"Your facial features have distinct lines, high brow bones, and upturned eyebrows. I don't think the currently popular slight separation style suits you, so I went with a partial gradient crew cut design, preserving a sense of layering..."
Zhou Wang hadn't had time to check the system prompt as he listened to Teacher Yue Fei's explanation, meticulously scrutinizing the major hunk in the mirror.
With the sides thinned out and the styled hair on top slightly spiking forward, it added dimension to Zhou Wang's already rascally handsome temperament.
Fresh and cool, yet without losing a sense of design.
"Not bad, I'm very satisfied!"
Zhou Wang wasn't stingy with his praise, but of course, the main reason was the system's approval.
88 points was definitely above the excellent level. He took out his phone to check, and sure enough, the reimbursement money had been deposited.
"CMB: Your account ending in 1024 received an income of RMB 1583 on July 1 at 11:13."
By these calculations, it meant that Zhou Wang had only spent 200 RMB on this haircut. He wasn't sure if the original price of 1800 was worth it or not, but at the 200 RMB price point, Zhou Wang's answer was... worth it!
Not to mention the unexpectedness of the haircut, the service details of the shop alone made Zhou Wang feel very comfortable.
There wasn't any promotional spiel throughout, though that might also be because the price had already eliminated the need for that...
The key point was that Teacher Yue Fei had cut it just right, directly triggering the system's hidden extra rewards. Although he didn't yet know what "Cui Si's Azure Dragon Saber" was all about, its value was definitely more than 200 RMB.
Upon reaching the checkout counter, and after Zhou Wang had paid, the assistant who'd been serving him all this time smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou, would you like to add my WeChat? That way, you can book directly with me if you need anything in the future."
Zhou Wang took another look at her. Wearing proper business attire, her chest protruding, her slim straight-leg pants hugging her slender legs, hair piled up, facial features delicate, and two dimples on her face that added points when she smiled...
Well, mainly because Zhou Wang had a very good impression of the shop.
"Okay."
Zhou Wang scanned her QR code, but then an awkward incident occurred.
Perhaps because the screen was deeply cracked, his darn phone froze and failed to successfully transition the page.
Although the assistant didn't show any awkwardness, Zhou Wang's face still turned red.
Motherfucker, sporting an 1800 RMB haircut while his phone choked like an 1800 RMB-level glitch—what the hell was that!
Once out of the barber shop, Zhou Wang looked at his Xiaomi 12, with its screen shattered in one corner, and felt the urge to switch to a new phone right away.
But after giving it some thought, Zhou Wang restrained the impulse.
After all, he didn't have enough capital at the moment, and he still had to go buy clothes later. Better hold off for now...
Ding dong!
The WeChat notification sounded—it was a smiley face emoji from the assistant he had just added.
Her name was a long string in standard marketing format: "Time Hair Salon Chief Assistant—Shell."
"This must be a work account, but the name 'Shell' is kind of interesting. I should create a group called 'Seafood' and pull her into it..."
Zhou Wang thought mischievously.
That's when Zhou remembered he had also received an item; he quickly opened the system interface's inventory with a thought, and there it lay, a solitary azure long saber, identical to the one in the games.
[Cui Si's Azure Dragon Saber: Use to randomly trigger a 0.1 to 10 times consumption refund on your next five expenses]
It was as if an illusion, a cunning voice could almost be heard chuckling softly.
[Lady Luck is smiling!]
Damn!
Zhou Wang's eyes lit up. This was like getting just what he needed right when he needed it!
```
As long as one spends money, there can be a cashback ratio starting at ten percent, peaking even at a 10x critical hit—the very definition of a positive mathematical expectation!
Provided that his luck wasn't too rotten, Zhou Wang was certain he could make back the money he spent on clothes.
Glancing at the 4-hour countdown still ticking, Zhou Wang decided to go change his phone first.
The fifth floor of the mall just happened to house several smartphone brand stores, but due to the need to deal with his old phone, Zhou Wang eventually chose a comprehensive store from a local chain brand.
The process of buying a phone was unusually fast, for Zhou Wang already had a model in mind, and in less than 10 minutes, he had snapped up the 1TB version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in black.
Choosing Apple was purely because Zhou Wang had always used domestic brands and wanted to try a different experience—there was no special reasoning behind it.
However, Zhou Wang, buying an Apple phone for the first time, did discover something particularly dreadful.
The official reason Apple gave was to achieve the carbon neutrality goal by 2030; starting from the iPhone 12, they no longer included a charger in the box. Therefore, Zhou Wang had no choice but to additionally pick a power adapter and Bluetooth earphones.
In the end, after calculating, the bare phone discounted by more than a thousand was 12699, the third-generation Airpods 1299, the official charging head 149... totaling 14147 RMB.
The clerk had also recommended a phone case, but Zhou Wang declined—he wasn't a fan of using cases.
After scanning to pay, Zhou Wang heard the system notification ring in his head.
Ding!
[Transaction detected, "Cui Si's Azure Dragon Saber" effect has been activated, obtained a 2x cashback reward]
"CMB: Your account ending in 1024 has received an income of 26846 RMB on July 1st at 11:27."
Out of the five chances, the first one triggered the double effect; the feeling Zhou Wang had could be summed up in one word...
Thrilling!
It was the first time he found out that spending money could be so exhilarating.
Next came activating the new device, swapping the SIM card, and transferring chat logs. The album and such were on the cloud drive, so it didn't matter. After everything was handled, Zhou Wang took his old phone straight to the store's recycling center.
The Xiaomi 12, which originally cost over 3000, was appraised at a recycling price of 490...
Perhaps with some haggling, he could get a bit more, but Zhou Wang couldn't be bothered to expend the energy and simply took the money and left.
Exiting the phone store and noticing there were still more than three hours left on the shopping spree countdown, Zhou Wang, feeling somewhat parched, made his way to a coffee shop on the third floor to sit down.
Since he also needed to download some apps, Zhou Wang wanted to browse some short videos to learn about fashion styling.
Blaming his own lack of trendiness, he lamented that having a handsome face didn't make much difference what he wore; now, he had to cram at the last minute, hoping to boost the system's rating when he bought clothes later on.
Glancing downstairs, the clothes at Henglong Square were indeed not cheap, comprising mostly international front-line brands.
Zhou Wang wasn't well-versed in luxury brands. In the past, he neither considered nor dared to indulge, but now, with the double incentives of reimbursements and cashback, he could perhaps dip his toes in.
Zhou Wang sat in a wicker chair outside the coffee shop for a while, and seeing that no one came to take his order, he couldn't help but look up curiously and waved at a server who was serving another table in the distance.
His wave didn't summon the server, but it did draw over a girl who was looking around cluelessly at the entrance of the shop.
Zhou Wang was a bit dazed as the girl walked straight toward him. A chestnut lock of hair tossed over her shoulders, slightly curled at the ends, she wore a white Chanel-style blouse paired with a black skirt and thick-heeled thigh-high black boots, revealing a stretch of pale thigh.
Her eyebrows and eyes radiated innocence; her egg-shaped face with a hint of makeup could score over eighty, and while not exceptionally tall, her proportions accentuated her seemingly long legs.
All in all, she was a pretty girl with a high second-glance rate, reminiscent of a Korean model—a favorite of Zhou Wang's roommate—seemingly named Li Suying.
Zhou Wang had perused his roommate's so-called "Postgrad Exam Materials" folder of art video collections... Yep, pretty top-notch.
"Hello, brother, are you the one who ordered the companion?"
While Zhou Wang was lost in thought, the fragrant scent enveloped him, and the girl had already pulled over a chair and sat down next to him, smiling and greeting:
"My name is Ranran, nice to meet you~"
```