Chapter Ninety: Cutting Hair (Second Update, Seeking First Subscription)

Morning arrived, the pale blue sky dotted with drifting white clouds. Sunlight filtered through the treetops, scattering irregular patches of light and shadow across the ground. A gentle breeze brushed the face, carrying freshness, heralding the beginning of a new day.

In the small courtyard, Spring and Summer sat obediently on little stools, towels draped around their necks. Yang Qing stood behind them, scissors in hand, staring for a while before he couldn't help but speak:

"Spring, Summer, maybe your brother should take you to the barber shop."

"No!" Little Spring turned her head, her voice crisp. "Brother, you've always cut our hair for us."

"That's right, brother. Look, Summer's hair is almost covering her eyes. Hurry and cut it," Little Summer said, running her small hand through her fringe, laughing brightly.

"But... Brother's cuts aren't very good. Before... before, brother didn't have money to take you to the barber shop. Now..." Yang Qing looked at the two children, his voice tinged with tenderness, but was interrupted before finishing.

"Brother!"

Little Spring looked at him seriously. "The hair you cut for Spring is the prettiest. Spring only wants brother to cut my hair."

"Yes, yes, Summer only wants brother to cut it too," Little Summer grinned. "Brother, do you remember how Summer's short hair came about?"

"I remember," Yang Qing was instantly drawn into reminiscence. He smiled softly. "I remember that day, grandma was supposed to cut your hair, but I happened to get home early from the construction site and brought you a bag of spicy strips..."

"Yes, yes!" Little Summer laughed. "Brother, you secretly gave the spicy strips to me and sister, told us not to let grandma know, and said not to give them to Autumn, she was too little. So, sister and I hid in the room, eating them in secret..."

"But somehow Autumn found out, and she started fussing, wanting to eat them, hehe..." Little Summer laughed happily. "I fed her one spicy strip, and Autumn cried because it was too spicy, haha..."

"That's right," Yang Qing smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Then grandma found out too. She scolded me for wasting money on such things and said, 'Look, you made Autumn cry.' Grandma told me to choose: either comfort Autumn or cut your hair."

"I thought, cutting hair only takes a few snips, easier than comforting Autumn, so I chose to cut your hair."

"Giggle..." At this point, Little Spring chimed in. "Brother, you ended up messing up Summer's hair, and Summer cried so hard!"

Yang Qing nodded gently. "Yes, Summer's eyes were red from crying, and nothing I did could comfort her. Spring, you went to call grandma."

"Grandma, who had just finished calming Autumn, came out and saw Summer crying and her hair ruined. She grabbed the broom and chased you, and you ran, circling the little vegetable garden..."

"Grandma chased, I ran, shouting, 'Grandma, you can't catch me, you can't!'"

At this, Yang Qing's eyes reddened, as if lost in memory. He gazed at the small vegetable patch in the courtyard, speaking softly:

"After a while, grandma stopped chasing, Summer stopped crying. Grandma put the broom aside, sat by the garden, looked at me and said... said her mischievous boy had grown up, and that growing up meant taking good care of his sisters, protecting them..."

"Then... Grandma rested a moment, hunched over, came behind Summer, glanced at the hair I'd ruined, and smiled, saying, 'It's all right, my sweet Summer, grandma will fix it.'"

"But... grandma was old, her eyes blurred, her hands shaky. She was afraid she'd hurt you by accident, so she called me..."

"She said, 'Mischievous boy, come over, keep cutting your sister's hair.' I said I didn't want to, and grandma said if I didn't cut Summer's hair, she'd never cut mine again..."

"Yes, yes."

Hearing this, Little Spring nodded her head, picking up the story: "Then brother, you came over obediently and asked grandma to cut your hair first. After she finished, you cut Summer's hair."

"Grandma used those big cloth-cutting scissors to cut your hair, made it all patchy, but you were so happy, saying grandma's haircuts were the best."

"Yes," Yang Qing smiled through reddened eyes. "Grandma's hands were the gentlest, but..."

"Brother..." At this, Little Summer sensed Yang Qing's sadness and called softly.

"It's nothing, brother just misses grandma," Yang Qing lovingly patted her little head, smiled, and continued reminiscing. "Brother's hair was patchy after grandma's cut, and Summer, you laughed too. Then you weren't afraid to let me cut your hair anymore."

"Yes, yes," Little Summer laughed. "Because, brother, your hair was all patchy, but you were so happy. Summer wanted to be like brother."

"Yes, our Summer is the bravest and most considerate," Yang Qing smiled, continuing, "Grandma taught brother to keep cutting your hair, but brother still couldn't do it well. So grandma said, 'Just cut it short and neat, it'll be cooler.' And so Summer, you always had short hair after that."

"Hehe... Yes, it's very cool. Brother, you must always keep cutting Summer's hair, always!"

"Alright!"

Yang Qing nodded, smiling. In that moment, how could he not understand the hearts of these two little ones?

Snip, snip...

With each crisp sound of the scissors, locks of black hair fell. Carefully and meticulously, Yang Qing finished cutting their hair, studied the results, and sighed in relief—thankfully, he hadn't messed it up.

"All done, go wash your hair, then change your clothes. Later, Brother Li Dongning will come over—today you're going to record a song."

"Yes, yes! Thank you, brother!"

The two children ran happily inside to wash and tidy up. Yang Qing picked up the broom and began sweeping the fallen hair.

"Hey, Qing, you cut Spring and Summer's hair?"

At that moment, Tan Jin'er came out from the house, carrying blankets and bedding. She laughed, "I didn't know you had this skill. From now on, Xi'er’s hair is your responsibility!"

"Haha..." Yang Qing laughed. "Xi’er would probably cry for three days and nights if I did."

"Giggle..." Tan Jin'er shook her head, laughing. "No, she’s big-hearted. But if you cut off her teddy bear, she’d fuss for three days and nights."

"True..." Yang Qing glanced at her bundles and couldn't help but laugh. "Bedwetting again?"

"Yes, all four of them did."

"Uh..."

Yang Qing was stupefied. "Is that contagious?"

"Haha... it really is!" Tan Jin'er laughed, hanging blankets and bedding, unable to suppress her amusement. "Guess how they explained it when I asked?"

"How?" Yang Qing smiled curiously.

"Xi’er and Dong’er are little repeat offenders, so I won’t mention them. I asked Autumn, and she said she was dreaming—dreaming she needed to pee. Then she dreamed Xi’er was peeing too, so she joined her. Only when she woke did she realize she’d wet the bed."

"Haha... What about Bai?"

"Bai is even more ridiculous. She said she dreamed she was playing football at Little Red Pony Kindergarten, kicked the ball away, and ran to fetch it. Then she said she saw the ball in a small river, and it was so hot, her little trousers were sweating, so she went to bathe in the river. Haha... and so she wet the bed too."

Tan Jin'er laughed until tears nearly fell. Yang Qing, amused, couldn't help but grin. "Looks like we need to limit the little ones' drinking teddy bear milk—maybe only one bottle a day."

"No! Brother Qing, don't!"

Just as Yang Qing finished speaking, a little voice piped up in panic behind him. Dressed in denim shorts and a pale top, Little Xi’er ran up to him.

Her big eyes looked adorably at him, her voice pitiful, "Teddy bear milk, I want to drink it~"