Chapter 55: Putting on Lipstick

After two weeks of training, Wang Jiexiang officially started working as a cosmetics salesperson in a department store.

As a newbie sales assistant, she had many shortcomings.

She was still getting familiar with the names, functions, and target demographics of the products, as well as the company’s promotional campaigns.

The cosmetics counter required employees to wear formal attire, have a full face of makeup, style their hair in an updo, and wear high heels. Aside from the clothes, which she could manage, the rest would take time to master.

Although spending time with Yin Xian had made her speech more standard, city folks could still easily tell she wasn’t local. The company didn’t have a strict requirement about accents. However, Wang Jiexiang noticed that her colleagues would enunciate clearly and deliberately when talking to customers so they’d be understood. Some customers even had a natural preference for local-sounding salespeople. So she wanted to speak more clearly and gradually adjust her accent.

Every morning, when Yin Xian opened his eyes, he’d see Wang Jiexiang putting on makeup in front of the mirror.

She’d be mimicking the way of speaking she was learning, mumbling to herself.

“Skincare routine, step one: toner. Step two: eye cream… no eye cream… no serum either… then lotion or cream. Okay, cream’s here. Makeup: primer first, then foundation—wait, concealer before foundation…”

She recited what she’d learned like a school lesson while picking out various bottles, layering one bit of cream after another onto her face.

When Yin Xian finished washing up and came back to the room, she was still at it.

She held a grimy sponge and quickly dabbed it all over her face, turning her originally fair skin into a ghostly, chalky white.

By the time he finished breakfast, Wang Jiexiang had finally put on her lipstick and completed her makeup routine.

Her clumsy makeup skills made her look at least five years older. Next up was putting her hair up.

As Yin Xian was putting on his shoes, getting ready to head out, Wang Jiexiang ran over with her hair already styled, asking him to check the back of her head.

“Take a look—does the back of my hair look flat? It feels puffy when I touch it.”

“It’s flat enough,” he said, tidying her collar and pulling out a few stray hairs. “But a few hairs on the nape of your neck are sticking out.”

Without a word, Wang Jiexiang took out her hair tie, let her hair down, and redid it.

“Does it really have to be that neat?” Yin Xian asked, watching her fuss endlessly.

“Of course.”

It was hard to say whether Wang Jiexiang was a slow learner or if Yin Xian was just quick. She repeated her makeup and hair routine in front of him every day, and while she was still fumbling, he had already memorized it.

On his days off, he’d sit beside her, propping up his chin, watching with great interest as she did her makeup in front of the mirror.

Wang Jiexiang applied lipstick with her mouth open, feeling awkward about how silly she looked. She glanced at Yin Xian shyly.

“Ugh. You keep staring at me, I can’t draw properly.”

As soon as she said it, her lipstick went outside the lines. She grabbed a tissue, wiped it off, and started over.

But the annoying Yin Xian remained rooted to the spot.

When she was about to chase him away again, he spoke up.

“I’ve learned it. Let me do it for you.”

“Really?”

She hesitantly handed him the lipstick.

Yin Xian held her chin and turned her head.

Twisting open the lipstick, he held his breath and carefully applied a vivid red to her soft, petal-like lips, smooth and flawless.

Wang Jiexiang lowered her gaze and saw him staring intently at her lips.

Yin Xian’s face was inches away.

Thin lips, thick brows, sharp eyes—he was focused on her, his gaze like little hooks locking her in place.

Wang Jiexiang swallowed unconsciously, her knees feeling weak.

“You…” he leaned back a little, studying her face.

Her cheeks were flushed. “Me?”

Wang Jiexiang thought he was about to compliment her—say she looked cute, or pretty—because his eyes seemed to say so.

“You’re too skinny,” he said.

“Huh?” She didn’t register it right away.

“Too skinny,” he repeated.

He stood up, set the lipstick on the table, shook his head, and walked off.

“…” Wang Jiexiang was speechless.

She grabbed a tissue and looked at herself in the mirror.

“My lips are so pretty!”

She marveled at her reflection.

Clean lip lines, rich color… How was he this good at it?

Stunned, she shouted at his retreating back.

“Yin Xian, have you been secretly practicing lipstick at home?”

After switching jobs, Wang Jiexiang suddenly had a lot more time at home.

She had one day off per week, worked morning shifts on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, evening shifts on Mondays and Wednesdays, and full days on Fridays. This meant she could eat dinner at home four days a week.

The person using the kitchen the most went from being Yin Xian to Wang Jiexiang.

But they didn’t end up eating together much more often—Yin Xian almost never got off work on time. Overtime had become routine.

Three months after being promoted to engineer, on payday, he brought home a mini fridge.

The brand-new fridge stood out awkwardly in their shabby rental apartment.

Wang Jiexiang, worried about the expense, circled the fridge, mumbling, “This thing eats a lot of electricity. We buy fresh groceries every day—no need for it.”

Yin Xian plugged it in, adjusted the temperature, and replied casually, “Electric bill won’t be much. The fridge wasn’t expensive.”

Wang Jiexiang didn’t believe him: “How could it not be expensive?”

“Compared to the juicer, it’s cheap.”

Back when he sold insurance and made barely anything, he managed to buy the juicer. With his current salary, a fridge really wasn’t a big deal.

“Juicer?” She scratched her head, puzzled. “You mean the one I use every day to make carrot juice?”

Only then did Yin Xian realize he’d slipped up.

“I thought no one at your company wanted it, so you brought it home?”

He gave a light cough, trying to dodge the topic.

Wang Jiexiang caught on instantly.

“Oh…” Enlightenment dawned. “So you bought the juicer.”

Yin Xian instinctively denied it.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why won’t you admit it? You wanted me to have carrot juice, so you bought the juicer for me, right?”

Wang Jiexiang squinted her round eyes, smiling with playful certainty.

Her eyes seemed to say: Ha! I’ve figured out you love me. I’m sure of it.

Instinctively, Yin Xian couldn’t handle it. He even felt the urge to push back against her closeness.

Like that time he nearly kissed her—faced with her eager, expectant eyes, he chose to pull away and keep his distance.

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”

His voice instantly turned cold.

“I’m not admitting anything because it’s not true. You think I’ve got nothing better to do? What does your carrot juice have to do with me?”

“There it is again, that annoying snarky tone.”

Wang Jiexiang clicked her tongue, visibly unimpressed.

“Fine, fine, it’s not true.”

She shrugged nonchalantly. Even if the juicer wasn’t a gift from Yin Xian, she’d still happily drink carrot juice made with it.

Clueless about Yin Xian’s inner turmoil, her attention returned to the fridge.

“You bought it, so what are you using it for?”

Yin Xian answered honestly: “With a fridge, we can store more groceries.”

“More groceries?”

Wang Jiexiang couldn’t resist poking where it hurt.

He hated hearing it, so she said it anyway.

“How touching. Let me guess—Yin Xian, you want to fatten me up, so you’re buying more food? But even if it’s true, you’ll never admit it.”

Whether he said “yes” or “no,” she had him cornered.

And the real reason he bought the fridge? She’d guessed it with uncanny precision.

Wang Jiexiang had won—though she didn’t know it.

And Yin Xian didn’t know where he’d lost.

He didn’t know why…

He didn’t know why he wanted to fatten her up, didn’t know why he cared whether she drank carrot juice or not; didn’t know why he couldn’t open his mouth, unwilling to admit he cared, but deep down, he wanted to win more than anything.