Chapter 7: Do I Look Good?

In the living room, Bai Sha’s aunt playfully engaged with the child.

Meanwhile, He Changjun and Bai Sha were deep in conversation.

Sipping his tea with a confident air, He Changjun declared, “I’ll handle this matter concerning you and the little one. Just wait for my call in a few days, and we’ll make a trip to the bureau.”

Bai Sha chuckled softly.

She moved behind her uncle, gently kneading his shoulders.

“Only Uncle truly dotes on me,” she murmured.

“You’ve worked so hard.”

He Changjun savored the massage as he inquired, “Your mother hasn’t seen you in ages. When will you go back to visit her?”

Bai Sha’s hands continued their rhythmic motion, yet she remained silent.

She recalled how her parents, when they had driven her from their home and threatened to disown him, had never once expressed missing him.

He Changjun spoke earnestly, trying to persuade her.

“It’s been so many years, and neither of you is willing to relent. Your old folks are incredibly stubborn too. You didn’t even go to your sister’s wedding…”

Noticing Bai Sha’s expression darken, her aunt quickly stepped forward, lightly swatting He Changjun’s arm.

“What are you talking about?” she chided.

“Xiaobai is a grown woman; she knows what she’s doing! And here you are, lecturing her. I haven’t seen your own son come back to visit you every day, have I?”

He Changjun blinked in surprise, then burst into laughter.

“Alright, alright, if you truly don’t have time to go back, then so be it! Come on! Your uncle specifically took the day off today, and your aunt and I are taking you two ladies shopping! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Bai Sha waved a dismissive hand.

“It’s fine, Uncle,” she said.

“Those old matters are long in the past.”

After Zhou Yuying’s arrival, having become a parent herself, Bai Sha could indeed empathize with her parents’ feelings.

However, she still couldn’t bring herself to understand their actions.

Admittedly, wanting to drop out of junior high to pursue a professional career in another city was something Bai Sha believed most parents wouldn’t support.

Yet, what Bai Sha truly failed to grasp was the extent of her parents’ obstruction, going so far as to threaten disownment the very moment he took his first step out of the classroom.

Bai Sha’s aunt went over, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Xiaobai, you’ve grown into a fine young lady,” she exclaimed.

“Why don’t you come with Auntie and buy some dresses to wear?”

Bai Sha looked up, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Huh—what?!” she stammered.

“No, no need, Auntie. I’ll just buy a few undershirts!”

Her aunt smiled.

“It’s bound to happen sooner or later,” she remarked.

“If you don’t wear them now, you can always save them for later.”

Bai Sha offered a wry smile.

“Really, there’s no need. You should buy a few more suits for my cousin instead! He needs them for his blind dates.”

Hearing this, her aunt sighed.

“That good-for-nothing cousin of yours,” she lamented.

“He’s almost thirty and still single, always happily oblivious when he comes home each year. Look at your sister, then look at you… Oh dear.”

Bai Sha paused, surprised.

In her generation, her sister had only married two years prior.

Most of her male cousins were still single, with only a few having partners.

She glanced at her daughter, who was earnestly devouring a steamed bun.

‘It seems I, the youngest, am actually the furthest along?’ she mused.

The little one was truly wrestling with her bun.

Sensing her mother’s gaze, she hesitated for a moment, then generously offered the bun.

“Mama, eat!” she said.

Bai Sha smiled gently.

“Mama won’t eat,” she replied.

“You just eat, baby.”

The little one nodded, then resumed her struggle with the steamed bun.

He Changjun, ever with his trusty thermos in hand, filled with goji berry tea, urged them on.

“Come on, let’s go out for a stroll.”

Bai Sha leaned closer to her aunt, whispering, “Do people in the civil service (TL Note: Refers to government or public sector employees) all drink tea? I noticed my cousin, though not much older, also enjoys it.”

Her aunt rolled her eyes at her uncle.

“Tea, alcohol, cigarettes,” she scoffed.

“Which one hasn’t your uncle indulged in?!”

Bai Sha nodded.

She told her uncle to wait a moment, then led Zhou Yuying, whose hands were greasy, to the restroom to wash them clean first.

Oh, right.

Bai Sha opened WeChat and sent a message to Zhou Haochen.

[Bai Shazi: Xiao Yu and I are at my uncle’s house. We’ll be back this afternoon. No one’s home in the morning, so don’t come over.]

[Baby’s Dad: Okay, I’ll come this afternoon then.]

****

Inside the dormitory.

Zhou Haochen stared blankly at his phone, having nothing to do all morning.

‘Perhaps I should go check out my senior’s company?’ he mused.

He had a rich second-generation senior (TL Note: A common term in Chinese culture referring to children of wealthy parents), who was a senior in college and currently starting a business.

Recently, this senior had invited Zhou Haochen to join as a technical partner.

After all, he was a provincial top scholar.

Although Bai Sha was very wealthy—he’d heard from Old Fourth that around 2018, she made eight figures a year—he couldn’t just lie around and live off her.

“Hey! Second Brother, you’ve been leaving early and coming back late these past few days. What have you been up to outside?”

“You’re not dating, are you? Hehehe!”

Zhou Haochen lowered his phone, only to see Li Qingyu’s lecherous face.

“Hmm, no romance,” he replied.

“But I do have a daughter.”

“A daughter?” Li Qingyu’s grin became even more suggestive.

“Well, well, you sly dog! Here I thought you were the only true gentleman in our 503 dorm, but it turns out you’re into that kind of thing!”

Zhou Haochen patted Li Qingyu’s shoulder.

“Do you like Fox?” he asked.

Li Qingyu looked puzzled.

After a moment of thought, he nodded.

“Though I play jungle, he’s indeed quite strong.”

Zhou Haochen’s expression remained impassive.

“Don’t bother liking him anymore,” he stated.

“Your idol is mine.”

“???”

[Black Man Question Mark Face.gif] (TL Note: A popular internet meme, often used to express confusion or disbelief.)

“Dude, are you kidding me? Are you sick?!”

Zhou Haochen picked up his laptop and walked out of the dorm.

“Hey, wait, where are you going?”

“To work!”

“Bring me a portion of braised chicken with rice (TL Note: A popular Chinese dish, often served as a takeaway meal) when you come back at noon!”

“Okay!”

Sitting in front of his computer, Li Qingyu rubbed his chin, wondering if Second Brother had been provoked somehow.

His words were utterly baffling: first a daughter, then ‘your idol is mine.’

‘How disgusting,’ Li Qingyu thought, goosebumps rising on his arms.

He scrolled through his phone, finding a photo of Fox winning a championship in 2017.

‘Could this guy really have turned gay (TL Note: ‘Bāi wān’ (掰弯) is Chinese slang meaning ‘to turn someone straight/gay’, typically referring to turning a straight person gay)?’

Zhou Haochen, too, had something to say: ‘I was only speaking the truth! In this day and age, no one believes the truth!’

****

Meanwhile, as Zhou Haochen arrived at his rich second-generation senior’s company, Bai Sha stood in a fitting room, wrestling with a pristine white dress and her own thoughts.

Her head peeked out from behind the fitting room curtain.

“Auntie,” she pleaded, “do I really have to try this on?”

Having just bought undershirts after her bust measurement, Bai Sha’s sense of shame had already reached its peak.

Now, her aunt had dragged her to a women’s clothing store again.

‘Oh, dear!’ she inwardly groaned.

Her aunt gently pushed her head back inside.

“No one’s asking you to show us,” she said.

“Just try it on inside by yourself. If it fits, it’s fine!”

Bai Sha muttered under her breath, ‘There’s no mirror in here, what am I supposed to look at?’

‘Forget it,’ she thought.

‘There’s a first time for everything. My support partner even cross-dressed last year, and in a maid outfit no less. I laughed at him all season when it was posted on Weibo (TL Note: ‘Vb’ is a common abbreviation for Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging platform). What goes around comes around. Who can escape the heavens’ judgment?’

“Auntie, won’t this be cold?”

“It’s thickened!”

“But…”

“There’s heating!”

“Then…”

“Your uncle went to the restroom. No one’s outside!”

“Then… I’m coming out.”

Bai Sha emerged, her hands covering her face.

Her hair was neatly tied back, and the skirt hem reached her knees, revealing long, fair calves.

A slight rise and fall was visible at her chest.

“Oh my, whose little beauty is this?” her aunt cooed.

“Take your hands down and let Auntie get a good look.”

Resignedly, Bai Sha lowered her hands.

Her cheeks were flushed with a rosy hue, her delicate eyebrows framed willow-like eyes, and her features were small and exquisitely refined.

The shy expression, in particular, radiated youthful exuberance!

Zhou Yuying’s eyes sparkled like stars.

She hugged Bai Sha’s bare calves, exclaiming, “Mama is so beautiful, like a fairy sister!”

Bai Sha stroked the little one’s head, giving an awkward laugh.

‘You shouldn’t just say things like that,’ she thought.

‘Sweetie, have you ever actually seen an angel?’

Her aunt, too, smiled warmly.

“Go look in the mirror,” she encouraged.

“You look very pretty!”

Bai Sha walked to the mirror.

She had to admit, she did look good.

Even without makeup, her face was full of collagen, and with her cool, fair skin, she looked far better than her teammates’ influencer girlfriends.

On an impulse, Bai Sha snapped a photo.

She sent it to Zhou Haochen.

“Do I look good?”