Chapter 14: Pink-haired Erbai!

Chapter 14: Pink-haired Erbai!

Before Gao Qian set off for this destination, she met with the chief editor of the magazine. The meeting was initiated by the editor himself, which was the unexpected event she mentioned in her message.

The story is actually quite complicated and it all started with a university cultural festival.

University A hosted a cultural festival, and the chief editor was invited to the school as an outstanding alumnus to give a lecture. Next to the venue where the lecture was held, there was a photography exhibition organized by one of the faculties, showcasing the photographic works of students.

The chief editor came across a student's portrait photograph of a person in an old street shop.

In short, the chief editor was captivated by her looks and aura.

Regardless of how the chief editor had obtained this information, after many twists and turns, he finally reached out to her, expressing a desire for collaboration.

The magazine was a well-known domestic fashion publication—a type of fashion resource that was virtually unattainable at this stage in her career. Objectively speaking, it was an excellent opportunity that one would typically not refuse when presented with it.

However, this individual was different. This was someone who had previously turned down a job handed right to her, just so she could play games.

Her recollection of this person's previous lackadaisical work attitude was still vividly imprinted in her mind. And coincidentally, she had just wrapped up work on a film set, leading Gao Qian to anticipate being rejected before even arriving.

However, after meeting him, she felt confident that this time it would be a sure thing.

Before introducing the shooting plan, she mentioned the five-figure offer from the magazine.

The person sitting opposite her raised his head and said, "I'll take it."

His voice was crisp and decisive, his gaze as resolute as someone about to join the party.

They successfully reached an agreement. Gao Qian then briefly introduced the shooting plan proposed by the magazine.

The theme color for the shoot was pink, scheduled for mid-month, at the magazine's own studio.

The stylist and makeup artist were yet to be determined, but the editor-in-chief had promised to oversee the selection. With such a commitment in place, the quality wouldn't likely be poor.

"The other thing is that they hope you could change your hair color if possible."

Gao Qian put down her coffee and said, "I won't interfere; the choice is yours."

Chen Bai ran a hand through his hair and asked, "Pink?"

Gao Qian nodded.

Chen Bai lowered his head, thinking in silence.

Gao Qian remained silent, waiting patiently for the outcome of his thoughts.

Then she saw the man who had been quietly contemplating raise his head again, looking serious and speaking with gravity, "May I ask, is it me who pays for the hair dye?"

Gao Qian said no.

"Oh, so it wasn't me then."

The person sitting across from her visibly relaxed, his expression softening, his face lighting up with a bright smile: "As long as I don't have to pay, any color will do."

Gao Qian: "…?"

The crux of the matter, was it here?

Turns out that this person had been thinking for so long, pondering over the question of who would foot the bill.

Chen Bai never dwelled on the issue of hair color. He was well-versed in the working world's pragmatism; as long as the money was right, nothing was a problem.

The decision to change his hair was thus settled, with the specific timing left to be discussed later.

His agent still had other business to attend to, while Chen Bai returned to his locksmithing enterprise—a path he had originally intended to pursue.

His mistake lay in accepting a promotional flyer from the mall and, due to a previous purchase at a coffee shop within the same premises, earning a chance to participate in a small lottery.

His luck in lotteries was as scarce as his money, but this time, he won a discount voucher—something he found hard to part with in every sense of the phrase.

So, that evening, his good neighbor returned home from work and was promptly greeted with a few sweet red bean buns.

"It's like this," said the man offering the buns, placing a hand on his neighbor's shoulder in a gesture of leadership, speaking with a solemn tone. "I won a discount voucher for a hotpot restaurant, good for two people."

Xu Sinian glanced at the hand on his shoulder, not saying much, simply stating, "I'm off on Saturday."

What a considerate neighbor!

Having already scheduled a public-funded hair dye appointment for Saturday morning, Chen Bai made plans for dinner with his thoughtful neighbor in the afternoon.

It was highly likely that the lifetime lottery luck had paid off in securing a discount voucher, and a jubilant Chen Moubai distributed two additional sweet red bean buns to his neighbor, wishing him sweet dreams for the night.

Upon returning from dinner on Saturday evening, it would be rather late. To ensure sufficient streaming hours, he had been extending his broadcasts by half an hour every day, leaving his online friends bewildered yet delighted, determined to match his endurance.

The consequence of prolonging his streams by half an hour daily meant that Saturday morning saw him struggling to rise. After waking up with great effort, he squinted his eyes, performing his morning routine almost instinctively, his mind remaining unawakened throughout.

Fortunately, his unawakened brain momentarily regained clarity when dressing, prompting the disheveled individual to recall his plans for the day just as he was about to don a 39.9 yuan T-shirt from the supermarket. He promptly switched to a white hooded sweatshirt, pocketed his phone and the crucial discount voucher, before heading out.

The destination, a styling studio located in the city center, proved to be far more upscale than anticipated. Contrary to his initial assumption, the gathering did not consist solely of Tony the stylist and his agent; several people surrounded him, engaging in serious discussions.

The hoodie provided warmth and comfort, while the seat beneath him was soft. The severely sleep-deprived man initially tried to maintain focus on their conversation, but eventually succumbed to exhaustion, closing his eyes.

He slept through the morning and into the afternoon, waking up intermittently to accommodate the professional team before drifting off again. When he next awoke, all he could hear was the whooshing of a hairdryer by his ear.

The warm air kept blowing as Chen Bai half-opened his eyes, his vision blurred, able to make out only vague shapes—a blob of white topped with a blob of pink reflected in the mirror.

The sound of the hairdryer faded away, followed by a chuckle from above him. A voice said, "Finally awake, are you?"

Chen Bai then realized that the white and pink blobs were himself.

Blinking his eyes open once more, his vision finally cleared. He lifted his gaze slightly and caught sight of his reflection in the mirror.

--Seemed no different than any other day.

He felt that nothing was amiss, yet his agent and the studio staff had already whipped out their phones, pointing them in his direction.

Bewildered but obliging, he struck a peace sign pose.

His agent instructed him to lower his hand.

So he did, dropping the peace sign and casually glancing down at his phone.

It was well past noon when his considerate neighbor sent him a message half an hour ago, inquiring about his workplace and his finishing time. Since the sender would be driving, they offered to give Chen Bai a lift on their way.

Chen Bai lowered his head to reply to the message.

His agent asked, "Do you have any plans for this afternoon?"

He lifted his gaze and smiled, "I'm going out with a friend and we'll grab dinner together."

The agent swiftly took another photo, nodded in satisfaction, and put his phone away.

Pink-haired, who worked at least two jobs a day, cherished his rest time, leaving the studio immediately after finishing his work.

The mall where they planned to meet was within walking distance, so he didn't ask his considerate neighbor to pick him up, choosing instead to leisurely make his way there on foot.

It was Saturday, and the weather was perfect, causing more people than usual to be out and about on the streets.

Receiving too many stares along the way, Chen Bai attributed it to his white hoodie being overly eye-catching under the sun. As a result, he opted to walk mostly under the shade of trees.

His phone vibrated in his hand; looking down, he saw a new message pop up.

The good neighbor had arrived. He surveyed the surroundings, standing still without spotting the familiar car, then lowered his head to make a call.

"Buzz—"

Beside the tree-lined road, a car came to a tranquil halt in the shade.

His phone rang on the side, Xu Sinian glanced at the caller ID on the screen before picking up.

As the call connected, a clear and lucid voice instantly sounded.

Over there, they were probably walking and talking at the same time, so their breathing wasn't entirely steady.

With one hand holding the phone to his ear, he deftly undid his seatbelt with the other, then lowered the brim of his hat before swinging open the car door.

"I didn't see you, wait, there you are, I see you now."

"Remain here and do not move, I'll go fetch... I mean, I'll come find you."

Some people halt mid-sentence, but it's as though their unfinished words linger in the air, echoing with unspoken weight.

Xu Sinian glanced sideways at the roadside and asked, "Where are you?"

For a moment, there was silence on the phone, only the faint sound of wind and honking cars could be heard.

"Over here!"

The voice didn't come from the phone but from one side, clear and clean, reaching his eardrums directly.

Xu Sinian turned his head and looked in the direction the sound came from, spotting someone running down the stairs from the overpass at first glance.

The sun was intense, the person's light-pink hair swept across their eyebrows, the drawstrings of the white hoodie they wore fluttered with their hair as they ran, bold and fervent.

The wind blew, causing the tree shadows to sway.

Under the shade of the tree, the dark pupils of the man standing by the car twitched imperceptibly.

Pink-haired took just a few steps down the stairs, so fast it seemed like she might tumble down.

She didn't tumble, but she couldn't stop herself after coming down either.

As the silhouette rapidly approached, closing the distance until it was less than half a meter away, Xu Sinian could even feel the wind stirred by the approaching person. Acting on reflex, he extended his arm.

Just a split second before a full-on collision, Chen Bai managed to slam on the brakes with impressive self-control and an equally formidable braking system.

"..."

The renowned actor Xu Sinian let his raised hand slowly fall back down.

Chen Bai caught his breath, wiped away imaginary sweat, his face beaming with the joy of a successful landing. "That was close," he said.

Author's note:

That was close, almost had you find a boyfriend (.)

Expect more white-haired transformations in the future! The ever-versatile and obedient lad!

In this translation, I've aimed to maintain the playful tone of the original text while ensuring that the English version is both natural-sounding and faithful to the context provided. The author's note at the end is preserved as well, hinting at future plot developments involving the character Chen Bai.