Returning to university, starting with confessing to his ex-wife, his counselor.

It was lunchtime, and there were few people outside the office. The early autumn sunlight slanted in, illuminating the corridor.

Just as Liang Chao stepped out, he unexpectedly bumped into the class monitor, and for some reason, he felt a little flustered.

The feeling was like a middle-aged man who had just cheated on his wife walking out of her room, pulling up his pants, and glancing up to meet his wife's calm gaze.

Liang Chao was a little confused. He hadn't done anything to wrong anyone; he was an innocent young man, so there was no reason for him to panic!

Okay, not entirely innocent!

Just now in the office, he finally remembered what the little turtle had said.

Two days before the dinner party, he and Xiao Jiayu were walking around and chatting. He did compliment the class monitor on her beauty, saying he really liked that type.

Not only that, he also remembered...

Last night in his past life, he drank too much and instead of confessing his feelings to Teacher Yang, he acted strangely and made a bet with his roommates to see who could get the class monitor to go to the lotus pond...

Before the above events could unfold, Liang Chao found himself feeling increasingly guilty.

He forced a smile and waved awkwardly, saying, "Haha~ Um... Class monitor, what a coincidence."

"Hmm." The girl responded with a cool and aloof expression.

Seemingly feeling that this was impolite, she lowered her eyes for a while, then raised her small hand and waved blankly at Liang Chao.

"skillful."

Then, he stopped talking and continued to stare at Liang Chao without blinking.

"..."

Liang Chao was shocked, thinking to himself that someone like this could be the class monitor, and that the class officer election was too shady... cough cough... too much of a comprehensive consideration!

He hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously.

"Squad leader, you...have been waiting outside the door...for a long time?"

Li Zhiya frowned slightly, as if she was thinking.

After a moment, she first nodded, then gently shook her head, "Just arrived."

"Well......"

Upon hearing this, Liang Chao was speechless, thinking to himself, "Are you trying to fool a fool?"

However, he was upright and had nothing to fear, so even if someone overheard him, he was not afraid. He smiled and waved to Li Zhiya.

"The class monitor must be looking for Ms. Yang, right? She's inside! I'm going to eat now!"

As he spoke, he brushed past Li Zhiya.

Li Zhiya didn't wave. She pursed her lips, stood still, and said nothing.

A breeze blew through the hall as expected, causing the girl's hair to sway gently as she lowered her eyes.

The footprints where the boy stood were faint.

Click—

After an unknown amount of time, the office door was opened a crack.

"Has he left?" Yang Shuxi asked nervously through the crack in the door.

Li Zhiya raised her eyes and said softly, "I'm leaving."

"Phew~ It's good that it's gone, it's good that it's gone! That was terrifying!"

Upon hearing this, Teacher Yang puffed out her cheeks, let out a long breath, and patted her chest fearfully as she did so.

Turning her head, she saw Li Zhiya looking at her, and immediately smiled again.

"Thank you, silly girl. I wouldn't dare go out if you didn't come! Being a teacher is so hard!" She hugged the girl tightly and rubbed her affectionately against her.

"Come on, come on, Auntie's got my paycheck from last month! Order whatever you want to eat!"

Yang Shuxi spoke cheerfully, then gently tugged at Li Zhiya. Seeing that the latter was still standing there, she asked in confusion.

"Come on, aren't you hungry?"

Li Zhiya pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Hungry."

......

At noon, the sun was shining brightly.

Sitting in the taxi, Leung Chiu didn't move to the shade; instead, he strode into the sun, and soon he was covered in sweat.

In the driver's seat, the driver, who had been hesitant to speak, glanced at Liang Chao again through the rearview mirror and finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Young man, are you alright?"

He placed his hand on the window switch and said cautiously, "Should I open the window?"

"Oh? No need, no need! It's too hot with it on!"

Liang Chao felt dizzy from the sun, and while fanning himself with his hand, he waved his hand in refusal.

Just now, he walked out of the school under the blazing sun and got into a taxi, but a chill inexplicably ran down his back.

He felt a little uneasy, guessing that he might have been acting too gloomy lately, so he wanted to bask in the sun to replenish his yang energy...

"I just suddenly feel a little cold, it'll be fine in a bit!"

Hearing these contradictory statements, a novice driver who has just entered the industry might already be cursing him as a lunatic in his heart.

However, the master craftsman remained expressionless, only managing a professional smile.

"Okay, sir."

This composure was not acquired out of thin air; it was the extraordinary composure cultivated by an old hand who had seen countless madmen.

Take one of his female customers as an example.

When they first met, she was sitting in the back row holding her phone, video chatting with someone while asking him for tissues, and she kept asking for them for half an hour.

He was suspicious, so he glanced in the rearview mirror, and what he saw made him feel terrible.

The woman stood with the door wide open, moaning and groaning as she repeated the same exercise in front of the camera.

When she saw him looking over, she asked him if he wanted to come along.

He was filled with masculine virtue and resolutely refused. Furthermore, his anger over his car being defiled enraged him. He immediately kicked her out of the car and berated her for her shamelessness.

But yesterday, he received another order from her with an additional charge of 100 yuan.

He remained unmoved as he watched her walk towards him in the sweltering heat, wrapped in a black trench coat. As she adjusted the choker around her neck and then unbuttoned the coat, revealing her bare body, he was completely unfazed.

She even offered him a box of tissues and gave him a polite smile.

—Guest, please try to be moderate!

The old man gazed wistfully at the withered leaves on the roadside, swaying in the wind, and thought to himself, "Life is like that..."

"Guests, we've arrived!"

A short while later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of a quiet alley.

"Oh, thank you. Can I use Alipay?"

In Jin Guan in 13, ride-hailing services were not yet widespread, and payments could not be made online; face-to-face payments were required.

After he paid the fare, he was about to get out of the car when the driver suddenly called him back.

"Young man, this place isn't very clean! If you're really feeling the urge, I know a very demanding young woman with a medical report, and she might even be able to get you free..."

"No! No! Sir, you've misunderstood! I'm here for a haircut! Not that kind of thing!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Chao was immediately embarrassed and quickly made his escape. The street he was going to was under construction for the subway and closed, so he had no choice but to take a detour.

Seeing this, the experienced craftsman shook his head, somewhat helpless.

Isn't that... you know?

The temperature fluctuates wildly, it's obvious they took Viagra beforehand, tsk~ these young people nowadays...

Soon after entering the alley, Liang Chao understood why the taxi driver had misunderstood.

In the winding, dark alleyway, there's a hair salon every five meters and a massage parlor every ten meters, all with their doors half-closed, and women in heavy makeup and revealing clothes sitting at the entrances.

As soon as Liang Chao looks up, they immediately stand up, waving at him and flashing enthusiastic smiles.

"Handsome, come in and have a look! It's very comfortable!"

"Handsome young man, are you alone?"

The oppressive feeling was so strong that Liang Chao hurriedly quickened his pace, worried that if he stayed any longer, his belt would suffer a terrible fate.

In 13, Jin Guan was thriving in the physical service industry, with everything from large bars and clubs to small hair salons and alleys filled with excellent seafood that had come from Dongguan.

However, the city later launched a major crackdown, and with the rise of live streaming on the Internet, the young women were forced to change careers and transform into "beauty" live streamers.

During that time, Liang Chao had just started university. He was honest and simple, and he was terrified of such places, avoiding them like the plague.

After I got a girlfriend, it became even more impossible for me to come to places like that.

Now, he can understand and respect those who are tormented by fate, but that's all he can do; he has no intention of offering any help.

He observed coldly, his gaze sweeping over those vibrant faces, and a sudden realization welled up within him as if he were witnessing the city's transformation and development firsthand.

It was as if someone was reminding him in his ear—this is the real 2013.

Looking down reveals a dark alley; looking up reveals the era.

......

Before long, Liang Chao finally passed through the seafood alley and arrived at a relatively decent street.

I looked up and glanced at the sign of the barbershop in front of me.

Oguri shape.

An ordinary shop name, a cramped storefront, but the barber inside with his distinctive mustache is quite a good one.

Yes! This Tony who looks very gay is actually the hairdressing blogger who later gained over ten million followers across the internet—Yamashiro Koguri.

In his previous life, Liang Chao had a good personal relationship with him, and he usually went to him for haircuts, which had become a habit.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but open the mission center and glance at the new missions.

You may not be the center of attention right now, but the start of a perfect life cannot be without an audience.

[Side Quests: Highly Anticipated]

[Task Content: Choose a hair salon, get a hairstyle you like, and complete your image makeover. Maintain the new look for one day, and the system will track the attention from passersby (including turning around to look, initiating conversations, whispering, and other effective interactions)]

[Task Reward: A random gift pack equal to the total value of your followers (i.e., 1 follower = 1 yuan).]

"Hopefully this time, I can walk out of the barbershop with a smile!"

Liang Chao casually closed the mission center and walked into the simply decorated barbershop with some trepidation.

Tony is only in his early twenties.

He didn't know whether his craftsmanship was up to the standard of later generations.