The Daughter-In-Law Is So Pitiful? Just Take Her Home and Pamper Her! - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Couple-Style Dog-Chomp Bangs

The ceiling fan buzzed overhead.
Chen Mi stood in front of the mirror, scissors in hand, a fine layer of sweat forming on his forehead.

“Shake one more time and you’re going to wash towels,” Xu Yao said lazily from the chair, lifting his eyelids.
“It’s just trimming bangs, not defusing a bomb.”

Chen Mi pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, and carefully pinched a few strands of hair from Xu Yao’s fringe. Xu Yao’s hair was softer than he’d expected, carrying a faint scent of shampoo. When the ends brushed against his fingertips, it tickled.

Snip.

With the very first cut, Chen Mi knew he’d messed up.

The bangs were crooked.

Panicked, he tried to fix it and snipped again—That made it worse.

The left side was now way shorter than the right, looking like it had been chewed by a dog.

Xu Yao stared at his reflection in silence for three seconds.

“…”

Chen Mi swallowed and tried to explain quietly, “I—I slipped…”

Xu Yao didn’t say anything. He stood up slowly, took a pair of scissors from the drawer, and crooked a finger at Chen Mi. “Come here.”

Chen Mi instinctively stepped back, but Xu Yao had already grabbed his wrist and pushed him down into the chair.

“Since you like the dog-chomp style so much,” Xu Yao said with a dangerous gleam in his voice, “let’s match.”

When the cold blade touched his forehead, Chen Mi shut his eyes.

He could hear the steady snip snip of the scissors, and feel strands of hair falling onto his face, some even sticking to his eyelashes.

When he opened his eyes again, the mirror revealed—A matching dog-chomped fringe.

Uneven, jagged, one side longer than the other—It looked like a wheat field after a typhoon.

“…”

Xu Yao patted his cheek with satisfaction. “Couple style. Like it?”

Chen Mi’s cheeks flushed.

He stared at the two figures in the mirror—Xu Yao with his stern face and ridiculous bangs, and his own miserable self. He almost wanted to laugh.

But he held it in.

By the time their first customer came through the door after the haircut disaster, Chen Mi was quietly wiping the scissors.

“Welcome—” He looked up, and his voice died in his throat.

It was Sister Lin, the owner of the small restaurant next door, holding a bag of oranges.

Her gaze shifted between Chen Mi and Xu Yao, finally landing on their identical dog-chomp bangs.

“…”

“…”

Silence blanketed the room like a quiet river.

Sister Lin’s mouth twitched, like she’d just been stung by a bee. She took a deep breath, then suddenly turned around and buried her face in the orange bag, shoulders shaking violently.

“Want a haircut?” Xu Yao asked calmly, his earring catching the light with a cold gleam. “Take a seat.”

Sister Lin’s face turned beet red.

She pointed a trembling finger at Chen Mi’s fringe. “Xiao Xu… this new style of yours… really unique?”

“Couple cut,” Xu Yao said, picking up a comb. “Want to try?”

“No no no!” Sister Lin bolted, even forgetting to take her oranges.

—Ten minutes later—

The whole street knew.

Aunt Wang from the pancake stall made a special trip to the barbershop just to get a look at the legendary “couple-style dog-chomp bangs.”

Ah Hei snuck a picture from some hidden corner of the shop.

Xu Yao stood at the door with a cigarette between his lips, grinning coldly at every nosy neighbor. “Keep staring and I’ll charge you. Fifty per look.”

Meanwhile, Chen Mi hid in the bathroom, trying to fix his bangs with the scissors.

But the more he cut, the worse it got. By the end, all that remained was a fluffy row of uneven stubble—he looked like a little dog that had been shaved bald.

“Stop messing with it,” came Xu Yao’s voice from behind.

He reached out and brushed aside the remaining strands of Chen Mi’s fringe, then chuckled. “Kind of cute, actually.”

In the mirror, their bangs tilted opposite each other like some kind of absurd symmetrical artwork.

By evening, as they were closing up, Xu Yao finally showed a sliver of mercy (actually, he just felt bad for his wife).
He called Chen Mi over.

“Sit down.”

“For what?” Chen Mi asked warily.

Xu Yao didn’t answer. He simply picked up the scissors and moved toward Chen Mi, who flinched.

“Don’t move.”

Chen Mi froze.

The scissors flashed between Xu Yao’s fingers, glinting coldly as mismatched strands fell around them.

Sometimes he lifted a section with the comb and snipped precisely. Other times he pinched the hair between two fingers and sliced at an angle, layering with deft control.

His movements were clean, sharp—utterly confident.

Before long, Chen Mi’s dog-chomped bangs were gone.
Now he had a neatly trimmed, textured short cut that made him look fresh and tidy.

Chen Mi stared at his reflection, dazed, fingers brushing against his new fringe.
Xu Yao’s hand still rested on his shoulder, its warmth bleeding through the thin fabric.

“Still trying to hide?” Xu Yao tapped his head lightly with the comb, pride in his voice.
“Better than your own attempt, huh?”

Chen Mi’s ears burned. He mumbled, “…It was your fault in the first place.”

“Hm?” Xu Yao narrowed his eyes with mock threat and leaned in. “Want me to mess it up again?”

Warm breath brushed past his ear. Chen Mi instinctively leaned back—only to be caught by Xu Yao’s hand on the back of his head.

“Don’t move.” Xu Yao’s thumb brushed behind his ear. “Still a few stray hairs.”

The cool scissors slid lightly against his skin.
Chen Mi held his breath.

He could smell Xu Yao’s faint mint aftershave mixed with the faint scent of smoke.
In the mirror, Xu Yao’s focused profile was so close—his lashes cast small shadows under the light.

“Done.” Xu Yao straightened up and ruffled his hair. “Much better.”

Chen Mi was just about to thank him, when Xu Yao turned to the mirror, touching his own ridiculous bangs.

A mischievous smirk appeared on his lips. “I’m keeping this—to let the neighbors see…” He glanced at Chen Mi.
“…how terrible the apprentice at Xu’s Barbershop is.”

“You—!” Chen Mi fumed and flung a towel at him.

Xu Yao caught it effortlessly, then suddenly lunged forward, trapping Chen Mi between the barber chair and his arms.

He looked down at Chen Mi’s now flushed face and grinned. “What? Not happy? Want to return the favor and butcher mine too?”

Chen Mi turned his face away—But out of the corner of his eye, he saw something in the mirror.

Xu Yao’s gaze had softened, fixed on Chen Mi’s freshly trimmed bangs, a barely noticeable tenderness flickering in his eyes.

Outside, the golden glow of sunset painted them both in a warm halo.
The rotating barber light cast red and blue reflections across the walls in a soft, shifting pattern.

“Tomorrow…” Chen Mi suddenly said,
“I’ll fix your bangs.”

Xu Yao raised an eyebrow. “Still brave enough to touch scissors?”

“You’ll teach me,” Chen Mi looked straight at him, summoning courage.
“Just like… just like when you taught me to wash hair.”

There was a brief silence.

“Alright,” Xu Yao finally straightened up, casually sliding the scissors back into his belt.
“Lesson fee comes out of your paycheck.”

He headed toward the door, the ridiculous fringe on top of his head bobbing with each step.

Just as he flicked off the light switch, Chen Mi clearly heard him mutter:

“Use the technique I taught you—don’t make it look like a dog chewed it again.”