The Water Temperature Was Just Fine

After dinner, darkness settled completely, like a piece of velvet soaked through with ink, silently blanketing the entire city.

But the city did not fall asleep. Instead, it began lighting up inch by inch in another way.

Streetlights, headlights, shopping districts, homes, little roadside stalls...

These lights did not intrude on one another, yet they were all connected. They mingled and collided in the darkness, gradually tracing the city's outline anew.

For city dwellers, this scene had long since become commonplace, but to Chen Shi'an and Black Cat, it was still a novelty. The young man and the cat came up to the rooftop terrace and looked down over the city at night.

The rooftop floor still radiated heat after baking in the sun all day. Fortunately, a breeze blew at night, dispersing the warmth almost as soon as it rose.

Faint footsteps came from the stairway, and then the iron door to the rooftop opened gently.

Chen Shi'an and the cat turned around. Li Wanyin had come up to collect her bedsheet.

"That bedsheet is yours, Wanyin?" Chen Shi'an asked with a smile as he watched her take it off the pole.

"Yes. The rooftop is a shared space. There isn't enough room on my balcony to dry a bedsheet, so I brought it up here."

Li Wanyin hugged the dry sheet and sniffed it. Its fresh, dry scent mingled with the fragrance of laundry detergent and sunshine. She loved that smell.

Then she looked up at Chen Shi'an standing beside the parapet and Black Cat sitting on top of it, and asked curiously, "What are you two doing up here?"

"Nothing, just looking around."

"The view here must be very different from what you saw in the mountains, right?"

"Yes, very different."

"All right, I'll head back and take a shower, then? Or would you like to go first?"

"You go first, Wanyin. I'm heading downstairs in a bit to buy a few things and get a haircut."

"Okay, I'll head back, then."

Chen Shi'an patted the cat's backside. Black Cat hopped down from the parapet, ran over to Li Wanyin's feet, and followed her home.

Li Wanyin was amazed. This was the first time she had ever seen such an intelligent cat. Not only was it unafraid of unfamiliar surroundings, it could use the toilet by itself and follow people around like a dog. Those bright amber eyes looked as though they could understand human speech!

Unfortunately, the aloof cat was nowhere near as friendly and easygoing as Chen Shi'an. Whenever she reached out to pet it, it always deftly slipped away.

While Li Wanyin was still on the stairs, Black Cat had already run ahead and was waiting outside apartment 901 for her to open the door.

"Meow."

"Okay, okay, I'll open the door for you. I'm opening it..."

Li Wanyin opened the door, and Black Cat swaggered inside, jumped onto the sofa, and settled comfortably into a corner.

If someone asked what Shi Mo liked best about the city, the answer would probably have been this sofa. It was just so wonderfully soft and comfortable!

The buildings in the residential complex were only so tall, nowhere near high enough to overlook the whole city.

Once he came down from the rooftop and returned to ground level, that restricted view became even more apparent. Tangled streets and tall buildings blocked almost everything, forcing every citizen of Xingdou living in the city to see only what was directly before them.

For no other reason than that what lay before them was life itself.

Back in the mountains, Chen Shi'an had rarely concerned himself with material things. It was not that he lacked nothing; people's mindsets simply took shape according to their surroundings.

Now that he had descended the mountain and entered the wider world, even a young Taoist like him had to start thinking about food, clothing, and daily expenses.

Chen Shi'an walked into a barbershop near the entrance to the residential complex, planning to get his hair cut first.

He pushed open the glass door, and cool air washed over him. With the new school term approaching, the shop was busy. As Chen Shi'an entered in his Taoist robe, both the customers waiting for haircuts and the stylists at work turned to look at him.

"Young master, are you here to...?"

"Get a haircut."

"Oh, of course! We're pretty busy, so you might have to wait a little. How about coming over for a wash first?"

"Sure."

The prices were posted on the glass door: a haircut alone cost twenty-five yuan, while a wash, cut, and blow-dry cost forty.

Chen Shi'an had originally wanted only a haircut, but on second thought, trying a hair wash sounded nice too.

After all, the only person who had ever washed his hair was his master when he was little, and that was a painful memory. With those calloused hands, his master had practically tried to scrub his scalp off, leaving him grimacing in pain.

Unlike the hairstyles common these days, Chen Shi'an wore his hair in the classic Taoist topknot. When the young shampoo assistant undid it, his long hair fell to his shoulders.

Chen Shi'an liked being clean and took care of his appearance, so his long hair was naturally not dirty. Except when sleeping, he usually kept it tied in a topknot.

"Your hair is so healthy..."

Hair as healthy as Chen Shi'an's was a rare sight these days, and the shampoo assistant could not resist complimenting it.

She brought over a dry towel and gently tucked it into his collar to keep his clothes from getting wet, then guided him to the reclining chair.

"Sit here... Hmm... You're tall, so you might need to slide down a little... There. Try lying back."

Chen Shi'an had never had his hair washed or cut at a shop, so he was a little awkward. Fortunately, the assistant was experienced and did not mind his unfamiliarity. After all, this was her first time washing a Taoist's hair too!

The reclining seat was soft and comfortable, with his head and neck resting at just the right angle over the basin. Chen Shi'an let out a long breath and instinctively closed his eyes, listening to the water from the sprayer.

Water fell gently onto his scalp, accompanied by the assistant's small hands gently combing through his hair.

"How is it? Is the water temperature okay?"

"Yes, it's fine."

"Good."

Then she began washing his hair.

For the first wash, she used a deep-cleansing shampoo for a quick clean. For the second, she switched to a gentle, moisturizing shampoo and washed it carefully, working in special massage techniques along the way. Her nimble hands squeezed, combed, scratched, and kneaded in turn, leaving the young Taoist utterly content and opening his eyes to a whole new world.

Master, oh, Master! Now this was how you washed someone's hair!

Chen Shi'an figured his master had surely never experienced anything this comfortable. In this respect, at least, the student had surpassed the teacher.

Occasionally, the shampoo assistant chatted with him, asking things like, "Are you really a Taoist?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't have guessed... You look about my age, and you're already a Taoist."

"How old are you, then?"

"Nineteen."

"Aren't you in school?"

"I'm no good at studying. I started working after graduating from vocational school."

"Where are you from?"

"Hehe, Taoists ask that too? I'm from Southern Hunan. Have you ever been?"

"I'll go someday if I get the chance."

Time passed quickly as they chatted.

"Does your scalp still itch anywhere?"

"No, thank you."

"Shall I rinse it out for you, then?"

"Okay."

After rinsing all the foam from his hair, the assistant towel-dried it until it was half dry, then brought over a clip and pinned up his loose hair.

"Do you have a particular stylist in mind? A cut by the head stylist costs twenty yuan extra..." Perhaps because she had a good impression of Chen Shi'an, she lowered her voice and added, "Honestly, they're all about the same..."

Chen Shi'an smiled. "A regular cut, then."

"Okay. Please wait a little. It shouldn't be long."

"All right. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Chen Shi'an found a seat. The shampoo assistant poured him a glass of water, then hurried off to attend to another customer.

Even though her work was considered near the bottom of the social ladder, Chen Shi'an did not look down on her at all. Everyone worked hard with their own hands to earn money and make a living. What made anyone better than anyone else?

After a wait of about twenty minutes, it was finally Chen Shi'an's turn.

Following the stylist's directions, he sat in the chair. The stylist shook out a cape and draped it over him.

The stylist looked at him in the mirror, while Chen Shi'an studied his own reflection.

"How would you like it cut, young master?"

"Just cut it short."

Chen Shi'an did not know how to describe it precisely. Recalling the requirements in the enrollment handbook, he said, "Off the eyebrows in front, clear of the ears at the sides, and above the neck at the back."

The stylist paused, holding up his long hair. "Cut all of this off?"

"Yes. Just give me a standard student haircut."

"Okay, got it."

Then the scissors began snipping, and strands of long hair fell away.

Watching his appearance gradually change in the mirror, Chen Shi'an grew a little lost in thought...

This time, I really have entered the wider world.