As long as he didn’t respond, she couldn’t continue. Of course, that was in theory. In reality, Shen Huaixue didn’t need his response at all. She could talk happily all by herself.
Next, Shen Huaixue started teaching him how to use the powder compact. She demonstrated first, then handed him the puff and let him try. Lin Jianqing looked in the mirror and carefully pressed it against his face.
“Like this?”
“Too heavy.”
He lightened his touch.
“Like this?”
“Wrong position.”
He moved to a different spot.
“Like this?”
“Are you trying to turn yourself into a flour dumpling?”
Lin Jianqing finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Shen Huaixue, can you teach properly?”
Shen Huaixue laughed even more happily.
“I am teaching properly.”
“You’ve been mocking me.”
“This is teaching feedback.”
“What kind of teaching feedback is this?”
“I have it here.”
Lin Jianqing looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt like throwing the powder puff at Shen Huaixue’s face. Of course, he didn’t dare. He just thought about it.
Shen Huaixue probably saw his expression and slowly leaned closer.
“Were you cursing me in your mind just now?”
Lin Jianqing’s expression froze, while Shen Huaixue’s face looked mischievous.
“No.”
“Liar.”
“You can’t read minds.”
“It’s written all over your face.”
Lin Jianqing instinctively looked at the mirror, and Shen Huaixue burst out laughing. Only then did Lin Jianqing realize he had been tricked.
“Shen Huaixue!”
“Mm, I’m here.”
She responded with a smile, her tone so cheerful it made him even angrier. Lin Jianqing put down the powder puff and said expressionlessly:
“I’m not learning anymore.”
Shen Huaixue looked at him.
“Really not learning?”
“Not learning.”
“What if it smudges later?”
“If it smudges, it smudges.”
Lin Jianqing was silent. He wanted to say something, but seeing Shen Huaixue’s eyes, he swallowed his words.
Shen Huaixue propped her chin on her hand, her eyes full of amusement.
“Then… continue?”
Lin Jianqing hesitated for a long time, but finally picked up the powder puff again.
“Continue.”
Shen Huaixue watched him—reluctant but obediently continuing—and found herself in an extraordinarily good mood. She realized she had been increasingly enjoying teasing Lin Jianqing lately.
At first, she only wanted to see him in those clothes, to see him become that person’s shadow. But now, she seemed to be taking an interest in things beyond the shadow.
Whether it was his soul, his personality, or the scent on him.
That person was always at ease—beautiful, dangerous, malicious, always as if looking down from a height, enjoying the show. In her eyes, she herself was probably a joke too.
But Lin Jianqing was different, Shen Huaixue thought.
Lin Jianqing was a bit clumsy, a bit stubborn, and easily riled up by her teasing.
Shen Huaixue watched Lin Jianqing awkwardly holding the powder puff and carefully pressing it against his face, and suddenly felt a slight itch in her chest.
As if brushed by something soft.
She frowned slightly.
No… this feeling wasn’t right, but she couldn’t articulate what it was. Watching Lin Jianqing’s reactions was amusing only because his face looked like that.
As for the parts that didn’t resemble…
Shen Huaixue’s eyes flickered slightly. Those differences probably didn’t matter.
“Is this okay now?”
Lin Jianqing’s voice pulled her back from her thoughts. Shen Huaixue looked up.
He held up the mirror, looking at the area he had touched up seriously and somewhat nervously. His movements looked clumsy, yet somehow cute.
Shen Huaixue stared at him for a few seconds, and Lin Jianqing felt uncomfortable under her gaze.
“Is it okay or not?”
Shen Huaixue snapped back to reality and curled her lips again.
“Not really.”
Lin Jianqing’s expression instantly fell.
“What’s not okay?”
“It’s obvious you’re clumsy.”
Lin Jianqing put down the mirror. He felt like Shen Huaixue was teasing him.
“I was asking about the makeup.”
“The makeup is okay.”
“Then why did you call me clumsy?”
“Just because.”
Lin Jianqing felt like she would drive him crazy sooner or later. In the following time, Shen Huaixue taught him how to touch up his lip color.
Lin Jianqing was especially resistant to this step. He held the lip gloss as if it were a dangerous item. Shen Huaixue sat beside him, smiling meaningfully.
“Don’t know how?”
“I know.”
“Then apply it.”
Lin Jianqing looked at the mirror and opened the lip gloss very cautiously. As soon as the applicator touched his lips, he stopped.
‘Why does everything feel wrong?’
Shen Huaixue watched for a while and finally reached over to take it.
“Forget it, I’ll do it.”
“No need.”
“If you keep applying it, you’ll look like a kid who ate lipstick.”
Lin Jianqing was choked by her words. Shen Huaixue cupped his chin, her movement as natural as if she had done it many times.
Lin Jianqing’s body stiffened.
“Don’t move.”
Shen Huaixue said in a low voice.
The lip brush fell gently. Lin Jianqing could only maintain a slightly raised head posture. Shen Huaixue lowered her eyes, her gaze on his lips, her movements much quieter than before.
The soft light fell between them, and Lin Jianqing’s breath unconsciously softened.
Shen Huaixue was too close—so close that he could even see the faint curve at the corner of her eye.
Usually, when she looked at people, she always carried a playful and oppressive air, but now that she was focused, she seemed somewhat quiet instead.
This quietness made Lin Jianqing even more uncomfortable.
He wanted to speak, but the lip gloss wasn’t finished, so he had to endure it.
Shen Huaixue suddenly let out a light laugh.
“You’re very obedient now.”
Lin Jianqing immediately looked up to glare at her, but because his chin was still held by her, the glare had little intimidation. Instead, it seemed like he was being bullied, and the amusement in Shen Huaixue’s eyes deepened.
“Don’t glare, it’s easy to smear.”
Lin Jianqing could only continue to endure. After applying, Shen Huaixue let go.
Lin Jianqing immediately moved back half an inch, his movement as fast as if escaping.
Shen Huaixue looked at him lazily.
“Dodging so fast?”
“I just got tired of sitting.”
“Mm, a physical problem?”
Lin Jianqing gave up arguing.
He picked up the mirror and glanced at it. His lip color was a bit deeper than usual, but not exaggerated. He looked much more spirited, even with an indescribable softness.
Lin Jianqing stared at the mirror for a few seconds. Shen Huaixue leaned back on the sofa and said in a ghostly tone:
“Admiring yourself again?”
Lin Jianqing immediately put down the mirror.
“I was checking.”
“Check result? Or thinking, ‘Ah, I’ve become cute again'”
Shen Huaixue watched Lin Jianqing checking the mirror, then spread her hands and shook her head from side to side. Seeing Shen Huaixue like this, Lin Jianqing wished he could smash the mirror over her head.
“Shen Huaixue, you jerk!”
Seeing Lin Jianqing’s reaction, Shen Huaixue’s lips curled into a beautiful arc.
“Clumsy and still good at pretending.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Then what should I call you?”
“Lin Jianqing.”
“Too formal.”
“Is being formal bad?”
Shen Huaixue thought for a moment.
“You’re also pretty cute when you’re formal.”
Lin Jianqing’s ears began to redden again. This time, he learned his lesson and simply stood up.
“I’ll go get some water.”
Shen Huaixue watched his nearly fleeing back and finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Hearing the laughter behind him, Lin Jianqing’s steps quickened.
Now he finally confirmed one thing: Shen Huaixue hadn’t called him over simply to teach him how to touch up his makeup.
She just wanted to tease him.
***
Before 9:30 PM, Shen Huaixue let him leave on time. This was somewhat surprising to Lin Jianqing. He had originally thought Shen Huaixue would stall for time or find some random excuse to keep tormenting him.
But Shen Huaixue just glanced at the time and said:
“Go back.”
Lin Jianqing stood at the door, but hesitated.
Shen Huaixue saw he hadn’t moved and raised an eyebrow.
“What, reluctant to leave?”
Lin Jianqing immediately changed his shoes.
“No.”
“Then why are you standing there?”
“I just didn’t expect you to let me go on time.”
Shen Huaixue leaned against the doorframe, her tone lazy.
“The contract says 9:30. I’m a very contract-abiding person.”
Lin Jianqing glanced at her. Coming from her mouth, that statement had an indescribable sarcasm.
“I’m going then.”
“Mm.”
Lin Jianqing pushed the door open. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Shen Huaixue add:
“Remember to wear women’s clothing tomorrow.”
Lin Jianqing’s steps halted.
He knew it—this wasn’t over. He turned back to look at Shen Huaixue.
Shen Huaixue stood in the warm light, her smile as mischievous as ever.
“Just teasing you. Hurry back.”
Lin Jianqing was silent for two seconds, then said in a low voice:
“You really are annoying.”
Shen Huaixue laughed.
“I know.”
Lin Jianqing closed the door and walked into the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, he saw his own face in the mirror. The color on his lips wasn’t completely wiped off, and his ears were still a bit red.
Lin Jianqing stared at the mirror for a few seconds, then couldn’t help but raise a hand and rub his face.
‘I can’t let her lead me around anymore.’
He said it very seriously, but as soon as he finished, his mind conjured up the image of Shen Huaixue just now, smiling and calling him clumsy.
Lin Jianqing was silent for a moment, then rubbed his face even harder.
He seemed to be really starting to get used to it. On the other side of the door, Shen Huaixue returned to the living room.
The cosmetics they had just used were still on the coffee table. She picked up the lip gloss and looked at it for a while.
Uncontrollably, the image of Lin Jianqing just now appeared in her mind—his head slightly raised, his chin held by her, clearly uncomfortable but enduring and not moving.
Shen Huaixue’s fingertips gently traced the lip gloss casing. She suddenly felt her heartbeat was strange—not the fervor she felt when facing that person.
Nor was it the nostalgia of seeing a similar face, but a lighter, finer, more uncontrollable emotion.
Like tiny sparks falling into her chest—not yet able to ignite, yet impossible to ignore.
Shen Huaixue frowned.
She muttered to herself.
‘Could it be that I’m really in danger of being straightened?’
‘Impossible! Absolutely impossible.’
She just found Lin Jianqing interesting, just thought his face looked like that person’s, just found it fun to tease him. Just like… teasing a fool?
It had nothing to do with liking, and even less to do with men.
Shen Huaixue put the lip gloss back on the table, as if to put down some absurd thought along with it.
But a few seconds later, she couldn’t help but glance at it again. Under the light, the lip gloss lay there quietly.
Yet she inexplicably thought of Lin Jianqing, ears red, saying “You really are annoying.”
Shen Huaixue closed her eyes. After a moment, she let out a soft laugh.
“So clumsy.”
She didn’t know if she was cursing Lin Jianqing or herself.