Cleaning House and a Shy Blind Date
Once Chu Fei had finally unleashed his release with complete satisfaction, his sullen mood lifted entirely.
The past was the past—why cling to it? Living fully in the present and carving out his own path in the world was what mattered now. Since it was a new year, why not charge headlong into a brand-new future?
The next morning, Chu Fei arrived at the salon bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. With no customers yet, he pored over the shop's rules and operations. By noon, when his mother showed up, he pulled her aside to discuss transforming the business for good.
The salon did haircuts, sure, but that was just a side gig. The real money came from the "health treatments"... and the girls' outcalls.
Now that Chu Fei wanted to steer things legit, the outcalls had to go—no question. He even wanted to scrap the health treatments altogether. But He Peiling pushed back on that. Cutting those would sever the girls' livelihoods entirely. Who'd stick around after that? Worse, the network she'd built over years here would vanish overnight.
Seeing her expression, Chu Fei realized he'd gone too far too fast. After hashing it out, they agreed: new year, new start. They'd shut down the shady side completely. His recent bookings would tide them over for months anyway—as long as he pushed the new services, money wouldn't be an issue.
He Peiling rounded up the girls for a meeting and laid it out straight. There weren't many of them, but the backlash was fierce. Outcalls were their cash cow.
Several spoke up right away: they couldn't accept it. If the salon went this route, they were out.
That was no surprise to Chu Fei or He Peiling. Girls got into this line for the money—what was the point of staying without it? Loyalty? That didn't pay bills.
Chu Fei stood firm. He'd taken over the salon, and with his decent skills now, he had no interest in the sleaze. He stood up. "Think it over. Those who stay, we'll figure out new ways together. Those who don't, settle up this afternoon and go."
Settling up meant paying out wages and cutting ties.
True to form, two girls took the cash and bounced without hesitation. A few others wavered. Leave? It was the holidays—where would they find new work? Stay? No more easy money. How?
Truth be told, they could all see it: with Chu Fei's talents, he didn't need their side hustle to turn a profit. His principles were genuine.
That afternoon, a steady stream of regulars poured in for shampoos and cuts. No one did hair on New Year's Day—it was bad luck—so today was payback. The salon was suddenly slammed, short-staffed.
Chu Fei had no part in it. He was about to slip out for a wander when a familiar face from a few days back walked in, towing a girl around twenty.
"Boss lady, is your Xiaofei around?"
"He sure is!" He Peiling, mid-haircut on a client, looked up and broke into a grin. "Well, if it isn't Sister Alin. This your niece?"
"Yup. See? Told you no lies. My niece here's a good girl—pretty, sharp as a tack. Still in uni. Had some time today, so I brought her to meet the boy."
Sister Alin shot a wink at Chu Fei lounging nearby.
"What a lovely young lady. Just hope she'll have my Xiaofei!"
He Peiling eyed the girl behind her, nodding slightly. Not a knockout, maybe, but decent enough. More importantly, she screamed "good family"—and that shy flush on her cheeks was one hundred percent real. She whipped around and fixed Chu Fei with a glare. "Xiaofei! Get over here! This is the girl I told you about. Take her out, have some fun—get to know each other!"
"Uh..." Chu Fei could only steel himself and step up. Was this a backdoor blind date?
Outside the salon, he patted his stomach first. Hadn't "eaten" today—hope it didn't act up. Talk about embarrassing.
He didn't stray far, picking a quiet nearby café instead. Once she'd ordered, he let out a helpless sigh. "I'm Chu Fei. And you are...?"
"Jiang Ning." The girl kept her eyes down, too shy to meet his gaze. "I saw your face back there. You didn't exactly seem thrilled to come out with me."
"Uh, it's not like that..."