“In order to distinguish her from the previous girl, my daughter will officially be renamed Shu Jia Er. Jia means ‘beautiful woman’ in the North.” This was also something Shu’s parents had agreed upon with Shu Er—now, Shu Jia Er—right from the start.
The characters for “Shu” and “Shu” are pronounced the same, and Shu’s parents had deliberately given Shu Er a name that phonetically matched “Er,” making it easy to confuse the two girls and hard to tell them apart.
So when the Shu family decided to change Shu Er’s last name, they also changed her name, adding the character “Jia.” The character “Jia” means “beautiful,” and it serves as a blessing from Shu’s parents to Shu Jia Er.
Once Shu Father finished speaking, a round of applause erupted from the audience. Regardless of what others might have thought in their hearts, everyone on the surface was warm and welcoming.
Thus, Shu Jia Er was formally welcomed back into the Shu family.
After the family banquet concluded, the guests began to disperse, and Huo Chao prepared to leave as well. Although Shu Jia Er wanted to have a proper conversation with him, calling him aside in front of everyone would draw too much attention. With a few relatives still chatting with Shu Mother, she decided to keep a low profile for now and wait a few days to settle things with Huo Chao.
Suddenly changing her last name and even her first name left Shu Jia Er feeling somewhat disoriented.
Shu Er was truly a thing of the past.
After the family banquet, the staff would come in to clean up. She grabbed a can of Wangzai milk before returning to her room. Estimating the time, she thought Huo Chao should have gotten home by now, so she decided to video call him.
“Shu Er Er.”
That was the unique way Huo Chao called her; only he would instinctively add “Er” when saying her original name.
Shu Jia Er felt a moment of daze, and after two seconds, she corrected herself, “Brother, I’ve changed my name. It’s Shu Jia Er now.”
Though Shu Er and Shu Jia Er were the same person, they were clearly not entirely identical.
Shu Er used to have Huo Chao pick her up and drop her off at school on his bike every day, but now that Shu Jia Er had a driver, she no longer needed Huo Chao for that.
But aside from that, it seemed like not much had changed? She was still the little princess who loved to cause trouble and was still the cute and lovable “little ear”.
Huo Chao fell silent for a couple of seconds and replied, “I didn’t react immediately.”
Shu Er giggled and rolled her eyes, deciding not to let Huo Chao off the hook. “Brother, do you have chest hair?”
Huo Chao: …
The abrupt change of topic left Huo Chao with an ominous premonition in his heart.
Could it be that Shu Jia Er was still bothered by the message Shu Er sent him? Was she looking to take out her frustration on his chest hair?
It wasn’t hard to see why Huo Chao thought this.
The last time he met Shu Er (book FL), Shu Jia Er had painted all his fingernails green.
If she wanted to do something else this time, he wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to pluck all his chest hair, even though he didn’t have any.
Every time he thought Shu Jia Er couldn’t possibly be more outrageous, she proved him wrong.
Huo Chao rested his chin on his hand and carefully replied, “Why are you asking about that?”
Shu Jia Er propped her phone on a stand, supporting her chin with both hands, blinking innocently at Huo Chao on the screen. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just curious, just asking.”
Huo Chao had already begun to figure out Shu Jia Er’s routine. From her attitude, it seemed she really was fixated on his chest hair.
Huo Chao cautiously responded, “If you say there is, then there is; if you say there isn’t, then there isn’t.”
Shu Jia Er huffed in dissatisfaction. “Chest hair is an objective existence; how can it change based on my subjective opinion?”
Huo Chao relented, “You’re a princess; what you say is what it is.”
Shu Jia Er couldn’t help but laugh, her eyes turning into crescents.
Has Huo Chao become experienced in dealing with her? He knew exactly what answers would please her.
Being called “princess” by someone like Huo Chao was indeed a wonderful feeling.
Shu Jia Er rolled her eyes again and asked, “Brother, do you have leg hair?”
Huo Chao felt a headache coming on.
So, he couldn’t escape this topic of chest hair and leg hair today, could he?
Huo Chao: … Just look for yourself next time.
He didn’t know whether to answer “yes” or “no,” so he figured it was best to let her check for herself. That answer was foolproof.
Shu Jia Er exclaimed, “Brother, don’t worry! I won’t do anything bad to you.”
Huo Chao was skeptical, “You didn’t buy anything strange, did you? Like some gel or hair removal cream?”
Shu Jia Er waved her hands, “Although I did think about it, I haven’t bought anything yet.”
“Shu Er Er!”
Shu Jia Er beamed, “It’s Shu Jia Er now.”
Huo Chao rubbed his temples. “Stop messing around. Shu Er didn’t say anything in that message, and I don’t really contact her normally.”
“Oh.”
Huo Chao wasn’t sure if Shu Jia Er believed him or not.
He then brought up another topic.
“I’ll be going out of town for a while in a few days and I’ll probably return after the National Day holiday. Since you just returned to the Shu family, don’t cause too much trouble. When I’m gone, there won’t be anyone to look out for you.”
Even though Huo Chao had previously said he wasn’t as omnipotent as she imagined, his actions contradicted those words.
Shu Jia Er was momentarily taken aback by his statement.
The male lead was going out of town?
This plot twist wasn’t in the book.
But given how the storyline had already collapsed so much, it was clear it wouldn’t follow the original plot anymore.
Thinking about not being able to see the male lead for several days made Shu Jia Er feel a little regretful and reluctant.
“Brother, where are you going? Who are you going with?”
“Just by myself.”
Shu Jia Er quickly insisted, “Then take me with you! I want to go out and have some fun too.”
“It’s not for fun.”
“Oh, then you do your thing, and I’ll do mine. But you have to take me with you.”
There are still so many days left in the National Day holiday. The thought of not seeing Huo Chao for four or five days made Shu Jia Er feel a bit uneasy.
Shu Jia Er clasped her hands together and bargained, “Brother, please take me with you, okay? I’ll be good and won’t cause any trouble.”
Huo Chao refused. Her being “good” and not causing trouble was a red flag in his book.
However, the next day, Shu Jia Er successfully boarded the high-speed train to County B with Huo Chao.
So, they say, persistence pays off; if you try hard enough, nothing is impossible.
Once Shu Jia Er settled into her seat, swinging her legs, she began to piece together the reason why the male lead was going to County B.
The more time she spent with him, the more Shu Jia Er realized Huo Chao wasn’t as… stupid as he was depicted in the book.
Look, Shu Er (book FL) had just shared some irrelevant things with him, and he personally rushed to County B for confirmation, likely afraid of making another mistake.
Shu Jia Er felt that her good days of being spoiled and mischievous might be coming to an end, so she decided to make the most of these last few days by having fun and causing trouble.
With that thought in mind, she grabbed Huo Chao’s collar.
Huo Chao was caught off guard by her sudden action and didn’t even try to dodge it. He just looked at her and asked, “What are you up to this time?”
Shu Jia Er looked at him confidently. “I want to see if you have chest hair.”
Huo Chao felt a headache coming on. “Why are you suddenly obsessed with this?”
“No, I’m just curious.”
Actually, it wasn’t really curiosity; she was just deliberately teasing Huo Chao and playing around with him.
There were passengers around him. Huo Chao didn’t want to make headlines for their antics tomorrow so simply told her the truth, “I don’t have any.”
He was worried that if he didn’t respond, tomorrow’s trending topics on Weibo would be something like: #Shocking: A high school girl does this to a boy on the high-speed train# or #Surprising: A high school boy and girl did this on the train…#
In truth, Shu Jia Er had already guessed that Huo Chao didn’t have chest hair. It was rare for Chinese boys to have chest hair.
Next, she turned her attention to Huo Chao’s calves. Unexpectedly, she bent down and rolled up a part of his pant leg.
Then she saw Huo Chao’s long calf hair.
Shu Jia Er suddenly recalled a saying she had once heard: “Boys with long leg hair are healthy.”
Hmm.
Feigning innocence, she casually let go of Huo Chao’s pant leg and stood up, acting as if she hadn’t just been poking around.
Huo Chao was too exasperated to be angry.
“Are you done messing around?”
Shu Jia Er nodded vigorously.
She leaned in closer and said in an admiring tone, “Brother, your leg hair is quite long.”
Huo Chao: … Thanks for the compliment.
Feeling satisfied, Shu Jia Er took out a pack of cartoon face masks from her bag and put one on. After applying it, she looked at Huo Chao with her cartoon face and asked, “Brother, I brought a lot of face masks. Do you want one?”
“What do you think?”
Shu Jia Er chuckled. Having had her fun for the day, she decided not to push Huo Chao to wear the cartoon mask.
While she rested with the face mask on, Huo Chao took out his notebook to review his materials.
The journey from Beijing City to County B was long, requiring a transfer along the way. This was the perfect time for him to study and recharge.
Sometimes, changing habits is just a matter of a sudden thought.
Huo Chao found himself no longer wanting to drift aimlessly through life. He had an epiphany that spurred his desire to improve, perhaps influenced by something Shu Er had said.
But why this thought came about was no longer important.
By the time they arrived in County B, over ten hours had passed.
They had left early in the morning, and now it was already ten in the evening. The sky was completely dark, and most early sleepers had already fallen into a sweet slumber.
Shu Jia Er’s bottom was sore from sitting on the train for so long. She discreetly rubbed her behind, relieved that there were only a few streetlights and not many people around, so no one noticed her little action.
After such a long train ride, she felt fatigued and just wanted to be comfortable, not caring much about her slightly improper behavior.
Huo Chao noticed her fidgeting.
“Can you still walk?”
Shu Jia Er maintained her princess persona. Hearing this, she shook her head like a rattle drum and whined, “Brother, I’m tired. I can’t walk at all.”
After saying this, she felt a bit dazed. After being spoiled for so long, she was starting to lose track of whether her princess behavior was real or just an act. At first, she had been deliberately acting spoiled to annoy the male lead and take revenge on the female lead, reclaiming the dignity of her originally tragic character.
However, gradually, she had begun to enjoy the feeling of being cherished and pampered.
Maybe the version of herself that she displayed in front of Huo Chao was the real her?
But in the past, due to her family situation, she had suppressed herself for too long, always hiding her true nature.
Thinking this way, it didn’t seem impossible.
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