Qiao Anchen swallowed hard, picked up the cup in his hand, and took a sip of water.
"Hmm...this doesn't seem like you at all."
"Then tell me if it looks good or not?" Chu Yi pressed on persistently. Qiao Anchen paused for a long time, looked at her carefully several times, and then answered cautiously and hesitantly.
"...It seems like it's not quite right for you?"
"Where is it unsuitable!" Chu Yi was almost brought to tears by his words.
Suddenly, Cheng Li's words from earlier that day came to mind: "Even if you mess it up, it's okay... Qiao Anchen isn't going to divorce you."
I won't divorce her, but what if I stop liking her?
Chu Yi became more and more frightened and aggrieved as she thought about it. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at Qiao Anchen. She was extremely sad.
When she asked him that, Qiao Anchen was momentarily stunned. He racked his brains trying to figure out what was wrong with Chu Yi's words. He carefully searched for reasons and finally found one.
"Maybe...long hair would look better?" he tentatively asked. Chu Yi could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face.
That's so embarrassing.
She quickly lowered her head, forcefully pushed Qiao Anchen away, and ran into the room, not even caring about the clothes she had just bought, and lay on the bed heartbroken.
Qiao Anchen stood there, completely bewildered, watching Chu Yi's figure disappear behind the door. He held the cup, standing there with a blank look in his eyes, utterly confused.
It took Chu Yi a while to calm down. When she went to wash her face, she couldn't help but feel disgusted with her red eyes.
It's just a haircut, it's not like it won't grow back.
What others like can never be as important as what you like yourself.
Chu Yi stared stubbornly at the person in the mirror, sniffed hard, and finally understood.
In the living room, Qiao Anchen sat in a chair, deep in thought. He carefully reviewed what had just happened, from Chu Yi opening the door to her running away angrily, the entire process.
Finally, I roughly understood something.
Qiao Anchen got up, walked to the bedroom door, and tentatively knocked.
Author's Note: I'll try to write a second update, probably very late, so please don't wait until the end. It's really upsetting when someone you like says your new hairstyle doesn't look good (although I haven't experienced it myself, haha).
48. Chapter 48
Chu Yi opened the door quickly, his face expressionless, his eyes a little red.
She didn't speak, just looked at him silently. Qiao Anchen pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said in a low voice, "I don't think your short hair looks bad."
"I just didn't react in time just now."
"Oh," Chu Yi replied sullenly, head down.
Qiao Anchen looked at her for a few seconds, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Actually, you look great with short hair. You look very young."
This statement, combined with what had happened before, sounded rather weak and polite, but Chu Yi still felt a little better. In fact, he couldn't be blamed at all.
After all, Qiao Anchen was simply stating his thoughts truthfully.
He just thought she looked better with short hair than long hair.
Chu Yi lowered her eyes and said softly, "It's okay, you don't need to come and comfort me. I just lost control of my emotions for a moment."
"It's really nothing." She raised her face and smiled at him, trying to ease the oppressive atmosphere. Qiao Anchen stared at her for a while, then his gaze softened, and he reached out to ruffle her hair.
His neatly cut short hair became a mess the moment he touched it with his hand. Chu Yi sighed and immediately raised his hand to tidy it up, then scratched his bangs.
With this gesture, she looks even more like a little girl.
A hint of helplessness flashed in Qiao Anchen's eyes, and he sighed inwardly.
Sleeping at night was much the same as before. After turning off the lights, Qiao Anchen pulled her into his arms and hugged her. Chu Yi kept her eyes open for a long time and couldn't fall asleep. It was only after a long time that she finally closed her eyes.
The next day after get off work, Qiao Anchen returned home. Chu Yi, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen carrying dishes. When his gaze fell on her face, he paused for a few seconds before adjusting.
During the meal, Chu Yi lowered her eyes slightly, avoiding his gaze. Qiao Anchen noticed that she seemed to be in low spirits and asked her a question.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Chu Yi quickly raised her face and shook her head, then immediately lowered it again.
The two barely spoke that day, resting after finishing their tasks. When Qiao Anchen got up to go to work in the morning, Chu Yi also woke up. She had recently adjusted her schedule very well and was sleeping much less.
Just as Qiao Anchen finished getting ready to leave, Chu Yi had just finished washing up and came out to have breakfast. He was leaning against the wall in the entryway to change his shoes when Chu Yi walked over.
Are you working overtime today?
"I don't know yet," Qiao Anchen replied casually, then looked up at her.
"I'm leaving now."
"Okay, be careful on the road." Chu Yi nodded, watching him open the door and disappear from sight. She lowered her face, feeling a little disappointed.
Unlike before, Qiao Anchen didn't kiss her before leaving.
Chu Yi turned her head to look at the mirror on the wall next to her. A short-haired girl was reflected in the mirror. She had a small face, and her eyes were big and dark under her bangs. She looked cute and innocent, and it was impossible for anyone to have any other thoughts about her.
She suddenly turned around and ran back to her room, rummaging through the dressing table.
Facing the mirror, Chu Yi held a rubber band in her hand and tried hard to tie her short hair up, but she couldn't manage it. She gave up and, unwilling to give up, rummaged through the box and found a few small hair clips.
After fiddling with it for a while, she finally managed to hold a small section of her hair back with a bow, making her look much neater and more tidy.
Looking at Chu Yi from left to right, without the short hair covering her cheeks, she seemed less childish and finally looked like a girl.
She thought for a moment, then moved her bangs to one side, revealing her forehead and eyes clearly.
Chu Yi examined her closely and realized that she didn't seem that different from her usual self.
She bit her lip, barely satisfied.
When Qiao Anchen came home that evening, he was taken aback when he saw her, and then looked her over and asked, "Why did you suddenly clip your hair up?"
"It'll be cooler if you put them in your hands." Chu Yi replied without changing her expression. Qiao Anchen simply said "oh" and didn't say anything more.
After a few days, Chu Yi's hair was always like this, and Qiao Anchen gradually got used to it. After the initial discomfort, it seemed to be about the same as usual.
One evening, Chu Yi came out after washing her hair. Her short, freshly dried hair lay neatly against her cheeks, making her look incredibly well-behaved.
Qiao Anchen paused in his book-turning, his gaze falling on her before quickly looking away, staring intently at the pages, seemingly afraid to look any longer.
Chu Yi noticed something, slowly sat on the bed, then lifted the covers and lay down.
After a long while, Qiao Anchen put away the book in his hand, turned off the light, and went to sleep.
The two went to the supermarket on the weekend. Chu Yi didn't clip her hair up, wore a bright yellow fisherman's hat, and even changed into overalls with a Crayon Shin-chan t-shirt underneath.
When he saw her come out all dressed up, Qiao Anchen didn't react for a long time until Chu Yi took his hand.
"Let's go." Chu Yi looked up and said, her face fair and cute, like a little junior or senior high school student.
Qiao Anchen felt a lump in his throat, sighed silently, and pulled her outside.
As he passed a full-length mirror, he thought to himself, "I should have found a younger-looking t-shirt instead of wearing a shirt."
The way the two walked together made it seem like an adult was leading a female student in a puppy love affair.
Sure enough, when they were shopping in the supermarket's fresh produce section, Chu Yi took his arm and pointed to eggplants and cucumbers, asking him which one to buy. Qiao Anchen thought for a moment and put a purple eggplant into the shopping cart.
Chu Yi looked up at him with a sweet smile: "I also want to eat eggplant. How about braised eggplant tonight?"
"Okay." Qiao Anchen nodded, his expression gentle and smiling.
The interaction between the two clearly caught the attention of an auntie who was also picking out vegetables nearby. She glanced at them first, then looked at them seriously a second time with a puzzled expression, before glaring at Qiao Anchen with some dissatisfaction and pushing her cart away.
Qiao Anchen stood there, forcing a bitter smile.
Chu Yi was completely unaware of all this. She took his hand and prepared to walk forward. The supermarket aisle was narrow, and someone pushed a cart across from them. Qiao Anchen quickly helped her lean back against the aisle, and Chu Yi took two steps back and fell into his arms.
Qiao Anchen took the opportunity to put his arm around her, holding her loosely against his chest from behind, until the shopping cart passed by.
The man pushing the cart was an older man. His gaze swept over the two of them, lingered for several seconds, and then looked away. As he left, he seemed to sigh and shake his head.
"Shall we go buy some pork ribs and stew some corn?" Chu Yi said, tilting his head back. Qiao Anchen, looking dazed, quickly nodded.
"Okay, let's go over there."
"You seem a little distracted today," Chu Yi noticed and asked him softly, to which Qiao Anchen immediately replied.
"No," he said, then added, seemingly trying to cover up the truth.
Don't overthink it.
"Oh." Chu Yi lowered her eyes slightly.
After the two returned home from grocery shopping and put the bags away, Chu Yi immediately took a clip and tied her hair up. She then went into the kitchen to help Qiao Anchen.
With only the two of them at home, Qiao Anchen looked much more relaxed, no longer as uncomfortable as she had been in the supermarket.
Two days ago, I followed a food blogger and saw her braised eggplant tutorial. It was very simple and looked delicious.
She decided to give it a try.
He lit the fire and heated the oil. Chu Yi stood in front with a spatula, eager to try. Qiao Anchen glanced at her clean beige overalls, took down the apron hanging on the wall next to her, put it over Chu Yi's head, and then bent down to tie it for her.
Chu Yi felt his movements and strength behind her waist, and her muscles tightened slightly. She smiled and curled her lips into a smile.
Before going to bed at night, Qiao Anchen finished washing up and came out of the bathroom. Chu Yi was sitting on the bed looking at him.
This familiar scene gave Qiao Anchen a bad feeling. His expression tightened, and he cautiously walked over, swallowing hard.
Chu Yi patted the bed next to him to indicate that Qiao Anchen had taken a look, then bent his knees and climbed onto the bed, and sat cross-legged opposite her.
"What's wrong..." Qiao Anchen had just finished asking when Chu Yi leaned over and slowly touched his lips.
"How was it?" she asked, sitting up straight after the kiss.
"What do you mean, how?" Qiao Anchen was completely confused.
"Is there any difference between how I kiss you now and how I used to kiss you?"
After hearing what Chu Yi said, Qiao Anchen stared blankly for two seconds, then pursed his lips seriously to feel it, and shook his head, "No."
"Come on then." Chu Yi said calmly, reaching out to unbutton her pajamas.
"Wh-what?" Qiao Anchen was so taken aback by her actions that he stammered, staring blankly at her without reacting.