By missing this chance at the college entrance exam, Jiang Ye would never have another opportunity to get into a university. Her education would be forever capped at a high school diploma.

But Wen Ci didn’t know.

Jiang Ye, having been reborn, had long since forgotten everything she needed for the exam.

She was solely focused on changing her fate by marrying Huo Jingyuan.

·

After the morning performance, Yu Qing and Wen Ci met in the cafeteria. They needed to eat and then head backstage to have their makeup done by the artists from the performance troupe.

As they ate, Wen Ci felt Yu Qing glancing at her from time to time. Finally, she met her gaze and asked, "Is there something on my face? You keep looking at me."

"No."

Wen Ci lowered her gaze, as if trying to read Yu Qing’s mind. "Yu Qing," she began, her tone unhurried, "are you hiding something from me?"

"N-No..."

Even Yu Qing herself didn’t believe it as she said it.

"You can just tell me if something’s wrong."

"It’s nothing."

But Wen Ci didn’t press the issue.

In the 1980s, heavy stage makeup was the norm. For every performance, the troupe members had to share cosmetics, as they couldn’t afford the expensive brands.

They mostly used cheap, low-quality powders.

After nearly half an hour, Wen Ci’s face had been painted a ghastly white with blotches of red. She held up a mirror and was left speechless by her reflection.

Su Wanqing, on the other hand, had done her own makeup.

Her more subtle and elegant style looked far better.

Wen Ci hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can I redo my makeup myself?!"

"Suit yourself."

With that, the soldier in charge of makeup handed the remaining cosmetics to Wen Ci and warned, "If the audience doesn’t like your makeup, we’re not taking any responsibility for it, you hear?"

"Okay."

Wen Ci pulled Yu Qing over to a seat in the corner. She began removing the garish makeup from her own face, explaining as she worked, "The makeup for the Water Sleeve Dance should be understated and elegant. The focus is on the dance itself. Overly heavy makeup is just a distraction."

"You know how to do makeup?" Yu Qing asked.

"A little."

As she spoke, Wen Ci began to help Yu Qing remove her makeup. She planned to do Yu Qing’s face first. She was used to doing her own makeup, but her speed was much slower when working on someone else.

With no liquid foundation to use as a base, Wen Ci had to mix the colors herself.

An hour later, the makeup was finished. Wen Ci had even added a small beauty mark beneath the corner of Yu Qing’s eye. At first glance, their makeup looked rather simple and elegant.

But a second glance revealed a significant difference.

With their makeup done, the two of them prepared to change into their Water Sleeve dresses. The soldier who had been in charge of makeup saw their faces and asked in shock, "You did this yourself?"

"Yep."

Suddenly, a scream came from the wardrobe room. Everyone rushed over to see what was wrong. Inside the makeshift room, a number of costumes had been cut to shreds.

This was especially true for the long-sleeved garments.

Yu Qing’s sharp eyes spotted the white Water Sleeve dress among the ruined clothes. Her eyes widened in panic. "It’s ruined! The Water Sleeve dress has been destroyed too!"

Hearing this, Wen Ci pushed through the crowd and picked up the ruined Water Sleeve dress from the floor. Her brow furrowed deeply as she scanned the faces around her—all of them were from the performance troupe.

It wasn’t Wen Ci’s place to speak. When Huang Qian arrived and saw the utter mess in the wardrobe room, she flew into a rage. Nothing like this had ever happened in all her years with the troupe.

"Investigate this!"

Wen Ci sighed to herself. ’The personnel on this tour is a disorderly mix,’ she thought. ’Even though this is the backstage area, anyone could have come in during the lunch break, and there are no cameras.’

’Without concrete evidence, nothing could be done.’

"Then what about our performance?"

Hearing Yu Qing, Huang Qian immediately turned to the soldier in charge of wardrobe and asked, "Do we have any spare Water Sleeve dresses?"