Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
While it was two o’clock in the afternoon in Beijing, Qiao Jiusheng and the rest finally arrived in Zurich.
It was actually morning in Zurich. Qi Bufan found a car and drove to Bahnhof Street. After the car ride, they took a train.
The train crossed the entire street and finally stopped at Lake Zurich.
Fang Yusheng stood by the lake and opened his arms. He took a deep breath of fresh air and sighed. “Amitabha. The air here is really fresh.”
Qi Bufan’s eyelids twitched, but he remained silent.
Qiao Jiusheng became a little confused. Did we take a 14-hour flight just to come to Zurich to take a look at the morning lake?
“Accompany me for a walk.” After saying that, Fang Yusheng held his cane and strolled along the lake. Qiao Jiusheng closely followed him. She occasionally glanced at the swan seagull and ignored the ‘fake monk’ beside her. It showed that she was in a good mood.
“We’re here.”
Suddenly, Fang Yusheng stopped in front of a restaurant.
“Do you want to eat sausages?” Qiao Jiusheng asked with a strange expression.
Fang Yusheng did not know what she was thinking about, but he solemnly shook his head and said in all seriousness, “No, I never eat sausages.” Then, he suddenly tapped Qiao Jiusheng’s calf with his cane. Qiao Jiusheng howled and heard Fang Yusheng say in a very complicated tone, “Your thoughts are very dirty, benefactor.”
Qiao Jiusheng was stunned for a moment before realizing what he meant.
I clearly did not mean that.
The sausage she was talking about was a real sausage!
Fang Yusheng walked into the sausage shop. Qiao Jiusheng thought that he would order a portion of sausages. However, she saw him go to the second floor with his hand on the railing of the stairs. After a moment of astonishment, Qiao Jiusheng heard Fang Yusheng ask her to follow him. Thus, she quickened her pace and also reached the second floor.
The second floor did not look like a living room or a restaurant. It looked more like a collection room.
A woman dressed in a black shirt was sitting on a high platform, playing with a human head model in her hand. It was unknown what she was studying.
“Suzanne.” Fang Yusheng said her name.
Suzanne turned around. Her face was fair, and a mole could be seen under the corner of her eye. She looked very beautiful. “Oh! An, you’re here.” The woman put down the human head model in her hand and placed her long legs on the floor. She then walked over to the two of them.
Glancing at Qiao Jiusheng, Suzanne said to Fang Yusheng, “According to your request, I made the most perfect work. Let me make it clear first, you have to come to my place two months to change.”
“Okay.”
To Qiao Jiusheng, their conversation seemed like a riddle.
Suzanne finally shifted her gaze to Qiao Jiusheng. She stared at Qiao Jiusheng’s face for a while, then regretfully shook her head. After that, she muttered something under her breath as she pulled Qiao Jiusheng toward the head model, “Oh, what a pity for this beautiful face.”
Suzanne pressed Qiao Jiusheng toward a stool and said, “Come, let me put it on for you.”
The confused Qiao Jiusheng allowed Suzanne to wash her face.
Suzanne then wiped a layer of strange liquid on Qiao Jiusheng’s face. After that, Qiao Jiusheng saw Suzanne carefully remove a thin human face from the human head model. It was inaccurate to say that the object was a human face. To be precise, it was a mask. However, since it was too delicate, the object looked like as if it had been peeled off a person’s face.
“Look up, sweetheart,” Suzanne said.
Qiao Jiusheng understood and obediently looked up.
Suzanne carefully placed the face along Qiao Jiusheng’s cheek.
The entire process lasted for a long time.
Qiao Jiusheng felt her face become a little itchy and hot, but she did not dare to move.
Finally, she heard Suzanne say, “OK, look. Satisfied?”
Qiao Jiusheng stood up and walked to the mirror. When she took a look, the reflection left her stunned.
The person in the mirror was her, but also not her.
That face looked ordinary and normal. It could not be considered exquisite. At most, it looked beautiful and clean. Qiao Jiusheng touched this face. It felt the same as her real skin, very smooth. This mask covered her original face. Qiao Jiusheng almost could not recognize the person in the mirror.
Her nose still had the same shape, her eyes still had the same outline, and her lips were still the same. However, her appearance had changed.
“How is it?”
Suzanne got cocky.
Qiao Jiusheng’s expression became complicated.
She had to admit that Suzanne’s skills were superb and almost perfect. When she thought about how she could not use both her name and her face, Qiao Jiusheng’s heart ached. After the bitterness subsided, hatred appeared in her heart.
Qiao Jiuyin, we are about to meet. Are you ready?
Fang Yusheng could not see it, but from the commotion, he knew that Qiao Jiusheng was satisfied with this mask. He asked Suzanne, “What do you want in return?”
Suzanne blinked and mischievously said, “I want that treasure you’ve kept for years.” She ran her hand over his shoulder in a ghostly manner. “I’ve heard that you have a collection room with a treasure hidden inside. I want that treasure of yours.”
Fang Yusheng smiled. His smile was gentle and elegant. He looked really good.
He took Suzanne’s hand off his shoulder and smiled back. “Choose another one, Suzanne.”
Suzanne snorted before saying, “How about this? I want your hair. Will you give it to me?”
Fang Yusheng was stunned, and so was Qiao Jiusheng.
“Yes.” Qiao Jiusheng heard Fang Yusheng agree.
***
As she walked out of the restaurant, Qiao Jiusheng felt terrible holding in her laughter.
Qi Bufan had been waiting outside the shop. When he heard footsteps, he turned around. The sight of Fang Yusheng stunned him as well.
Fang Yusheng’s hair looked funny.
The buzz cut on the left and the right side of his head was still the same as before, but the tuft of long hair in the middle had been cut by Suzanne with a few casual snips. The hair in that region was now of different lengths. Even the trendy Matt aristocratic style from more than a decade ago was not as shocking as Fang Yusheng’s current hairstyle.
Qi Bufan looked at the dog-nibbled hair on Fang Yusheng’s head and rubbed his face. He then pretended to be calm and asked, “Where are we going next?”
Fang Yusheng’s face darkened. He gritted his teeth and said, “The salon.”
***
After leaving the salon, Qiao Jiusheng became awestruck by Fang Yusheng’s beauty once again.
It was not an exaggeration to say that Fang Yusheng was handsome enough to match any hairstyle.
Previously, his hairstyle was already very handsome, but now that he had gotten a buzz cut, he looked even more handsome.
When Fang Yusheng did not hear Qiao Jiusheng praise his new hairstyle, he felt a little upset. This hairstyle is indeed unsuitable for me. Even my new wife is crying because of my ugliness.
On the way back, Fang Yusheng looked tired.
From time to time, he touched his newly cut hair and always felt uncomfortable. Previously, he had a head with a small pigtail. He looked like an icon who was at the front line of fashion. Now, with a buzz cut, he seemed like a reformer who had just come out of prison.
When they got home, it was almost dark.
Hearing the sound of the car, Aunt Jin hurriedly took off her apron and wiped her hands. She then walked toward the courtyard.
When she saw Fang Yusheng, she was really shocked.
Fang Yusheng pursed his lips when Aunt Jin did not say anything.
“What’s wrong? Do you also find this hairstyle ugly?”
Aunt Jin came back to her senses and hurriedly praised him. “Young Master Yusheng, you’ve finally gotten your hairstyle right this time. I’ve been wanting to talk about this for a long time. That hair of yours looked so feminine. What do men want with long hair? Short hair looks better. It looks energetic and manly.”
Fang Yusheng: “…”
“Aunt Jin, please don’t say anything else.”
Aunt Jin knew that she had said something wrong. She rubbed her chubby hands and shyly smiled.
