What complaints could there be about a free assistant?

Zhang Xiao quickly realized the benefits of having an assistant. The assistant could handle all the trivial matters in her life – she just needed to show up where required. While Xia Xiaolan went to negotiate advertising with the television station and Chen Xiliang took the prepared advertising materials to Director Wang, Zhang Xiao had her new assistant accompany her to interviews with two magazines.

Not only did Xia Xiaolan find her an assistant, but following memories from her previous life, she also brought in a makeup artist from the Zhejiang Yue Opera Troupe for Zhang Xiao.

The 30-year-old Zhang Xiao and the 21-year-old makeup artist Ge should have met nine years later on the set of “The Empress.” In that timeline, Master Ge’s superior makeup skills allowed the 40-year-old Zhang Xiao to convincingly play the empress in her youth without any sense of disparity. Zhang Xiao had also delivered one of her career’s finest performances in “The Empress”!

They had achieved success together.

Even Xia Xiaolan, who rarely watched television, knew this.

But neither Zhang Xiao nor Ge knew this yet.

Zhang Xiao thought Comrade Ge looked too young, unaware that Comrade Ge was equally confused. He had graduated from Zhejiang Art Academy last year and was assigned to work at the Yue Opera Troupe, learning stage makeup from the troupe’s teachers – a complete novice in the makeup industry. He was quite surprised when someone offered to cover his room and board to come to Beijing as a makeup artist.

When Ge arrived, he was shocked to discover his client was the already-famous film actress Zhang Xiao!

This excited Ge tremendously.

“But I only know how to do stage makeup…”

Ge maintained some rationality.

Xia Xiaolan was also troubled looking at this greenhorn.

She only remembered that the future makeup master had worked at the Zhejiang Yue Opera Troupe in his early years. Later becoming one of China’s top makeup artists, Xia Xiaolan, being clumsy and not particularly attractive in her previous life, had learned makeup by watching Master Ge’s tutorials. Although younger people later considered Master Ge’s techniques outdated compared to modern beauty influencers’ tutorials, Xia Xiaolan believed Master Ge’s makeup techniques from the ’80s and ’90s could put those beauty influencers to shame.

Master Ge’s makeup tutorials had been Xia Xiaolan’s lifeline for salvaging her appearance. She had read an interview about Master Ge’s life, and with her improved memory in this life, she remembered it clearly!

However, what she remembered was the middle-aged Master Ge making beauty tutorial videos, not the 21-year-old Ge whose facial hair was still soft!

Young Master Ge candidly admitted that he had only started learning makeup last year, and only Yue Opera stage makeup at that.

Having brought him all the way here, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t give up without letting Master Ge try.

“Master Ge, haven’t you noticed how quickly you pick up makeup skills? Just as Sister Zhang Xiao has a talent for acting, you have a natural gift for makeup. If you just lighten the Yue Opera stage makeup techniques a bit, they’ll work well for photography. I’m entrusting Sister Zhang Xiao’s makeup to you – I know you can do it!”

Ge looked at Xia Xiaolan.

She did have a face that could carry both heavy and light makeup well.

Being called “Master Ge” by Xia Xiaolan put a lot of pressure on him, but Zhang Xiao’s cheerful personality and encouragement to experiment freely turned that pressure into motivation.

Xia Xiaolan understood him well. Though Ge had been learning makeup for less than two years, he learned quickly.

The troupe’s teachers all said he had talent, and he had even won a makeup award at the Zhejiang Theater Festival this year. Having come all this way, Ge felt reluctant to leave without even trying.

How could he accept room and board without doing the work?

If he had to pay for it himself, he was far too poor.

The Yue Opera Troupe’s salary wasn’t high, and despite his talent for makeup, he had to practice diligently in private. Like struggling art students, makeup artists before their breakthrough earned very little… Improving their skills required buying cosmetics! Cosmetics wouldn’t fall from the sky, and setting up a street stall to do makeup for passersby was impossible – most clients were women, and touching strange women’s faces without prior acquaintance would be completely inappropriate!

So the future Master Ge was quite poor, and he humbled himself to avoid returning the room and board money.

He had practiced other styles besides Yue Opera makeup in private, but only on acquaintances. This would be his first time working on an outsider’s face.

His first client was film actress Zhang Xiao – Ge was nervous enough to have a dry mouth.

Fashionable makeup?

With Zhang Xiao’s features, anything too trendy wouldn’t suit her. Seeing young Master Ge studying Zhang Xiao’s face intently, seemingly already in his element, Xia Xiaolan quietly withdrew to avoid disturbing him.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

Though Master Ge was still green, with nearly two years of stage makeup experience, his skills might not match his abilities ten years later, but they were still far beyond Xia Xiaolan’s!

Xia Xiaolan had her expertise.

Her specialty was negotiating prices.

The person who connected Xia Xiaolan was an old acquaintance – Guan Huie’s friend, Zhan Aiqun from the Higher Education Department.

Zhan Aiqun had been Wang Guangping’s colleague, though she strongly disliked Wang Guangping. Zhan Aiqun had been one of the on-site judges at the first National College English Speaking Competition finals.

Zhan Aiqun didn’t know the scale of Xia Xiaolan’s business, but since Guan Huie asked for help and she didn’t dislike Xia Xiaolan, doing a small favor wasn’t troublesome.

“Little Xia, auntie must congratulate you – you’re going to Cornell University as an exchange student, right? Do you want to meet the person in charge of advertising at the TV station? That’s no problem, but can Auntie ask what you want to do?”

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t someone without discretion, and Zhan Aiqun knew this girl was clever.

However, Xia Xiaolan was still a student, and not everyone knew about her significant movements in Pengcheng. It was natural for Zhan Aiqun to ask about her sudden request to meet a TV station leader… If it was something very minor, Zhan Aiqun could have arranged it through others without needing to meet the leader.

“Auntie Zhan, you remember my mother runs a clothing store, right? I just want to advertise a clothing brand on TV – not ‘Blue Phoenix,’ but Luna next door. Our family has some shares in that brand too.”

Zhou Cheng counted as family, right?

In front of Guan Huie, Xia Xiaolan felt slightly guilty.

Though not too guilty – Zhou Cheng would approve of this description.

Zhan Aiqun hadn’t expected this.

When Blue Phoenix opened, Guan Huie called all her friends to support the store, and Zhan Aiqun was among them. Even now, whenever she wants to buy new clothes, Zhan Aiqun likes to browse there.

She knew Blue Phoenix had several stores in Beijing now – one in Xiushui Street, one in Xidan, and she heard from the staff about another branch in Gulou that she hadn’t visited yet.

Luna had always maintained just one store in Beijing.

Who would have thought Luna had developed quietly to the point of advertising on television?

Her future daughter-in-law’s family business was doing quite well – the last time she went to the store, she saw Liu Fen driving a car! When Zhan Aiqun took Xia Xiaolan to the TV station, the advertising department head smiled upon seeing her:

“I remember you – last year’s English Competition champion. Perfect timing – the TV station has lots of letters for you. Don’t forget to take them when you leave!”