One hundred eighty-three point two centimeters

Tony glanced at Xiao Huang, who kept constant watch over Lu Xingchen, and marveled, "That little mutt of yours is pretty loyal, always following at your feet."

Lu Xingchen stroked Xiao Huang's well-nourished, glossy coat with satisfaction. "Xiao Huang isn't a little mutt. He's a Chinese rural dog, and he's very well behaved."

Tony disagreed. "I can't see the well-behaved part. When you opened the door just now, he nearly scared me to death. I felt like he was about to charge over and bite me."

Lu Xingchen explained, "He was protecting me. He only acted that way because he was worried there might be a bad person outside. You don't have a dog, so you don't know how reassuring it is to have one protecting you."

Tony looked enviously at Lu Xingchen's skin, as translucent and fine as jade, then glanced at Huo Chuyun on the living room sofa and lowered his voice.

"Little Xingxing, I was wrong before. Now I'm a little jealous of Huo Chuyun. How did he win you over? That brat secretly landed himself such a catch."

Lu Xingchen grinned happily and shook his head. "He didn't pursue me. I pursued him."

Tony's eyes widened in shock. He stopped what he was doing and gave Lu Xingchen a thumbs-up. "You really are something, little Xingxing. You went after someone and landed the richest man in the Capital. You know how to pick them!"

"Hey, how did you win him over? Teach me, so I can try it after I break up. I can pick up some tips for my other besties too."

Lu Xingchen raised his eyebrows slightly and joked, "Slept with him and gave him a bouquet, and that did it. What? Not happy with your current boyfriend?"

"Seriously? Huo Chuyun was that easy to win over? I feel like you're messing with me."

Tony sounded dubious. "I'm about to break up with this boyfriend too. He's only interested in my professional skills and wants free styling. And he lied to me."

Lu Xingchen was a little uncomfortable sitting there and moved his arms. "Oh? Tell me all about it."

Tony had been desperate for someone to complain to. "That asshole lied and said he was an obscure actor in the entertainment industry. I figured I wasn't short on money, and he put a fair amount of effort into pursuing me, so there was no harm in dating him."

"Then yesterday I found out that asshole is an idol, some nobody who debuted in a boy band. Even a dog wouldn't date someone from a boy band."

"His girlfriend fans spent money to build him up. I more or less work in entertainment myself. Dating their husband would weigh on my conscience just thinking about it. He was clever, though, hiding the fact that he's an idol and getting free styling out of me."

Lu Xingchen frowned, speechless. "What kind of person is that? Do you have a photo? Let me see."

Tony excitedly took out his phone, opened his gallery, and showed Lu Xingchen. "He's decent-looking, right? But the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I'm dumping him when I get back!"

Lu Xingchen pursed his lips and asked, "Did he save your life?"

Tony was bewildered by the question. "Huh? Why would you ask that?"

Lu Xingchen said seriously, "He looks kind of disgusting. I can't believe you could bring yourself to kiss him. With so many fine specimens in entertainment, are his female fans sure they don't want to be a little pickier?"

Lu Xingchen earnestly advised him, "Don't even wait until you get back. Message him right now, then delete and block him, the full package. How could an idol who dates behind his fans' backs be any good?"

"Excuse me! I'm a stylist. How bad could my taste possibly be?" Tony protested.

Lu Xingchen smiled. "Has it occurred to you that stylists specialize in coordinating clothes, doing makeup, and styling hair? If you insist on putting it that way, you'd better change careers now."

A second later, Lu Xingchen looked at Tony doubtfully. "Can I really trust you to dye my hair?"

"Yes, yes, yes. You can rest completely assured. No refunds, anyway!"

Refusing to accept it, Tony took out his phone and kept scrolling through his gallery to show Lu Xingchen. "What about these? I specifically picked photos of ex-boyfriends I thought were passable."

Lu Xingchen delivered his verdict. "Do you like digging through the trash for boyfriends?"

Tony's entire worldview had been shattered today, and the blows left him wanting to cough up blood. He dug out a treasured photo of himself with someone from a secret album and said a little shyly,

"What about this one? He was my favorite boyfriend, my unforgettable first love, I suppose. But he was into some pretty kinky stuff. He liked hearing me call him Daddy."

Lu Xingchen gave Tony an indescribable look. "You know what, he really does look old enough to be your dad. And he made you call him Daddy? I already feel physically sick."

Lu Xingchen pushed away the hand Tony was holding in front of him. "Get it away. I'm afraid I'm going to throw up."

Tony was practically questioning his whole life. He said weakly, "Little Xingxing, we shouldn't attack them over their looks, should we?"

Lu Xingchen rolled his eyes hard and said scathingly, "If he has a good character, I'll only insult his face. If he doesn't, I'll insult his character too."

Lu Xingchen turned to see Tony looking utterly lost. He sighed and said, still concerned,

"Here, add me on WeChat. Before you get a boyfriend in the future, send me a photo so I can take a good look. That way you won't keep treating every monster and ghoul like a treasure."

"You're not bad-looking yourself, a pretty bottom, even, yet you have a fetish for ugly men. If all else fails, I'll feed you some green beans and see if we can fight poison with poison."

"Really?" Tony leaned closer happily. "Little Xingxing, does this mean you think of me as a friend?"

Lu Xingchen glanced at him and stubbornly denied it. "I'm just worried you're too deeply poisoned."

Tony said excitedly, "I finally know why Huo Chuyun likes you. You're gorgeous, and your personality is so fun..."

Lu Xingchen raised a hand to interrupt him. "Enough. I just can't stand seeing a pretty bottom debase himself like this."

Tony shyly covered his bright red cheeks. "Oh, it's not like no one's ever complimented me before. Why do I get so excited when you compliment me, little Xingxing? I'm so happy my cheeks are red."

Lu Xingchen said without a trace of modesty, "Because I'm gorgeous. Especially these foxy eyes. When I look at someone, it's like I'm seducing them. Never mind you-even Huo Chuyun can't resist my charm."

Tony turned his head and, with a casual glance, noticed a fluffy fox tail and a few scraps of fabric that hadn't been put away. He leaned closer and teased, "You two really get adventurous."

Lu Xingchen said shamelessly, "Those are what Huo Chuyun likes wearing. Of course it's adventurous."

Tony exposed Lu Xingchen's lie at once. "Keep being stubborn. Huo Chuyun has a great body, sure, but he's built, too. At 193 centimeters tall, wouldn't he rip those scraps of fabric if he put them on?"

Lu Xingchen protested, "You make it sound like I'm short. I'm one hundred eighty-three point two centimeters tall, okay?"

Amused, Tony patted his shoulder and coaxed him, "Okay, okay, one hundred eighty-three point two centimeters. Let's get you sorted out and wash your hair."

Lu Xingchen felt as though he had only dozed and chatted for a little while, and suddenly it was done. He asked in puzzlement, "That fast?"

Tony tipped his chin up smugly. "What did you expect? I use nothing but the finest products. Of course the results are fast and noticeable."