Walking through the gates of Xinxi No. 1 High School again, Zhang Zhaomu felt refreshed and invigorated.
Chen Zhenzhen let herself be pulled to the entrance of Class Nine, albeit reluctantly, and noticed quite a few gazes falling on her.
The school year had only just begun, but visiting another class still drew plenty of attention, especially when she was walking with the newly appointed class monitor.
"Isn't this far enough?"
Chen Zhenzhen refused to go in. "Class is about to start," she complained.
"Aren't you curious where I sit?" Zhang Zhaomu was in no hurry. The deeper everyone's impression of Chen Zhenzhen was now, the greater the contrast would be after her image makeover.
"Where else would you sit? Knowing you, unless you had no choice, you'd definitely sit in the back row by the window."
As Chen Zhenzhen spoke, she looked toward the back row. "Huh? Someone's sitting in the king's hometown?"
She glanced at Xiang Qing, who was sitting in her seat reading, then couldn't resist taking another look, and another.
"Staring yourself silly?" Zhang Zhaomu teased.
"This girl's seriously gorgeous, isn't she?" Chen Zhenzhen muttered. "Even in a school uniform, she looks like a fairy."
In fact, boys weren't the only ones who liked looking at beauties. Plenty of girls loved it too, and Chen Zhenzhen was among the most enthusiastic. Whenever she talked about beauties with Zhang Zhaomu, she could go on and on, and she could even get into an argument with him over whether Brigitte Lin or Joey Wong was prettier.
"Then who do you think is prettier, this girl or Duan Chan'er?" Zhang Zhaomu asked with interest.
"Well... they're hard to compare." Chen Zhenzhen gave it some serious thought. "They're both really beautiful, but with the kind of beauty Duan Chan'er has, you can still find it among celebrities now and then. If this girl put on hanfu, she'd look like she'd traveled straight from ancient times..."
"So Xiang Qing is prettier after all?"
"Personally, that's what I'd lean toward-huh?" Chen Zhenzhen stopped abruptly, realizing that the voice that had just spoken wasn't Zhang Zhaomu's familiar one, but a clear, lively female voice.
She whirled around, and Duan Chan'er's face came into view.
Chen Zhenzhen: "..."
A red flush instantly crept up her cheeks. Her toes curled tightly against the soles of her shoes, and she wished she could turn around and run away right then.
I'm doomed! I can't believe she heard me say that!
Zhang Zhaomu was a little embarrassed too, but he managed to keep his composure. He greeted Duan Chan'er with a normal expression. "This is my friend Chen Zhen. Her taste is seriously questionable, so don't mind her. For what it's worth, I think you're prettier."
Duan Chan'er really didn't mind such a small thing. She'd heard people talking about her so much growing up that her ears had grown calluses, and it no longer stirred the slightest ripple in her heart. Zhang Zhaomu's introduction, however, made her struggle not to laugh.
"Chen Zhen? Which zhen?"
"The Zhen from Fist of Fury." Zhang Zhaomu smiled with a touch of mischievous glee.
"It's Chen Zhenzhen... two zhens." Chen Zhenzhen's correction came out rather weakly this time. She gripped the hem of her T-shirt tightly and stammered, "I... I really have to go back. The bell's about to ring!"
Then, without waiting for Zhang Zhaomu to speak, she lowered her head and hurried off at a jog toward the stairwell.
"Pfft-" Duan Chan'er covered her mouth and chuckled. "Your friend's pretty cute. I think I've seen her calling for you downstairs at the rental place before?"
"Yeah, she and I have been best buddies since middle school." Zhang Zhaomu nodded.
"Isn't 'best buddies' something guys call each other?" Duan Chan'er tilted her head. "But she really does dress like a boy."
"She won't for much longer." How could Zhang Zhaomu pass up an opening like that? He went on, "I'm planning to give her an image makeover. I guarantee she'll be reborn."
"An image makeover?" Duan Chan'er paused.
"Right." Zhang Zhaomu stole a glance into the classroom and saw that quite a few people were paying attention to their conversation at the door, so he raised his voice a little.
"There's actually a lot to personal image. Even if someone has ordinary looks, as long as they find an image and style that suits them, they can use a few methods to hide their flaws and highlight their strengths, and their looks can shoot up several levels in one go. As it happens, I'm quite good at that."
"If someone else said that, I might think they were bragging, but coming from you..." Duan Chan'er smiled. "Judging by the difference between how you looked before and now, it's pretty convincing."
"Now I'm a little tempted myself. How about taking a look and seeing what you could do for me?"
"For you, I wouldn't call it a makeover. At most, I'd be adding flowers to brocade." Zhang Zhaomu looked Duan Chan'er up and down. The experience brought by his [Refined] persona allowed him to speak at length without the slightest difficulty.
"Your features are already outstanding, so going without bangs is the right choice. There's room to improve your hairstyle, though. Wearing it loose around your shoulders is simple and safe, but it doesn't stand out either. You could put a little more thought into it, like taking a few strands and weaving them into a three-strand braid with a thin silk hair ribbon. Navy blue should suit you very well."
"As for your outfit, the simple white dress you're wearing is fine. You make it look artistic and elegant, but the cut could be a little more fitted at the waist. Your waist is slimmer than most people's, so one-size clothing looks a bit loose on you-"
At that, Zhang Zhaomu stopped and said awkwardly, "You don't find that offensive, do you?"
"No." Duan Chan'er listened attentively. "I was just wondering, should I really be getting to hear this for free? You sound like a professional image consultant."
Something stirred slightly in Zhang Zhaomu's heart.
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt that she might have realized he was planning to do image makeovers for business in the class.
Otherwise, ordinary politeness would have been enough; there was no need at all to add that remark in the middle.
The sense of déjà vu at that moment was just like when she had been the first to offer to help move the textbooks that morning: there was a hint of guidance to it.
That guidance allowed Zhang Zhaomu to pick up the thread naturally and turn the conversation to the cost of an image makeover.
"Of course it's free this time. I haven't really done anything, after all." Zhang Zhaomu marveled inwardly at the literary girl's thoughtful consideration. Naturally, he wasn't going to reject her kindness either. He continued:
"But if I were really doing a full image consultation, I certainly couldn't do it for free. It's not something that can be covered in a few words, after all. Everything from the hairstyle and clothing to the makeup has to be tailored to each person's specific circumstances. It's quite a bit of work."
"I've heard those image consultants charge a lot, thousands or even tens of thousands at the drop of a hat." Duan Chan'er smiled. "If I came to you for an image consultation, you'd give me a little discount, right?"
"Come on." Zhang Zhaomu waved a hand. "We're all classmates. There's no need to go that far. A hundred or two for the work would be enough."
"Oh, right." He took out his phone. "Add me on WeChat. If you need to buy clothes or anything later, you can ask me for advice."
Duan Chan'er readily took out her phone. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Shall I scan your code?"