Chapter Fifty-Five: Astonishment

“Let’s keep it simple.” The original owner’s brows didn’t need further embellishment; as they were now, they looked just fine. Sang Yijia hadn’t forgotten the first day she arrived in this body—when she saw the original owner in the mirror, aside from that garishly large mouth, those impossibly thick, dark brows were simply unbearable. She couldn’t fathom what kind of aesthetic sense led the original owner to think that drawing her brows like that would make Shen Jin like her.

Sang Yijia closed her eyes, banishing the image from her mind. “Just add a bit of lipstick, then.”

“Nothing too red.”

“Alright,” the makeup artist replied, noting it down. Her eyes swept over the array of lipsticks and, perhaps out of mischief, lingered on the infamous shade known as ‘death Barbie pink’—a shade many considered the year’s greatest makeup disaster. The makeup artist swallowed hard, glancing at Sang Yijia in the mirror. She was sorely tempted to see what would happen.

But she managed to restrain herself, instead picking a less vivid shade. Yet, no matter how many colors she tried, she remained dissatisfied.

Sang Yijia furrowed her brows. “Forget the lipstick. Just use a lip balm.”

“One without any color.”

The makeup artist hesitated. “That might not look good…” But seeing Sang Yijia’s natural lip color, he fell silent.

“Alright, give me a moment.” He had brought a lip balm, but it was a rare item, and he had to rummage for a while to find an unopened one.

As soon as Sang Yijia applied the lip balm, her complexion seemed to brighten instantly, a beauty on a whole different level from before. The makeup artist felt thoroughly defeated and didn’t want to say another word.

With the makeup finished, only the hairstyle remained.

Sang Yijia’s black hair flowed down to her waist, smooth and healthy, without a hint of dryness or split ends. It was well maintained, if a bit plain. The hairstylist considered several styles, but with time running short, opted for a simple bun, curling a few wisps at her temples to accentuate her delicate, petite face.

The styling team had expected to spend an hour or two, but to their surprise, everything was done in just over thirty minutes—astonishingly fast.

Meanwhile, Lu Wenchuan had also changed his clothes and emerged in a green suit that, against all odds, looked perfectly natural on him.

Viewers in the livestream drooled openly.

“Whoa! Is that really Lu Wenchuan?”

“Clothes really do make the man—what a transformation!”

“What are you talking about? Lu Wenchuan was always handsome!”

“Ahem, I’ll just say it—I fell for him the moment he appeared.”

“Me too! But with so many Shen Jin fans in the comments before, I didn’t dare speak up.”

“Haha, same here. Yesterday, the chat was full of Lan Qing’s fans. I just watched quietly too.”

Most of those watching the livestream now had been drawn in by the trending topics on Weibo—they were casual viewers, with no ill will toward either Sang Yijia or Lu Wenchuan.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the livestream was harmonious and relaxed.

Lu Wenchuan, knowing Sang Yijia would need time for her makeup, waited patiently in the living room, not rushing anyone.

About half an hour later, Sang Yijia came downstairs.

Hearing her footsteps, Lu Wenchuan stood and turned. Laughter from the courtyard behind him faded instantly into silence.

Yan Ningsi’s voice was the first to break in. “What’s going on here?”

“Jonah?” Yan Ningsi’s eyes widened as she caught sight of the head of the styling team. “What are you doing here?”

She glanced around and saw that the entire StarRise styling team had shown up. Letting out a surprised gasp, she looked to Lu Wenchuan, but in less than a second, she was completely captivated by Sang Yijia descending the stairs—she was like the brightest, clearest moon in the night sky.

Lan Qing’s smile froze the instant she noticed the StarRise team. Then, seeing Sang Yijia come down the stairs, exquisite and luminous, she couldn’t help but clench her fists tightly.

In that moment, Lan Qing realized something and immediately turned to gauge Shen Jin’s reaction. As expected, the man was utterly mesmerized, not even blinking.

Men really are all the same—shameless and lecherous.

Lan Qing’s nails dug into her palms, but she felt no pain. On her face, she maintained a proper smile, though her eyes were cold as ice.

Lu Wenchuan paid no mind to the reactions behind him. Watching Sang Yijia descend step by step, he walked forward to the foot of the stairs and held out his hand to her. “You look beautiful. It suits you perfectly.”

“Thank you.” Sang Yijia smiled, unconcerned about anyone else’s reaction.

Yan Ningsi hurried over, circling Sang Yijia and leaning in to catch her scent. “That fragrance is familiar.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Green tea?”

“Yes.” Sang Yijia nodded. “They asked what perfume I wanted, and I chose green tea.”

Yan Ningsi was speechless.

“Green tea is lovely; it suits you,” Lan Qing said, smiling as she approached.

Sang Yijia understood Lan Qing’s underlying meaning, but she didn’t care. She looked at her calmly, choosing not to respond.

Shen Jin had never expected that with a bit of care, Sang Yijia could look so presentable. Watching her now, he felt a pang of regret—if only he had taken the chance to play with Sang Yijia before settling down.

But…

Shen Jin pressed his fingertips together, his gaze sweeping over Sang Yijia as he tried to discern her thoughts.

If possible, Shen Jin wanted to invite her to a hotel after the show.

Yan Ningsi, still mulling over Lan Qing’s words, felt a bit uneasy. But since Sang Yijia’s scent was indeed green tea, she pursed her lips and thought of something else. “Jiajia, how did you manage to book the StarRise styling team?”

“I tried before and couldn’t get them,” Yan Ningsi added. She adored Jonah’s taste.

Jonah chuckled. “Mr. Wei asked us to come.”

“Mr. Wei?” Yan Ningsi blinked, glancing at Sang Yijia, whose expression suggested she didn’t know him. It must have been Lu Wenchuan then.

“Brother Lu,” Yan Ningsi said, quickly averting her gaze, scratching her cheek nervously, “This look really suits you.”

“You and Jiajia together are just the perfect pair—made for each other, a match made in heaven, a couple destined by fate, the very image of celestial lovers…”

Yan Ningsi wanted to go on, but Yan He interrupted her. “Don’t use every phrase you know.”

“One or two is plenty.” As he spoke, Yan He glanced at Sang Yijia, squinting. “You didn’t put on any makeup.”

“That’s rare.” Sang Yijia had once loved heavy makeup, but suddenly, her style had changed. Yan He glanced at Shen Jin—the obsession in his eyes had faded, but as a fellow man, Yan He knew all too well what Shen Jin was thinking.

Sang Yijia’s brilliance was dazzling. Lu Wenchuan, not wanting her to linger there any longer, said, “It’s getting late. Let’s go.”

“Mm.” Ignoring Shen Jin’s stare, Sang Yijia took Lu Wenchuan’s arm. As she passed Shen Jin, she felt a cold, clammy touch on her arm, like a snake.

Sang Yijia shivered, goosebumps rising on her skin.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Wenchuan hadn’t noticed, but sensing something off, he looked down and asked quietly.

“It’s nothing.” Sang Yijia paused, her gaze steady, and removed her gloves, tossing them into the trash can in front of everyone.

“I just brushed against something dirty, that’s all.”