After Being Bent by Reader

Chapter 52: Pt.2

"Here, take a look."

When Xu Chuanchuan accepted the mirror Murong Shi offered her, she couldn't help but be dumbfounded when she saw the bright and lively face that appeared in the mirror. Then, she subconsciously muttered, "So, this is how I look with makeup on."

Murong Shi had spent less than 20 minutes working on Xu Chuanchuan's face. After returning the cosmetic products into her bag, she proudly said, "The key point is that you have an amazing makeup artist."

In response, Xu Chuanchuan grabbed onto Murong Shi's hands. Then, after turning them and looking at them for a while, she exclaimed, "You have such skillful hands."

Putting on a casual smile, Murong Shi said, "It's a small matter. You get used to it with practice. Come, I'll take a photo of you as a memento."

When Xu Chuanchuan saw Murong Shi raising her phone, she made a "V" to the camera. However, she did not expect Murong Shi to wrap an arm around her neck all of a sudden. As a result, Murong Shi effortlessly pulled Xu Chuanchuan into her arms and stuck their faces to each other.

All of this happened too suddenly. Before Xu Chuanchuan could ready herself, she heard the sound of a "click."

"Your expression looks silly. Redo, redo," Murong Shi said. However, despite her complaint, she did not delete the picture she just took. Then, she continued taking several more photos while keeping her face glued to Xu Chuanchuan's.

When the photoshoot ended, Xu Chuanchuan's hair had become her mess. While trying to straighten it out again, she said, "Is that enough? Can I go now?"

Murong Shi narrowed her eyes. Then, after inspecting Xu Chuanchuan's makeup for a while, she said, "I keep getting the feeling that something's missing."

"What?"

Murong Shi lifted Xu Chuanchuan's chin and stared at the wound on her lower lip. Then, she said, "It's a pity that there's a wound. Otherwise, I could've put some lipstick on you."

For some reason, whenever Murong Shi stared at her mouth using such a gaze, Xu Chuanchuan would always feel as if a wolf was staring at her.

Gulping the saliva in her mouth, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I'll pass on the lipstick. It's an inconvenience when I'm eating."

Murong Shi didn't insist on the matter. But then, her eyes darkened a little as she said in a moody tone, "You've never once put on makeup on our dates, yet you've gone out of your way to dress up prettily to see another woman. This really irks me."

Xu Chuanchuan had always felt guilty over abandoning Murong Shi to meet up with Ange. So, when she smelled the scent of jealousy radiating from Murong Shi, she timidly said, "I initially planned to only apply some sunscreen, but I couldn't find it and ended up finding a BB cream Also, you were the one who applied the makeup for me"

Then, Murong Shi snorted and coldly said, "That's right. I even drove you to the station. I'm just one step away from personally handing you over to her."

"..." Xu Chuanchuan found it difficult to follow up with Murong Shi's words. However, according to the experience she gained on their first dinner date, she knew that once Murong Shi started pouting, there would be a need to coax her.

Putting on a fawning smile, Xu Chuanchuan said, "The person I'm going to meet is a very, very good friend of mine. We've known each other for six years already."

"Heh, six years. I have known you for less than half a year."

"She and Iwe're only friends."

Then, Murong Shi put on a faint smile and asked, "What is my relationship with you, then?"

The questions were becoming harder and harder, and Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but have the urge to bang her head against the wall. After calming herself, she pushed this question back to Murong Shi, asking, "What do you think?"

However, Murong Shi did not play along with Xu Chuanchuan.

Left with no better options, Xu Chuanchuan ended up making use of her sex appeal (if she had any). After making sure that none of the passersby were paying attention to them, Xu Chuanchuan quickly pecked Murong Shi's cheek and said, "I'll call you right away once I arrive."

Murong Shi's complexion warmed up slightly at this gesture.

There wasn't much time left. If Xu Chuanchuan continued dragging her feet, she would end up missing her train. So, she opened the door and decisively got out of the car.

Meanwhile, Murong Shi took a deep look at Xu Chuanchuan before saying, "Xu Chuanchuan, you still owe me an answer."

"I know."

"Go on in. Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye," Xu Chuanchuan said before making her way into the crowded train station with her luggage in tow.

When Xu Chuanchuan got onto the train platform, she couldn't help but look back. When she found that Murong Shi was still standing by the car, complicated feelings started filling her heart.

Xu Chuanchuan came from an ordinary family living in a county seat. Neither of her parents was well-educated, and the two were busy with work all year round. So, they didn't have a lot of time to accompany her at home. When she entered second grade of elementary school, she had already started learning how to be independent. After entering middle school, she began living in school dormitories. So, it wasn't far-fetched to say that she had lived her younger years by herself. Moreover, because she had a sister six years younger than her, she also had to take on the responsibility of caring for her younger sister.

In Xu Chuanchuan's 25 years of life, this was the first time someone had personally seen her off. Xu Chuanchuan never thought that this person would be Murong Shi.

In her 25 years of life, this was the first time Xu Chuanchuan had the urge to cry over such a small matter.

Then, Xu Chuanchuan waved at Murong Shi and shouted, "Hurry back home!"

Xu Chuanchuan didn't know if Murong Shi had heard her or not, but the other party remained standing in place. Even Murong Shi's expression remained unchanged.

...

The shirt Xu Chuanchuan wore was a custom T-shirt with the words "The End Of The World" printed on it. It was part of the batch of T-shirts Ange ordered when she had sold her novel's film and television rights. Although Ange had ended up giving away most of these T-shirts to her readers, she had saved one for Xu Chuanchuan.

The two of them had agreed to wear this T-shirt for their first meeting. As for the secret code they had decided on to further verify each other's identity...that was best left unmentioned.

After Xu Chuanchuan arrived at the hotel Ange reserved, she felt that it would be rude to go straight to their room first. So, she sent Ange a message saying: "I just arrived. I'll be waiting for you in the lobby."

Ange: "Okay. I just got onto the airport's chartered bus. It might take me another ten minutes to reach the hotel."

Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan sent a WeChat message to Murong Shi, reporting: "I just arrived. Thank you for today."

Murong Shi: "Take care and have fun."

Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan started becoming restless in her seat.

Xu Chuanchuan had already known Ange for six years. Both of them were also women. Yet, for some reason, she couldn't help but grow anxious. She got so nervous that the makeup Murong Shi had painstakingly applied for her had started showing signs of breaking off.

Noticing this problem, Xu Chuanchuan dragged her luggage to the restroom and took out the cushion foundation Murong Shi had given her when they were parting. Then, she began carefully touching up her makeup.

Xu Chuanchuan inadvertently thought of Murong Shi when she smelled the cosmetic's scent, which worked to calm her anxious mood.

Fifteen minutes later.

Xu Chuanchuan had kept her eyes constantly focused on the hotel entrance after leaving the restroom. So, when she saw a woman wearing the same custom T-shirt dragging a large suitcase through the entrance, she instantly identified her as Ange.

Currently, Ange was also wearing a baseball cap, probably because she was afraid of the sun. The hat had an exaggeratedly large brim that covered half of Ange's face, so Xu Chuanchuan couldn't see what Ange looked like exactly. She could only tell that Ange was someone who rarely saw the sun because of her exceptionally pale skin.

Meanwhile, Ange had also quickly located Xu Chuanchuan and walked over with her luggage in tow.

When Xu Chuanchuan saw Ange's attire, she realized she had made a mistake. She should've also worn a hat. Unfortunately, she had nothing to cover her face with right now. She also felt that it would be awkward to hide herself now, so she just moved forward to greet Ange.

"Hi"

"Don't 'hi' me. Friend, do you like malatang?" Ange asked.

This question was the secret code Ange had set up, and Xu Chuanchuan had momentarily forgotten about it due to her anxiety. Then, holding back her embarrassment, Xu Chuanchuan said her part of the secret code, "I do. I'll treat you to it tonight."

After hearing Xu Chuanchuan's reply, Ange removed her baseball cap and revealed the rest of her face. And when Xu Chuanchuan finally got to see Ange's appearance, her eyes gradually widened.

Ange had arched eyebrows that gave her an arrogant and lax look. In addition, she had a high nose bridge, two thin and pale lips, and a pointed chin. Although Ange's facial features were not as stunning as Murong Shi's, she gave off a fluttering and enigmatic feeling that Murong Shi didn't have.

To sum it up, Ange was beautiful.

Ange's temperament was entirely in line with her personality as a writer of supernatural and fantasy novels. She mostly matched the image Xu Chuanchuan had visualized. If only Ange held a cigarette in her hand, it would complete the image Xu Chuanchuan envisioned.

Afterward, when Ange heard Xu Chuanchuan's first impression of herself, she couldn't help but be rendered speechless for a moment. Then, she said, "What do you mean arrogant? That's because of my poor vision. Also, fluttering? That's because I puked out everything I ate on the plane while riding the bus, so my whole body feels weak right now."

After finishing her rant, Ange put on a bright smile and gave Xu Chuanchuan a bear hug. Then, she emotionally said, "Tang'er, it's been six years. We finally meet."

Xu Chuanchuan returned Ange's hug, though she was at a loss on what to say for a moment. Fortunately, all of the anxiety she felt before had disappeared because of this hug.

Unlike Xu Chuanchuan's reaction to seeing Ange, the latter didn't seem particularly surprised by Xu Chuanchuan's appearance. After unscrupulously scrutinizing Xu Chuanchuan's body, Ange focused her eyes on Xu Chuanchuan's face and said, "You're actually wearing makeup."

Then, Xu Chuanchuan frankly said, "I was afraid you would overshadow me. If I don't cover myself up a little, I wouldn't have the guts to meet you."

Unlike Xu Chuanchuan, Ange wasn't wearing any makeup. Her face looked clean and light. Her smile also appeared faint, and this was something she had in common with Murong Shi. However, unlike Murong Shi's smile, Ange's smile looked a little cold and awkward. It made her look like she was someone who hadn't mingled with other people for a long time.

Fortunately, Xu Chuanchuan had known Ange for a long time now, so she knew that the other party wasn't actually a cold person.

While Xu Chuanchuan was immersed in her thoughts, Ange suddenly asked, "I don't remember you being good at applying makeup. Did your little sister help you with it?"

In response, Xu Chuanchuan mentally struggled for a moment before hesitantly saying, "No, that's not it. It's...that person..."

"That person?" Ange repeated. Then, realization dawned on her as she asked, "The one who bent you?"

Sure enough, Ange's personality was the same both in the virtual world and in the real world! There was nothing she was afraid of saying!

Xu Chuanchuan hurriedly covered Ange's mouth. Then, after looking around and making sure nobody was paying attention to them, she breathed out a sigh of relief and said, "Let's go to our room first."