The chief stylist at the salon had served countless top celebrities and noble elites, including many picky and demanding clients.

But a request this… unusual—this was a first.

While performing the final round of sterilization on the machine, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the two people seated.

The young man sitting inside the spherical beauty device wore an expensive haute couture outfit and was intently fiddling with a piece of origami in his hands.

And the man sitting beside him had his eyes lowered, reading some document on his smart device.

Who in the Aon Empire wouldn’t recognize the Marshal of the First Legion?

Of course, the stylist recognized Fu Linyuan.

The Marshal looked very much like his reputation.

From the stylist’s angle, the man’s features were sharp and chiseled. Beneath short black hair, his eyebrows and eyes were especially defined and fierce.

Those equally dark eyes held a distant indifference, like a beast quietly waiting for its moment to strike.

It was a kind of aggressively cold beauty—intimidating at first glance.

Even just sitting there silently, he emanated an oppressive presence that felt almost tangible.

The stylist glanced at Yu Bai again.

Though the slender youth had an excellent bone structure and no real flaws in his features, when put together, they came across as somewhat… plain.

The kind of plainness that would disappear in a crowd.

Still, his professional standards were solid—no matter who the client was, once they sat in that chair, they were someone he was here to serve.

But whether it was his imagination or not, the closer he got to the boy, the more he felt a faint but pleasant sense of tranquility.

Operating the beauty machine required precise control over one’s spiritual power, so the stylist’s mental strength was quite strong—already at a B-level.

Now, standing beside the machine, he could feel the agitation from earlier in the day completely soothed. His tightly wound nerves relaxed in the most pleasant way.

Not understanding the true reason, the stylist simply assumed the calming agent he’d taken earlier was finally kicking in.

Exhaling softly, he moved to the back of the machine and began linking his mental power to it.

“Sir, please relax in the chair. The process won’t take long…”

Yu Bai was a little startled when the chair beneath him began to slowly rise, but fortunately the speed wasn’t fast, and the distance was short. After two or three seconds, it stopped.

The little mermaid curiously leaned over to look at the chair beneath him, then glanced at Fu Linyuan beside him.

His eyes seemed to ask: Why isn’t your chair moving?

A flash of amusement flickered across the man’s dark eyes, and he said in a low voice, “Sit still.”

Yu Bai pretended not to understand and tried to lean closer to compare the two chairs.

Fu Linyuan had no choice but to free up a hand and press him back into the chair. “Don’t move.”

The salon was very quiet, and the stylist couldn’t see Fu Linyuan’s expression—only heard his two curt sentences.

Ahem…

No matter how professional he was, the stylist couldn’t help but begin speculating about their relationship.

Brothers?

No, putting aside their complete lack of resemblance, all of Aon knew Fu Linyuan was an only child.

Friends?

The boy looked, at most, twenty. That’s still student age—how could he be friends with a Marshal who’s been serving in the legion for years?

That only left one possibility.

The stylist couldn’t help but use the beauty machine to observe Yu Bai once more.

Though his face was plain, his body proportions were outstanding. The haute couture that required a good physique looked perfectly natural on him, enhancing his unique temperament.

Like a delicate young heir from some noble family sneaking out while wearing a disguise…

The stylist’s train of thought abruptly stopped.

Only now did he notice the silver accessory on the boy’s left ear.

It looked like… a disguise device.

…Had he just accidentally stumbled upon a massive secret?

After all, just a few days ago, there were rumors from the palace suggesting the royal family was considering a marriage alliance between the Marshal and the Punk Empire’s crown princess.

The Marshal, known for his fierce reputation, had always kept his distance from women—a sharp contrast to the endless scandals and affairs surrounding other aristocrats and celebrities.

Even when someone dared to confess their affection, drawn by his looks, they were always met with a cold indifference.

It was as if the Marshal, undefeated in battle, had nothing in his mind except mechas and warfare.

So when the news of a potential political marriage surfaced, it sparked a wave of public discussion.

That topic was probably still trending on the entertainment page of the star network.

And yet now, early in the morning, the Marshal’s estate had urgently contacted their salon—just to get the boy in front of him a haircut…

The stylist blinked and carefully manipulated the machine to precisely trim the silver hair.

The youth’s hair quality was excellent—dyed such a color and still so soft and smooth, even better than many celebrities who regularly came for treatments. He must’ve put a lot of effort into it.

The stylist became more convinced that this must be a young master from some noble house.

Just as his thoughts wandered, Fu Linyuan, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. His voice was low and cold: “I’ve heard your salon is good at maintaining confidentiality?”

He had let Duke book this salon specifically because of its reputation for protecting clients’ privacy. The cut hair would be destroyed on site.

Fu Linyuan didn’t mean anything else with the question.

He simply wanted to confirm they would not keep any samples from the little mermaid.

Yu Bai wasn’t human, and to keep his identity hidden, things like hair samples couldn’t be allowed to leak.

But in the stylist’s ears, the question took on a different tone.

It sounded like the Marshal had seen through his earlier speculations—and was warning him to keep quiet.

So the stylist hurried to explain, “Yes, yes, our salon has long served many celebrities. To protect client privacy, we always maintain the highest standards of confidentiality.”

Hearing the confirmation, Fu Linyuan gave a soft grunt and said no more, turning his attention back to the smart device in his hand.

A few minutes later, Yu Bai felt his head lighten.

The man beside him still had one hand gently holding his wrist, preventing him from moving around, so Yu Bai could only observe through the corner of his eye.

The cut hair was softly sucked into small vents around them, then shredded in transparent tubes, and dropped into a clear solution.

And then, the hair vanished.

The container for the solution looked a bit like the jars and beakers he used to see every day in the lab.

Yu Bai had always disliked those things, so after watching for a moment, he lost interest and began looking around the salon.

That’s when his eyes locked onto a plant placed on a small stand near the door.

More precisely, a small decorative bell hanging from the plant.

Sparkling and shiny—he wanted it.

…

It was just a haircut, so it didn’t take long before the stylist shut down the beauty device and gestured that the service was complete.

Then he deliberately placed a mirror in front of Yu Bai. “Sir, are you satisfied with the hairst—”

He didn’t even finish the sentence when he saw that the youth had no interest in the mirror whatsoever and walked straight toward the door.

So the stylist instinctively turned to look at Fu Linyuan.

Unexpectedly, the Marshal said nothing either. He simply stood up and followed the boy, as if ready to leave just like that.

The stylist left behind: …uh?

But before he could react, Fu Linyuan, already at the door, suddenly stopped and turned his head. “We’ll transfer the payment for the bell later.”

Stylist: “…Huh?”

What bell?

Before he could ask, the Marshal had already followed the boy out the door.

…

Tying the bell around the origami crane’s neck, a gentle shake made the little shiny sphere emit a crisp, pleasant sound.

Yu Bai stared at the paper crane, momentarily lost in thought.

He remembered the first time he saw Fu Linyuan in his past life.

Back then, he had been locked in a new room. Barbs had been implanted into his lower back, rendering him unable to swim freely. Most of the time, he could only lie sideways in the water tank.

The laboratory lights stayed on 24/7—cold, sterile white light.

Three sides were walls, and the last side was the water tank. Only at the very top of the tank was there a small window, barely the size of a palm.

Every evening, a sliver of natural light would slip through that small window and briefly linger inside the tank.

On the seventh day of that light’s passing, after all the lab-coated humans had left, another one entered the room.

At first, the newcomer didn’t seem to notice the water tank.

By pressing his ear to the tank floor, Yu Bai could hear the person circle the outer tables, stop somewhere for half a minute, and then slowly walk toward him.

It was the first time someone had entered during that sliver of natural light.

The little mermaid felt a rare surge of curiosity and pushed himself up with both hands to peek out.

Through the colorless water and clear glass, the little mermaid’s eyes met Fu Linyuan’s gaze directly.

That might have been the first time he’d seen eyes so close in color to the deep void of space.

He couldn’t quite remember how long they looked at each other.

What he did know was that he quickly lost interest in the human outside the glass.

They were probably just like the others—cutters and examiners.

His time was precious, and the fleeting freedom of that light wouldn’t last.

So the little mermaid sank back to the tank’s bottom.

His slender fingertips lingered on a small patch of light on the floor, as if trying to hold onto something.

Soon, the sunset faded again, marking the end of another day.

Whether it was because the light’s routine had been interrupted today, or because he had pushed himself up too suddenly earlier, in the cold white light of the water tank, Yu Bai could feel a faint pain starting to return in his spine.

With each breath he took, the pain grew more distinct.

…Am I about to die?

Yu Bai wondered.

The pain intensified, and a small droplet of clear tear welled from the corner of his eye, silently dissolving into the surrounding water.

It really hurts so much…

Just then, a shadow blocked Yu Bai’s vision.

Looking up, he saw that the man from earlier had approached the tank.

Through the water and glass, the man’s low voice became muffled and unclear.

But Yu Bai still remembered every syllable of that sentence clearly.

“Do you… want to go outside and see the world?”