Half-pushed and half-pulled by Zhang Tao, Zhang Dalong got into a black car—a literal black sedan.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a hair salon.
While Zhang Dalong looked completely bewildered, Zhang Tao spoke directly to the owner, "Boss, give my brother the most popular hairstyle right now."
Zhang Dalong: ???
"No... no, I think my current hair is just fine..."
"Hey, since we're already here, just go with it. Listen to me, you can't go wrong."
Zhang Tao urged the owner again, "Hurry up!"
"Alright, Brother Tao, just watch me."
Before Zhang Dalong could even react, the enthusiastic owner pressed him down into the barber chair.
"Little brother, there's really no need. At my age..."
"Bro, trust me!"
Zhang Tao took out his phone, tapped it skillfully a few times, and pulled up a picture.
"Do it exactly like this! Like that guy in the movie Crazy Stone, yeah... yeah... just that kind of vibe. A bit of personality, but not too exaggerated."
The owner leaned over to take a look and immediately made an OK gesture. "Brother Tao, don't you worry. I guarantee I'll give this big brother a whole new look!"
It didn't take long for Zhang Dalong's conventional black side-part to disappear, replaced by a slightly fluffy, choppy yellow hairstyle with a few streaks of red highlights at the front.
To be honest, the hairstyle itself wasn't bad; it was even quite trendy. But on the head of the nearly forty-year-old Zhang Dalong, it looked completely out of place no matter how you looked at it.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror—seeming ten years younger yet incredibly unfamiliar—Zhang Dalong was speechless for a long time.
I just came for a nice trip to Pearl City, so how did I end up as a blond punk?
"How about it, bro? Mind-blowingly handsome, right?"
Zhang Tao patted his shoulder proudly. "Let's go, next stop. I'll take you to experience the nightlife of our Pearl City."
Zhang Dalong tried to struggle but was once again dragged and shoved into the black car by Zhang Tao.
The car twisted and turned before parking on a neon-lit street in the city center.
As soon as they got out, deafening music blasted from all directions. Moreover, the streets were bustling with young people dressed in alternative fashion, getting ready to go to karaoke or hit the dance floor.
Zhang Tao led the newly coiffed Zhang Dalong straight toward the nearest bar.
Just as they reached the entrance, three girls with alternatively styled blond hair spotted Zhang Dalong, whose hairstyle completely mismatched his age. They paused for a moment before teasing him, "Yo, Uncle, coming out clubbing at your age? Your hair is pretty trendy. Is it your first time here?"
Zhang Dalong's face instantly turned red. He wished he could pin Zhang Tao to the ground and rub his face in the dirt right then and there.
When it came to bars, the city he lived in had far more than Pearl City. But he had a quiet personality; usually, he would at most sit in a cafe or a lounge bar, and had almost never set foot in such a noisy nightclub.
Many programmers with STEM backgrounds were basically like this—they didn't really like loud, bustling places.
But look at him now—his hair was styled so avant-garde, and Zhang Tao had even forced a fake stud onto his ear. It was so alternative, it was downright absurd!
Seeing Zhang Dalong blush, the three girls actually found this uncle rather cute and took the initiative to hold out their fists.
"Uncle, fist bump!"
Zhang Dalong froze for a second before hurriedly extending his fist to bump theirs.
"Hahaha... Uncle, you are way too cute!" The girls were amused by his clumsy demeanor.
"Let's go, Uncle. See you inside!" With that, they giggled and walked into the bar.
Watching their retreating figures, Zhang Dalong sighed, feeling that he was indeed a bit out of touch with this world.
Honestly, sometimes he completely failed to understand why young people nowadays liked these alternative trends. From his current perspective, being alternative was just pure rebellion.
But other people rebelled when they were sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen, nineteen years old. As for him, he was rebelling at nearly forty. Who could handle that?
After entering the bar, Zhang Tao familiarly found a booth and sat down. After ordering drinks, he looked at the lively atmosphere around them and couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "It's been a long time since I last came here. This time, I can finally go clubbing openly and honestly."
Hearing this, Zhang Dalong instantly knew that even if this guy wasn't married, he at least had a partner. It turned out he had completely become this guy's wingman and tool.
Damn it, just wait, I'll snitch to your partner later!
"Brother Long, since we're already here, go down and move around a bit. Just sitting here is so boring."
Zhang Dalong hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, I really don't know how to do this."
"Oh come on, you don't need to learn it. Just flail around and dance however you want."
"Let's go, get hyped!"
Zhang Tao without another word dragged him straight onto the dance floor.
Zhang Dalong couldn't resist at all and was forced to dance along. However, his body was a bit uncoordinated; his arms and legs seemed to have minds of their own.
Just as he was about to give up and slip back to his seat, a crisp voice came from behind him.
"Hahaha... Uncle, are you doing a zombie dance?"
Zhang Dalong turned around and saw it was one of the girls who had fist-bumped him at the door. His old face flushed red once again.
"I haven't really danced much."
This girl had quite an outgoing personality and volunteered to teach him. "Come, come, come, I'll teach you!"
"Relax, move your shoulders. Right, I didn't mean shrug them. Then raise your hands above your head... Get hyped!"
"I can't, I can't anymore. Uncle, you are truly a piece of work."
"Hahaha..."
"Forget it, forget it. I really can't dance. You guys have fun." Zhang Dalong finally conceded defeat and wanted to retreat to the booth.
The girl glanced at the booth where Zhang Dalong and his friend were sitting. Her eyes lit up, and she took the initiative to ask.
"Uncle, do you still have room over there? Can my sisters and I come over and sit for a bit?"
"Huh? That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"
Zhang Tao chimed in with an assist at this moment. "Come on over, beauties, take a seat. Our booth is plenty spacious."
The girl didn't stand on ceremony and immediately called her other two sisters over.
Zhang Tao's booth became lively with the addition of the extra people.
In another luxurious booth not far away, a young man whose attire suggested he came from a wealthy family was staring at Zhang Dalong and his group with a gloomy expression.
The outgoing girl who had just struck up a conversation with Zhang Dalong was originally with them. She had left because of a minor argument, and he hadn't expected her to run off to someone else in the blink of an eye—and to a somewhat tacky-looking middle-aged uncle sporting blond hair, no less.
The young man suddenly felt he was losing face and gave a look to a lackey beside him.
The lackey understood. He immediately jogged over and said to the outgoing girl, "Xiaoya, Young Master Ming is calling you guys back. The birthday cake is about to be served over there. Stop throwing a tantrum."
Xiaoya and her friends didn't even think about it and rejected him outright.
"We're not going. We're having a great time chatting with the uncle here, so we won't interrupt your fun."
"Yeah, chatting with the uncle is way more interesting than being with you guys."
"Exactly, exactly. And the uncle is so cute, he won't lose his temper either."
The lackey's expression soured upon being rejected. He turned to Zhang Dalong and threatened, "Hey, old man, these girls are friends invited by our Young Master Ming. It is not very appropriate for you to do this, is it?"
Zhang Dalong had not thought much of it initially, but the man's tone rubbed him the wrong way. He replied bluntly, "They came over of their own free will. I didn't force them."
Zhang Tao sneered from the side and chimed in, "What? The ladies don't want to hang out with you guys, so you are going to drag them away by force? Get the hell out of here!"
The lackey's face flushed with anger and embarrassment at the sharp rebuke. He dropped a harsh "Just you wait" before turning around and going back.
