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"Don't go overboard with the color, try to go for a brown shade."
Tony lifted a strand of hair to look at it and laughed, "You're very pale, aren’t you going to consider a lighter color?"
Zheng Yu An looked up from the color card and smiled toward the mirror in front of him, "Naw, because of my work, my hair color can’t be too obvious, a darker one is better."
Three years at the counter, two years as an account manager, plus two years as secondment to the banking supervisor, and after multiple promotions, Zheng Yu An finally became the director of the JS Bank Corporate Department in March of this year.
Banks have always been a workplace structured based on seniority and resources, the fact that Zheng Yu An can climb to the position of management in eight years proves that his luck is really not bad.
Zheng Yu An had been busy since the beginning of May, and only got the time to get his hair done now at a familiar barber shop. Tony is the store's second boss, and because Zheng Yu An is a long-time customer, Tony knows his hair best. Whenever Zheng Yu An came, they always had to exchange a few pleasantries.
"From now on, we‘ll have to call you Director Zheng," Tony said as he put conditioner on Zheng Yu An’s hair, "our business was bad because you weren’t here."
Zheng Yu An slightly tilted his head to facilitate Tony’s work, closed his eyes and said, "Nonsense, if I hadn’t made an appointment today, who knows how long I’ll have to wait until my turn."
The rent for a storefront in the center of the city is quite expensive. The fact that they were able to open a store here definitely says something. Tony’s NIHOME styling is a Japanese style barber shop. White-collar customers account for eighty percent of the total, and appointments are necessary most of the time. It's very popular among female customers.
Zheng Yu An's hair is soft, and he has some natural curls, his short hair even feels like a perm. Especially after a clean cut, many people can not help but look at him.
Tony instructed him to go to the other side to rinse his hair.
Zheng Yu An stood up. He’s pretty tall, and his proportions are close to perfect. His long legs that are wrapped in jeans are pleasing to the eye, but his looks are even more attractive. Double eyelids, high brow bone, Zheng Yu An has a bit of a western look from the sides, and occasionally, when eating out, people will ask him if he is a foreigner.
"Handsome men have privileges here." Tony diligently pressed his scalp, "especially a handsome man like Mr. Zheng."
Zheng Yu An was accustomed to most of these compliments. Even when he was a child, people can be attracted by his appearance at a glance no matter where he goes. He has gotten many benefits, even as a bank teller, because of his outstanding appearance.
The accounting department is full of people who have been in the field for a long time and have seen more money than almost anyone. But they would be extra nice whenever Zheng Yu An came to the department to process loans. So you see, sometimes people like a good-looking face more than they like money.
Tony ended up dying his hair brownish gray, his bangs were cut short but was not pushed up, which makes Zheng Yu An look even younger.
Zheng Yu An straightened his collar to go to the counter to swipe his card, Tony followed, and asked him, "Do you want to meet for a drink tonight?"
"I can't go to the bar you go to." Zheng Yu An looked at him with a frank smile.
Tony did not feel embarrassed about being turned down, but just sighed.
Zheng Yu An patted him on the shoulder, "If you want to drink together at a food stall some day, you can message me on WeChat."
Tony was happy again, and he got up, poking Zheng Yu An’s shoulder with his finger, "Mr. Zheng, you are a really bad person. It took me a long time to get over you, stop getting my hopes up."
Zheng Yu An lost his smile, "If your boss heard that, he probably would have to ban me from making the next appointment."
Tony threw an eyebrow at him lustfully and said indifferently, "You’re straight, he won't have to worry about it."
Zheng Yu An found out about his ability to attract people of the same gender from his previous girlfriend.
An Dai is the only one of Zheng Yu An's ex-girlfriends who is engaged in art. She has a curatorial media company, and travels to art exhibitions all around the country every year. Zheng Yu An went with her once or twice back when they were still dating. The one that left him the deepest impression was a pottery exhibit that was hosted in a private villa. It was there that An Dai introduced him to the ceramics artist, Bai Jian.
An Dai was very gossipy, and said, "Yu An is your ideal type."
Zheng Yu An was momentarily puzzled, and he just looked at Bai Jian, who is good-looking, gentle, and had an elegant temperament.
"Unfortunately, he's straight." Bai Jian did not deny the statement about his ideal type, he was frank, "Do you mind?"
Zheng Yu An naturally understood what he meant, "Of course not."
He really does not mind, homosexuality is not something rare, and Zheng Yu An is not old-fashioned, either. He had two years of international student exchange experience in the United Kingdom. Although he didn’t have any formal contact with people who were a part of the LGBT community, he knew of some.
An Dai always said that he is an atypical straight man. Because if you know Zheng Yu An for a long time, you will know that he’s more than his looks.
"Your boyfriend is a gentleman," said Bai Jian, who was a bit envious, "confident, full of charm, and more attractive than his face."
Unfortunately, An Dai still broke up with him.
"You're too nice." Zheng Yu An always remembered the last thing An Dai said to him, "I feel like women still prefer bad men."
The good thing about Zheng Yu An is that he remains friendly with his ex’s.
The three of them always get together from time to time.
Artists seem to like to drink coffee, every time Zheng Yu An met up with them, the location would always be a newly opened or niche boutique cafe.
Sparrow is on Tenth Street, the store is not large, and the door is placed next to a set of iron benches. And because it is very close to Su University, many young students come to visit the store. They would take some photos, and then send them to friends.
"I just sent away Ms. Tang." Andai wore a plain pleated long skirt with a simple black top, "She also asked me about you."
There are many rich people who come to Sparrow, and Ms. Tang, a high net worth customer of JS Bank, is one of them. Her family runs an antique business, and An Dai has been both a business associate and a best friend to her for more than ten years.
Zheng Yu An asked for a cup of Kenya coffee, pulled out his cigarettes and handed one to An Dai.
She blew out the clouds very elegantly, "You are too inviting."
Zheng Yu An "Ms. Tang is a busy woman, she came over to buy a cup of coffee and only asked about me when she happened to see you."
An Dai laughs, she clamps the cigarette between her fingers and rests her head on her arm, and sighs, "Why are you so nice?"
Zheng Yu An jokingly said, "If I’m really that nice, you wouldn't have broken up with me."
In the past, An Dai was quite sensitive and had low self-esteem, but Zheng Yu An has been very understanding. Women tend to be more mindful, and a partner who is too perfect could weaken their romantic emotions.
The two of them didn’t feel exactly like they were in love when they were dating, so being friends actually made them both more comfortable.
"If you weren't straight, Bai Jian probably would have made a move long ago." Andai finished smoking a cigarette and looked relaxed, "You know, he's coming to Suzhou to open a studio."
Zheng Yu An took a sip of coffee, a little surprised, "Is it for sure?"
Andai nodded, "The government has a supporting cultural fund, tax and everything is very cost-effective, and the atmosphere here is also good. He has long wanted to come."
"That's good." Zheng Yu An smiled, "We have to ask him to come to our bank to open an account later."
Andai glared at him, "Mr. Zheng, I thought you wouldn’t care about such a small amount of money."
Zheng Yu An said, "It's different, friends are different."
An Dai seemed to be numbed by his tenderness and shook her arms in a very pretentious manner.
It’s not very hot in May. After Bai Jian came, the three of them talked for a while, but then decided to sit outside. Sparrow is a small store, but the environment became noisy in the afternoon when more people came.
It could be because he has been in the service industry for a long time, even though he’s a leader now, there is a motionless thoughtfulness in his actions, the kind that comes from within, subtle and hard to notice.
For example, because Bai Jian does not smoke, Zheng Yu An will not smoke in front of him.
It’s a habit of his, regardless if he’s interacting with men or women, just like Bai Jian said, he is indeed a gentleman.
An Dai was influenced by him, and stood a little farther away. She recently changed to a new brand of cigarettes. In fact, compared to Zheng Yu An’s moderate Su cigarettes, she prefers stronger ones.
Bai Jian and Zheng Youan chatted about opening a bank account, and discussed some of the details.
"The government has a support project, we will work with the government." Zheng Yu An had one hand in his pants pocket, and his other hand was holding a coffee cup. He is half a head taller than Bai, at the moment he slightly lowered his chin to look at Bai Jian as he spoke, his gaze was gentle, "Bai Laoshi’s work is so excellent, there no need to worry about anything."
Bai Jian was a little warmed up by his look, Zheng Yu An has been calling him Bai Laoshi1 since he met him, and only occasionally will he call him "Mr. Bai" when he needs to be introduced on formal occasions.
"Director Zheng, don't call me Laoshi, it's embarrassing."
Zheng Yu An raised his arm and took a sip of coffee. He was wearing a cotton shirt, the sleeves that are rolled up to the elbow, revealing the beautiful lines of his forearm. He said, "Laoshi is too modest, it’s me who should be embarrassed to be called Director Zheng."
1 Laoshi, or teacher, is a respectful form of address towards those who are engaged in education. In modern Chinese society, however, teacher no longer holds only professional connotation, it has become used to address people who are high-ranking or admirable.
The translator's notes:
In this novel, most people address Zheng Yu An as "Zheng 总 (Zong)", which is a form of address towards people who are in positions of management. But it most of the time the phrase is used in a somewhat casual manner, so I will use "director Zheng" only when it is used in a more formal manner.