Chapter Forty-One: Intense Reactions

"Wasn't she getting her hair permed just now? You girls always spend hours at the salon, don't you?" Kang Ge stood up as he spoke to Yan Xue, not appearing in any hurry.

"You know quite a lot! Did you used to go with your girlfriend to get her hair done?" Yan Xue teased him.

"Even though I don't have a girlfriend, I do have a mother and a little sister!" Kang Ge spread his hands. "I've been cruelly conscripted by the two of them, forced to play chauffeur and attendant. They'd go to the salon to get beautiful, I'd take a nap in the car, go out for a meal, and when I came back, they still wouldn't be finished!"

"You're really a good son and a good brother!" Yan Xue gave him a thumbs-up. "Did you think those glamorous photos Wu Beibei posts are just snapped and uploaded right away? Every single one is carefully retouched. And that takes time too! She probably takes a selfie as soon as she starts her perm, edits it, and by the time she posts it, she's almost done."

"I'll take your word for it—let's go! Let's wait for her!" Although Kang Ge had experience accompanying his mother and sister to the hair salon, he wasn't as familiar with the photo-editing process as Yan Xue, so he readily accepted her suggestion. "Speaking of photo editing, you seem to know all about it, but how come I've never seen you post any photos in your social media circle?"

"I don't enjoy posting. I don't have the patience to retouch photos, and I don't like people making random comments—it ruins my mood," Yan Xue waved her hand dismissively. "I have a cousin who can't say a nice word if he tried; he's always so cutting. Whenever I used to post a photo, he'd pick it apart, never satisfied. I try not to care what comes out of a dog's mouth, but posting a photo should be about sharing happiness. When things like that happen, it spoils everything. After a while, I just stopped posting altogether."

"That doesn't sound like you at all. Why not just talk back to him?" Kang Ge seemed surprised at her evasive approach.

"I can't. He's a scoundrel—says whatever he pleases. If you take him seriously, he'll accuse you of being thin-skinned, unable to take honest criticism, or he'll say he was just joking, and that you can't take a joke. Either way, you end up angry for nothing, and he always comes out on top. It's exhausting." Yan Xue shook her head.

"Wow, your family circle sounds pretty tough!" Kang Ge clicked his tongue in amazement. "You're like the little grass trying to grow through the cracks in the asphalt—it's not easy!"

"It’s not all bad; we do have some decent relatives. The problem is, those few oddballs are so dominant. When they stir things up, everyone else just wants to stay out of it, so the normal ones keep their heads down and drift further away. In the end, the family circle becomes a stage for the weird ones to make all the noise."

"A classic case of bad money driving out the good," Kang Ge nodded, understanding. "It's like the whole table of delicious dishes can't compete with the stink if someone opens a can of fermented tofu nearby. It’s really frustrating."

They left the side gate of K University, circled around to the commercial street, and found the hair salon Wu Beibei frequented by following the signs along the street. Kang Ge told Yan Xue to wait outside while he went in to check.

"If you go in, they'll pester you—try to get you to dye, perm, or get a treatment. They won't bother me; they'll just think I'm looking for my girlfriend." Kang Ge ran his hand over his freshly cut short hair.

With that, he strode inside and soon came back out. "She's in there, just like you guessed—she's at the final styling stage."

So the two of them stood by the sidewalk outside the salon. After about five or six minutes, a girl in a beige dress with black polka dots and a loose mint-green knitted cardigan emerged. Her hair had clearly been carefully styled—soft, wavy curls fell to her chest, giving her a particularly sweet look. It was Wu Beibei herself.

Yan Xue took note that there were no other girls with her, nor was anyone waiting outside. Wu Beibei walked straight out of the salon toward campus, apparently alone.

Since she had no companions, now was the perfect time to approach her.

They quickly caught up, and just as they were about to reach her, Yan Xue called out from behind, "Wu Beibei!"

The pretty girl in front stopped in her tracks and turned around, looking in the direction of the voice. But she didn’t see anyone she recognized, so her expression was a bit puzzled.

"Hello!" Yan Xue greeted her with a cheerful wave. "Wu Beibei, hi, may I have a word with you?"

"About what?" Wu Beibei's brows furrowed slightly as she eyed Yan Xue warily. "I don’t think I know you, do I?"

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet! My name is Yan Xue, from the W City Police Department, and this is my colleague, Kang Ge." As Yan Xue spoke, she showed her badge and introduced the now-arrived Kang Ge.

A flash of surprise crossed Wu Beibei’s eyes when she saw Kang Ge, but as soon as she realized what Yan Xue’s introduction meant, that hint of amazement disappeared instantly.

"Police? Why are you looking for me? I used to date Xu Wenrui, but we broke up ages ago. Since then, we've gone our separate ways—no contact whatsoever. If you want to ask about him, find someone else, anyone else. Don't come to me—I have no obligation." Despite her sweet looks, Wu Beibei’s tone was sharp and fierce, especially under the current circumstances.

"So, you already know about Xu Wenrui?" Yan Xue asked.

Wu Beibei snorted. "I do. He died, didn’t he? What’s that got to do with me? It’s none of my business."

"That’s not really fair. You loved each other once. The dead deserve respect. Whatever happened between you, can’t you put it aside for now? Think back to when you were together—he must have treated you well at some point. Could you help us out?" Kang Ge tried to reason with her.

"Sorry, no." Wu Beibei’s lips curled into a smile, but it was cold and even held a trace of cruel schadenfreude. "I honestly can’t recall a single good thing he ever did for me. If I try, I just think how stupid and blind I must have been to ever date him!

In short, don’t bother me about him. I have nothing to say. We’ve been broken up for eons. We’re more like strangers than strangers. I have nothing to offer, and that’s that. Please don’t disturb me again!"

With that, she turned on her heel and strode away. After a few steps, she glanced back to make sure they weren’t following, saw Yan Xue and Kang Ge standing where they were, and only then relaxed, slowing her pace but not looking back again.

"That’s a lot of resentment!" Yan Xue remarked. "Sounds like their breakup was a drawn-out battle—probably left nothing but bad blood! So, what now?"

"Now... I need to take this call!" Kang Ge waved his phone. "The office has already called once while we were talking to Wu Beibei. Let me see what’s going on."

Yan Xue nodded. Since it was work, she didn’t need to step away. She stood by as Kang Ge answered the call and responded briefly.

"Let’s go. We need to head back to the station—someone’s waiting to see us!" Hanging up, Kang Ge beckoned to Yan Xue. "We’d better hurry—let’s not keep them waiting!"