Early the next morning, when the dashing Wang Lan and the radiant Song Xuanxuan appeared in the classroom, everyone in Class Nine was unsurprisingly stunned.
The news spread at viral speed, and with Chen Zhenzhen's earlier publicity, the whole school soon knew that there was an amazing guy in Class Nine of the second-year humanities track whose makeovers could practically give people a whole new look.
For a time, the threshold of Class Nine's classroom was nearly worn through. Almost every break, plenty of people came looking for Zhang Zhaomu with a fervent look on their faces, hoping to book an appointment.
Only then was Zhang Zhaomu glad he had taken Song Xuanxuan's advice and raised his price yesterday. Even at 588 yuan, plenty of people gritted their teeth and booked an appointment. If he had charged 188... he wouldn't have time to do anything else.
He earned money so he could play games more comfortably, not so he could fill all his free time with this sort of thing. Money was important to Zhang Zhaomu, but having fun was clearly more important, so he decisively stopped taking orders and set a rule that he would only do three makeovers a week from then on.
In any case, once he finished the orders he had already taken, he would have more than enough to build a really good computer. The money he earned after that could go toward improving his life and spending on games.
Actually, raising his price again might have been a better choice. He could even use the school as a starting point and spread his fame further, using his image-design skills to earn his first pot of gold. Then he could open a physical store, use it to gain access to more upscale circles, and slowly build connections until he had created a business empire with his [Refined] persona at its core.
But Zhang Zhaomu was a salted fish.
He had always held to one principle: if you didn't have fun when it was time to have fun, it would be too late for regrets later. Making money and such wasn't something he ought to be doing at this stage of his life anyway. Besides, having enough money was all that mattered. He might not be able to imagine the joys of the rich, but the joy of slacking off and playing games every day was real and tangible.
It was still anyone's guess who would envy whom.
On Saturday, the bell rang at the end of the fourth morning class.
"I finally made it through the week!"
Zhang Zhaomu shot to his feet. "The auspicious hour has arrived! For the next thirty-six hours, I shall devote myself to New Era!"
The second year of high school had only just begun, but he was already missing the days in his first year when he had both days of the weekend off.
The time he could spend enjoying himself online had been cut by more than half a day in one go.
And when he thought about how, in his third year, even one day off a week would be a luxury, with only a monthly break, it was even more despair-inducing.
"Class monitor!"
Song Xuanxuan came over. "What are you planning to do this weekend?"
"Play games," Zhang Zhaomu answered without hesitation.
"I saw that the weather's going to be really nice tomorrow..." Song Xuanxuan looked a little shy.
Zhang Zhaomu said, "Nice weather is perfect for playing games!"
Song Xuanxuan said, "..."
Deciding she had nothing to lose, she said bluntly, "Want to go see a movie tomorrow?"
"No, I'm going to play games."
He had just shaken off Song Xuanxuan when Xue Jingshu, the arts committee member, blocked his path. "Class monitor, my package is arriving today, and we don't have class this afternoon. Could you give me a makeover while you're at it?"
"No."
"It won't take up too much of your time." "No one will be at my place this afternoon." Xue Jingshu said in a low voice, "No one will be at my place this afternoon."
"No. I plan to devote every second of my weekend to games."
Was she kidding? His free time had already been severely squeezed this week, and Zhang Zhaomu could barely contain his gaming addiction.
Besides, weekends were for having fun! That was a truth as unshakable as the natural laws of the sun rising and the moon setting!
"Class monitor-"
More people came over, and Zhang Zhaomu hurriedly grabbed his backpack and strode toward the back door of the classroom, calling out as he went.
"I don't work on weekends! See you all next week!"
Unexpectedly, Chen Zhenzhen was already waiting by the door.
"Oh?" She looked a little teasing. "The big celebrity has come out."
"You're really popular. What's it like being surrounded by a bunch of girls all day? Must feel amazing, huh?"
"It was pretty great at first, but now I feel like I've got debt collectors chasing me every day."
Even after he announced that he had stopped taking orders for the time being, there were always girls who refused to give up and tried other ways to make Zhang Zhaomu change his mind. Even those who had already booked appointments hoped to cut in line.
On top of that, there were people who not only wanted makeovers but also harbored ulterior motives and wanted to use official business for private gain. They made Zhang Zhaomu feel like he was damn near becoming Tang Monk's flesh!
Fortunately, he knew this was only the initial frenzy and that things would naturally calm down in time. That was the only reason he held back from throwing in the towel altogether.
He hurried toward the stairwell. "Enough chatter. Let's go claim some computers first... You settled things at home, right?"
"I told my mom beforehand that I was going shopping with Zhang Zaowan this afternoon, so I just have to go home for dinner." Chen Zhenzhen kept pace with him, pressing on. "But are you sure you're still going?"
"It's a wonderful weekend. You could be spending time with all sorts of girls. Even switching between three in one day wouldn't be a problem, so why hole up in a smoky internet café?"
"I heard her just now. No one's at her place."
"So what? There's no one at my place right now either!" Zhang Zhaomu glanced at Chen Zhenzhen. "What are you being so sarcastic for? If you've got that much energy, you'd be better off playing support properly for me, you noob!"
"Besides, all I want to do this weekend is play games with you."
Chen Zhenzhen's steps faltered slightly, and the corners of her mouth rose despite herself.
"I'm not a noob!" Her tone grew a little lighter. "And I don't play support. I play mid!"
"Then pick Malphite. I'm afraid you can't handle the other champions. If I come to gank, you'll probably get us both killed." Zhang Zhaomu mocked her without holding back.
"I want to play Ahri!"
"Then you might as well play Garen."
"What's that supposed to mean, Zhang Zhaomu? You want a fight?"
"Bring it on! Jianghu rules: the loser calls the winner Daddy!"
They rushed all the way to the internet café, only to find that, sure enough, there were no computers left.
Fortunately, Zhang Zhaomu was no longer what he had been before. He splurged on a private room for two, which conveniently kept out all the smoke and foul air.
All weekend long, aside from eating and sleeping, Zhang Zhaomu played to his heart's content.
But however happy he was while playing, he was just as miserable when the weekend ended.
"I hate Mondays."
Lying on the bed in his rented room, Zhang Zhaomu wailed, "I really hope something big happens tomorrow and the school just announces a week off... No, a month!"
"Like an alien invasion, the revival of spiritual energy, or a zombie virus..."
But on second thought, he regretted it a little. "No, that won't do. If that happened, I wouldn't be able to enjoy playing games."
"Better yet, let me catch a disease that'll kill me if I don't play games. Then the school will be forced to put a computer in the classroom for me. Every day, while my classmates are in class, I'll be the only one who can play games in the classroom with my head held high..."
In his dream, those scenarios actually came true. Chen Zhenzhen caught the same disease, and her grades plummeted, so she was kicked into Class Nine of the humanities track. As luck would have it, Zhang Zhaomu's boring, taciturn deskmate transferred to another class, and Zhang Zhaomu and Chen Zhenzhen became deskmates. Each with a computer of their own, they happily duo-queued in the classroom every day.
"This is amazing!" Zhang Zhaomu snapped his eyes open and saw that it was already beginning to grow light outside.
At the same time, an abrupt thought slipped into his mind.
This week, my persona is [Cat].