Chapter 23: The Fifth Playthrough (4)
"Is my hair... a bit too long?" Rei Furuya brushed his hair back a few times but still felt uncomfortable, and suddenly realized something was wrong.
He pinched his slightly long blond hair, then turned to look at the calendar on the wall, only to realize that more than three months had passed.
“It’s time to get a haircut,” he remarked.
Even for Rei Furuya, after repeatedly reloading and starting over, although he remembered the time clearly, his concept of time gradually became blurred.
He carefully recalled the original course of events in his mind.
Although not all the details are remembered clearly, with Rei Furuya's brain, remembering most things is not a problem.
That is why he was confident that he could perfectly replicate the development of the original world.
Generally, police academy students go to the barbershop near the school to get their hair cut.
The class monitor, who likes to keep his hair short, goes there about once a month.
Hagi and Matsuda are quite different; one has medium-length hair, and the other has fluffy curly hair, so they don't need to go to the hair salon often.
As for Rei Furuya himself, he always cuts the hair himself.
His hair texture is rather unusual; it's not particularly coarse, but it's not exceptionally soft either. Even professional hairdressers have difficulty styling it, so Rei Furuya has always cut his own hair.
Because he honed his skills in this way, he eventually even cut Hiro's hair.
After noticing this, Furuya Rei realized that Hiro's hair had indeed grown a bit longer.
In the original development, the butterflies were trimmed about once every three months, so they wouldn't be considered butterflies.
After lunch, Rei Furuya, who was about to go to the convenience store to buy scissors, asked her childhood friend, "I'm planning to get my hair cut when I get back at noon. Hiro, do you want to get yours cut too?"
“Oh right, my hair has gotten a bit long.” Morofushi Kagemitsu only then noticed this, and said with a smile to his childhood friend, “Then I’ll trouble Zero this time too.”
"What? Furuya can cut hair? Do you all cut your own hair?" Kenji Hagiwara was shocked.
Rei Furuya then explained it to his curious classmates, which only made them more curious.
"Really? Is your hair that hard to cut?" Matsuda Jinpei's competitive spirit was aroused, and he eagerly tugged at his blond hair. "Let me try too. Don't worry, don't worry, my hands are still very nimble. It's just cutting hair, super easy, done in three minutes, and I definitely won't ruin your hair!"
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Rei Furuya remembered.
Why did he forget this incident? Perhaps it was too painful to recall, so his subconscious mind forgot it.
"What? What's with that expression? Don't you believe in my skills?" Matsuda Jinpei's eyes widened.
"No..." Furuya Rei choked for a moment, then quickly recovered and said speechlessly, "I can do it myself. My hair is really hard to cut. Most people would fail the first time. Don't ruin my hair."
Even Kenji Hagiwara became curious, and together with Jinpei Matsuda, they put their arms around his shoulder and helped him back to the dormitory.
As Ida was closing the door, he watched them playfully bickering with great interest, feeling that it would eventually turn into a complete mess.
The first person to get a haircut was Morofushi Kagemitsu.
When Rei Furuya stood in front of the black-haired young man with blue cat eyes, holding scissors, and when he and his childhood friend, who was sitting quietly and looking at him gently, met each other's eyes, he suddenly felt a little dazed.
He suddenly remembered that the last time he cut his childhood friend's hair was in a past life, several years ago...
Since Hiro died that night, he had never stood in front of the cat-eyed youth with such a smile and cut his hair again.
Rei Furuya originally thought he was a complete stranger to her, and worried that his childhood friend would notice something was wrong if he didn't cut his hair well because he wasn't familiar with it.
But when I actually started doing it, my body seemed to have muscle memory and started operating skillfully.
"Click, click—"
The blond youth looked down as fine strands of black hair fell through his fingers.
So, he still remembers it very clearly.
"Absolutely perfect! Furuya, you're amazing! Your technique is so professional!" Date Wataru exclaimed in amazement.
The three men surrounded Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had just had his hair cut, and studied him in astonishment. Morofushi Kagemitsu could only helplessly let them rummage through his hair.
"It's actually not bad. How about I have Zero cut my hair next time?" Matsuda Jinpei said thoughtfully.
Kenji Hagiwara burst out laughing: "Hahaha, Jinpei, are you serious? Your curly hair is difficult for even professional hairdressers to style, right? Even Furuya, who has never done curly hair like this before, would have a hard time succeeding on his first try, right?"
"Alright then, I'll try cutting that guy's hair first." Matsuda Jinpei excitedly ran over and snatched the scissors from Furuya Rei's hand. "Come on, let me see just how difficult it is to cut your hair, Zero."
The way he pronounced "zero" at the end, along with his facial expression and the scissors in his hand, made it look as terrifying as if he were saying, "I'm going to kill you."
Rei Furuya leaned back with a look of complete disapproval: "Stop messing around, Matsuda. If you ruin my hair, I won't be able to show my face in public."
"Don't be afraid, nothing will happen. Trust me, I'll just try it, just try it!" Matsuda Jinpei pressed down on his shoulders to hold him firmly in the chair.
"Hiro! Class representative! Come quick and stop this guy!!!" Rei Furuya cried for help.
He didn't ask Kenji Hagiwara for help at all, because he knew that even if that guy didn't cause trouble together, he would still gloat and take pictures on the sidelines.
"Hagi! Help me hold this guy down!" Matsuda Jinpei also started calling for help.
"Alright~" Kenji Hagiwara laughed and came over to hold Rei Furuya down. "Don't worry, Furuya, Jinpei's skills are also very good. In fact, he basically does his own curly hair. You have to trust Jinpei's skills~"
Under Rei Furuya's incredulous gaze, Hiromitsu Morofushi and Wataru Date's eyes flickered for a moment, and they actually continued watching the show.
Those guys even took the opportunity to curiously reach out and ruffle his hair to see how it felt.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
"Hahaha, just give up! No matter how much you scream, no one will come to save you!" Matsuda Jinpei's villainous expression and these lines truly shocked Furuya Rei.
"No, wait—"
"Hey, don't move! What if my hand slips—"
"Snap—"
"..."
The air fell silent instantly.
Strands of golden hair slipped down in front of Rei Furuya, and he froze.
The four people next to him were also stunned, staring blankly at the blond youth's hairstyle and his bangs.
Matsuda Jinpei's hand, which had almost never trembled, shook slightly now.
He stiffly and slowly pulled the scissors behind his back, chuckling awkwardly, "This...this isn't my fault, you were the one who moved them..."
Kenji Hagiwara, feeling guilty and struggling to suppress a laugh, carefully let go of her hand and quickly hid behind Wataru Date.
Ida Ko was completely blank-faced, his mouth agape.
Morofushi Kagemitsu stared blankly at his childhood friend's bangs, almost unable to contain his expression.
Rei Furuya looked at himself in the mirror, his bangs now neatly cut with a single snip, and his fists slowly hardened.
Yes, that's why he subconsciously forgot about it.
Morofushi Kagemitsu finally calmed down and put his hand on his childhood friend's shoulder, who seemed to be trembling with anger: "Actually... cough, actually it's not that much... sorry hahaha, but Zero, you already have a baby face and droopy eyes, so having these bangs is really funny and cute hahaha—"
Morofushi Kagemitsu finally couldn't hold back anymore, and when he laughed, the others couldn't help but laugh too.
"Cough cough...actually pfft—" Date Wataru couldn't say a word, and in the end he just laughed so hard that he punched the wall and tears came out.
"Hahahaha, oh my god, Jinpei, you're completely finished! You're going to be killed by Furuya! But I'm sorry, it's really funny, hahaha—" Hagiwara Kenji laughed until he couldn't breathe, and his stomach hurt from laughing.
Matsuda Jinpei was the only one who couldn't quite manage a smile. A bead of cold sweat slowly trickled down his forehead as he frantically considered how to salvage the situation or simply run away.
But when he saw the blond, frizzy-haired youth with bangs charging at him in a fit of rage, he immediately broke into a fit of laughter.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Furuya Rei pressed Matsuda Jinpei, who was laughing so hard he cried, into a chair and cut his bangs into straight bangs.
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
The other three immediately burst into even louder laughter, laughing so hard they were almost collapsing from exhaustion.
Matsuda Jinpei, who always has a villainous look, getting this straight fringe makes for a hilarious effect.
Matsuda Jinpei's smile vanished. He exchanged a glance with Furuya Rei, who had failed to salvage his hair, and they started fighting again.
"Blonde bastard!"
"You damn curly-haired bastard!"
*
"You two, fighting again?" Onizuka Hachizo's gaze swept back and forth between the two, but his eyes kept involuntarily drifting to their hair. His tone was incredibly incredulous. "You two... this time... you're fighting by pulling hair again? It's gotten to the point where you're touching their hair?"
Rei Furuya quickly said, "No, no, instructor, it was just a normal game. I accidentally cut my hair and then tripped and fell..."
"So what if I do? Or do you want me to fix your hair, Instructor? I can give you a free bald head package!" Matsuda Jinpei said provocatively, a smug smile on his face.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Onizuka Hachizo: "..."
"Oh no, this is completely over." Kenji Hagiwara covered his face in his seat.
Actually, the two of them didn't really fight this time; it was more like playful banter. But you could still tell they had fought, and with those eye-catching bangs that would leave anyone stunned, it was impossible not to notice them.
Given their prior criminal records and Matsuda's provocative attitude, it was no wonder the instructor was angry.
Even Date-kun couldn't save them this time.
Morofushi Kagemitsu was initially a little worried, but when he saw his childhood friend's bangs, he couldn't help but laugh. He could only try to suppress it and turn his face away, his shoulders still trembling.
Help! My already incredibly cute childhood friend looks even funnier now that he's gotten bangs and is listening to a serious lecture!
"Very well, you're all very well." Onizuka Hachizo laughed in anger, gritting his teeth as he said, "I don't think you'll learn your lesson unless I teach you a lesson. In that case, to make you fully appreciate how important it is to have friendship among classmates—"
Matsuda Jinpei looked unconvinced.
"You'll all stand hand in hand at the back of the classroom for the entire lesson!!!"
Matsuda Jinpei froze: "..."
Everyone else was stunned, then burst into laughter, filling the classroom with a joyful atmosphere.
Matsuda Jinpei exploded, jumping up and down: "Wait?! What did you say, you foreigner? Are you kidding me? Who wants to hold hands with a grown man and be stared at for an entire class period?!"
"Wait! Instructor, this is really a misunderstanding, we were just joking!" Furuya Rei quickly said.
Onizuka Hachizo was completely unconvinced: "Would it be worth cutting someone's hair like this just for a joke?!"
Matsuda Jinpei was exasperated: "That's why he's so angry! It's because I accidentally cut his hair like this! We weren't fighting! We were just joking around!"
Onizuka Hachizo didn't believe it at all; he had already made up his mind.
As a result, Matsuda Jinpei and Furuya Rei were forcibly dragged by the instructor to the back of the classroom to stand as punishment.
"If you let go for even a second, you'll be punished by holding hands for an extra class period!" Onizuka Hachizo glared at the two stiff-faced youths. "Next time, you'll be punished by standing outside the door or on the playground, so everyone can see your loving friendship!"
Matsuda Jinpei, who was just about to let go, froze.
Under the watchful eyes of the entire class, the curly-haired youth turned his head sharply to the side, his angry and embarrassed expression, coupled with his blunt bangs, caused some barely suppressed laughter to erupt in the classroom once again.
The blond youth didn't look much better, but his already cute baby face and droopy eyes, plus his bangs, and his current look of shame and indignation, made others feel a little pity and sympathy for him.
But—it's still so funny, hahaha!!!
Kenji Hagiwara couldn't hold back any longer. He wiped away his tears, secretly took out his phone (which he had just gotten back), and, using the table as cover, took a picture of the two people behind him amidst everyone's laughter.
This is an SSR photo!
Make sure to keep it safe. Even after many years, you'll still be able to take it out and laugh at those two.
As soon as the bell rang, the two people holding hands behind each other immediately shook off each other's hands as if they were burning with anger, and immediately moved three meters away from each other with great disgust, while frantically wiping their hands on their bodies.
That scene not only made the whole class, who had just calmed down, burst into laughter again, but even Onizuka Hachizo on the podium couldn't help but laugh out loud.
*
7 PM, police academy dormitory.
"Damn it, that Hagi even took pictures!" Furuya Rei sat sullenly in a chair after taking a shower, letting his childhood friend blow-dry his hair.
"Hagiwara actually dared to take out his phone and take pictures right under the instructor's nose. He's really bold." Morofushi Kagemitsu turned off the hairdryer, looked down at his phone and saw the photos that Hagiwara Kenji had posted in the group chat. He couldn't help but laugh. "But they're really good."
"You're still laughing." Rei Furuya turned to look at him with resentment and accusation in her eyes. "Do I really look that funny?"
"Ahem, of course not." Morofushi Hiromitsu's lips involuntarily curled up slightly, but he quickly suppressed it, desperately trying to make his expression serious and earnest. "I think Zero is very cute like this."
"Whatever men say is cute, laugh if you want. I've been laughed at all afternoon, I'm numb to it now." The blond youth sighed with dead fish eyes.
Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled and reached out to pat the dejected blond youth's head, comforting him, "It's alright. Didn't I say I had a solution? Until your bangs grow back, let's give you a hairstyle without bangs for now."
He walked up to his childhood friend, suppressed a laugh, and trimmed his neat bangs slightly with scissors to make them less uniform. Then he parted them in the middle and used a hairdryer to style them to the sides.
After finishing, Morofushi Kagemitsu took a step back, nodded in satisfaction, and handed him the mirror: "Success! Actually, showing all your eyebrows and eyes like this makes you look more mature. You look very handsome, Zero."
Jianggu Ling: "?"
Rei Furuya: "Are you saying I was very immature before?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu blinked: "I didn't say that. It's just that even ten years from now, Zero will probably still look like a young college student. Having a baby face is really cheating."
"You're clearly mocking me, and you're mocking me even more." Furuya Rei reached out and poked his short, frizzy bangs in front of the mirror. "But this hairstyle is really hard to manage. When I wake up tomorrow, it will definitely be a frizzy mess that I can't flatten no matter what I do. It will take me a long time to style my hair every morning."
At this point, he cursed again, calling the curly-haired bastard.
Morofushi Kagemitsu suppressed a laugh and took out his phone to take a few commemorative photos of his childhood friend with this new look, then picked out the most handsome one and posted it in the group chat.
[A loving and supportive classmates group]
[Matsuda Jinpei: Oh! That hairstyle is great! As expected of Master Kei! I'll try it too!]
Matsuda Jinpei: ???
[Matsuda Jinpei: Who changed the group name to this?!]
[Ida Ko: It wasn't me]
[Kenji Hagiwara: Hahaha, isn't this great? This is perfect, hahaha! (Laughing until tears stream down his face.jpg)]
【Hagihara Kenji：@￥%#&】
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu laughed: "Looks like they've already started fighting over there."
Rei Furuya put away his phone: "I hope Matsuda can successfully persuade Hagi to give up this event. I really don't want to go out shopping like this."
Morofushi Kagemitsu suggested to him, "If Zero really isn't used to it, why not just try wearing a hat?"
Rei Furuya finally put on a black baseball cap and went out.
This wasn't a social gathering; it was just a few of them going out shopping, drinking, singing karaoke, and having some fun. It had been a month since their last outing, so it was time to relax.
Moreover, the karaoke boxes had been booked long ago, so even if Furuya Rei and Matsuda Jinpei didn't want to go out, they had no choice.
Matsuda Jinpei, who was wearing black sunglasses, was stunned when he saw Furuya Rei's black hat.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds, then both laughed and continued to huddle together, teasing and joking with each other.
Five police academy students, dressed in their uniforms, walked with smiles on the still bustling and prosperous street at night. They looked like just an ordinary group of young people, whose good looks might attract a few glances from passersby, who would then smile knowingly at the atmosphere between them.
"What? A photo booth picture? I don't want it! Hagi, you did this on purpose, didn't you?!" Matsuda Jinpei immediately showed his resistance.
"Well, I don't really want to take photos like this right now..." Furuya Rei chuckled dryly and raised his hands in surrender.
But they were eventually pulled into a photo booth by Kenji Hagiwara.
Wataru Date and Hiromitsu Morofushi had a lot of fun. They followed Kenji Hagiwara's instructions with a bit of curiosity and tried out various beauty filters and templates. Sometimes the results were so funny that they made people laugh until their stomachs hurt.
After they finished playing, Ida Wataru couldn't help but complain, "Why did we feel like high school girls, cutting each other's bangs, taking photo booth pictures, shopping, and singing karaoke?"
Matsuda Jinpei, with a deadpan expression, said, "Because these are the tricks Hagi uses to deal with girls; he's very skilled at them."
“But these are quite interesting.” Date Hang flipped through the photos in his hand and couldn’t help but laugh again. “Send a few to Natalie.”
"Ugh—" Matsuda Jinpei took a few steps back with a pained expression, "I don't want to eat dog food with a winner in life."
"Hahaha! Aren't you envious!" Date Kou laughed triumphantly.
"Should I send a few to my brother too?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked his childhood friend. "Wouldn't it be bad if Komei-nii saw these rather casual photo booth pictures?"
“I don’t think so. I’d be happy to see anything you send,” Furuya Rei said.
Except for the bullet-hole phone that represents the message of death.
“Okay, then I’ll pick a few and send them to Gao Ming-ge next time I write a letter!” Zhu Fujingguang smiled happily, his bright, upturned blue cat eyes curving into a smile.
“Hmm.” Rei Furuya smiled as well.
But it's okay, he will definitely not let that happen this time.
*
It was already 8 p.m. when the five of them arrived at the karaoke bar.
Kenji Hagiwara, the karaoke king, was the first to go up and request a song, then called on everyone to come and choose their own.
The show started with Kenji Hagiwara, who is a great singer, and Kagemitsu Morofushi, who has a beautiful and gentle voice. Wataru Date also went over to select songs. After selecting his songs, he called over Rei Furuya and Jinpei Matsuda, who were drinking beer and toasting, to come over and choose the songs they wanted to sing.
"Wait, Matsuda, you should save yourself for last!" Furuya Rei's expression changed, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed Matsuda Jinpei, who was about to request a song.
Matsuda Jinpei: "?"
Matsuda Jinpei actually knew he was tone-deaf. Although he didn't think there was anything wrong with it, everyone who heard him sing said it was like a demonic sound that could destroy the world and exterminate humanity.
He wasn't one to torture people's ears, so he just planned to sing a random song and then sit there watching everyone have fun, while he was only responsible for drinking and eating.
But the blond bastard's actions instantly triggered Matsuda Jinpei's rebellious streak. He broke free from Furuya Rei and rushed over to snatch the microphone from Hagiwara Kenji.
Rei Furuya was terrified: "Quick! Class President! Hiro! Stop him! Don't let Matsuda get the microphone!!!"
Date Wataru and Morofushi Kagemitsu laughed and teased each other, pretending to stop Matsuda Jinpei.
Kenji Hagiwara, always eager to stir up trouble, tossed the microphone to Jinpei Matsuda: "Jinpei-kun! Catch! Let everyone see your true abilities!"
Matsuda Jinpei caught it perfectly, turned around and laughed heartily: "Leave it to me!"
Matsuda Jinpei took a deep breath and spoke into the microphone.
Rei Furuya covered his ears in pain.
The other three also gradually stopped laughing.
In the end, after the song ended, only four "corpses" remained in the private room.
The blond "corpse" even used his finger dipped in beer to write a death message on the table: "The murderer is Mazda."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "Hey! You guys are going too far!!!"
The four "corpses" couldn't help but come back to life and laugh.
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