The Daughter-In-Law Is So Pitiful? Just Take Her Home and Pamper Her! - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Birthday Barbershop

The bravest thing Chen Mi had ever done in his life was putting up the alcohol-reeking old house for sale the day after his father’s funeral.

The stupidest thing? Sewing all the money from the sale—along with the compensation for his father’s hit-and-run death—into the pocket of his jeans. He thought if the stitching was tight enough, and if he wore the jeans inside out, nothing could go wrong. He even patted the bulging pocket one last time before boarding the bus.

Now, rain pelted against the glass like a broken string of beads, and he was curled up in the corner of a 24-hour self-service bank, his fingers trembling as they traced the clean, neat slit inside the pocket.

Three minutes ago, the curly-haired old lady who helped him pick up coins had used a razor blade hidden between her fingers to steal away everything he had left—his last thread of hope.

“If you’re gonna sleep, do it outside!” The bank security guard’s rubber baton slammed against the metal bench with a loud “thud,” making his temples throb violently.

Chen Mi staggered to his feet. Three one-yuan coins clinked in his other pocket—his final possessions, not even enough for the cheapest bowl of plain noodles.

His stomach had long since begun protesting hunger—starting with a burning pain, turning into the dull scrape of a blunt knife, and finally settling into a strange numbness. Through the curtain of rain outside the bank, the city’s neon lights blurred like watercolor smudged by water—distant and distorted.

As rain dripped from the elevated highway above, he caught sight of a glowing neon sign at the mouth of the alley across the street. “Star Barbershop” (星辰理发店)—though the character for “Star” was missing its top radical. A red-and-blue barber pole spun slowly in the rain, casting an eerie glow. A yellowed hiring notice was stuck on the glass door: Apprentice Wanted. Meals and lodging included.

“I heard that Xu Yao guy’s a mad dog!” The pancake vendor gossiped while flipping batter, talking to a nearby vegetable vendor.

“Someone caused trouble in his shop last month and ended up getting slashed so bad even their own mother wouldn’t recognize them.”

Chen Mi stared at his reflection in the glass door.

His face was pale as paper—crumpled, then forced flat again—drained of all color. His soaked shirt clung to him, outlining the ridges of his ribs.

A bruise still lingered faintly at his collarbone—a parting gift from his father’s belt.

He took a deep breath and rolled his sleeves up to the elbows.

The marks from the clothesline that debt collectors had used to tie him up had already faded into greenish-yellow bands—like ugly snakes coiled around his wrists.

The moment the wind chime above the door rang, every sound—hair clippers, conversation—stopped.

A man in a black tank top glanced up in the mirror. One eyebrow raised. A silver earring on his lobe glinted coldly as he turned. A pale scar traced across his right brow bone—like a sliver of moonlight that hadn’t healed. Chen Mi also noticed a scar in the web between his thumb and forefinger, the kind left by something sharp piercing through.

“Haircut?” The man—presumably Xu Yao—was shaving a customer, the razor steady just above the Adam’s apple.

His slightly upturned eyes reflected in the mirror, along with a faint tattoo peeking from the base of his neck.

“Are you hiring an apprentice?” Chen Mi’s voice was steadier than he expected.

He stepped forward, catching the scent of minty aftershave in the air… mixed with a faint trace of rust.

“I can wash hair, sweep the floors, do accounting…” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke.

He undid the top button of his shirt, revealing faint finger-shaped bruises on the side of his neck.

“I can even be a hostage.”

The razor twirled a graceful arc between Xu Yao’s fingers.

Suddenly, Xu Yao leaned in—bringing with him the scent of tobacco and lemon-scented shampoo. His rough thumb brushed over the bruise on Chen Mi’s neck, making Chen Mi flinch as if electrocuted.

“I don’t need a hostage,” Xu Yao said, his voice low. His canine tooth gleamed under the light. “What I need is someone to warm my bed.”

“…Alright.” The word escaped before Chen Mi even realized.

Apprentice Ahei gasped sharply in the background.

Xu Yao froze for half a second—then burst out laughing. His laugh made the silver chain on his chest sway.

As he turned to grab a glass jar from the counter, Chen Mi caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the back of his neck—half a wing… or maybe a blade.

“Meals and lodging included. Half your pay gets docked.” The coins flew through the air, catching the light—the exact three coins he’d taken from Chen Mi’s pocket—landing perfectly in the jar.

The glass jar was already half full of coins, sparkling under the lamp. “Why?”

As the smell of hair gel wafted past and the apron was thrown over his head, Chen Mi heard a teasing whisper in the dark:

“Gotta save up to marry my little bed-warmer, right?”

As the apron slipped down, he saw Xu Yao idly toying with the razor again.

There were small words engraved on the handle:

“To my little sacrifice.”