Can I still be saved? [Transmigration] - Chapter 12
It had rained the day before, and the weather was cool and refreshing.
Su Yunjing and Fu Hanzhou sat side by side under the shade of a tree. They were sitting so close that even the slightest movement would cause their arms to brush against each other.
Fu Hanzhou’s body, like his personality, was cool and clear, like a piece of jade soaked in an icy spring. Just looking at him in the heat of summer made one feel refreshed.
Su Yunjing had only spent a few days teaching him, but Fu Hanzhou had already learned pinyin. That gave Su Yunjing a great sense of accomplishment.
Lately, the little cool cub’s temper had clearly improved. At the very least, when Su Yunjing touched him now, he no longer slapped his hand away coldly like before.
Watching the delicate little guy concentrate on his writing, Su Yunjing couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional.
Just over a month ago, this cold and aloof kid wouldn’t even look at him.
Now, they were sitting this close and Fu Hanzhou didn’t react at all.
Su Yunjing was genuinely pleased. He reached out and ruffled the little topknot tied at the back of Fu Hanzhou’s head.
Fu Hanzhou hadn’t had a haircut in a long time. His soft black hair now covered his ears, so Su Yunjing had tied it up into a half-bun for him.
After being well-fed for a while, Fu Hanzhou’s complexion had visibly improved. His thin lips had taken on a subtle rosy tint, like they’d been lightly tinted with lipstick.
With those refined features, rosy lips, and pearly white teeth, Fu Hanzhou looked no different from a little girl at first glance.
While he was quietly doing his work, Fu Hanzhou gave Su Yunjing’s hand a sharp slap, clearly annoyed by the sudden head-pat.
His jet-black eyes swept coldly toward Su Yunjing.
Su Yunjing awkwardly retracted his hand.
After a long pause, Fu Hanzhou furrowed his brows tightly, like he had made up his mind. “Can you cut my hair?”
Su Yunjing froze. “You sure you want me to cut it?”
Fu Hanzhou replied, “Just… try to make it look decent.”
He was tired of the other kids in the orphanage teasing him about looking like a girl because of his tied-up hair.
Fu Hanzhou didn’t normally care what others said, but even Su Yunjing had been saying he looked like a little girl lately.
It was annoying.
Su Yunjing had never cut anyone’s hair before. Looking at Fu Hanzhou’s head of thick, silky black hair, he didn’t know where his confidence was coming from.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely give you a stylish cut.”
To pull that off, Su Yunjing actually went to a neighborhood barbershop near his apartment complex to learn for three days.
Three days later, he brought a pair of black scissors, a pillowcase, and a small spray bottle used for watering plants.
He wrapped the pillowcase gently around Fu Hanzhou’s slender neck and dampened his hair with the spray bottle.
“I’m gonna start,” Su Yunjing warned, scissors in hand. “Try not to move.”
“Mm.”
Su Yunjing nervously made his first-ever cut in life.
Turns out, three days was nowhere near enough to master the craft.
Not to mention master skills, he didn’t even get the basics right.
Fu Hanzhou’s once-lovely shoulder-length hair was now uneven and patchy, just a tiny step above ‘chewed by a dog.’
Su Yunjing: “…”
Even he couldn’t bear to look at his handiwork.
Fu Hanzhou, on the other hand, was more receptive. He hadn’t expected much to begin with.
This result was… exactly what he’d anticipated.
As it turns out, no matter how good-looking someone is, the wrong haircut will do them dirty.
Fu Hanzhou’s delicate, porcelain-like features, paired with this choppy, dog-bite-style haircut and thick slanted bangs, transform the little cool cub into a full-blown Northeastern little shamate1.
Su Yunjing was practically overcome with guilt.
Fu Hanzhou, however, didn’t say anything. He simply went to the garden hose to rinse off.
Seeing that he was about to wash his hair with cold water, Su Yunjing quickly pulled him back. “You’ll catch a cold like this.”
He asked Fu Hanzhou to bring two washbasins. Su Yunjing filled them with cool water and set them under the sun.
Less than twenty minutes later, the water had warmed up.
Squatting in front of Fu Hanzhou, Su Yunjing cupped the warm water and gently rinsed off the stray hair clippings on his neck.
His fingers were warm, and his movement soft and careful.
The touch made Fu Hanzhou think of her.
When she was in one of her fits, she’d grab him by the hair and shove him into the bathroom.
The water from the shower was usually freezing, and the spray would slam into his face so hard he couldn’t even open his eyes.
That’s why Fu Hanzhou had always hated being touched; touch was something dangerous, disgusting.
Su Yunjing rinsed his hair twice, making sure to wash away all the tiny strands.
He then washed the pillowcase, wrung it out, and gently used it to dry Fu Hanzhou’s hair.
The whole time, Fu Hanzhou stayed silent and cooperative, so much so that he didn’t seem like himself.
Su Yunjing couldn’t help but glance up at him.
The little cool cub had his eyes downcast. His damp lashes glistened with water, and he looked unusually drowsy.
Like this, Fu Hanzhou looked a lot softer than usual. Su Yunjing couldn’t resist giving his head a light pat again.
Then he said to Full Hanzhou, “Take off your shirt. I’ll rinse it for you.”
Even with the towel wrapped around him, his collar was covered in tiny hairs.
Fu Hanzhou hesitated for a moment, then took off his shirt.
His skin was pale, like translucent jade, which only made the crisscrossing scars on his body look even more jarring.
His ribs were visible, and the ugly welts on his body were horrifying.
Although his complexion had improved lately, he hadn’t gained much weight.
Su Yunjing’s throat tightened and looked Full Hanzhou. He didn’t know what to say.
He wanted to ask if it hurt but what kind of question was that?
Even a grown man would struggle with injuries like that, let alone a skinny seven-year-old.
In the end, Su Yunjing said nothing and turned his eyes away.
He placed a White Rabbit milk candy in Fu Hanzhou’s palm and forced a smile.
“You haven’t finished your workbook for today. Go on and get to it while I wash your shirt.”
Fu Hanzhou said nothing and silently went to the shaded area with his terrible haircut to do the assignments Su Yunjing had given him.
Su Yunjing pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to calm himself.
Once he’d steadied his emotions, he filled another basin of water and carefully washed the stray hairs from Fu Hanzhou’s shirt.
Fu Hanzhou held his pencil and watched Su Yunjing squatting by the water spout, scrubbing the shirt.
Sunlight filtered through his thick lashes, casting a warm golden sheen in his eyes, like syrup melting into sugar.
Something within him slowly began to thaw.
He held the candy in his hand for a while, then finally peeled it open.
After picking off every last hair, Su Yunjing wrung the shirt dry and hung it in the corner of the courtyard.
Shaking the water off his hands, he walked back over to Fu Hanzhou.
“So? How are you doing with these problems?”
He glanced down and saw that Fu Hanzhou hadn’t done much.
Still, what little he had done was mostly correct.
Su Yunjing said nothing more and sat down beside him.
No sooner had he sat down than Fu Hanzhou brought something sticky to his lips.
It was half a milk candy, with two tiny bite marks at the end.
Su Yunjing couldn’t help but laugh. In fact, he still had candy in his pocket, so there was no real need to share.
But this was the first time Fu Hanzhou had saved something for him. Su Yunjing smiled and leaned forward to take a bite.
“You keep working. If you get stuck, just ask me,” he said, patting the boy’s head.
Fu Hanzhou let out a soft “Mm” and lowered his head to continue writing.
Seeing the scars crisscrossed over Fu Hanzhou’s back, Su Yunjing felt another pang in his chest.
He had the urge to reach out and touch them, but he didn’t dare. He was afraid of hurting the boy’s pride.
Fu Hanzhou did have a bit of an image complex. And with the ridiculous haircut Su Yunjing gave him, he had no choice but to try and fix it himself.
It was still ugly, but at least now it was neatly cut. Even so, he still got teased by the other kids.
The worst offender was the chubby boy.
Su Yunjing caught him and gave him a proper scolding before he finally slunk away.