Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 122

Color Swatching

Sun Miao was a rather frugal person, but that absolutely did not extend to her lover. She had long been prepared to pay the bill, but things had been too chaotic earlier, and Sun Miao hadn’t had a chance to react. It wasn’t until they were downstairs in the mall that she realized they hadn’t paid for their meal.

She asked Su Ruixi about it, who simply replied that she had already paid.

Business was business. Su Ruixi had no desire to be seen as someone who “causes a scene just to get out of paying for a meal.” Besides, every cent that came out of her pocket today would be recouped by her, one by one, down the line.

Su Ruixi quickly put the matter behind her and started wandering through the mall with Sun Miao. Most of the major cosmetic brands were located on the first floor. It was crowded on a Sunday, with every counter packed with people. For a moment, no sales associate came to assist them. Sun Miao and Su Ruixi didn’t mind; in fact, they thought this was better.

With no one to disturb them, the two of them were quite content.

“Sun Miao, your skin is on the drier side, and you’re exposed to the wind and sun every day. You need both repair and maintenance products.” Su Ruixi was quite knowledgeable about cosmetics. She led her to the counter of a brand she often used and began a shopping spree. Su Ruixi knew Sun Miao so well that she quickly swept a few items into their basket.

Moreover, she kept Sun Miao’s financial situation in mind, roughly calculating a price Sun Miao would be comfortable with before selecting items in the corresponding price range.

Actually, Su Ruixi wanted to just buy them for her. All of it added together was less expensive than the meal they just had, a mere drop in the bucket for Su Ruixi. However, in the car just now, when she mentioned she had already settled the bill, Su Ruixi had noticed the disappointed and guilty look on Sun Miao’s face.

She probably wanted to pay for the meal but didn’t expect things to turn out this way, and then I beat her to it. If I pay again now, it won’t be good for our relationship.

Su Ruixi didn’t know how to be in a relationship, but her interpersonal skills weren’t a complete mess. With the exception of people like Zhang Qiang who approached her with natural malice, she could generally get along with everyone else. She could even tolerate the Hip-hop Mei; what couldn’t she handle?

So, Su Ruixi knew very well that this was not the time for her to be the one paying.

Sun Miao had no intention of letting Su Ruixi pay, either. She was also looking for a suitable gift for Su Ruixi. While trying on lipsticks, Sun Miao was thinking of buying one for her.

The process of trying on lipsticks, however, was quite interesting. The old method of swatching directly on the arm was somewhat outdated; now, there was the plastic wrap method.

A sales associate had followed them when they entered the lipstick section. In fact, the associate had wanted to approach them as soon as she saw them putting several items in their little basket, but the two were sticking so close together that she couldn’t get a word in. Only now did she find an opportunity.

She took out a roll of plastic wrap¹ from a pocket at her waist—it was custom-made for their store. You just pull out a piece, cover the lips with it, and then apply the lipstick on top. Through the plastic wrap, you could see what the lipstick would look like on your own lips.

If you wanted to apply it to your lips, you could flip the plastic wrap over, press the lipstick directly onto your lips, and then gently blend it with a finger. This way, you could avoid contact with testers others had used while still getting a feel for the lipstick’s color. Su Ruixi asked for the plastic wrap and then sent the sales associate away.

The sales associate didn’t recognize Su Ruixi, as she usually didn’t purchase directly from the counter. Instead, she would select what she wanted on a mini-program, and the counter staff would deliver it to her door. Even for items not in stock at the counter, the head office would arrange a transfer.

If she wanted a quiet shopping environment, she just had to show the associate her VIP account. But there was no need for that. She preferred being with Sun Miao; even in a jostling crowd, there was a sense of lively hustle and bustle.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, the two of them were content in their own little corner.

Sun Miao held the plastic wrap, pressed it to her lips, and pulled the sides to keep it taut. Su Ruixi, as the more experienced and seasoned beauty expert, was responsible for picking the shades and applying them for Sun Miao.

Sun Miao was not a nongyan-style² beauty; rather, she exuded a sense of purity and sunshine. In her case, colors that were too dark weren’t suitable. Bright, dewy colors were Sun Miao’s best choice.

Su Ruixi selected a cherry blossom pink lipstick and slowly outlined Sun Miao’s lips. Through the layer of plastic wrap, the sensation wasn’t great. But unconsciously, Su Ruixi’s mind drifted to the feeling of Sun Miao’s lips. She was all too familiar with what Sun Miao’s lips felt like; the number of times they had kissed recently had skyrocketed.

At this thought, Su Ruixi felt a little embarrassed, and even her ears turned slightly red. She casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “There are a lot of people here, it’s a bit hot.”

After she finished applying the lipstick, she thought the color was truly perfect for Sun Miao. A dewy color paired with her little sun-like smile couldn’t be more suitable.

It was just that the way Sun Miao held the plastic wrap looked a little silly. Su Ruixi couldn’t hold back a smile. With the lipstick still in hand, she curled the knuckles of her other hand to gently cover her lips and chuckled softly. “This color is beautiful.”

“Is it?”

“Mhm, it suits you very well. Do you want to try it on your lips?”

“Okay.”

The plastic wrap was flipped over. Sun Miao pressed her lips together lightly, just like pressing on rouge³. The lipstick clung to her lips but wasn’t blended. Su Ruixi leaned a little closer, put down the lipstick, and extended her finger instead.

The pad of her middle finger caressed Sun Miao’s lips, slowly blending the lipstick.

After finishing, she nodded and commented, “Beautiful.”

They repeated this process, trying a few more colors.

Su Ruixi truly was a seasoned beauty expert; the colors she picked were all perfect for Sun Miao. While she was busy selecting, Sun Miao wasn’t idle either. She secretly used the lipstick swatch cards to test a few colors, then found the shades Su Ruixi used most often and picked two to sneak into their shopping basket.

At the checkout, Su Ruixi stood beside her, but she was quickly sent away by Sun Miao, who claimed she also wanted a toner and lotion⁴ set but had forgotten to grab it. By the time Su Ruixi returned, the two lipsticks had already been scanned by the sales associate and placed in the packaging box.

Sun Miao let out a sigh of relief. As soon as everything was scanned, she immediately whipped out her phone to pay. Her posture made it seem like she was afraid Su Ruixi would beat her to it again. Watching from the side, Su Ruixi found it rather amusing.

As I thought, she was feeling guilty about not paying for lunch.

Su Ruixi knew this perfectly well, so she didn’t fight with Sun Miao over the bill. After wandering through the mall, she now knew what Sun Miao suited and what she liked. In the future, she could just buy things and have them sent directly to their home, asking the housekeeper to place them on Sun Miao’s vanity. Would she lack opportunities to buy things for Sun Miao?

The two of them shopped for a little while longer, but they were ultimately affected by the incident at noon, so they went home before long.

That evening, Sun Miao made dinner. After cooking, she used the excuse of being a bit sweaty to take a shower first. But her real purpose was to sneak the lipsticks she bought for Su Ruixi downstairs. After showering and blow-drying her hair, she stealthily stuffed the two lipsticks into her pants pocket.

When Sun Miao came downstairs, Su Ruixi was sitting at the dining table, looking at her phone. Seeing Sun Miao, she called her over to eat.

They sat facing each other, chatting about this and that, just like any other day. The main topic of conversation today was the manager and the chef from the restaurant. Su Ruixi had even gotten some gossip from the Hip-hop Mei, which she was now relaying to Sun Miao.

“That chef from today, his position has been a bit shaky lately. Yuanfu Lou hired a new Huaiyang cuisine chef who’s younger and a better cook. His status is definitely going to plummet. Besides, as a private kitchen⁵, Yuanfu Lou doesn’t need two Huaiyang cuisine chefs. Maybe they hired the new one specifically to replace the current one.”

Sun Miao’s mind raced with speculation. “Didn’t Susu-jie suspect the chef and the manager were embezzling⁶ together? Is it possible the owner also noticed something, and that’s why he wants to replace the chef?”

“That’s also a possibility.”

The next day, Su Ruixi had to work while Sun Miao had the day off. Su Ruixi told Sun Miao not to get up and busy herself with cooking for her; she could just eat something simple. Sun Miao thought for a moment and still replied, “I’ll bring you something for lunch. It’s no trouble.”

Hearing this, Su Ruixi couldn’t hide her smile. “Okay.”

The evening was just like any other. The incident from that afternoon seemed to have vanished into thin air, not affecting them in the slightest. When they went upstairs and were about to return to their respective rooms to sleep, Sun Miao’s hand, clutching the lipsticks in her pocket, finally made a move. She called out, “Susu-jie, wait a moment.”

Su Ruixi was a little puzzled. “What is it?”

Sun Miao bit her lip and pulled the two lipsticks out of her pocket. It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but this was the first time she had ever given someone a gift.

Throughout her life, she had been too poor, and everyone who knew her was aware of her circumstances. For the first eighteen years in the orphanage, everyone was an orphan, so there was no need for gift-giving; just getting by was good enough. When she went to school, she didn’t have many friends either.

Sun Miao had realized she was gay at a very young age and had intentionally kept her distance from girls her age. As a result, she had few friends, and the ones she was close to knew her situation and naturally wouldn’t let her give them gifts. Later, when she started working, her closest acquaintance was her roommate. She had thought about giving her a birthday present.

But her roommate was someone who disliked trouble and had directly refused with, “If you give me something now, I’ll have to give you something later. Thinking of a birthday gift is such a hassle, so let’s just not.” Sun Miao knew she meant well, so she never brought it up again.

After living for more than twenty years, this was the first time Sun Miao was giving someone a gift. It was inevitable that she would be a little nervous.

Most importantly, she didn’t know if Su Ruixi would like it.

She didn’t know what brand of lipstick Su Ruixi used, but she knew that the things Su Ruixi used were definitely not cheap. When she was choosing, she had already tried her best to pick expensive ones.

Fortunately, lipsticks were relatively small, so even the expensive ones were somewhat affordable, unlike lotions or serums that could easily cost several thousand. Even so, the two lipsticks had cost Sun Miao one thousand eight hundred. Compared to her own, which were two or three hundred each, this was undoubtedly a high price.

Sun Miao didn’t feel the pinch of spending money on her girlfriend.

She was just worried that Su Ruixi wouldn’t like what she bought. The price definitely couldn’t compare to Su Ruixi’s own things, but what if she didn’t like the colors either? This sense of apprehension filled Sun Miao’s heart.

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