A Hairstyle That's Hard to Back Down From

Not long after, Xia Muzhu descended the stairs with delicate steps. She walked up to Lin Yu, took his hand without hesitation, and pressed her other tightly clenched fist into his palm.

Lin Yu was still puzzled by her sudden gesture, but the moment he felt the firm yet soft texture in his palm, he understood her intention.

As Xia Muzhu moved her fair, slender hand away, revealing a wad of red bills in his palm, Lin Yu immediately protested,

"No, sis, I can’t take this money. The stun gun was a gift for you to try out, and this amount is way too much anyway."

"Please take it back."

With that, he tried to force the money back into her hand.

Xia Muzhu swiftly tucked her hands behind her back, denying him any chance to return it. Softly, she insisted,

"Keep it."

"I don’t even know how to thank you for what happened tonight."

"If you refuse this, I won’t be able to sleep a wink."

"I..."

Lin Yu opened his mouth, about to say that accepting the money would keep him awake instead. But the thought of that elusive, inscrutable "fate" silenced him.

By his usual principles, he’d never take this money under any circumstances.

But wouldn’t rejecting it play right into the hands of that so-called fate?

To defy its grip—to prevent the second female lead, Xia Muzhu, from meeting a tragic end—maybe he should break his own rules just this once and accept it?

After all, to escape fate’s shackles, he’d have to start making choices he’d normally avoid.

After a moment’s deliberation, Lin Yu swallowed his refusal and offered Xia Muzhu an awkward, bashful smile.

"Then... thank you, sis."

"I should be the one thanking you."

Relieved, Xia Muzhu tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her smile warm.

"Study hard when you get back. And if you ever run into trouble, don’t hesitate to come to me."

"Mm-hmm."

Lin Yu nodded, inwardly delighted.

An unexpected bonus—now he had a legitimate reason to visit her again.

He could also use the opportunity to learn more about the people around her, identifying who to watch out for and who might help safeguard her. A subtle nudge here and there could steer them to pay more attention to the second female lead’s safety.

Lost in his scheming, Lin Yu completely missed the odd expression flickering across Xia Muzhu’s face—as if she had something to say but couldn’t quite bring herself to voice it.

After a brief struggle, she finally blurted out,

"Lin Yu, your hairstyle... is it a bit...?"

Her words snapped him out of his thoughts. At the mention of his hair, Lin Yu gave a wry chuckle. Without explanation, he went straight for the grand reveal.

Sweeping aside the long, yellow-dyed locks covering half his left cheek, he exposed the pale, sun-deprived skin beneath. With a resigned smile, he admitted,

"Honestly, I’m in too deep now."

Just as he’d anticipated, Xia Muzhu fell silent at the sight. But her lips pressed into a tight line, trembling faintly—clearly fighting back laughter.

"Go ahead and laugh. It’s fine. Even I can’t help cracking up when I see myself in the mirror."

Lin Yu shrugged, palms upturned in surrender.

"Pfft—"

Xia Muzhu finally burst out laughing, hastily covering her mouth. Eyes crinkling with mirth, she gasped out an apology,

"I’m sorry!"

After composing herself slightly, she asked curiously,

"Why did you ever decide to keep such a... uh..."

She paused, searching for the right word.

"...distinctive hairstyle?"

Lin Yu heaved a dramatic sigh.

"Childhood folly. Saw a cool video game character with this look, idolized him, and copied it. Now that I’ve grown up, I want to cut it off—but it’s practically part of me at this point."

Xia Muzhu stifled another giggle and suggested,

"You could try applying sunscreen to your right cheek. Once it lightens to match, you can change the style."

"No, no."

Lin Yu shook his head firmly.

"Too much hassle. I’m waiting for a long break, then I’ll just flip all this hair back, lie on the balcony, and bake in the sun for a week or two. Even out the tan on both sides."

"That long?"

"Aren’t you afraid you’ll turn really dark?"

Xia Muzhu sounded half-amused, half-concerned. To her, as with most women, getting sunburned bordered on self-sabotage.

"It’s fine."

"Compared to looking like a walking yin-yang symbol, I’d rather risk turning into charcoal."

He lifted the yellow locks again, adding self-deprecatingly,

"Right now, I’m basically a taiji diagram missing its dots."

"PFFT—!"

This time, Xia Muzhu doubled over, laughter ringing through the night.

Lin Yu waited patiently until she recovered, then smiled.

"Alright, sis, you should head back. It’s late, and the streets aren’t safe. I need to get home too—haven’t even started my homework."

"Mm."

Xia Muzhu nodded, her expression softening.

"Go straight home and rest. It’s really late."

After watching her disappear upstairs, Lin Yu stuffed his hands into his pockets, scanning the neighborhood as he walked home.

Today’s plan had gone smoothly.

He’d gained Xia Muzhu’s initial trust. Next step: subtly ingrain in her the idea that the world was dangerous, so she’d heighten her own vigilance.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

Lin Yu’s expression turned grim.

In the coming days, he had to replace the access control system in her building.

Ideally, he’d also tackle the entire residential complex’s mismanaged property issues.

The thought made his head throb.

Given the state of Xia Muzhu’s neighborhood, convincing all residents to pay property fees was near impossible.

No funds meant no management company would touch this mess.

Tricky.

Rubbing his temples, Lin Yu exhaled sharply.

Forget long-term plans for now. Focus on fixing her building’s security first.

Even if it only added one extra layer of safety, it was worth it.

For the sake of pure love’s grand mission!

No effort was too great!

Strolling through the quiet night, boredom crept in. Lin Yu pulled out his phone, idly scrolling through videos as he ambled along.

Then—

A grotesque face suddenly filled the screen.

The jump scare jolted him so hard he nearly dropped his phone.

After calming down, Lin Yu took a closer look and realized it was actually the opening of a horror movie recap video.

This infuriated Lin Yu so much that he immediately gave the short video a triple strike—blocking, disliking, and reporting it!

These horror movie recap channels were downright shameless, every single one of them.

Why post videos at this hour? They all deliberately uploaded at midnight, clearly aiming to scare kids!

Of course, Lin Yu would never admit he was spooked.

This was...

This was...

This was about safeguarding the mental well-being of teenagers!

Just as the resentful Lin Yu was about to swipe away from the horror video, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

What if he shared some short videos about female victims with Xia Muzhu? That way, she’d realize how unsafe the world could be and become more vigilant.

The thought brightened Lin Yu’s mood, and he eagerly began searching for crime documentaries about female victims.