Chapter 28: Whiff Of Sweet Scent In The Air!
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5821232
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
"Why aren't you wearing makeup today?" Fang Xinhua asked, seeing her Baby Qin'er planning to go out without makeup. She found it very strange. The makeup from last night was too heavy, and today, not even a bit of makeup? The contrast was too big. At least a little light makeup out of politeness, after all, they were going out for a meal—basic social courtesy!
"She's not an important person. Why should I bother putting on makeup for her? I just like the natural look," Qin Shiyue said with her mouth, though deep down, she was thinking, You, Lin Qingyi, look good without makeup, and my bare face isn't bad either. I’m just stubborn and won’t admit defeat.
But wasn't this person thinking differently yesterday? Not important? Fang Xinhua didn’t believe that.
"Or do you think I look bad without makeup?" Qin Shiyue asked immediately, seeing Fang Xinhua’s disapproving expression, worried that she might look less pretty without makeup.
"Of course you're good-looking. The one thing you never need to doubt is your beauty." Fang Xinhua thought to just let Baby Qin'er go without makeup if she wanted to. Besides, even without makeup, Baby Qin'er was still a great beauty. She felt it wouldn't be too much to compare her to Xi Shi*—light makeup or heavy makeup, either suited her.
*西施 (Xī Shī) - one of the Four Legendary Beauties of Ancient China
"True. Otherwise, why would people call me a vase?" Qin Shiyue agreed, even self-deprecatingly joking.
"Being a vase isn’t something anyone can just do," Fang Xinhua thought Baby Qin'er's beauty was really rare.
Qin Shiyue felt the words weren’t wrong, but she couldn't feel proud of being a vase. At least, she shouldn’t have such a self-degrading thought. Now, she has become a young person with progressive thoughts.
Though Qin Shiyue was going barefaced, she had certainly put a lot of thought into her outfit. Fang Xinhua thought to herself, If that certain Movie Queen doesn't deserve her makeup, does she deserve a new outfit after another? She is really duplicitous.
Fang Xinhua had already reserved a private room. She and Qin Shiyue arrived half an hour early at the highest-end restaurant in town. The restaurant was located on the top floor of the tallest building, offering a panoramic view of the entire city’s nightscape. They had even booked the most expensive private room in the restaurant. The privacy and dining atmosphere were both excellent.
Lin Qingyi and Bai Wenxi came out from the film set and went directly to the restaurant. Upon arriving, the waiter personally escorted them into the private room.
Lin Qingyi had expected to see Qin Shiyue dressed up in the same extravagant way as last night, but to her surprise, Qin Shiyue was barefaced today. She wondered if the Vase was trying to compete with her in terms of going makeup-free. However, she had to admit that Qin Shiyue’s natural look was also very beautiful. It made her appear younger and more innocent, looking much fresher than when she wore fiery red lipstick. Her delicate little face seemed to glow with youth, and Lin Qingyi couldn’t help but feel a little tempted to pinch her cheek.
Seeing Lin Qingyi evaluating her as she walked in, Qin Shiyue subtly lifted her chin, positioning her face to be more perfectly presented in front of her rival. Her peripheral vision also took in Lin Qingyi. She noticed that when Lin Qingyi was barefaced, she looked more charming and delicate, but when she wore makeup, she seemed colder, more like the untouchable goddess of the high mountains. Qin Shiyue realized that she had miscalculated. Lin Qingyi was made up, while she was not, which made her feel less imposing. For some reason, comparing herself to Lin Qingyi, she always felt a sense of weakness, as if she was falling short in every way.
Lin Qingyi noticed Qin Shiyue's small movement and found it amusing. It seemed like the Vase had turned into a rooster in its past life.
"Sorry, have we kept you waiting for long?" Bai Wenxi asked.
"No, we just arrived not long ago. You two hurry up and sit down. We can eat and chat at the same time," Fang Xinhua said, arranging for Lin Qingyi to sit next to Qin Shiyue.
"Little Boss Qin is truly blessed with natural beauty. Even without makeup, you’re still so beautiful." Lin Qingyi thought that if the Vase wanted to compete in beauty, she might as well praise her. It was like when a pet comes close, and you casually pet it.
However, as Lin Qingyi complimented Qin Shiyue, the corners of her mouth and her brows involuntarily lifted in a smile.
The last two times Lin Qingyi praised her beauty, the next second, she would say something insulting. Now, as she praised her beauty again, Qin Shiyue couldn’t help but feel that Lin Qingyi was mocking her once again, particularly with that smile in her eyes. It looked exactly the same as the mocking laughter from the previous times when she had ridiculed and humiliated her.
The overly sensitive Qin Shiyue’s mind ran wild, and the result was that her chest once again burned with fury. This woman is too much. She mocked her again and again. If she looked down on her so much, why pretend to agree to help? It was all to mock her more effectively.
"Lin Qingyi, don't go too far. Mock me again and again. Even clay figurines have some stubbornness in them. Do you really think I'm easy to bully?" Qin Shiyue glared at Lin Qingyi, her anger boiling over.
The room fell silent instantly, especially Fang Xinhua and Bai Wenxi, who had no idea why Qin Shiyue suddenly exploded. Lin Qingyi had only complimented her beauty, and there didn’t seem to be any malice behind it.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5821232
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
While Fang Xinhua and Bai Wenxi were confused about where Qin Shiyue's anger had come from, Lin Qingyi understood the reason.
"Why can't you tell the difference between a compliment and mockery? I just complimented you. Is it really necessary to get so angry?" Lin Qingyi wondered if she was really that harsh, making the Vase so sensitive. Indeed, when you cry wolf too often, you end up digging your own hole.
"Teacher Qin, I guarantee, that my Teacher Lin only complimented your beauty and had no malicious intent whatsoever," Bai Wenxi, ever the helpful assistant, immediately vouched for Lin Qingyi’s character with her own.
Qin Shiyue saw Lin Qingyi's innocent face and Bai Wenxi's sincere expression, and she began to wonder if she had really been too sensitive. If she had overreacted, it would be very embarrassing. Here she was, inviting people to dinner, but she ended up picking a fight instead—this was such poor hospitality, wasn't it? However, she couldn't entirely blame herself. After all, Lin Qingyi's smile had seemed so malicious, just like the last two times when she had mocked her. And now, when Lin Qingyi complimented her beauty, it made her uneasy. It was all Lin Qingyi's fault for giving her such psychological scars.
Still unsure if her anger was misplaced, Qin Shiyue desperately needed an out.
"I know I'm beautiful," Qin Shiyue quickly thought of a clever response, borrowing a line Lin Qingyi had used before.
"Pfft..." Lin Qingyi couldn't hold back her laughter. How could the Vase be so cute?
"What are you laughing at? Is it only allowed for you to act well, but not for me to be beautiful?" Qin Shiyue glared at Lin Qingyi and retorted unhappily. Where was the joke in what she said? Wasn't she just copying her?
Lin Qingyi felt like Qin Shiyue had been born right on her funny bone. She almost burst into tears from laughing. If she had a few more wrinkles, it would definitely be the Vase's fault.
Nearby, Bai Wenxi thought to herself that her master had never laughed so heartily before. But, to be honest, she just didn’t quite get the joke. Was it really that funny? Bai Wenxi worried that her sense of humor was lacking and looked toward Fang Xinhua, only to see her not laughing either. Instantly reassured, she realized it wasn’t her sense of humor at fault—it was Teacher Lin’s humor that was the issue.
Fang Xinhua also did not get what the joke the Movie Queen Lin was laughing about, but it was clear that her own Baby Qin'er and this Movie Queen Lin seemed to be having some love and hate entanglements in a place she could not see. Baby Qin'er suddenly getting angry definitely wasn't for no reason. Movie Queen Lin should know the reason, but she didn't really care about it.
"Lin Qingyi, if you laugh again, I am going to get angry," Qin Shiyue saw that Lin Qingyi was still laughing, and she became a bit annoyed.
Lin Qingyi knew that the Vase was on the verge of blowing up again, so she reluctantly stopped laughing, but she couldn't completely hold it in.
"The number one Vase in the entertainment industry isn't a title I gave you. The whole internet calls you that, and you don't get angry. So why do you only get serious and angry with me?" Lin Qingyi placed her hand on Qin Shiyue's shoulder, smiling as she asked.
"Don't touch me!" Qin Shiyue now hated it when Lin Qingyi kept getting close. Every time, it never ended well. So, she reached out and slapped her hand off her shoulder, not using a small amount of force. She thought to herself, can being mocked by others and being mocked by a rival be the same? Does this woman not know her own heart?
Bai Wenxi felt a little nervous as she listened to the crisp voice. Her Teacher Lin putting her hand on someone’s shoulder in public was already strange enough, and now she got rejected and had her hand slapped away. With Teacher Lin’s personality, this was hard to imagine. Bai Wenxi quietly watched her Teacher Lin’s expression, thinking she would catch a displeased look in the next second.
Eh? Her Teacher Lin was not upset at all. She even looked like she completely accepted Blue and White Porcelain’s little temper. Bai Wenxi felt like she caught a whiff of a sweet scent in the air.
Lin Qingyi not only rubbed the back of her hand that was a little sore from being hit by Qin Shiyue.
“Little Boss Qin is bent, right?” Lin Qingyi asked.
“So what?” Wasn’t it something the whole world already knew? She was a woman who’d just divorced another woman.
“You're bent, yet you're so rough to a woman, not knowing how to be gentle and cherish beauty at all—do you really think that’s okay?” Lin Qingyi asked.
“I’ve always been very gentle to women, and I do know how to cherish beauty. But the ones I cherish don’t include you,” Qin Shiyue said with a cold snort. Did this woman really think she couldn’t hear the hidden meaning in her words? Wasn’t she just saying she was rough, so no woman would like her?
“Am I not pretty enough?” Lin Qingyi looked at Qin Shiyue with affection in her eyes and asked softly, even sounding a little wronged.
Fang Xinhua and Bai Wenxi glanced at each other. The same thought came to both of them—were these two top actresses really not flirting in public right now? Especially Queen Lin, who was clearly the one actively teasing a certain popular star.
Qin Shiyue looked at Lin Qingyi’s lifelike acting and spaced out for a second, thinking that if she hadn’t already fallen for it twice before, she might’ve believed it again. Damn, this woman was really something—able to slip into character in one second, instantly putting on a tender, affectionate look that could fool people into thinking she had feelings for her. That acting… no one else could compare.
“How could Teacher Lin not be beautiful? You're just not my type,” Qin Shiyue said in a deliberately regretful tone, but her eyes showed clear smugness and pride. She thought, finally, she’d been smart for once and managed to win a round instead of falling into this woman’s trap again.
“What a pity, Little Boss Qin is my type,” Lin Qingyi said with a smile, but her expression and tone gave away no hint of any actual regret.
Qin Shiyue thought, I don’t believe you for a second.
Bai Wenxi thought, I have no doubt about that. While Teacher Lin hadn’t shown anything on the surface, she was certain that when Blue and White Porcelain said she wasn’t her type, Teacher Lin definitely wasn’t pleased.
Fang Xinhua thought, it's believable but I’m not that sure. Lin Qingyi’s acting skills were too high-level—who could tell what was true, what was fake, and whether she genuinely liked someone or was just teasing Baby Qin'er for fun? She couldn’t figure it out.
Author's Note:
Lin Qingyi: I am working this hard to flirt with you, and you are actually analyzing my acting? You are so rough and fierce to me—you will not get a wife like this.
Qin Shiyue: Hmph. You tried to tease me twice and got nowhere. My cave’s already grown cobwebs. The road’s closed.
By the way, have you seen Baby Qin'er and Narcissus’ new outfits? I really love this new set on them.
Random red envelopes dropping, so leave comments actively, okay?
