Flip That Hair

County Chief Xie was named Xie Yang, and he came from a remote village in Fushi County, Longdu City.

His family had always been poor.

But he had an older brother named Xie Fei, who had passed the civil service exam several years ago, easing their financial pressure somewhat.

Wearing an ill-fitting old suit, Xie Yang stood with both hands in his pockets, trying to look grown-up. He kicked his suitcase and asked, "You used your dad's suitcase to pack books. Where are the clothes that were inside?"

"They were fucking sour and stank so bad they made me want to puke," Chen Guiliang said disdainfully. "I tossed them into the foot-washing bucket."

"I was planning to take them home and throw them in the washing machine after midterms," Xie Yang explained casually.

His center-parted hairstyle had one side deliberately grown especially long.

Usually, he tucked it behind his ear to get around the rule banning male students from having long hair. When the teachers were gone, he could let it hang down again, covering half an eye.

Thinking himself handsome, the bastard blew a breath and precisely puffed the hair away from his eye. Then, affecting nonchalance, he flipped it to the side. "You handed in your paper damn early. How many math problems did you do?"

"Didn't do shit," Chen Guiliang said, pointing at the remaining books. "You buying any?"

Xie Yang flipped his hair again. "No. Your books are my books. I can read them whenever I want for free."

Chen Guiliang really wanted to hold his head down. Watching him whip it around like that was damn annoying.

Like he had cervical spondylosis.

Xie Yang's legs were still bouncing. When he saw a girl walk past, he blew at his hair and flipped it again, trying to look seductive.

Unfortunately, the girl did not even give him a proper glance.

From his suit to his leather shoes, everything Xie Yang wore had been handed down from his brother. Raising his arm to reveal a battered no-name watch, he checked the time and said, "The cafeteria's about to open."

"It's still early. Sit with me and sell books," Chen Guiliang said, still cross-legged on the ground.

Xie Yang did not refuse. He silently squatted beside Chen Guiliang.

Chen Guiliang turned and glanced at him, suddenly finding it rather amusing.

The guy's face was covered in acne, and the horny energy coursing through him had nowhere to go. Every move he made looked childish and idiotic.

Who would have thought he would become a county chief someday?

The future County Chief Xie picked up a book and flipped through it. Blowing at his hair as if showing off, he said, "I hit level 32 in The World of Legend. Yesterday I got an elite helmet with Magic 3. You have no idea how big a sensation it caused. Half the internet café crowded over to look. The manager offered me 200 yuan for it. I'm not that stupid. What the fuck could he buy with 200 yuan?"

Chen Guiliang sighed. "The World of Legend? That game feels prehistoric."

"Prehistoric my ass. It's only been in open beta for a little over three months. Didn't you wake up today?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Perhaps because he had someone to talk to, Chen Guiliang had a bellyful of words he wanted to let out.

"Do you believe in paranormal events?" Chen Guiliang asked.

"Did you run into a ghost?" Xie Yang asked in return.

"Or maybe it's a sci-fi event."

"A UFO, then." Xie Yang played with the hair hanging over his forehead.

Chen Guiliang sighed. "Forget it. There's no way to explain this."

Xie Yang grinned sleazily. "Did a female ghost latch onto you? Once you're done with her, let me fuck her a couple times."

Speechless, Chen Guiliang said, "If you're that pent-up, go buy a chunk of pork belly at the market and take care of it. It feels no different from hiring a hooker."

"Swear it?" Xie Yang actually wanted confirmation.

Chen Guiliang patted his shoulder. "Once I'm financially free, I'll buy you pork belly every day."

"Fuck off," Xie Yang said, brushing away Chen Guiliang's hand. Then he lowered his voice mysteriously. "Zhou Jing smiled at me at noon today. Do you think she likes me?"

Who was Zhou Jing?

Chen Guiliang searched his memories and quickly got a vague impression. "Why would she like you? Because you flip your hair so stylishly? Or because she thinks your acne-covered face looks especially handsome?"

"Fuck you, if you can't talk, shut up!" Xie Yang snapped in embarrassment.

Chen Guiliang chuckled.

Going back to high school was pretty interesting too. Too bad he was now in his senior year; it would have been even better if he had gone back to his first year.

Though he was poor, he could still live without a care.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

A boy came over dribbling a basketball. He was over six foot three and somewhat handsome, the kind of guy who was extremely popular with girls at school.

An MP3 player hung from his chest, connected to earbuds as he listened to music.

In 2003, a device like that was as flashy as a name-brand cellphone.

Yet Chen Guiliang and Xie Yang frowned in unison.

Every class had one or two assholes.

The asshole dribbling over was named Li Jun. Before retiring, his grandfather had been the director of a textile factory. His parents were both minor officials in the system, and he had a whole pile of relatives in the system too.

County-town Brahmin!

Just how much of an asshole was this bastard?

After graduating from junior college, his family arranged for him to work as a bank teller. Every few days, he would show off in the class group chat: how many customers he had cursed out yesterday, how he had talked back to some leader today.

He even deliberately made things difficult for elderly people handling business at the bank, then recounted it in detail in the class group chat as a joke.

"Oh, selling junk?"

As Li Jun passed the book stall, his foul mouth went off as expected. Standing there, he mocked, "There's a shed over on East Street specifically for laid-off workers. You two can go set up a shoe-shining stand there."

Xie Yang was only five foot seven. Standing before six-foot-three Li Jun, he was naturally overwhelmed by Li Jun's imposing presence.

Xie Yang subconsciously took half a step back, but he would not lose face even if he lost ground. "Idiot," he shot back.

Of course, Chen Guiliang would not indulge him either. He had to maintain his high-school persona; his personality could not change too suddenly.

So Chen Guiliang's mouth was even fouler. "East Street isn't suitable. I could introduce your mom to Shijiakou."

"Fuck your mother!"

"Say that again, motherfucker!"

Li Jun was completely triggered by that. Furious, he threw down his basketball, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to get physical.

Chen Guiliang dusted himself off and stood up, provoking him. "Want to fight? I've got a whole pile of disciplinary marks. I've got nothing to lose. Even if I get expelled, I'll still beat you to death!"

Xie Yang clenched both fists and glared at Li Jun. "Our Chen the Hero slashed someone in middle school. Against a guy like you, Old Chen could chop down ten with one machete!"

Li Jun was the type who bullied the weak but feared the strong. Seeing this, he immediately lost his nerve. He turned around to pick up his basketball, muttering, "I won't lower myself to the level of country bumpkins."

To be honest, Chen Guiliang could not understand the way people like this thought.

Li Jun clearly did not dare fight Chen Guiliang, yet because of a minor conflict in their second year, he kept coming back to provoke him again and again.

It was as if he felt uncomfortable all over if he did not throw out a few nasty remarks whenever they met.

After Li Jun had gone some distance away, he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Hello, Mom, I finished my math exam... I didn't do so well, mainly because someone affected me... Yeah, that Chen Guiliang again. Even while on probation, he can't behave himself. He handed in his paper early in less than half an hour. It made me think way more time had passed, so I panicked and started writing nonsense... Mom, guess what he went to do after handing in early? He was actually collecting junk and setting up a stall at school. A peasant is a peasant, hahaha..."

Chen Guiliang had no idea someone was badmouthing him behind his back. He glanced at the six books remaining in the suitcase and could not be bothered selling them anymore. "Let's go out for some stir-fried dishes. My treat today."

"Treat my ass. Save your money for the cafeteria," Xie Yang said, knowing Chen Guiliang was poor.

Chen Guiliang pulled out the money from selling books. "Your grandpa struck it rich today."

Xie Yang did not refuse again. He only said, "I'll treat next time."

The two dragged their battered suitcase toward the school gate, talking nonsense as they went.

More and more students were handing in their papers and leaving. Several took the initiative to greet Chen Guiliang, all calling him by his nickname, "Chen the Hero."

Chen Guiliang vaguely remembered these students, though he could no longer recall most of their names.

"Chen the Hero! Xie Show-off!"

A skinny, buzz-cut boy called out Chen Guiliang and Xie Yang's nicknames as he bounced toward them enthusiastically.

(Please bookmark, vote with recommendation tickets, and send monthly tickets.)