Camping (2)

He opened the door to his home.

"Holy crap, Lu Mingfei, did you go get plastic surgery?" His cousin Lu Mingze was startled by the look of Lu Mingfei after his haircut.

The changes in his cousin Lu Mingfei over the past week could already be called inspirational.

But the current Lu Mingfei was even more outrageous than before; if one could still believe he was Lu Mingfei previously, now he had to wonder if Lu Mingfei had been swapped out.

"I just went to get a haircut," Lu Mingfei replied casually.

Looking closely, one could indeed see the outline of Lu Mingfei, it was just that after the haircut, his features appeared more defined.

Lu Mingze had no choice but to accept this fact.

Damn it, why am I not a hidden handsome guy like Lu Mingfei?

If Lu Mingfei knew, he would definitely advise Lu Mingze to lose his 160-pound weight first; perhaps then he could at least graze the edges of being handsome.

During dinner, the table remained silent.

Lu Mingfei didn't know what was wrong, but his uncle and aunt were unusually quiet today, so he chose to bury his head in his food.

"Mingfei, have you been dating lately?" His uncle finally spoke up.

"No way, Uncle, why would you think that!" Lu Mingfei was stunned.

"You've changed quite a bit lately, and you've started dressing yourself up. We thought you were just growing up, but with this look today, how could you change so much if you weren't dating?" his uncle said earnestly. "It's fine to date, but don't let it affect your studies. You're almost at the college entrance exam."

Lu Mingfei didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Really, I'm not. I just felt my hair was getting long today, so I went to get it cut. Who knew that barber shop's skills were a bit over-spec and ended up styling me like this."

"Really?" his aunt asked suspiciously.

"Really, I swear!" Lu Mingfei raised his right hand.

"That's good then." His aunt felt relieved. Lu Mingfei hadn't secretly found a girlfriend behind her back, which made her feel that her leadership status in the house hadn't been shaken.

Lu Mingfei had changed too much lately; although she thought he looked good, it always made his aunt feel that her status at home was somewhat insecure.

"Alright, I'm done, I'm heading back to my room." Lu Mingfei finished his meal quickly and entered his bedroom.

The next day.

Lu Mingfei put on a black jacket over a white T-shirt and headed out.

He carried a black camping backpack, which, in addition to normal items like a single-person tent, a flashlight, and a windproof lighter, was also packed with a compass, a small pair of binoculars, and pepper spray—things that looked practical but were actually absurd.

He figured he was just going for a picnic in a scenic spot outside the city, not wilderness survival!

But his uncle had said, whether you use them or not isn't important; what matters is looking professional.

When you're out with your classmates and you inadvertently reveal this gear, your classmates will surely look at you with admiration and say, "Lu Mingfei, you're so professional!"

Lu Mingfei was speechless. He remembered something.

His uncle was a man who cared deeply about taste. Lu Mingfei once had the honor of attending a dinner party with his uncle and watched him place his phone in his left hand and his lighter in his right, thumping them onto the table with just the right amount of force, then casually rolling up his sleeves during conversation to reveal that high-end replica Montblanc watch he bought in Guangzhou, which won him unanimous praise for his taste from everyone.

Uncle, you really are pouring all your knowledge into your nephew on how to act cool! Lu Mingfei wanted to complain.

He arrived at the school gate with his backpack, where the class had agreed to meet before a chartered bus came to pick them up.

Quite a few people had already gathered at the gate.

"Lu Mingfei, over here!"

Lu Mingfei looked toward the source of the voice; Su Xiaoqiang was standing in the crowd waving at him.

Today she was wearing a white baseball cap, a white Burberry knit sweater, jeans, and a pair of sneakers, looking full of energy.

Lu Mingfei walked over quickly.

When he reached Su Xiaoqiang, her eyes lit up.

Lu Mingfei's outfit today was very slim-fitting, making him look tall and handsome, and after the haircut, all the advantages of his features were on display, making him look very fresh.

"Lu Mingfei, this look is great, you're much more handsome than before!" Su Xiaoqiang kept circling around, looking him over.

"Stop, stop, stop, I'm getting dizzy!" Lu Mingfei blocked her.

Su Xiaoqiang finally stopped.

"Holy crap, is that Lu Mingfei?" Xu Yanyan exclaimed.

After hearing Xu Yanyan's exclamation, the classmates in the class all looked over.

Then, a chorus of "holy crap" erupted.

Before, after Lu Mingfei changed his image, everyone said he was a strong contender for the second Chu Zihang; the previous candidate for that title had been Zhao Menghua.

But now it seemed that Lu Mingfei's appearance was no worse than Chu Zihang's. If one had to call him the second Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei was already qualified. If his grades were a bit better, wouldn't he be the next number one on the List of People Who Should Be Executed?

Zhao Menghua, danger!

Everyone looked at Zhao Menghua with pitying eyes.

Why are you all looking at me like that? So what if Lu Mingfei is a bit more handsome than me? His grades still aren't good. What's the point of just being handsome?

Zhao Menghua scoffed at this.

"Mingfei, when the bus arrives, can you sit with me? We can discuss how to arrange our items when we get there."

Chen Wenwen smoothed her hair, her face flushing slightly as she walked up to Lu Mingfei and looked up at him.

Zhao Menghua, standing to the side, stiffened; he had just been about to ask Chen Wenwen if she wanted to sit together.

Su Xiaoqiang's expression darkened instantly, her gaze locked onto Chen Wenwen. Why does she have to compete with me for everything? And "Mingfei"—calling him so affectionately! I haven't even called him that yet!

At the same time, she felt a flicker of fear that Lu Mingfei might agree, given that she was the girl he liked—the whole school knew it.

"Sorry, President, but I'm a bit lazy. You should probably find someone else to handle the class equipment."

Under the gaze of everyone present, Lu Mingfei rejected Chen Wenwen's proposal.

"Alright then." Chen Wenwen walked away, looking dejected.

Seeing Chen Wenwen return empty-handed, the other girls in the class began to harbor their own little schemes.

The current Lu Mingfei was no longer the loser he once was. If they could sit with him, even if they couldn't necessarily spark a romance, at the very least, they could feast their eyes on a handsome guy.

When Su Xiaoqiang saw Lu Mingfei reject Chen Wenwen, the resentment in her heart vanished instantly.

She then feigned indifference and asked, "So, who are you planning to sit with? Have you decided?"

"With you, of course," Lu Mingfei answered without hesitation.

He remembered Su Xiaoqiang saying yesterday that she would bring food and that he didn't need to prepare anything. Wasn't that the definition of acting as a pair? He couldn't understand why she would ask such a strange question.

Hearing this, Su Xiaoqiang felt a sweetness bloom in her heart, and her smile turned radiant.

"Come here, these are the snacks I prepared for us. We can eat them on the bus later."

Su Xiaoqiang tugged Lu Mingfei over to where she had stashed her things, introducing what she had brought for him like a child sharing her toys.

Then, she pulled a black baseball cap from her bag: "This is a baseball cap I got for you. Here, put it on!"

"Oh, okay!"

Lu Mingfei lowered his head, letting Su Xiaoqiang place the cap on him.

"Mhm, you look really handsome like this!"

Su Xiaoqiang looked at Lu Mingfei wearing a cap of the same style as her own, feeling incredibly happy.