Without hesitation, Xie Heting reached for the book on top of the pile.
The Heartthrob’s Guide to High-EQ Communication.
He began reading.
*
At a little after three in the afternoon, the stylist arranged by Jiang Ye’s manager Zhao Xia arrived precisely on time.
The stylist stared at the young man before him.
Messy black hair puffed out around his ears.
Ugly, bulky black-framed glasses concealed most of his face.
His back was slightly hunched.
He looked unfashionable, gloomy, and outdated.
The stylist was accustomed to seeing glamorous celebrities.
Encountering someone dressed so far below ordinary standards made his eyes ache after only a second glance.
“Quick, quick, quick! Take that ugly thing off your nose!”
The stylist looked thoroughly impatient.
Following his instructions, Xie Heting removed his glasses.
“Like this?”
The stylist had been frowning and preparing to scold him.
The instant he saw the face revealed beneath the glasses, however, his eyes lit up.
For the first time since entering the apartment, a smile appeared on his face.
“I knew it. Anyone Sister Xia considers promising couldn’t possibly be ordinary.”
When he spoke again, his attitude was completely different.
“You’re Xie Heting, right? I’m Alan. I’ll be responsible for styling you today. If you have any preferences, tell me beforehand.”
Xie Heting stared at the beautiful silver scissors in Alan’s hand.
After hesitating, he looked directly into Alan’s eyes.
“Older Brother Alan, are you going to cut my hair later? Could you please not cut too much? I’m not accustomed to short hair.”
The book said that, to demonstrate politeness, one should look directly into the other person’s eyes when speaking.
One should also use forms of address.
People older than oneself should be called “older brother,” while people younger than oneself should be called “younger brother.”
That would make communication smoother.
The assistant beside Alan sucked in a breath.
Unable to bear seeing such a handsome man unknowingly court disaster, she quickly warned him,
“Teacher Alan hates it most when people pronounce his name incorrectly. You—”
“It’s fine.”
Alan interrupted her.
The instant his gaze met those moist, luminous eyes, his expression unconsciously softened.
He had met countless people in his career, but he had never seen eyes like these.
How could he describe them?
They were exactly like a young deer’s.
When someone looked at you with such wet, clear eyes, who could possibly bear to refuse him?
Besides, the owner of those eyes had a face so exquisitely refined that every individual feature seemed excessive.
He had merely called him “Older Brother Alan”!
It sounded wonderful!
Why should he be angry?
“All right, Heting. Can I call you that? Don’t be afraid. I promise you’ll be satisfied.”
Alan gestured with his tools and smiled.
“Trust me. I’m very professional, and my reputation has always been pretty good.”
Xie Heting keenly noticed the change in Alan’s attitude.
Calling someone “older brother” worked this well?
Indeed, books truly contained treasures!
He had to study The Heartthrob seriously.
He had learned only the surface-level principles, yet they were already this effective.
Once he finished studying the entire book, surely he would be unstoppable in modern society!
Next, Master Alan washed his hair, rubbed several wonderfully fragrant substances through it, and used something hot to pull his hair straight.
Only then did he begin trimming it.
Just as he had promised, he cut off less than one finger joint’s length.
Yet once Xie Heting’s hair had been dried, he looked like an entirely different person.
The formerly chaotic black hair now fell softly over his shoulders.
Everything had been tucked behind his ears, and his bangs had been rearranged.
At last, his features—so exquisite they hardly seemed real—were fully visible.
The young female assistant who had accompanied Alan stared stupidly at him and began questioning her own eyesight.
Even extreme makeover shows did not transform people this dramatically.
Was this really the same person?
Afterward, Alan had Xie Heting try on several outfits and then repeatedly photographed him with his phone.
Xie Heting quietly memorized that little action too.
Before leaving, Alan repeatedly advised him,
“I really think you’d become popular if you debuted. Trust me. Think seriously about my suggestion.”
The moment they left, Xie Heting eagerly pulled out his phone.
Imitating Alan, he pointed it toward the living room and pressed the shutter button.
To his astonishment, it really captured an image.
Besides taking ordinary photographs, he experimented until he learned how to take selfies.
Looking at himself on the screen after Alan’s styling, he really did seem entirely different from before.
Only then did Xie Heting realize that this body’s face resembled his original appearance by nearly ninety percent.
The only difference was that his original face had possessed a tiny black beauty mark on the tip of his high, elegant nose.
This body did not.
Xie Heting had been accustomed to seeing that beauty mark since childhood, so its absence felt strangely unpleasant.
He was also uncomfortable with his short hair.
People in this place were far too daring.
They all wore their hair short!
Some men on television had hair barely longer than the scalp itself.
Did they not understand that one’s body, hair, and skin were gifts from one’s parents and should not be carelessly damaged?
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.
He could only slowly grow his hair out again in the future.
Xie Heting put down The Heartthrob’s Guide to High-EQ Communication, which he had already finished halfway through, and pressed a hand against his empty stomach.
It was after five.
He needed to find something to eat.
Unfortunately…
He could not cook.
Forget cooking.
In his entire life, he had never even washed a single bowl.
Just as Xie Heting was worrying about the problem, the front door clicked.
Someone pushed it open.
A middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties entered.
When she saw him standing in the middle of the living room, she jumped in fright.
“Who are you? Did you enter the wrong apartment?”
“I am Xie Heting.”
The woman examined him from head to toe several times.
She thought to herself that this miserable kid had suddenly cleaned himself up.
She had to admit, he actually looked surprisingly pleasant.
Then she remembered how badly he had frightened her and complained,
“What are you standing there for? You almost scared me to death. You never make a sound.”
Xie Heting tilted his head and thought for a moment.
He remembered.
This seemed to be the original owner’s housekeeper.
Her surname was Huang.
“All you do every day is sit around at home. I don’t know how your mother tolerates you. If I had a son like you, I’d rather—”
