The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

The leader had dyed, frizzy yellow hair, a thick chain around his neck, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Two people followed behind him, one as thin as a bamboo pole and the other short and fat as a potato.

The store was instantly filled with the smell of smoke, a pungent odor mixed with hairspray.

The fat orange cat in the corner meowed, its fur standing on end. It leaped off the counter and disappeared behind the curtain in the inner room, its shadow vanishing completely.

"Oh, busy?" the blond-haired guy said with a grin as he walked over.

His gaze swept over Bai Ci's back, lingered on her school uniform for a moment, and then quickly moved away.

Niu Niu was so frightened that she took two steps back and hid behind the proprietress.

The proprietress's face turned pale instantly.

She recognized the blond guy.

I came here once last month and got a 15-yuan haircut. I was all smiles and said, "The boss's skills are pretty good."

The next day, however, they returned with two people, complaining that the haircut was ugly and demanding a refund. Not wanting trouble, she gave them a refund. Unexpectedly, only a month later, they came back again.

She put down the scissors and forced a smile: "Gentlemen... want a haircut?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" The blond-haired guy threw his cigarette butt on the ground and ground it with the toe of his shoe. "Sister Li, what was that haircut you gave me last time called?"

The proprietress paused for a moment, then asked, "Last time?"

"Just last month," the blond-haired man said with a crooked grin, pointing to his tangled mess of hair, his tone nonchalant, "look at this haircut, all my friends said it looked terrible. How am I supposed to save face? Don't you think I need an explanation?"

The proprietress's smile completely vanished, but her tone remained relatively calm: "Didn't you say you were satisfied last time? And the money has already been refunded to you."

"Just give me a refund and that's it?" the blond-haired guy scoffed. "So you can make someone look ugly with that haircut? Let me tell you, my girlfriend broke up with me because of this hairstyle! How do you expect me to compensate for that loss? Do you know how much money I spent pursuing her? Several thousand! It's all gone down the drain!"

The bamboo pole and the little potato behind him chimed in, "That's right, they have to pay!"

The blond-haired man had his hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping around the shop before settling on the proprietress's face.

"Sister Li, your shop seems to be doing quite well, right?" he said slowly. "Making ten or eight thousand a month? We brothers won't ask for more, two thousand a month, just to keep you safe. As for the hair thing, forget about it."

The proprietress gripped the comb tightly in her hand.

"This is extortion..."

"Hey, don't put it so harshly," the blond-haired guy laughed. "This is called protection money. Your alley isn't very safe, is it? We'll keep an eye on it for you, so you can do your business with peace of mind. It's a win-win situation."

Bai Ci, still sitting in the chair, looked at the blond-haired man in the mirror, then at the landlady's pale face and Niu Niu hiding behind her, and a strange, inexplicable irritation welled up in his heart.

Rabbits are timid by nature. When faced with danger, they only want to avoid it. When the other party barged in aggressively just now, Bai Ci was so nervous that he didn't dare to turn his head.

But at this moment, only one thought kept running through his mind.

What kind of skill is it for these people to bully an honest man who runs a small shop?

"Xiao Qi," he murmured to himself, "filter."

"Ding—The fierce filter has been activated."

"You said her haircut was ugly," Bai Ci's voice wasn't loud, but the last syllable lingered in the air, "Have you looked in the mirror? Is it the hair that's ugly, or your face?"

The blond-haired man frowned: "Who are you? What's it to you?"

"You blame the hairdresser for your bad haircut?" Bai Ci ignored his question and continued, "If you're ugly, it doesn't matter who cuts your hair."

The air suddenly became quiet for a moment.

Bamboo Pole and Little Potato exchanged a glance, but neither dared to utter a sound.

The blond-haired man's gaze finally landed on Bai Ci, scanning him up and down.

He saw the dark blue school uniform and the gold school badge on the left chest, and his expression changed noticeably.

"Which college are you from?" The blond-haired man's voice suddenly dropped.

He knew St. Andrew, of course. It was the city's top academy, filled with students from all walks of life, and none of them were people he could afford to mess with.

A thin layer of sweat appeared on Huang Mao's forehead.

He wasn't sure who this boy in the aristocratic academy uniform was. What if he was some powerful scion of a wealthy family he couldn't afford to offend? He didn't want to cause trouble.

Huang Mao glanced at the dilapidated little hair salon again, his eyes darting around as if he were quickly calculating something.

He plastered a fawning smile on his face, his expression changing faster than flipping through a book: "This, young master, do you know the boss? Oh dear, I didn't know, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding?" Bai Ci repeated.

"Right, right, it's a misunderstanding!" The blond-haired guy quickly nodded, while winking at his two henchmen behind him. "We were just joking, messing around with Sister Li. Right?"

Bamboo Pole and Little Potato nodded vigorously in agreement: "Just kidding, just kidding."

"Apologize," Bai Ci said.

The blond-haired man chuckled sheepishly, took two steps back, wiped his hands on his pants, and bowed almost ninety degrees to the landlady: "Sorry, sorry, we'll be leaving now, we'll be leaving now..."

"...And one more thing." Bai Ci's voice wasn't loud, but it made Huang Mao, who had just straightened up, freeze again.

"Pick up the cigarette butts on the ground before you leave."

The blond-haired man glanced down, his lips twitching. He seemed about to say something, but then opened his mouth and closed it again.

Behind them, Bamboo Pole and Little Potato both lowered their heads, and no one dared to utter a sound.

Huang Mao gritted his teeth, bent down, and picked up the cigarette butt.

He got cigarette ash all over his hand, and could only hold it in, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "I...I picked it up..."

"Don't lose it next time," Bai Ci said.

"I won't lose it, I won't lose it..." The blond-haired man, clutching his cigarette butt, bowed and scraped as he retreated to the doorway, then turned to leave.

Bamboo pole and little potato quickly followed.

"Bai Bai, you're so fierce, I love you so much!" Xiao Qi praised wildly in her mind.

Just as the blond-haired man touched the doorknob, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the pile of loose change on the dressing table.

He paused, turned around, and slowly a smile spread across his face.

"Wait a minute, a student at St. Andrew's, fifteen dollars for a haircut?" The blond-haired man chuckled, a laugh carrying an unsettling undertone. "And all in small change?"

The blond-haired man's gaze returned to Bai Ci, this time looking at her more closely.

Bai Ciren was so thin he looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind. He sat quietly in that broken chair, without a trace of the arrogance that is typical of wealthy young men.

Most importantly, would a real rich young master come to a shabby hair salon in an alley?

"Tch," he scoffed, his politeness vanishing like magic, replaced by deliberate arrogance. "I thought it would be some grand affair."

He walked back, tilted his head, and leaned closer, his laughter laced with sarcasm: "A penniless wretch who can't even afford a haircut, what are you doing here pretending to be a young master?"

Bamboo Pole and Potato followed behind Yellow Hair, exchanging glances.

Potato replied, "Fifteen yuan. I don't even pay that much for a haircut."

Bamboo Pole didn't say anything, his gaze swept over Bai Ci, noticing her faded school uniform, unbranded shoes, and how thin she was, with her wrist bones protruding.

He leaned close to the blond-haired man's ear and whispered something.

After hearing this, Huang Mao's gaze fell on Bai Ci's chest, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed the school badge on the school uniform, pinching it between his fingertips and tugging at it.

"Wait, is this thing real or fake?"

A three-hundred-year-old rabbit spirit is never a good-tempered animal.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.

"Relax."