The Future Within Reach

Pushing open the glass door of the hair salon, the wind chimes rang out with a clear, crisp sound.

A stylishly dressed hairdresser immediately approached, his gaze lingering on the two people's striking good looks for a couple of seconds, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes:

Welcome! Would you like a wash, cut, and style?

"Give him a haircut." Aemeath immediately switched to supervisor mode, putting her hands behind her back, circling Lu Yan, and gesturing to the hairdresser with a serious expression:

"His hair is a bit too long now, and it doesn't look very energetic. Could you please trim his bangs a bit shorter, just enough to show his eyebrows and eyes? Also, trim the sides neatly and cleanly, but don't shave it all the way off; leave a little bit of layering."

"I'll do some minor tweaks later, just to make it look clean and fresh."

Hearing these detailed requests, the hairdresser laughed and joked, "Beautiful lady, it's clear you care a lot about your boyfriend's appearance."

"Of course!" Aemeath proudly raised her head and corrected him without hesitation, "But not my boyfriend, he's my fiancé... oops, I mean, my fiancé!"

"We're getting our marriage certificate in a few days! I just bought a shirt for our wedding photos today, so he has to look his best!"

Aemeath was so excited that she misspoke, but her adorable appearance amused Lu Yan.

"Oh, congratulations to you both!" the barber said repeatedly, gesturing for you to proceed. "Handsome, this way please. Go get your hair washed first. Don't worry, I'll definitely give you a clean and refreshing hairstyle perfect for your wedding photos today!"

Lu Yan handed the shopping bags to Aemeath: "Hold these for me, I'll be right back."

After washing his hair, Lu Yan, wearing a barber's cape, sat upright in the barber's chair in front of the mirror.

Aemeath, holding the shopping bag containing the shirt, pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, resting her chin on her hands and staring intently at him.

"Snip, snip..." The barber's scissors flew up and down, making a crisp and rhythmic sound.

As strands of hair fell, Lu Yan's eyes, which had been hidden for a long time by his overly long bangs, gradually became clearly visible in the mirror.

The barber was indeed very skilled. As Aemeath requested, he trimmed the hair on both sides of her head very neatly, and the bangs on her forehead were cut short and styled with some casual texture.

Without the heavy bangs obscuring his eyes, Lu Yan's already deep-set eyes appeared even brighter, perfectly highlighting his long, straight brow bone and high nose bridge.

That gentle and quiet quality is still there, but at this moment, it has been enhanced by a mature man's clean and sharp handsomeness.

"Alright, handsome, are you satisfied with this length and style?" The barber used a hairdryer to blow away the stray hairs remaining on Lu Yan's neck and asked with a smile.

Lu Yan looked at himself in the mirror and seemed to be no different from three months ago.

He turned his head and looked at Judge Little Aemeath sitting to the side, saying, "Little Aemeath, what do you think?"

But Aemeath was already stunned. With his grooming, he looked clean, radiant, and so attractive that it was impossible to look away.

"It's beautiful... it's so beautiful!" Aemeath was so excited that she jumped up from her chair.

She leaned closer to Lu Yan, bent down, and carefully examined his features, swallowing hard. "A-Yan, if you walked down the street like this, tons of girls would ask for your WeChat."

Lu Yan blushed slightly at her straightforward praise. He reached out and gently pinched her cheek. "Huh? I feel like I haven't changed much from three months ago. Besides, I wouldn't give it to anyone else but you."

The hairdresser, who had been force-fed a huge mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), smiled and shook his head, "You two have such a great relationship. Handsome, your fiancée has excellent taste; this hairstyle really suits you."

Lu Yan stood up, untied his barber's cape, and walked to the front desk to scan the code to pay.

With the payment successful, the two pushed open the glass door and stepped back into the warmth of summer.

It was already noon, and my stomach, quite fittingly, began to rumble in protest.

"Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?" Lu Yan took her hand and walked in the shade of the street.

"Hmm... I've lost a lot of brain cells today trying to pick out clothes, I need to eat something good to replenish myself!" Aemeath patted her flat stomach and looked around.

Finally, the two settled on a cozy-decorated, authentic-looking Chinese private restaurant.

Stepping inside, the air conditioning was on full blast, and the wooden tables and chairs, along with the warm yellow lighting, created a very relaxing atmosphere.

The two chose a seat by the window.

Lu Yan carefully placed the shopping bag containing the white shirt on the empty chair inside before taking the menu.

"Boss, one order of sweet and sour pork ribs, a plate of blanched bok choy, and a pork rib and corn soup. Oh, and two bowls of rice too."

While waiting for the food, Aemeath rested her chin on her hand and stared intently at Lu Yan, who was sitting opposite her.

Without his long bangs obscuring his vision, his eyes appeared exceptionally deep under the warm lighting of the restaurant, as if they held a gentle sea within them.

"Why are you staring at me?" Lu Yan felt a little embarrassed by her gaze and touched his face. "Was there any stray hair on your face when you were getting your hair cut?"

"No..." Aemeath shook her head, her lips curving upwards in a wild smile, "I was just thinking, how can my husband be so handsome? Just now at the hair salon, I was saying that if you went out, people would ask for your WeChat, and now I regret it. I really want to hide you away so no one can see you!"

Hearing her repeat what he had said before verbatim, Lu Yan couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"That won't do." Lu Yan leaned slightly closer, his tone slightly teasing. "Who was it that just now said in the mall that they wanted to hold my hand openly and let everyone see that we were together?"

"That's different~"

Aemeath snorted and retorted, "It's one thing for me to let them know you're taken, but I'll get jealous if you flaunt it like this!"

Just as the two were having a sweet little argument, the restaurant owner came over with a steaming bowl of food.

"The food is here, please enjoy."

The rich aroma of sweet and sour pork ribs instantly whetted their appetites.

Aemeath picked up her chopsticks, but the first thing she did wasn't to eat it herself. Instead, she picked up a piece of pork rib and carefully offered it to Lu Yan's mouth.

Aemeath said to a child, "Ah--open your mouth."

Lu Yan opened his mouth and bit into the rib. The sweet and sour taste filled his mouth, but even sweeter was the person sitting opposite him.

"Is it tasty?"

"It's sweet and delicious." Lu Yan nodded, then picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of pork rib, and held it to Aemeath's lips. "You should eat more too. Preparing for the marriage certificate will be quite tiring these days."

Aemeath picked up a rib with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, her eyes narrowing with satisfaction. "It's not tiring at all! As long as I'm with you, I'd be happy even if I had to pluck the stars from the sky."

A simple lunch was made incredibly warm and cozy by the two of them feeding each other and dreaming about the future.

They discussed what brand of wedding candy to buy to share with their neighbors in the old town, and even planned in advance what to eat to celebrate the night they got their marriage certificate.

Each topic paints a picture of their attainable future.