Chapter 14: Try Your Store Manager’s Skills
Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Try Your Store Manager’s Skills
Fu Hang didn’t think there was much wrong with Chi Xinyue stringing along multiple guys.
You have your pond, and I have mine. We’re birds of a feather; neither of us is more noble than the other. What pissed him off, however, was the idea of being shown up.
"Chi Xinyue, is this your friend?"
Fu Hang struck first. After casually flexing a bit, he acted as if he had just noticed Zhang Yan standing on the side.
"Yeah. This is Zhang Yan, a senior who just graduated from the School of Computer Science. Zhang Yan, this is Fu Hang, a classmate from the Business School."
Zhang Yan and Fu Hang exchanged polite nods, neither showing much interest in getting to know the other.
"Handsome, Mr. Yifei happens to be free. Right this way, please," a greeter interjected.
"Chi Xinyue, I’ll go in first then. See you in the inner room later."
The barbershop’s layout was designed so that the outer areas were more ordinary, focusing on turning over volume quickly. Meanwhile, the so-called chief stylists and directors were all stationed in the inner rooms, enjoying the best environment and equipment. Fu Hang’s seemingly unintentional parting words carried a subtle hint of a rendezvous in the inner room. However, if the guy was too dense to read between the lines, he wouldn’t be worthy of being considered a rival, and Fu Hang wouldn’t need to waste any effort on him.
Zhang Yan glanced at this slightly aggressive junior and smiled carelessly.
The more relaxed a person was, the sharper their mind became. As soon as Fu Hang opened his mouth, Zhang Yan detected the thick hostility aimed at him.
"Still, you’re not nearly qualified enough to compete with me, the Daniel Wu of Meng City!" he thought.
"I saw a little crown at the very top. What does that mean? Is there someone with even better skills than your director?" Zhang Yan asked, continuing with the question he hadn’t gotten to earlier.
"Ah, that’s our manager. He isn’t in the shop often, and his rates are a bit pricey, so we generally don’t introduce him to first-time customers."
"Is your manager in today?"
"You’re in luck today, handsome. Our manager is actually here. However, he charges 1,888 yuan per haircut, regardless of gender. Is that acceptable to you?"
Truth be told, the 188, 388, and 688 yuan price tiers were already far beyond what Zhang Yan used to consider normal. His previous haircuts had rarely exceeded a hundred yuan, and with a membership discount, they usually came out to around fifty—which still yielded decent results. So for this so-called manager to demand 1,888 yuan right out of the gate for a men’s haircut—with no perm or dye—was indeed a bit exaggerated.
But that only piqued Zhang Yan’s interest even more. Besides, he had Brother Tongzi to reimburse him.
"Alright, let’s test out your manager’s skills then."
Hearing this, the greeter’s enthusiasm went up another notch. "Handsome, we have a promotion right now. If you sign up for a membership, you only need to top up—"
Zhang Yan wasn’t particularly interested in the membership discounts being pushed on him, mainly because he couldn’t be sure if such a top-up would count towards his cheat system’s reimbursement list. Even though he was a millionaire now, he still preferred a free ride whenever possible.
"There’s no need for that right now. Let’s see your manager’s skills first."
Chi Xinyue sat on the sofa to wait for him. Following the greeter, Zhang Yan was led to the shampoo room and lay down on an integrated shampoo bed made of high-quality PU leather. It happened to be right next to Fu Hang.
The two young men exchanged glances, neither bothering to acknowledge the other.
The shampoo assistant gently cushioned the back of his neck, tested the water until it was the perfect temperature, and only then let it flow over Zhang Yan’s head. Zhang Yan simply closed his eyes, wholeheartedly enjoying the scalp massage.
A faint fragrance lingered in the air. Paired with the SCRUB, SCRUB sound of the lather being massaged into his hair, the level of comfort was truly excellent. At the very least, this girl had definitely undergone specialized training. Her technique was miles ahead of the aunties at his old fifty-yuan barbershops. More importantly, she smelled great, had soft hands, and spoke with a sweet voice.
"Handsome, please turn your head to the left a bit."
Zhang Yan actually quite liked this "ear rinsing" step. As long as the angle and water flow were adjusted properly, no water would get inside. The sensation of being bathed in warm water, combined with the touch of those soft little hands rubbing his ears, was genuinely wonderful.
The entire process lasted exactly twenty-five minutes. The assistant had a timer running, as rumor had it they couldn’t be off by even a single second.
"Handsome, could you sign this for me? Please rate your satisfaction from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest."
Truth be told, the assistant had put in extra effort serving Zhang Yan this time. After all, being handsome really did pay off sometimes. Returning the favor, Zhang Yan signed the form and gave her a 5.
Under the assistant’s reluctant gaze, Zhang Yan was led to the innermost room. When he passed Fu Hang’s seat along the way, Fu Hang merely raised an eyebrow at seeing Zhang Yan heading further inside, but didn’t say anything.
Just then, a handsome man in his late thirties or early forties walked out of the inner room. "Just sit here. There’s a problem with the outlet in the back room; I’ll get someone to look at it later."
"Ah! That’s your private room, no one else ever uses it. I can’t believe we missed such an oversight. I’ll go find someone to fix it right now!" The greeter hurried off, looking as if he were facing a major crisis.
Under the manager’s guidance, Zhang Yan sat down at another stylist’s station, only two or three meters away from Fu Hang.
Fu Hang’s stylist was a young guy with an excellent haircut that matched his aura perfectly, a clear testament to his skills. However, as everyone knew, stylists couldn’t cut their own hair. Therefore, seeing a stylist with great hair only meant that the person with true skills was someone else entirely.
Take the handsome older man standing behind Zhang Yan, for instance. Although his haircut wasn’t bad, the finer details carried a hint of amateurishness and inexperience. Perhaps this manager had "sacrificed himself for the greater good," entrusting his hair—a man’s second face—to the shop’s rookies for practice.
Holding a pair of scissors, the manager casually measured against Zhang Yan’s face shape. He ruffled his hair a few times to get a feel for its texture and the hairline, forming a rough plan in his mind.
Through the mirror, Zhang Yan observed this charismatic older man, who exuded an extraordinary sense of confidence and composure. Since Zhang Yan had recently begun cultivating a bit of that same aura himself, he recognized it immediately.
This guy definitely had some real skill. But people with true skill didn’t always go all out. Generally speaking, a fraction of their ability was more than enough to handle ordinary customers. He needed to figure out a way to make this man hold nothing back while cutting his hair.
Having formed an idea, Zhang Yan spoke up. "For your shop to boldly call itself ’Leave Smiling,’ you guys must be very confident in your skills."
"Do you have some advice, young man?"
"I’m out shopping with a junior today. I don’t want to walk out of your shop later with a botched haircut and a miserable look on my face."
"And so?"
"Do you dare make a bet with me?"
"Interesting. Let’s hear it."
"If I’m extremely dissatisfied with the final result, I will refuse to pay any of the fees for this haircut."
The manager chuckled softly. "And if you are satisfied?"
"If I’m highly satisfied with the final result, I am willing to pay you ten times the cost of the haircut."
Fu Hang and the stylist behind him both shot a sideways glance in Zhang Yan and the manager’s direction.
Fu Hang sneered inwardly. "Trying to get a free haircut and using such a sleazy trick. Whether you’re satisfied or not is entirely up to you anyway. A clown like this is nothing to worry about. I really overestimated you," he thought.
However, the handsome manager laughed heartily. "Alright, you’re on!"