IDEI Ch14

“Who are you…?” Mo Jinghai hesitated.

Qi Yanning clicked his tongue.

The styling team’s meeting had just ended. He had stayed a bit longer to gather his thoughts before heading back to his residence.

After the styling competition with Li Qinglinhe, Qi Yanning’s skills were recognized by the stylists. Therefore, regardless of what they thought internally, the stylists expressed goodwill and compliance toward Qi Yanning on the surface.

Their attitude undoubtedly made Qi Yanning’s work easier to carry out.

The director’s team had given Qi Yanning significant autonomy in styling. So, after the trainees selected their songs in the morning, Qi Yanning led the styling team in the afternoon, holding a meeting to discuss and research the styling for the second public performance stage based on the songs and choreography.

After the first elimination, only sixty trainees remained, divided into ten groups for their performances. This created a considerable workload for the styling team, so they kept meeting late into the night.

As the meeting ended, Qi Yanning passed by the practice building and noticed that one of the practice rooms still had its light on.

“Qi-ge, there’s still a light on in one of the practice rooms,” Li Jinshi remarked in surprise.

Qi Yanning, feeling weary, looked over upon hearing her voice.

A dim light was still shining in one of the practice rooms on the second floor.

It was already late at night, and the park was shrouded in darkness and silence, making the light from that practice room stand out. However, neither of them heard any noise for a long time.

“Maybe a trainee forgot to turn off the lights when they left,” Li Jinshi frowned, “I’ll go check.”

Qi Yanning stopped her, “You go back and rest. It’s late at night, and it’s scary for a girl to walk alone into a dark building, isn’t it?”

“I’ll go.”

After sending the hesitant Li Jinshi off to rest, Qi Yanning walked alone into the practice building. Turning on the hallway lights on the second floor, he made his way toward the practice room, faintly hearing the sound of sobbing.

Following the sound, he arrived at the door of the practice room.

Seeing that Mo Jinghai didn’t respond, Qi Yanning clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned to leave.

“Sorry…” Mo Jinghai instinctively apologized, his voice hoarse.

He suddenly realized the intention of the lazy man in front of him.

“I’ll leave right away. I’ll turn off the light and clean up the place. Sorry for the trouble.” He got up from the floor, bowed slightly, his voice filled with exhaustion and disappointment.

Qi Yanning paused, frowning as he turned back.

He raised his hand and slapped the switch on the wall, causing the practice room’s lights to suddenly blaze brightly.

The intense light made Mo Jinghai squint his eyes.

Qi Yanning carefully sized up the trainee in front of him.

His face was flushed, covered in tear stains, his eyes swollen like walnuts, and even his lips were bright red.

His hair was a messy pile on top of his head, and his tall figure slouched, looking completely disheveled, like a wet dog in the rain.

“You…” Qi Yanning pondered for a while before suddenly speaking, “Do you want a haircut?”

“W-what?” Mo Jinghai was stunned. He had expected the man to either ask questions or offer comfort, but… what kind of question was this?

Seeing Mo Jinghai’s dumbfounded expression, Qi Yanning grew a little impatient. It was already way past his usual bedtime, and his drowsiness made him especially short-tempered.

“Come to the styling room tomorrow morning.”

Without waiting for Mo Jinghai to react, he turned and left.

*

The next morning, when Qi Yanning arrived at the styling room, he saw Mo Jinghai sitting in a makeup chair.

He looked uneasy, despite his large size, barely sitting on the edge of the chair, with most of his body hanging off as if he was ready to jump up at any moment.

Seeing Qi Yanning enter, Mo Jinghai hurriedly stood up to greet him, but Qi Yanning’s stern face made him freeze.

“T-Teacher Qi, you told me to come find you last night…” Mo Jinghai scratched his head, a bit nervous.

He had just learned from the styling assistant who Qi Yanning really was.

“Mm.” Qi Yanning strode inside, with Mo Jinghai’s large figure following closely behind with small, hesitant steps.

Lack of sleep had put Qi Yanning in a rather bad mood, and he didn’t feel like talking much.

“Sit.” Qi Yanning glanced at Mo Jinghai, “Chu Sixiu, give him a buzz cut.”

“Got it, on it!” Chu Sixiu, the smiling girl among the three styling assistants who first expressed goodwill toward Qi Yanning, stepped forward with a grin.

“Wait, hold on!” Mo Jinghai’s eyes widened in horror.

He felt like they could still negotiate this!

“Hmm?” Qi Yanning, his eyes tired, frowned, his gaze resting on Mo Jinghai’s face.

“T-Teacher Qi, why?” Mo Jinghai still hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

“Trust me, and keep quiet. If you don’t trust me, leave.” Qi Yanning’s voice was cold.

But his words made Mo Jinghai even more nervous.

Of course, he wanted to trust Qi Yanning! Who among the trainees didn’t know about this amazing stylist?

But a buzz cut… he had never had one before!

He was torn, but when he met Qi Yanning’s calm yet intimidating gaze, he shuddered.

He gritted his teeth and said, “I trust you, of course I trust you!”

After saying that, he closed his eyes and plopped down into the chair in the hair section.

The buzzing sound of the razor filled the air, and soon he felt the cool sensation on his scalp.

It’s really a buzz cut, he thought in despair.

The buzzing went on for a long time before stopping, replaced by the gentle sound of a small blade trimming his eyebrows, followed by a soft brush gently sweeping across his face.

“Alright, you can open your eyes now.” Chu Sixiu’s voice rang out.

Mo Jinghai hesitated before slowly opening his eyes—

And found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror.

In the mirror was a face that was fresh and handsome.

The buzz cut accentuated his perfect bone structure. His high nose bridge, deep-set features, and rugged handsomeness were striking.

He looked completely different from before.

Qi Yanning glanced over and lightly nodded.

Chu Sixiu’s haircutting skills were quite good.

Last night, after a quick glance, Qi Yanning had already noticed how Mo Jinghai’s previous styling was completely out of place for him.

Originally, his hair was in a typical idol style—a carefully styled short haircut with bangs half-covering his forehead, and his eyebrows had been groomed to remove any sense of sharpness.

It didn’t highlight Mo Jinghai’s strengths at all.

Mo Jinghai had a tall, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted frame, and his bone structure was perfectly powerful. Moreover, he worked out a lot, so his muscles were fuller compared to the other trainees. His body was full of raw, hot-blooded… sensuality—an incredibly tension-filled physique.

His face matched his body well, too. His jaw was slightly square, his features deep-set, and his eyebrows and hair were thick, all adding to his masculine traits.

However, his eyes were slightly droopy, giving him puppy-dog eyes, and when he looked at people, his gaze was soft, filled with a moist, earnest appeal.

The contrast made him even more attractive.

Someone like him didn’t need any elaborate embellishments—the simpler, the wilder and more sexually attractive he appeared.

“Just like this.” Qi Yanning held Mo Jinghai’s head from behind, making him face the mirror. “Look closely at yourself. Do you see where your charm lies?”

“I, I…” Mo Jinghai’s face turned red, his gaze wandering. He stammered, “I look more… manly?”

“It’s sexy,” Qi Yanning raised an eyebrow, saying the word Mo Jinghai was too embarrassed to say.

“Take your time to absorb it.” Qi Yanning said as he led the styling assistants out.

As they stepped out, Mo Jinghai could faintly hear the assistants chattering.

“Your face is so red!”

“Come on, muscular guy, a 1.9-meter tall walking puppy-dog, who could resist that…”

…

He stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror, and finally, he let out a relieved smile.

After the somewhat magical morning experience, when Mo Jinghai walked into the practice room, his teammates were all stunned.

Facing everyone’s shocked gazes, he scratched his head, “I changed my hairstyle… does it not look good?”

The others finally reacted—

“Ah! Mo-ge, this looks amazing!”

“Bro, you look so handsome!”

“Oh my god, your previous hairstylist should’ve been stopped!”

Feng Qingyi also came over, smiling with excitement, “A-Hai, this hairstyle suits you perfectly!”

Feng Qingyi’s eyes were filled with emotion. This new haircut was like magic, making the previously unremarkable Mo Jinghai suddenly stand out.

Mo Jinghai’s smile grew deeper. When practice began, he found an even bigger surprise.

Previously, he couldn’t get into the right mood for this sexy song, which was what had caused his emotional breakdown the day before.

But now…

With his new hairstyle, the vibe he naturally exuded fit perfectly with the song.

Without the long bangs, his droopy puppy-dog eyes could be fully seen. He still wasn’t great at controlling his expressions, but the sincerity and determination in his eyes were already captivating.

What’s more, despite his well-executed moves, his discomfort with the sexy style added a hint of shyness to his performance…

“Ahhhhhh—Bro, stop looking at me while you dance! I still want to find a pretty girlfriend after I retire!” a fellow trainee exaggeratedly shouted.

*

On Qi Yanning’s side, after resolving Mo Jinghai’s styling, he received an unexpected invitation.

When he got the message from Ling Cangzhou, he was in the middle of explaining his concept and the detailed setup for the second public stage’s styling to Li Jinshi and the others.

After finishing his explanation of one stage, the three assistants lowered their heads in thought, and as Qi Yanning sipped from his cup, he saw a new message pop up on his phone.

[Red Ears]: A-Ning, tomorrow’s Chenxing Entertainment Gala is short one stylist for the little stars. Could you come and help out?

A-Ning?

Qi Yanning raised an eyebrow. This CEO sure knew how to push his limits.

[Red Ears]: Puppy begs, pleeeeease.jpg

[Red Ears]: Puppy shy.jpg

Several cute emojis popped up on the screen, and Qi Yanning, recalling Ling Cangzhou’s tall figure, raised his eyebrow with interest.

[yanN]: ?

[Red Ears]: It’s like this. At Chenxing Entertainment’s annual gala, some of the smaller stars use the company’s in-house stylists, but this year we’ve just recruited a new batch of trainees, so…

Qi Yanning understood.

[yanN]: Sure.

[yanN]: When?

[Red Ears]: Great! Do you have time today to come by and do a test styling?

[Red Ears]: I’ll talk to the director and get you time off! It won’t take long, he’ll probably agree.

[Red Ears]: Puppy surprise.jpg

Qi Yanning chuckled softly. Why did the CEO of Chenxing Entertainment have such an online chatting style?

[Red Ears]: By the way, can you bring your own styling assistants?

[yanN]: I can bring them?

[Red Ears]: Yes!

[Red Ears]: Puppy nods.jpg

[yanN]: Okay.

After settling the details with Ling Cangzhou, Qi Yanning stared at the emojis in the chat box for a few seconds and smirked.

He clicked on Ling Cangzhou’s contact name—

And added two more words after “Red Ears.”

Just then, another message came in from Ling Cangzhou.

[Red Ears Little Puppy]: The driver will be there in half an hour!

[Red Ears Little Puppy]: Puppy runs wildly.jpg