Chapter 734 - 491: The Sisters’ Secret Competition

"We’re doing makeup here?"

In the quiet room, Chen Yuan pointed to a chair in front of a makeup mirror. The station was ringed with lights and laid out with an assortment of makeup tools.

There were seven or eight similar stations, and behind him was a selection of formal wear to choose from. That’s why Chen Yuan asked—he didn’t know the procedure here.

Of all the people there, aside from the photographer who had gone to prepare in advance, the rest had all swarmed over to the two sisters. This made sense. After all, engagement photos were really for the women. Besides the bride herself, only her best friends and other female friends would care about how beautiful she looked.

As for the male lead? Well, the focus was never on him. His job was simply to be a silent model and a part of the background. That was all it took to pass muster.

That’s why only a single female makeup artist had come over with Chen Yuan.

She was... how to put it? Quite pretty, actually. She had long, straight black hair and wasn’t very old. Her face was a little round, but her features were rather striking. Chen Yuan didn’t know how to describe her look and makeup, but she reminded him of the cool, quiet type from a Japanese high school drama.

"This way, Mr. Chen." The young makeup artist offered him a huge smile.

In an instant, that striking intensity crumbled away, and Chen Yuan’s fear that she might be difficult to get along with vanished.

’A woman could use a hundred different makeup styles to transform her appearance. Sweet or aloof—it could all be achieved on the same face. Judging someone’s personality by their looks was a truly superficial thing to do.’

’It was just like the first time he saw Jiang Yao. He had subconsciously pegged her as the incredibly gentle and reserved type. After all, with her delicate features, she had hidden inside the jacket he’d draped over her, her face filled with nervousness—a classic case of social anxiety.’

’Who would have known that after getting to know her, she’d turn out to be a little hellion...’

He sat down properly in front of the makeup mirror, watching the makeup artist beside him deftly arrange all sorts of tools.

He recognized the simple things like eyebrow pencils, brushes, and loose powder. He didn’t know what the more complex items were for, only that they looked very high-end. There were more than a dozen types of hair clips alone.

"You don’t have to sit so stiffly, Mr. Chen. You can relax a little," she chuckled, seeming amused by his bolt-upright posture.

"The chair is a bit low. I’m worried you won’t be able to see yourself in the mirror."

"No problem, I can do this." She pressed the lever under the chair, and Chen Yuan was suddenly lifted several inches. "Ah, this won’t work. It’s a bit too high now."

She muttered to herself. Based on her personality, she seemed like a very lively young woman.

’She’s so young, yet she’s a makeup artist in an incredibly expensive bridal shop. She must be very skilled in her field. In any industry, the younger the top performers are, the more it speaks to their natural talent.’

’It was the same in academia. At Lanjing University, Chen Yuan knew of an elderly professor who had a particularly young doctoral student. She was even a member of that so-called ’third gender’—a female Ph.D. student. People like her were truly the cream of the crop.’

The young makeup artist’s professionalism was clear just from the way she organized her things.

She took out some clips and, in a flash, had his hair neatly pinned back, revealing the corners of his forehead previously hidden by his bangs.

"You’re very young, Mr. Chen. It’s not often we see someone getting engaged at your age," she said, making small talk as she worked.

"When you meet the right person, there’s nothing wrong with getting married a bit early."

"At your age, Mr. Chen, you should be in college. Even with all the clients I’ve seen at this shop, you’re one of the absolute youngest. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all to say you’re getting hitched in your prime."

"I am in college."

"Huh?" Hearing this, the makeup artist froze for a moment.

At that exact moment...

A phone started ringing. RING RING RING. Chen Yuan’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was a call from Liu He. He figured she was calling to ask how the photo shoot was going.

"I need to take this."

"Go ahead. It won’t get in my way."

The makeup artist took out some concealer and blended it onto his face, then started dabbing on foundation. Chen Yuan had no choice but to answer the call with his eyes closed.

Since he was talking to family, Chen Yuan spoke to Liu He in their hometown dialect.

He told her that the two sisters had gone to get their makeup done and that he was getting his done now. The bridal shop was providing lunch, so they would just grab a bite there, and then head back in the evening. He also mentioned that Ningning and Yaoyao were very happy with the shop, and so on...

"Yeah, I know, I’ll go along with whatever they want. I’m not a kid anymore, Mom, I know what’s important. You don’t have to worry, alright?" he said, a hint of exasperation in his voice as Liu He went on.

Listening to their conversation, the makeup artist seemed to find it amusing, a faint smile playing on her lips the whole time.

"Okay, okay, I’ll send you pictures when I get home. But don’t you go plastering them all over your social media, okay? Just let our close relatives and friends know, that’s enough... Mmm, bye, Mom."

He hung up the phone.

Chen Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, the makeup artist suddenly asked, "Where’s your hometown, Mr. Chen?"

"Qishui. Why do you ask?"

"What a coincidence! I’m from Dongyang in Zhongzhou."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow. He really hadn’t expected such a coincidence. Qishui was in the southwesternmost part of Lu Continent, right on the border with Zhongzhou. It was only about ten kilometers away from the neighboring city of Dongyang, and because they were so close, their dialects were nearly identical.

The makeup artist must have recognized the dialect when she heard Chen Yuan talking to Liu He, which was why she had asked.

"Chen Yuan."

"Wei Xiaoyu. You can just call me Xiaoyu, Mr. Chen."

...

All in all, the makeup process was quite pleasant. At least he had someone to chat with.

「About half an hour later.」

Chen Yuan was already at the photo shoot location, waiting.