The Older Girl

Emerging from the barbershop, Li Mu looked reborn.

Gone was the patchy teenage mustache. His new cropped sides and tousled crown—styled with mousse into deliberate disarray—gave him the roguish charm of a Hong Kong heartthrob. Paired with his faded cotton tee, hibiscus-print shorts, and flip-flops, the look screamed effortless cool. In 2001 China, he might as well have stepped off a K-drama set.

Chen Wan arrived astride a gleaming Giant mountain bike, her figure accentuated by the ride: peach-striped tee hugging curves, tapered jeans showcasing legs that drew stares even mid-pedal. White Converse completed the ensemble—understated yet leagues ahead of the era's baggy fashion.

At twenty-one, she radiated collegiate innocence. But to Li Mu's thirty-something soul, her blushes proved irresistible.

Their eyes met. Chen flushed scarlet, ducking into the barbershop. "Li Mu stood me up!" she fumed to the spiky-haired stylist.

"Who's asking?" came a voice behind her.

Chen spun. The "stranger" leaned against the doorway, smirk lethal. "Miss me already, Sis Wan?"

"You—?!" Chen gaped. The boy she'd hit yesterday—shy, bloodied—now oozed danger-laced charisma.

"Like the upgrade?" Li Mu spread his arms. "Post-exam freedom."

Chen's gaze dropped to his razor-keen jawline. "You look… different."

"Home?" He nodded toward his bike. "Yours now."

A top-tier Giant—front suspension, Shimano gears—glinted in the sun. Li Mu whistled. "This rig costs more than my dad's monthly wage. Riding it to cybercafés? Thief bait."

Chen pouted. "It's for exercise! Cycling's big in Shanghai—"

"Princess," Li Mu cut in, using the era's nascent "báifùměi" (pale/rich/beautiful) label. "Real world's rougher. Park this anywhere public? Gone in minutes."

"Smooth talker!" Chen swatted him, cheeks pink. "Take it or leave it!"

"Take, take!" Li Mu relented. Patting the crossbar, he grinned. "Hop on?"

Chen's glare could melt steel. "I'll walk."

The stroll home became a spectacle. Neighbors gawked—miners' wives whispering behind cupped hands: "Li Daoqing's boy! Snagged a model!"

Inside, Chen marveled at the Mu family photo wall: black-white wedding portraits, toddler Li Mu blowing birthday candles, annual growth charts. "Your parents were stunning," she breathed.

"Genes, darling." Li Mu preened. "Hence this masterpiece."

"Modest much?"

When Zhao Kang arrived, Chen initially balked at third-wheeling. But Li Mu's "We need beauty to offset his face" won her over.

As they left, Li Mu noted Chen's lingering glance at his childhood snapshots. A plan crystallized: This summer, he'd rewrite more than just exam scores.