Chapter 31: A Complete Makeover

Many people cast strange looks at Chen Liyang when they saw him. Anyone who didn’t know better would think Zhou Chengdong had fallen in with a street thug.

Chen Liyang knew kids at this age had strong self-esteem, whether he revealed his identity to these classmates as his father or as a friend.

Given his current appearance, it would definitely make the boy a topic of gossip and a laughingstock.

So he left immediately. He had to change his appearance as soon as possible.

But he didn’t realize that in Zhou Chengdong’s eyes, this meant Chen Liyang didn’t want his classmates to know who he was. The heart that had just been warmed chilled bit by bit once again.

“Big Brother, I heard you were called to the office. Are you okay?” Zhou Chengnan walked over.

Chen Liyang had left the classroom building a step ahead of him, so the two hadn’t crossed paths.

Zhou Chengnan had only overheard classmates mention that his big brother had beaten up a rich kid whose mother had come to the school.

Worried, he had immediately left his classroom and spotted his eldest brother near the stairwell.

Looking at his brother’s concerned eyes, Zhou Chengdong shook his head. “I’m fine. Don’t worry!”

“But I heard the people you offended are rich and powerful, and they even brought a parent. Did they really not go after you?” As someone who was frequently mocked in his own class, Zhou Chengnan naturally knew how cold the world could be.

Everything was determined by external factors. When you had money, everyone around you was good to you. When you didn’t, you deserved to be bullied.

Facing his brother’s concerned gaze, Zhou Chengdong took a deep breath. “Not only did they not hold it against me, but they even apologized to me.”

These words blew up like a landmine in Zhou Chengnan’s heart. He said in disbelief, “Th-this… how is that possible? I heard you beat him until he bled. How did you convince him to apologize to you? And their parent came too. Shouldn’t they have made the teacher punish you severely?”

He couldn’t be blamed for thinking that way. Normally, when something like this happened, kids like them without any backing would never be treated fairly.

So even though he knew his big brother wouldn’t look for trouble, he hadn’t believed he could walk away unscathed.

That was, until Zhou Chengdong’s next words left him completely stunned.

“He came to the school…”

In the past, they used to call Chen Liyang “Uncle,” but ever since Chen Liyang showed his true colors, they had never called him Uncle again, let alone Dad.

But Zhou Chengnan still understood who “he” referred to, and he couldn’t believe his ears. “Y-you mean he came to school to stand up for you?”

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why the other side had apologized on their own initiative.

But hadn’t Chen Liyang said before that he wasn’t their parent and would never set foot in their school as long as he lived?

“Yeah. He’s the one who made them and the teacher apologize to me,” Zhou Chengdong said, hiding nothing.

Now Zhou Chengnan lost his composure completely. “It’s surprising enough that he showed up at school, but he actually took your side? Is this really the Chen Liyang I know?”

“Regardless, if it weren’t for him today, I probably would’ve been expelled. I guess I owe him one.” Zhou Chengdong had always been someone who drew clear lines between debts of gratitude and hatred. If Chen Liyang helped him, he wouldn’t forget it.

But he wouldn’t forget the harm done in the past either. One thing was separate from another.

At this moment, Zhou Chengnan felt equally conflicted. “He really has changed!”

Zhou Chengdong didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what attitude he should take toward Chen Liyang from now on.

Having resolved Zhou Chengdong’s problem, Chen Liyang left the school in high spirits.

He believed today’s incident would lessen the eldest boy’s prejudice against him.

“Xiao Chen, is everything alright?” Aunt Zhao was sitting at the entrance of her courtyard and hurried to ask when she saw Chen Liyang return.

Chen Liyang shook his head. “I’m fine, everything’s been taken care of. By the way, where is my Wanning?”

Seeing that the fifth child wasn’t beside Aunt Zhao, he asked.

Aunt Zhao immediately replied, “Wanning fell asleep, so I laid her down on my bed. It’s good that everything turned out fine. I know Chengdong. He’s not the type of kid to cause trouble.”

Seeing how Aunt Zhao, an outsider, could trust the eldest boy so unreservedly, Chen Liyang was convinced that as long as he guided him properly, there was no way the boy would go down a path of crime.

Seeing that Wanning was asleep, Chen Liyang told Aunt Zhao that he wanted to go to a hair salon to dye his hair black, asking her to keep an eye on her a bit longer.

Hearing this, Aunt Zhao agreed wholeheartedly. “If you don’t mind me saying, you never should’ve dyed your hair yellow. It makes you look completely unreliable.”

Chen Liyang scratched his head awkwardly. “I was foolish back then, but I won’t do it again.”

The original owner’s hair had been bleached, which was why it was bright yellow. He really didn’t look like a father of five.

After settling things with Aunt Zhao, Chen Liyang immediately went to find a hair salon.

Chen Liyang spent the whole afternoon at the salon.

After nearly two hours of work by the barber, Chen Liyang finally got his natural black hair back, trimmed neatly short.

Though the shop was unassuming, the owner’s skills were surprisingly good.

With the makeover complete, Chen Liyang looked much more mature and dependable.

Even though he was wearing the exact same clothes, the new haircut made him look like a completely transformed person.

He had no idea what kind of taste the original owner had. A man almost pushing thirty, yet he had dyed his hair such a ridiculous shade of yellow.

Did he really think dyeing his hair made him invincible? He hadn’t realized how childish it was to try to act tough and dangerous through cheap external changes.

No wonder someone with that level of intelligence could only serve as a lackey to a lackey.

Even now, the rich kid’s henchman hadn’t contacted the original owner again. He probably thought the original owner had been beaten to death!

After paying two hundred Yuan, Chen Liyang stepped out of the hair salon feeling refreshed.

Right now he still couldn’t clearly see the original owner’s true face, but with a high-bridged nose, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, his looks couldn’t possibly be bad.

This was something he could only dream of in his past life.

Back when he was in school, he had been mocked precisely because he was ugly. As a result, from graduating college to working for several years, his appearance had kept him from ever finding a partner.

Later on, seeing everyone around him get married and have kids, his parents wore anxious frowns every single day.

Only then did he steel himself to lose weight. Within six months, he went from a two-hundred-Jin fat guy standing 1.75 meters tall to a normal young man of one hundred and fifty Jin.

Although shedding the weight made him realize that his ugliness didn’t actually have much to do with being fat, not being fat did indeed boost his odds of finding a partner.

Unfortunately, before he could even properly experience what it was like to be a real man, he transmigrated into a book.

Now, sporting a face that wasn’t half bad, he was determined to have a passionate, sweeping romance no matter what.

It just wasn’t the right time yet. Everything would have to wait until the original owner’s wife came back.