Chapter 177: Red Makeup
A mind as transparent as a blank sheet of paper. With just a little thought, it’s so easy to manipulate.
Xia Qiange pushed open the door of the dressing room, her head lowered, her fingertips wiping away the water at the corners of her eyes. When she looked up again, she had put on a frail face. She was like a snake held in a farmer’s arms, a cold-blooded animal. Her heart couldn’t be warmed, and she wouldn’t be grateful… there was only instinct.
She stood at the door for a while. The not-so-large dressing room was bustling with activity. She stood in the middle, looking a little helpless.
“You’re Xia Qiange, right?”
A girl looked at the photo on her phone and was almost certain that the girl in front of her was the one she was waiting for.
“Yes, hello, senior sister.”
“Come, come, sit here.”
The senior sister pulled Xia Qiange to an empty seat in the corner. She stared at Xia Qiange’s features for a long time, and the more she looked, the more she liked them. She asked Xia Qiange to sit down in the chair and chattered on.
“Oh, Tang Tang really didn’t lie to me. You’re so suitable for this makeup. I really like this script that Tang Tang wrote. She told me to draw an ancient-style makeup. I’ve been learning for a long time. I’m really looking forward to your performance on stage then. I’ll definitely go and see it that day.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll have to trouble you, sister. I’ll do my best.”
Xia Qiange turned her head and smiled sweetly at the senior sister who was holding the cosmetics behind her.
“You’re so sweet…” The senior sister smiled brightly and touched Xia Qiange’s cheek. “Tsk tsk, so smooth and tender. But it’s winter… it’s inevitably a little dry. You rarely use cosmetics, right? Your skin is so good. I’m so envious.”
“Not at all. You’re very beautiful too, sister. You look good even without makeup.” Xia Qiange smiled and asked, “You must have a boyfriend, right, sister?”
“Yes. But boys… they say that the heart is important, but they are still visual animals. You still have to wear makeup to have a chance for people to appreciate your heart. If you have a good foundation, you’ll look good with a little touch-up. Not to mention someone like you, Qian Ge. You can come to me if you want to learn how to do makeup in the future.”
“Mm-hmm, you’re so nice, sister.”
Xia Qiange did not hesitate to praise her, her appearance extremely well-behaved.
“Alright, alright. If you praise me any more, I’ll really lose my way.”
The senior sister’s smile faded, and her expression became a little more serious. She carefully examined Xia Qiange’s features for a while and began to apply powder bit by bit.
“By the way, what about the hairstyle… what kind do you want? The script doesn’t seem to be very clear. Should I let it down or tie it in a bun?”
The senior sister asked while carefully applying the blush on her cheeks.
“Um… let’s just let it down for now.”
“Let your hair down? Do you like this style? But according to the script, it’s not bad either.”
“Yeah, maybe I just think it will look better this way.”
Xia Qiange had some thoughts that she didn’t say. She had never cared about herself. The moment she saw the boy, nothing else mattered. This face had to be beautiful to him, so she wanted to have the long hair that the boy liked.
…
“An Zhi is not acting anymore?”
A wave of unease rose in Su Yu’s heart. The girl’s condition on stage was not very good. Why did she suddenly throw a tantrum for no reason? This was the first time.
“Yeah, but Sister Hong went to take care of her. She told us to continue rehearsing in the afternoon.”
“Continue rehearsing? But no one is acting…”
“There is, there is. Guess who we called?” Tang Xin blinked, looking at him with an ambiguous gaze.
“An acquaintance… do I know her?”
Tang Xin was at a loss. She felt that Xia Qiange was right. He was purely a blockhead. She said resentfully, “Of course you know her. She’s your old classmate. You still can’t guess? Don’t you think the script is very suitable for her?”
“I…”
Su Yu stumbled back two steps under Tang Xin’s suspicious gaze. The script in his hand trembled and fell to the ground.
Why… it was as if it were a persistent curse, clinging to the trajectory of his life. No matter how he deliberately tried to distance himself, the two of them would still bump into each other by mistake. But he couldn’t find a single trace of affectation. Everything could be explained as a coincidence.
Su Yu was inexplicably flustered.
He was like someone who had been attached to transparent threads, his limbs being pulled, and he was walking step by step in the direction the manipulator wanted. He could clearly see that there was an abyss in front of him, but his body was not under his control.
Struggling… would only make his pace faster.
The seed of doubt was buried in his heart, and it immediately took root and sprouted in his heart. The spreading vines strangled his beating heart, and it was suspended in mid-air, unable to beat. He had difficulty breathing.
Tang Xin looked at Su Yu with confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing.”
Su Yu held his breath and carefully picked up the script.
Don’t think… don’t think too much… don’t overthink it.
How could it be?
Su Yu forcefully pushed aside these absurd and unreasonable thoughts in his mind.
The girl was clearly always that frail and innocent.
The brief memories from his rebirth to this moment flashed in his mind like a projector. There was no obsession… let alone madness. There was only pity and compassion. The girl could always put that fragility in his eyes, turning his dusty heart into a pool of pink water in an instant.
He must have been overthinking it… he must have.
“They’re out.”
Su Yu looked up, and a red dress appeared in his irises. His slightly trembling and out-of-focus gaze blurred time and space, as if he had crossed thousands of years of wasted time and saw the figure that existed in the story in the script.
…
The moment the door was pushed open, the falling sand in the hourglass froze.
The noise in the backstage of the performance stopped, and everyone fell silent.
The red and rusty hem of the dress swayed behind her. The princess bun was undone, and the ends of her hair fell down, her dark hair covering her face. Her bones were like jade, her skin like snow. The dark makeup at the corners of her eyes was long and upturned, making her look alluring and flamboyant.
At this moment, she was as if she had really become the long princess in the script who held great power. The corners of her lips were curved into a charming arc. She smiled with a youthful and direct smile, and the cold ink in her eyes spread out, with a terrifying color.
Fierce, hot, and ruthless…
Controlling everything.
…
“Do I look good?”
The girl slightly bowed, her gaze lowered, revealing a little of the snow-white and soft chest that was usually hidden in her loose clothes. The hem of her skirt swayed, stirring up dust. A bright red belt was tied around her waist, cinching her slender waist, making her chest look even fuller.
Xia Qiange looked up at the boy, her eyes glistening like the hazy mist over an early autumn lake, without a trace of the seductive boldness from moments before. Beneath her long, elegantly curved eyebrows, her moist eyes were filled with shyness. She gently bit her soft lips, her pearly teeth contrasting with the red makeup—in an instant, she had transformed into the innocent, love-struck young girl from the story.
“How could you…”
Su Yu’s voice was a little shaky. The girl was shining in his eyes, and the thunderous applause in his ears rose and fell, a little noisy.
“Senior Sister Nie Hong and Tang Xin asked me to come. Seeing that they were in a hurry, and I quite liked it, I agreed.”
Xia Qiange held her long neck high and smiled at him. Her face was exquisitely made up, her complexion fair and flawless, her skin soft and smooth. She curled her thin, red lips, her eyes blinking playfully, like the twinkling stars in the night sky.
Tender… and spotless.
Her gaze at anyone revealed such sincerity. Even just a glance could make one feel a strong, gentle, and pure kindness, making it almost impossible to have any doubts.
The little bit of suspicion that had been squeezed into the corner of Su Yu’s mind was completely crushed. He suddenly remembered the girl’s question just now and answered haltingly.
“Good… you look good.”
