HC Chapter 19

Chapter 19: I Hate You (VIII)

---

Before visiting the hairdresser, Dong Ci had long hair which reached her waist. It was dark and straight – coupled with her delicate face, she looked like a classic beauty.

After the hair was cut, Dong Ci tilted her head and looked at herself inside the mirror.

“Excuse me, do you pierce ears here?”

Two little girls, looking like junior high school students, came in and asked. One of them quietly continued, “I want to pierce my ears.”

“Yes,” the hairdresser patted the nearby seat and said with a smile. “Sit here if you want to do it, I will get the piercing gun.”

“Does it hurt a lot?” The little girl hesitated and took a few steps forward, but didn’t dare to sit down. “I’m afraid of pain.”

“Hey, I told you many times that it doesn’t hurt, it really doesn’t,” the other girl pushed her friend forward, pointing to her own ears. “Look at the piercings in my ears. Would I dare to do so many if it hurt?”

Dong Ci, who was combing her hair, had a clear look at the girl’s many earrings from her position in front of the mirror. She thought about it, then turned her head and said to the hairdresser, “Auntie, I want piercings as well.”

“You want to do it too?” Zhang Yiyi, who had been playing with her phone originally, looked up and asked with surprise. “You are not afraid of pain?”

“Wow, sister, you want to pierce your ears as well?” Hearing Dong Ci say it, the little girl who wanted to do it, leaned to the side, and shyly said, “Sister, you go first. I am still thinking about it.”

“What a coward,” her companion pouted, then said with disgust: “Just two little holes, what are you afraid of?”

The girl who was younger than her didn’t feel any pain, so it should be alright.

Dong Ci saw the hairdresser coming back with the machine. She took a deep breath and sat down on the swivel chair. Her previously clam heart thumped in her chest.

Seeing that the hairdresser already picked up the machine, Dong Ci felt her heartbeat accelerate. Finally, she closed her eyes and tightly clenched her fists.

It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt at all – Dong Ci secretly comforted herself, until—

Snap—

There was a burning pain in her ear, and Dong Ci burst out crying. Her tears eased after a while, but the pain in her ear wasn’t relieved. Instead, it was getting more intense.

“It hurts so much,” Dong Ci said, unable to stand it. She grabbed the swivel chair’s armrest and spoke without thinking, “Just pierce this one, I don’t want to do the other one.”

Seeing Dong Ci’s tears, the little girl who was observing from the side was so scared, that she took a step back and pulled her companion with a shout, “You said that it wouldn’t hurt, but the sister is crying.”

“It’s alright, it’s just a matter of time,” the hairdresser hurriedly pressed Dong Ci, who wanted to get up, back into the chair. Taking advantage of her unresponsiveness, she directed the machine at the other ear and pierced it.

Dong Ci cried out for the second time.

This time, she shouted not only because of pain but also because of fear.

“I am not going to pierce, I am not!” the little girl seemed to be very frightened by Dong Ci’s reaction. Ignoring her friend’s dissuasion, she jumped to the store’s exit, dragging her companion behind her.

“Hey? Didn’t you come here for a piercing?”

“What piercing! I don’t want to be hurt!”

Dong Ci bit her lip, easing her nerves. She wanted to turn around and stop the little girl. But as soon as she looked in their direction, she saw the two girls running out. The words weren’t spoken, but the people were already far away from the store.

Dong Ci was helpless. She was just about to tell the little girl that it didn’t hurt as much the second time.

The earlobes felt very hot, as though they were burned by fire. Dong Ci looked into the mirror and saw the two red ears. She wanted to reach out and touch them but hesitated because of her fear of pain. In the end, she put her hand down.

“The next few days, you should pay attention. Don’t let the water touch the wounds, but clean them up with a little alcohol.”

This wasn’t the best season for piercings. It was easy to get an infection if one didn’t pay attention to looking after the hygiene.

Zhang Yiyi couldn’t understand why Dong Ci wanted to pierce her ears today. She saw the bleeding holes and couldn’t help asking, “Is it really painful?”

“It hurt the first time, but there wasn’t much pain the second time. When it is over, there is another kind of pain,” Dong Ci thoughtfully answered.

Zhang Yiyi sighed when she remembered the girl who was so scared, that she fled the store, “That little girl will probably never dare to pierce her ears again in her life after she witnessed you doing it. I say, your cry was terrifying.”

Dong Ci looked down at her toes, feeling a little embarrassed.

Thinking about it, the decision to pierce her ears was very abrupt. When she saw the girl with many earrings, Dong Ci’s first thought was: if she pierces her ears and puts on earrings, Jing Rong shouldn’t continue constantly biting her earlobes, right?

She even thought that if she wore sharp earrings, maybe he would cut his mouth if he tried to suck on her earlobe.

Dong Ci had so many happy thoughts at the time, but she didn’t expect that she would suffer so much later on. What she didn’t know, was that this was just the beginning of her misfortune.

---

---

On the day when the school was back in session, Dong Ci was unhappy. When she cut her hair and pierced her ears, the decision was done very abruptly – she didn’t think about how she would have to face Jing Rong.

But the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was her own business – not his. She wanted to have short hair, so she cut it. She wanted to pierce her ears – who had the right to object?

But even as she tried to convince herself of this truth, Dong Ci still felt uneasy when she entered the classroom. Fortunately, there was no one inside, as it was still early.

She was now in the third year of high school – a senior.

Dong Ci walked out of the room and leaned against the hallway’s railing, idly watching the crowd of students’ downstairs. Many of them were carrying textbooks and luggage as they stopped to look up and down the bulletin board.

They were freshmen.

Although Dong Ci wasn’t as tall as most of them, looking even younger than many juniors, but she felt that she lacked their vitality.

Shi Ze was now studying in his ideal university. He was no longer there to accompany her. But she also grew up: she was going into the third grade now – determined to work hard to get into the F University.

This year, Dong Ci didn’t want to do anything else but peacefully study, and successfully pass the college entrance examination. And also…

She lowered her eyes and tightened her hold on the railings.

If she could, she hoped to get rid of Jing Rong by the end of the year.

One after another, students entered the classroom. Dong Ci also prepared to go. Noticing that her shoelaces were loose, she crouched to tie them. When she stood up, her eyesight suddenly turned black, and she accidentally walked straight into a passing classmate.

“Are you blind?”

Dong Ci was fiercely pushed back. Luckily, there was a railing behind her – otherwise, she would have definitely fallen to the ground.

Her blood sugar was low, and she was prone to brief blackouts – she certainly didn’t walk into the other person deliberately. It wasn’t such a big offense, why act so rudely?

Dong Ci frowned and looked up. When she saw the teenager’s face – she was stunned.

It was no wonder that the voice was familiar – think of the Devil, and he shall appear!

Jing Rong’s expressionless face froze for a moment. After a second passed, it appeared that he realized who the short-haired girl standing in front of him was. With a frown, he asked, “Who forced you to cut your hair?”

“I decided to cut it on my own, you can’t control me,” Dong Ci snapped back. She slapped away the hand that was about to reach her head and rub her hair, turning to go back to the classroom.

With her hair short, she seemed less gentle and more vigorous. The strands, which barely reached her chin, swayed up and down with her movements. The bangs on her forehead were thin and slightly curly. As he observed Dong Ci’s appearance, Jing Rong felt that she was a little cute this way.

But even if she was pretty like this, her temperament seemed different from when her hair was long. Jing Rong sat down next to her and casually observed her from the corner of his eyes. Inadvertently, he caught the sight of a red earlobe.

“What happened to your ears?” he asked, reaching out to touch the delicate flesh.

Dong Ci couldn’t help but cry out because of the unexpected pain. She pushed his hand away and asked with undisguised annoyance, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“You have pierced your ears?” he continued questioning. Because Jing Rong saw that she was in a lot of pain, he couldn’t control his voice, and it sounded very cold.

“What do you care!”

Looking at Dong Ci covering her ears and dodging around, Jing Rong squinted slightly. His dark eyes were calm, and as he quietly looked at her, she suddenly grew nervous.

“Why have you pierced them?”

Jing Rong was smart, and he quickly noticed that something wasn’t right. His thin lips twitched slightly as he smiled at her.

“Why are you so silent now?” he asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

The girl was looking at Jing Rong without blinking, but she still couldn’t avoid being pressed against the wall behind her.

“You are suddenly courageous enough to look straight at me for such a long time. Let me guess, you have pierced your ears because of me?” Jing Rong did not rush to the point immediately. He pressed her shoulders to trap the slender body right between the wall and himself, then rubbed her lips with his fingertips, and carelessly guessed, “You did it to avoid my touches, right?”

Dong Ci didn’t expect her intentions to be seen through so easily. Her mind was completely blank, not knowing how to deny his guess.

“I…”

“Your naivety never lets me down.”

Jing Rong carefully reached his hand to touch the delicate earlobe, but he was afraid of hurting her more. Instead, his fingers moved to her nose and firmly squeezed it as he lightly talked, “I released you from my sight for just a few days, and you already forgot how to behave.”

He leaned closer, sliding his lips down her cheeks. When they reached the red ear, he stopped.

Suddenly, Dong Ci felt the air around her become thinner.

“Jing Rong, don’t…” she whispered unconsciously.

The injury still hasn’t healed, what if he bites it out of anger?

She put her hand on his chest and pushed against it. Her slender figure trembled slightly because of fear.

“Afraid of pain?”

Jing Rong stared at the small girl in his arms, who was so frightened of him. He smirked and moved his lips closer to the earlobe – deliberately teasing her.

It is such a cute and delicate ear. But now it is so red and swollen that it makes one feel pity.

“Jing, Jing Rong…”

Dong Ci was so scared that she unconsciously grabbed his clothes and wrinkled them in her tight grasp. She was pleading like a kitten, and Jing Rong’s heart suddenly softened. He moved his lips to her neck, licking it with the tip of his tongue.

Does she want to avoid him kissing her earlobe?

Jing Rong squeezed the girl in his embrace and placed his lips on her delicate skin…

Alright, he doesn’t mind showering her with love in other places.

Previous   ToC   Next