car, dressed in British-style JK uniform with over-the-knee white stockings, wearing playful and cute pink-and-white twin ponytails, looking stunningly beautiful.
Mi Xiaoyue assumed it was just a random image Yan Xuan found online, replied with a string of ellipses, and then closed her phone.
She tried to rest her head on the desk to sleep again, but her heart refused to calm...
Inside the Bentley parked at the school gate, Fang Lian excitedly shook her twin ponytails behind her head.
“Godfather, did you finish taking the photos?”
Yan Xuan handed his phone to Fang Lian.
“Take a look?”
“Godfather, your skills aren’t bad.”
“Just so-so!”
“Hehe…”
Fang Lian forwarded the photo to herself and then edited a post for her social circle.
“Enjoying the afternoon sunshine with you.”
Within five minutes, more than a dozen comments flooded in.
There were effusive compliments from female classmates and eager admirers ready to make a move... In the past, Fang Lian’s vanity would have been greatly satisfied, but now she only felt emptiness and boredom.
What was the point of posting this?
After a moment’s thought, Fang Lian deleted the post. Half a minute later, a message popped up.
Mom: Girl, why did you delete your post? Whose Bentley is that? Did you catch a sugar daddy?
She had forgotten to block her mother...
Fang Lian suddenly felt a wave of nausea and disgust, so she deleted the chat window as well. Out of sight, out of mind.
Yan Xuan, who was driving nearby, suddenly asked, “It’s almost two o’clock. Shall we stop at the highway service area for something to eat?”
Yan Xuan didn’t know that Fang Lian had just gone through an intense internal struggle. His earlier suggestion to take photos was purely to get pictures to tease Mi Xiaoyue.
Whether Mi Xiaoyue wore a single or twin ponytail made no difference to Yan Xuan; this was just his way of showing he had noticed her little change today.
The plan worked well—their app’s affection meter for Mi Xiaoyue immediately rose from 55 to 59.
“Godfather, you decide.”
Fang Lian put on a smile again, lightly swaying her long legs clad in white stockings, trying to catch Yan Xuan’s attention.
To her, Yan Xuan’s willingness to take photos was a sign he was interested in her outfit today.
“White stockings, JK uniform, twin ponytails—Godfather, you’re so tacky.”
Fang Lian didn’t like this style of dress. Even with her changed persona, her tastes hadn’t; she still preferred the simple elegance of Chanel.
But whether she liked it no longer mattered. Now, only one thing was important.
Godfather liking it was enough!