Little T Lurking in the Beauty Salon, What's the Purpose of All the Flirting? - Chapter 1

Girl, I’m practically dizzy from being played around with!

All I wanted was to hydrate this old face. All I wanted was a massage to relax my aching muscles. All I did was get a membership card at the beauty salon… God, Buddha, Guanyin, do you really have to mess with me like this?

I need to calm down before continuing. My shoulder blades still ache from Xiao T’s massage yesterday. I swear, it felt like I owed her a new iPhone! That wasn’t a massage—it was a bone-crushing debt collection!

But to be fair, she’s not a professional. Rumor has it her mom owns the salon, and she’s just managing it. Yesterday, they were short-staffed, so she volunteered to give me the massage herself. Or maybe it was because I was so nervous. Based on her previous behavior, I strongly suspect she was just trying to flirt with me, tease me, and… claim me.

I’m going to get some water. I’ll start this story, and if anyone’s interested, I’ll continue later.

This girl is a P—well, more accurately, I was bent halfway along the way. After moving recently, I discovered a beauty salon nearby. With autumn approaching and my skin feeling constantly dry, I decided to get a membership card for treatments.

I’m just telling the story as it happened, no melodramatic Reader’s Digest style. Bear with me.

On my first visit, the receptionist was incredibly enthusiastic, offering a free trial treatment. I changed into the robe and lay down. Moments later, my phone rang in my bag. The receptionist, her hands covered in various lotions and tools, asked, Should I answer it? Hearing the ringtone, I recognized it was Xixi, my T, calling. Yes, please, I said. It’s in my bag. Could you grab it for me? She called out to someone nearby, Lao Mi, can you get the phone?

I peeked open one eye and saw someone standing beside the bed. Uh… I instinctively checked to make sure my chest was properly covered. Having navigated the world for years, I immediately recognized her as a T! Clean-cut, short-haired, dressed neatly, hands in her pockets, she stood by the bed, watching me.

To be honest, she was quite handsome, so I was a bit stunned when she handed me the phone.

I answered, and Xixi suggested we grab dinner later. After a brief exchange, I hung up. Lao Mi, who had been standing nearby the whole time, reached out to take the phone, glanced at my phone’s wallpaper, and gave me a forced, insincere wink.

My wallpaper was a photo of me kissing Xixi.

My heart skipped a beat. This guy has no manners! What’s he staring at? Before I could finish cursing him in my head, he suddenly leaned in and reached out, his hand landing on my left cheek.

I wanted to scream Keep your damn hands off me!

Lao Mi patted my cheek and said to the technician, Her skin is too dry, and those dark circles are terrible. We should add an eye treatment too.

The technician nodded in agreement. Lao Mi turned to me and said, Our treatments are excellent. You’ll see once you try them. That photo on your phone looks pretty good too…

Pretty good, my ass! Is this how you harass customers? Or is my mind just too dirty, reading too much into things? Fucking hell!

After completing the entire procedure, the saleswoman kept trying to recommend various products to me, but I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. My mind was preoccupied with how to politely decline signing up for a membership card or anything similar. I just didn’t trust the place. These T and P types are especially wary of such things, and my sixth sense was telling me something was off. If I kept coming here and things got awkward, Xixi would tear me apart eventually.

When I finally braced myself to leave, Lao Mi was thankfully gone. The saleswoman pulled out a stack of menus and resumed her sales pitch. Just then, Xixi burst in, yelling, Are you done yet? I’m starving! Let’s go eat!

Seizing the opportunity, I tried to slip away, but the saleswoman stopped me. Your skin condition really needs immediate improvement, she said.

Oh, oh, oh your sister!

Xixi grabbed the menus and asked, Which one should we get? The saleswoman pointed to the package she’d been pushing and quoted a discounted price.

Without hesitation, Xixi pulled out her card and handed it to the saleswoman. I grabbed her arm, pressed my chin against her shoulder, and whispered, There’s something fishy about this!

She turned her head and gave me a questioning Huh? before adding, What? I’m starving! Stop fussing and let’s hurry up and eat. And you really need to take care of that old face of yours.

Xixi, my dear mother… there really is something going on here… a sassy T is lurking in the shadows!

Xixi eagerly dragged me to dinner, and I didn’t bring up Lao Mi again. In the six months we’d been together, she always said our astrological signs clashed. One moment we’d be passionately in love, the next we’d be arguing so fiercely we’d be smashing dishes. She had a fiery temper; she could spoil you rotten one minute, letting you whine and act spoiled, but the moment you talked back, a fight would erupt—sometimes even turning physical.

Too bad for her, my only hobby was talking back.

Over those six months, I lost count of how many fights we’d had. Though she didn’t look particularly butch, she fought like a man—no hair-pulling or scratching, just pure Chinese martial arts. Meanwhile, I’d resort to grabbing and clawing, ensuring neither of us looked good after a brawl.

After dinner, we went back to my place. Xixi usually lived at home with her parents. While I was showering, she barged in, pressed her face against my chest, and rubbed herself all over me. Can’t you wait until I’m done? I snapped.

She flew into a rage, shoving me against the wall. What’s with all the restraint? she yelled. So many guys want to touch me, but I won’t let them. You just don’t love me!

I was pissed. My bones slammed against the wall, making me want to shove her headfirst into the toilet.

I’d planned to tell her about Lao Mi that night, but then I thought better of it. With her temper, she’d either tear down his shop or tear me apart at home. I’d just be careful myself; nothing bad should happen. After all, I was Lao Mi’s god—she wouldn’t dare mess with a god, right?

Looking back now, I realize my brain was truly full of fish back then. None of us—not her, not Lao Mi, not even me—were exactly angels.