It was the day of Tang Yuanyuan’s coming-of-age ceremony.
Yuchi Yishu specially prepared a gift for her and checked that everything was set before he went over to her house. When he arrived, Tang Yuanyuan was still upstairs getting her makeup done. He wanted to wait for her downstairs, but Mrs. Tang and Han Muzi kept urging him to go up and have a look. He was not too keen at first, as he did not feel he had any business being there while she was still getting her makeup done.
Thus, he declined.
Han Muzi retorted, “What are you scared of? Haven’t you guys known each other since you were kids? What’s wrong with watching her get her makeup done?”
Mrs. Tang smiled. “Yes, Muzi is right. She’s just getting her makeup done; it’s no big deal. If you go up now, she should almost be done and you’ll be the first one to see her.”
The first one…
He felt rather thrilled at the thought and finally went upstairs under their insistence.
However, he did not expect what happened next—Tang Yuanyuan ran into his arms and started to bawl, tears gushing from her eyes. He could already feel his shirt getting damp.
He stood where he was; he was dumbfounded and unsure of what to do. She had never cried so hard before. The last time she was sad and having a hard time, she did not sob in his arms like she did now. It was as though she had lived a life full of misery.
The makeup artist and her assistant thought as they watched her, That’s it. We’re going to have to redo her makeup later. Oh well, it wasn’t easy for her to hold it in until now anyway. She should just cry it all out.
How was she going to go through everything later if she did not cry now?
Tang Yuanyuan choked on her tears and was unable to let out a proper sentence. The moment she called his name, more sobs heaved out of her chest as she struggled to breathe. She had lost her self-restraint and was overwhelmed with emotions.
Yuchi Yishu did not get a chance to say a word. He could only place a hand on her back, pat it lightly, and listen to her cry.
The sobbing eased after a while but she was still huffing and puffing from bawling her eyes out just before. It made his heart ache to watch her.
Sometime later, the makeup artist walked up to her and said gently, “Miss Tang, we have to redo your makeup now. The coming-of-age ceremony is starting soon.”
Just then, someone hollered from downstairs.
Tang Yuanyuan stayed in his embrace, hugging his thin waist without moving.
“Just leave it be,” Yuchi Yishu answered in a low voice on her behalf.
The makeup artist looked at Tang Yuanyuan, but she did not react. She must have also agreed with him.
“You can head downstairs first. I’ll take care of things here.”
“Okay.”
After all, it was a personal matter. The makeup artist and her assistant were only there to do the makeup so they did not have a reason to interfere.
Soon, everyone left the room except for Yuchi Yishu and Tang Yuanyuan, who were the only two remaining.
“Everyone left. It’s only us now.”
With a heavy heart, he wiped off the tears on her face and brushed over her red-rimmed eyes. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Yishu—” Her voice started to tremble and she sounded like she was about to burst into tears again.
He cut in, “Okay, you don’t have to say anything for now. Just nod or shake your head in response.”
She nodded her head.
“Do you still want to attend the coming-of-age ceremony today?”
In truth, she did not want to anymore. It was supposed to be a happy occasion, but she did not feel happy at all at the moment. She did not think that coming-of-age would be such an agonizing matter.
But everyone had exerted a lot of effort into this ceremony. If she did not attend, would it not be a waste of everyone’s efforts?
That made her hesitate.
“If you don’t want to attend, I will help you. You don’t have to mind those guests. Just leave it to me.”
She was still hesitant. All the blame would be put on him if he stepped in. Even though not attending the coming-of-age ceremony was not a big deal, she did not want people to talk about him behind his back.
“Hmm?”
After a long while, she shook her head.
“No? You don’t want to go? So you want to stay here?”
She nodded.
Taking a deep breath, she cleared her thoughts and looked up at him. “Yishu, I want to stay here. Everyone has worked really hard for this coming-of-age ceremony. This dress I’m wearing was also custom made by a designer. I can’t just leave everyone and take off on my own just because I’m not happy.”
She was the protagonist of the day. It would not have mattered if she was just a guest, but that coming-of-age ceremony was set up especially for her. Moreover, she was officially becoming an adult today. What kind of adult would she be if she ran away and hid from such a small obstacle?
I’ll just treat it as my first test toward becoming an adult!
She bit her bottom lip. The thought of Meng Kefei still made her sad. She had no idea how they turned out the way they did.
“Okay.” Yuchi Yishu respected her decision. He rubbed her head and smiled affectionately. “My little girl is all grown up. You know how to take responsibility now.”
His? His little girl?
She felt rather adored by the way he called her, but now was not the time for a lovey-dovey moment. She mumbled, “Yishu, I’m going to wash my face. Can you call the makeup artist and her team back in here? Oh, the banquet…”
“We just have to delay it a bit. Is there anything I can’t do?”
He knocked on her head gently. “Go on. I’ll go downstairs and keep them busy. You can take your time with your makeup.”
“Thanks, Yishu.”
Once he was gone, Tang Yuanyuan quickly went into the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water.
The weather was not that cold, but the chill of winter was not completely gone either. Washing her face with cold water woke her up instantly, and even made her shiver.
She wiped off the excess water with a face towel, then gave her eyes a good rub before heading outside.
The makeup artist and her assistant were already there. They were a bit nervous when they saw her and were unsure of what to say.
“Sorry for troubling you.” Tang Yuanyuan apologized and bowed, then said calmly, “Let’s start again.”
Seeing the little girl acting so mature, the makeup artist also felt sympathetic toward her. She nodded. “Okay, let’s do your whole makeup again. But your eyes are a bit red now, so we can’t do the same makeup style as before. We’re going to have to change it.”
Tang Yuanyuan chuckled, “That’s fine; as long as I look presentable.”
“Okay.”
Despite wanting to grow up quickly when she was younger, she was only realizing now how big of a price she had to pay for growing up.
Working at the side, the makeup artist and her assistant quickly finished Tang Yuanyuan’s base makeup then moved on to filling in the rest of her face.
