Since both of them had reached an agreement and Jiang Xiaobai seemed rather pleased with the outcome of the negotiation, she stopped bothering Xiao Su and they went back into the bedroom and slept.
This time, Jiang Xiaobai fell asleep calmly not long after she lay down.
Xiao Su, on the other hand, wasn’t sleepy at all after being bothered by Jiang Xiaobai. He kept thinking about everything Jiang Xiaobai told him just now. Also, he couldn’t stop thinking about that person she mentioned. Tomorrow, she’ll wear her wedding dress and marry the man she loves. She must be feeling very happy tonight. The person she loves also loves her at the same time, and both of them can live together happily ever after for the rest of their lives. It’s indeed a happy thing to do in one’s life. What about me? Will I live happily ever after with Xiaobai?
Finally, it was the day of the wedding.
Yan didn’t sleep very well last night. She needed to wake up really early in the morning to get dressed and get her makeup done. She felt so sleepy that she could barely open her eyes by the time she woke up. The makeup artist screamed the moment she saw Yan.
“Mrs. Han, what did you do last night? Why are there dark circles around your eyes? They look so obvious!”
Her exclamation woke Yan up completely and she no longer felt sleepy. She opened her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror immediately. Indeed, she noticed that the dark circles around her eyes were so obvious that it was terrifying.
“Ah! Why is this happening?”
She listened to Luo Huimei’s advice and slept soon after she stopped chattering away last night, but the dark circles around her eyes still looked so obvious now. What was she supposed to do during her wedding later? Would her look scare Han Qing away at the wedding?
Noticing the sad and dejected expression on her face, the makeup artist had no choice but to comfort her. “Mrs. Han, don’t worry, I’ll cover those up later and apply some glitter over your eyes. I’m sure it won’t look so bad after the makeup.”
“Even if you cover them up with makeup, it can still show, right? Aw, if I knew this would happen, I would have slept earlier last night.”
The makeup artist continued, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Han. Lots of girls experience the same thing as you before they got married. They were so overwhelmed with anxiety, exhilaration and all kinds of feelings that they couldn’t sleep properly. It’s very normal actually. I have a friend who would get so nervous that she can’t sleep at all even if she only needs to meet her client or go outstation on the next day, so what’s more to say of an important event like a wedding?”
The makeup artist managed to divert Yan’s attention away from the problem of her dark circles with her story. “So serious? It must be very hard for her to go on with her life then?”
“It is, but there’s nothing she can do, is there? All she can do is to calm herself down as much as she can and try not to be so nervous. Oh, Mrs. Han, your skin is so good. I’ll put a facial mask on your face first, so that it’ll be easier to apply the makeup later.”
“Okay.”
The makeup artist made Yan some moisturizing cream mask before applying it on her face. “Let me apply some to remove the dark circles. You need time for the mask to set, so, Mrs. Han, make use of the time to take a nap and replenish your sleep. This will help you look fresher at the wedding later.”
“Oh, okay.”
Yan felt a bit chilly when the makeup artist applied the cream mask mixture on her face. Although it was a bit cold, she felt quite comfortable in the room with the heater switched on.
Soon, Yan fell asleep.
The makeup artist went out of the room with her assistant. “Just let her sleep for a while since it takes 20 minutes for the mask to set. You go to the food catering area and see whether they have prepared any breakfast. Bring several sets here. Bring those that are light, simple and easy to digest. Try not to bring those with strong and stimulating tastes.”
“Alright.” The assistant left immediately after listening to the makeup artist’s request.
The makeup artist started to prepare everything she needed for the makeup. She took out everything necessary and began to prepare some color mixtures.
On this day, Yan’s parents were supposed to get their makeup done too. Her father refused initially, but when he heard there would be lots of wealthy notables from the upper class society coming to the wedding, he agreed to do his makeup, because he thought he couldn’t afford to embarrass her daughter.
They were arranged to have their makeup done in another room on a different floor.
The old couple chatted with each other while having their makeup done.
“Old man, I bet you haven’t done any makeup in your life before, right?” Luo Huimei teased her husband while having her eyes closed.
Zhou’s face froze in an awkward rictus when he heard this. He replied, “Yeah, just this time during our daughter’s wedding. Well, who would ever thought that she would actually marry Qing anyway? I bet that it isn’t just our daughter who thinks that things feel pretty unreal, even I still feel like I’m dreaming right now. Will everything be over when I wake up from my dream later?”
“Good gracious, what nonsense are you talking about? It’s bad enough that our daughter thinks like this, but now you’re thinking the same way as she does? I’m going to hit you if you keep saying stuff like this.”
The two makeup artists kept on congratulating the old couple. All they said was how fortunate the old couple was to have their daughter married into such a wealthy and prominent family and that they would have a happy and prosperous life afterward.
Luo Huimei felt very pleased with their flatteries. She said, “Thank you. Come downstairs and have a drink at the wedding later. I’ll give you guys each a red envelope after the wedding is over.”
The makeup artists came here to earn money anyway, so they were thrilled when they heard Luo Huimei.
“Thank you. We wish your daughter a harmonious prosperous life and live happily ever after with her husband.”
The whole place was merry and everyone was very happy; no one noticed the figure that was sneaking into Yan’s dressing room now.
Luo Huimei and Mr. Zhou were finally done with their makeup fifteen minutes later. While Luo Huimei continued to tease and make fun of her husband, she suggested, “Why don’t we go upstairs and look at our daughter? We’ll see how she looks with her makeup on?”
Since Mr. Zhou only had one daughter, he loved her dearly, as if she was his precious treasure. He thought it was a great idea when he heard Luo Huimei’s suggestion. So, he nodded and the old couple walked outside together.
As they walked out of the room, the couple smelled something burnt.
The wedding was held in a six-star hotel, so the old couple frowned simultaneously when they smelled that. “Hey, what’s wrong with the hotel? There’s actually a smell of something burning in the hotel. Which cook is so bad that he burnt his dish?”
Mr. Zhou couldn’t help but laugh as he heard that. He joked, “I’m afraid he’s worse than our daughter when it comes to cooking, don’t you think so?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Luo Huimei was very proud of her daughter’s cooking skills.
The old couple joked around with each other while asking for directions at the same time. Then, they headed upstairs.
Just as they were on their way upstairs, they heard loud footsteps and saw several people running downstairs.
Noticing the panicked expression on their faces, Luo Huimei and Mr. Zhou couldn’t help but ask them. “Why are you guys running?”
“Sir, Madam, why do you guys want to go upstairs? A room upstairs is on fire. We’re not sure which one though, but I heard that it’s quite serious. We’re not sure whether the fire will spread over here either. Both of you are seniors, so I think it’s better for you two to stay away from the commotion. Just hurry and go downstairs!”
“On fire?” Confusion flashed through the old couple’s eyes as they exchanged glances with each other before they hurried upstairs anyway.
Noticing that the old couple didn’t leave upon listening to his advice and went upstairs instead, the young man asked, “Sir, Madam, what are you guys doing? There’s a fire upstairs! Don’t go up there, it’s very dangerous.”
In a panic, Luo Huimei only managed to reply with a simple sentence, “My daughter is still doing her makeup upstairs. We have to go and warn her about it.”
The old couple were in a hurry and they left in a haste. Soon, they disappeared without a trace. The young man had no choice but to stop advising them.
At the same time, the hotel’s fire alarm went off.
“Has anyone called the fire station?”
“I don’t know. Maybe someone did.”
Everyone speculated among themselves. In the end, they took out their cell phones one after another and called the fire station.
Yan woke up being smothered by the smoke. While she was half-asleep, she found it difficult to breathe. So, she opened her eyes.
She still had her mask on, but she didn’t know when the room had suddenly caught fire, and she was very close to the place on fire.
