The Daughter-In-Law Is So Pitiful? Just Take Her Home and Pamper Her! - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: What to Tattoo

Chen Mi’s breath caught. The sting on his lips made his whole body tremble. Instinctively, he licked the wound, tasting a metallic hint of bl00d mixed with Xu Yao’s familiar minty tobacco scent.

“Does it hurt?” Xu Yao asked hoarsely, his thumb still pressing against Chen Mi’s bleeding lips.

Chen Mi shook his head… then nodded. Morning light spilled into the alley, casting a golden glow on Xu Yao’s head. Only then did Chen Mi notice how red the tips of Xu Yao’s ears had become.

Xu Yao suddenly grabbed Chen Mi’s hand and pressed it against his left chest. Through the thin fabric, Chen Mi could feel the wild thump of his heartbeat—and the uneven ridges of a tattoo: the outline of a cliff.

“I was going to get a star here,” Xu Yao’s voice was barely audible. “But now, I don’t want to anymore.”

Chen Mi suddenly understood. His fingers followed the lines of the tattoo, eventually resting over Xu Yao’s heart. “Then what do you want to get?”

Xu Yao’s breathing grew heavier. He grabbed Chen Mi’s wandering fingers and abruptly pulled him into his arms. Chen Mi’s nose bumped into Xu Yao’s collarbone, catching the scent of hair dye and cigarettes.

“A cat,” Xu Yao whispered against his ear, “just like how you look when you’re sleeping. I want its paw pressed right over my heart.”

Flushed, Chen Mi wriggled free from Xu Yao’s embrace and bolted toward the barbershop.

“Customers are about to come—I… I need to prep the towels!”

Xu Yao yanked him back by the wrist, pulling him in front of himself again. Morning light poured through the glass door, casting a crisscross of shadows at their feet.

“I already prepped the towels last night,” Xu Yao said with a teasing smile, his thumb gently rubbing the feverish skin of Chen Mi’s wrist. “So why are you running?”

At some point, the three kittens had quietly perched by the door, tilting their heads at the pair with curious eyes and twitching tails. In the distance, vendors began calling out their breakfast specials—the alleyway was waking up.

Chen Mi kept his head down, his gaze falling on the tattoo across Xu Yao’s chest. The cliff outline looked especially vivid in the morning light, as if it were waiting for something to fill in the blank space.

“I…” he began, but the shop phone suddenly rang.

Xu Yao sighed and let go. “Go answer it.”

Chen Mi practically fled into the shop, only to hear Xu Yao say from behind, “We’ll continue discussing the tattoo after closing.”

The caller was a client who had booked a haircut. Chen Mi answered distractedly, his gaze drifting to the doorway. Xu Yao was crouching and playing with the three kittens. Morning light gilded his figure, and the tattoo on his left chest peeked out from beneath his tank top.

After hanging up, Chen Mi’s fingers lingered on the receiver. Through the glass door, he watched Xu Yao crouch on the steps, playing enthusiastically with the kittens using a piece of foxtail grass he had found somewhere.

Sunlight filtered through his fingers, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

“What time is the appointment?” Xu Yao asked without turning around, his voice blending with the scent of soy milk drifting in from the alley.

“Ten… ten-thirty.” Chen Mi stammered, nervously twisting the phone cord around his fingers. He caught sight of the tattoo peeking from Xu Yao’s collar—the cliff’s edge rising and falling slightly with his movements.

Xu Yao suddenly stood. One of the kittens let out an annoyed “meow” as it leapt onto his shoulder, while the other two circled around his feet. He turned and entered the shop, his silhouette glowing gold in the backlight.

“Still early.”

He gently pinched the scruff of the kitten on his shoulder and placed it on the ground, then strode toward Chen Mi.

Before Chen Mi could react, he was pulled into the back shampoo area. Xu Yao yanked the curtain shut behind them. The beaded strands clattered together, scattering flecks of light like stars.

“You…” Chen Mi’s lower back bumped into the sink, the cold seeping through his thin T-shirt. Xu Yao caged him in with his arms on either side, the scent of cigarettes wrapping around him.

“What about me?” Xu Yao’s voice was low and gritty, laced with fatigue from a sleepless night. His hand traced the curve of Chen Mi’s waist.

Chen Mi could feel Xu Yao’s breath brushing his eyelashes, tinged with tobacco. He instinctively gripped the edge of the sink behind him, the porcelain’s chill biting into his palms.

“Your… your stubble,” Chen Mi stammered, raising his hand to gently touch Xu Yao’s chin. His eyes darted around nervously. There was some stubble—dark and sharp—growing in under the morning light.

Xu Yao chuckled lowly and leaned in, deliberately rubbing his stubble against Chen Mi’s nose. “Did it on purpose.” The scratchy feel made Chen Mi flinch and shrink his neck.

“So, what should I tattoo, hmm? I’ll go with whatever my wife wants.”

Chen Mi’s ears flushed so red they looked like they might bleed. He tugged at Xu Yao’s shirt. “W-Who are you calling your wife…”

Xu Yao took the chance to rub his nose again, his stubble scraping against Chen Mi’s skin and making him lean back. But Xu Yao’s hand around his waist held him firm. The morning light filtered through the beaded curtain, casting glimmering specks of light around them—like a shower of stars.

Suddenly, the white kitten poked its head through the curtain and let out a loud “meow,” then vanished again, making the beads jingle.

Chen Mi seized the chance to push Xu Yao away—but moved too fast and banged his lower back on the faucet.

“Ah—!”

Xu Yao’s hand was already cushioning his waist, his palm warm. “Clumsy.” He leaned in to check, their noses nearly touching. “Where did you hit? Let me see.”

Flustered, Chen Mi grabbed his wandering hand. “I’m fine!” But then he felt a fresh scratch on the back of Xu Yao’s hand.

“What’s this?”

“Cat scratch,” Xu Yao said without missing a beat.

Outside, the kittens let out annoyed cries. Chen Mi narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Liar,” he said, pulling Xu Yao’s hand closer. “This is—”

Before he could finish, his lips were covered.

Xu Yao’s kiss carried the bitterness of cigarettes and the coolness of mint. His tongue grazed Chen Mi’s upper palate, sending a jolt of tingles down to the base of his spine.

“Boss! My wife’s going into labor! Give me a haircut that’ll bless my wife and baby with good luck!”

Xu Yao dropped his forehead onto Chen Mi’s shoulder with a deep sigh. Outside the curtain, the calico cat let out a schadenfreude-filled “meow.”

…

The barbershop was bustling all morning.

The anxious dad-to-be had barely left when a group of women arrived for a wedding prep. Chen Mi was spinning in circles, nearly knocking over a box of hair dye as he rushed to hand out towels. Xu Yao caught him by the collar just in time.

“Watch where you’re going, clumsy cat.”

His palm lingered on the back of Chen Mi’s neck for two seconds, the warmth seeping through skin and into his bloodstream. Blushing, Chen Mi went to grab a comb—only to find Xu Yao had already lined up all the tools in the proper order.

…

At lunchtime, Sister Lin arrived carrying two bowls of noodles.

“Come, come, try my new recipe. See if it’s any good.”

“Oh my, Xiao Mi, why are your ears so red?”

Xu Yao didn’t even blink as he added chili oil to his bowl. “It’s hot.”

Chen Mi buried his face in the noodles—only to find two braised eggs hidden at the bottom.