Chapter 6: From Delinquent to School Grass

One day, Shen Ru was looking at Gu Haoyu when he said, "Gu Haoyu, we definitely have to do something about your hair."

Gu Haoyu was confused. "Why, Boss? I think it's pretty badass."

Jia Hao couldn't help but agree, "Boss is correct, Yu Yu. It's just….I'm not even going to talk about it anymore."

"Now I know why you two always looked at me strangely…" Gu Haoyu had a tearful expression on his face.

"You could do with one of those haircuts that idols have," Shen Ru suggested.

"But they're too boring, Boss! It makes me feel so uncool."

"Shush, we're going to the barbershop after class. You're changing your haircut no matter what, end of conversation."

Indeed, that was the end of the conversation, because when they were picking haircuts at the barbershop, Gu Haoyu couldn't do anything to interrupt his two friends.

"I think the bowl cut is pretty nice," Shen Ru said.

Jia Hao disagreed, "I think that's too gentle-looking for Yu Yu. Some spikes would look nice on him."

Shen Ru chuckled. "I bet he would want such a badass haircut. Okay, let the barber do a Mohawk."

When Gu Haoyu heard this, he was practically panicking. "Boss Ru!!!"

"Just kidding, a fringe would be nice."

Jia Hao was still disagreeing, "Maybe a two-block haircut would be better."

At this point, the middle-aged barber uncle was beginning to get tired of their bantering. "If you keep fighting over the haircut, I'm just going to make your friend bald!"

Gu Haoyu grabbed his head and shook his head. "No, I don't want to be bald!"

In the end, all of them decided on a fringe. Although Gu Haoyu was initially hesitant, the barber uncle's lecture about how punch perms were outdated and outright disgusting managed to convince him. Shen Ru and Jia Hao also had their hair cut, though the transformation wasn't as big as Gu Haoyu's.

After Gu Haoyu's haircut was revealed, Shen Ru nodded satisfactorily. "You look like a new man."

"You're handsome now, Yu Yu!" Jia Hao exclaimed.

Gu Haoyu's facial expression wilted. "Does that mean I wasn't handsome before?"

"Of course, you were handsome! You're even more handsome now," Jia Hao said in a tone that didn't seem sincere.

Shen Ru chuckled and patted Jia Hao on the shoulder. "Sometimes people need to hear the truth, my friend."

"Boss Ru!" Gu Haoyu said.

"Nah, just kidding, you're pretty handsome now. Once you get to school tomorrow, I can guarantee you that many women will be looking at you. Just give your leftover admirers to Jia Hao."

"Hey, I have enough admirers of my own, you know!" Jia Hao remarked.

Gu Haoyu grinned. "Hao Hao, I'll find our future sister-in-law for you!"

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What Shen Ru told Gu Haoyu wasn't an exaggeration at all. On the next day, the three met up before heading to school so that the effect would be even greater. Seeing the three former delinquents, whose hairs were styled handsomely and whose uniforms were finally worn properly and neatly, some women couldn't help but swoon over them.

"Isn't that Shen Ru and his two lackeys? Why do they look different now?"

"Not gonna lie, Gu Haoyu's pretty handsome now that he changed his hair."

"Shen Ru's still more handsome, those phoenix eyes are just too seductive."

Jia Hao's eyes were bright as he said in a hushed voice, "Boss Ru, you were right!"

"Why aren't they saying anything about Hao Hao, though?" Gu Haoyu asked.

"High school girls usually like the bad boys or gentleman types. When they grow up, they'll find that cute types like Jia Hao are rarer and more attractive," Shen Ru said.

"I'm not cute, though?" Jia Hao wondered.

Shen Ru shrugged and looked at Gu Haoyu, as if saying 'See?'

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Since their transformation, more women started paying attention to them. Once, when Shen Ru was scrolling through the school forum, he even stumbled upon a poll entitled, "Who is the #1 school grass of X University?' Of course, Jun Zixin topped the poll, but he noticed that he and Gu Haoyu had amassed a generous number of votes.

At first, this newfound attention wasn't that obvious, but when Shen Ru suddenly topped an especially difficult long Mathematics quiz, his school grass image began taking form. Almost everyone in the whole 11th Grade had failed this quiz, which made his almost perfect score even more dazzling. If, before, some thought that his transformation was just a fluke, now they thought that he could now be considered a school grass.

Once, while Shen Ru was in the cafeteria, he managed to spot Jun Zixin sitting alone at a table. Seeing that he was alone, he approached him and smiled. "I didn't expect to see Jun xuezhang alone in the cafeteria. Don't you have many friends?"

Jun Zixin chuckled and urged him to take a seat. "Usually, I and my friends don't go to the cafeteria to eat. Today, I wasn't able to eat breakfast though so I had to come even if I was alone."

Shen Ru perked up. "Do you usually not eat? I overheard what Nurse Zhong said at the infirmary."

"I do eat, it's just that sometimes I miss breakfast because I'm too busy with work. Don't take what Nurse Zhong said too deeply. I take my health seriously."

"Considering the school nurse had already lectured you about your health, I don't really want to believe you."

Jun Zixin smiled and asked, "Are you perhaps worrying about me?"

Shen Ru frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just that it feels like you're my stubborn housewife who keeps fussing over my health."

"Who's your housewife?" Shen Ru sneered, "I'm just telling the truth. Even though you seem young and healthy now, all-nighters and skipping meals will take a toll on you when you're older."

"Understood, housewife."

"You…!"

While Shen Ru and Jun Zixin were bantering, they were suddenly interrupted when a female student approached them shyly. Jun Zixin seemed to be irritated but he still asked, "Student, is there something wrong?"

"I-I want to talk to Shen xuezhang!" she exclaimed.

This time it was Shen Ru's turn to be surprised. He had thought that she was one of Jun Zixin's admirers. He hadn't expected that he would have admirers now.

Jun Zixin was irritated. "Can you say this now? We're busy with something."

"I…want to talk to Shen xuezhang privately," she replied.

"Well, we're busy with something. Is it that important that you have to say it privately?"

Although Shen Ru was confused about why Jun Zixin seemed to be aggressive, he didn't say anything about it and simply said, "You can approach me later if it's possible."

The girl's facial expression brightened. "Thank you, Shen xuezhang!" With that, she scurried off to her friends.

"Why are you frowning so deeply? It's not like it was your admirer," Shen Ru spoke up.

Instead of answering his question, Jun Zixin said, "Don't meet up with her alone. If you can't refuse her, bring someone with you. Dating is not allowed in our school."

"Isn't that just a perfunctory rule? I see many couples in our school."

"Didn't you want me to be your tutor to improve your grades? If you date someone, everything you've worked hard for will be wasted. Trust me on this, you definitely don't want to date someone this early."

Shen Ru smiled and tilted his head to the side. "Now, it's your turn to fuss over me."

"I'm just telling the truth, though—"

Shen Ru interrupted him with a laugh, "Fine, fine, Mama Bear. I won't meet her alone. You can't blame me if she tries to talk to me again though."

Strangely, Jun Zixin looked relieved. "That's good, I hope you remember this."

"What would you do if I forgot about it?" Shen Ru raised an eyebrow.

Jun Zixin leaned forward to him. "Then, you'll get a punishment."

Shen Ru paused for a moment, trying to take in what he had just said. "You…are one messed up guy."

"What else would you expect from a mafia boss?"

"Hey, I thought you weren't a mafia boss!"

Although Shen Ru had some suspicions about Jun Zixin, he soon forgot about it and settled his attention on the matter of Li Zhong. At the moment, he knew that something must have happened 24 years ago in the Hua family. What could he do now though when all traces of the past had mysteriously been erased?

If it was before, Shen Ru would've thought that this was practically impossible. Now that he had Jun Zixin on his side though, there was a high chance that he could actually complete his mission.

One night in Tango Café, while Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao were focused on doing their worksheets, Shen Ru stealthily passed Jun Zixin a note with 'Let's talk after this' written on it.

When the time came for Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao to return home, Shen Ru and Jun Zixin used the same excuse again that their chauffeurs hadn't arrived yet. Jia Hao had no suspicions at all, but Shen Ru could tell that Gu Haoyu had his own thoughts. He paid it no mind, however, knowing that Gu Haoyu was equally as loyal as Jia Hao.

"So, what did you want to talk about? You better make sure that this is worth my time. I'm a busy man, after all," Jun Zixin teased.

Shen Ru rolled his eyes. "It's about Li Zhong and the Hua family. I know that you said that you'd only give clues to me, but can I ask if there's a way to look into what happened 24 years ago?"

Jun Zixin hummed and replied, "I see that you've already received a response from your private investigator. In fact, with my resources, I'm already aware of what happened 24 years ago, but it would be too easy for you if I just said it outright, wouldn't it?"

"What's the clue?"

"While the Hua family had filed bankruptcy, not all of the Hua family had lost all of their money. In fact, one of them was still modestly rich, enough for them to live their life without the need to find employment. This same person was the one that erased all traces of the past. If you want to find out what really happened, then you should start with this person."

Shen Ru nodded in response. Indeed, his theory was correct. Grandmother Hua had the money and power. How she had taken them from the chairman at the time, he already had some guesses.

"If so, then should I seek them out personally?" he asked.

Jun Zixin smiled and wagged his index finger from left to right. "Of course not, that would be too suspicious. No matter how long ago 24 years were, evil people will always remain paranoid. You have to look into the people around them, in legal ways, of course."

Shen Ru perked up at once, suddenly having a realization. He smiled and said, "Thank you very much for the clue, I already know what to do."

Jun Zixin's smile couldn't help but widen as he watched Shen Ru enter his car with a beaming face. Then, as if realizing that he was smiling, he frowned and sighed.