Chapter 441: Makeup and Preparation

Around the dining table, the three of them sat, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. Time passed in silence, and eventually, Tantai Yaoyue finished eating, though her heart remained unsettled. Her mind was caught in a storm of thoughts, and after briefly saying goodbye to Qin Fan, she stood up to leave.

Since Wang Haoran was heading in the same direction, the two naturally left together.

Just before she stepped away, Tantai Yaoyue turned and looked at Qin Fan, asking quietly, “Master, the fate you calculated for me—if I miss it this time, will there still be another chance later?”

Qin Fan gave a light smile. “I’m no immortal. I can’t divine events that far ahead. But if I can give you one piece of advice—it would be this: opportunity disappears in the blink of an eye.”

His words hung in the air, purposefully cryptic, as if trying to give her one final push. Then, without waiting for her reply, he turned and walked away, leaving behind only the echo of his calm, detached footsteps.

He already said more than enough. Tantai Yaoyue would have to make her own choice now. All that remained for him was to wait.

“Big Sister, let’s go home,” Wang Haoran said once Qin Fan’s car disappeared down the road.

Snapped out of her daze by his voice, Tantai Yaoyue blinked as if awakening from a dream, her thoughts still drifting in the wake of Qin Fan’s parting words.

The sleek Pagani slid forward, its engine humming softly, catching the attention of countless passersby who watched in envy and awe as the luxurious car vanished into the distance.

Inside, Wang Haoran held the steering wheel, eyes focused on the road. But from the corner of his eye, he could feel Tantai Yaoyue sneaking glances at him again and again. His heart tensed ever so slightly.

If she were to confess now, how was he supposed to respond? If he accepted, it would stir chaos; if he didn’t, he might lose something valuable. Either choice would bring complications.

Yet, after a long stretch of silence, Tantai Yaoyue said nothing. She simply kept stealing glances at him without speaking a word. From this, Wang Haoran quickly understood—she hadn’t made up her mind yet. Or rather, she was waiting until everything was in place before deciding to speak.

With this realization, he let out a faint breath, easing just a little. A moment later, his mind began turning once more. It was time to plant a seed.

“Big Sister,” he said casually, “can I ask you something?”

“What is it?” she replied, her voice neutral.

“Is there someone you like?”

Tantai Yaoyue’s expression froze for a second, but after a moment of thought, she decided there was no point in denying it. Wang Haoran had been right beside her during her conversation with Qin Fan. He surely picked up on something.

“Yes,” she answered honestly.

“Then why did you look so conflicted just now?” he asked, his voice full of curiosity.

“I do like someone,” she said, her eyes dimming slightly, “but being with him… It’s not something that would be simple.”

“Is he married?” Wang Haoran asked, feigning bold speculation.

“Of course not,” she replied firmly, shaking her head. She looked at him with a gaze that held deeper meaning, then added softly, “But… It’s not that different either.”

“No wonder you’re so troubled,” Wang Haoran said sympathetically, pretending not to catch the implication in her look. “So, what are you planning to do?”

“I want to tell him how I feel,” she said, her brow tightening, “but I’m afraid it might hurt people I don’t want to hurt.”

“Then why not just tell him in secret?” Wang Haoran suggested lightly. “If he likes you back, you can just be together quietly. Problem solved, right?”

He had been working toward this moment, nudging the topic toward this exact point so he could guide her thinking subtly. If she took his advice, everything would fall perfectly into place.

But before he could even picture the sweet result, Tantai Yaoyue’s voice rang out, carrying a note of proud resistance.

“No way. I’m not the kind of person who sneaks around, and I definitely won’t lower myself like that.”

“You’ve got a point,” Wang Haoran said with a cheerful laugh, nodding as if he agreed. In truth, he now had a clearer grasp of her mentality.

As he suspected, Tantai Yaoyue had a strong sense of self. She was proud, different from girls like Qiu Qianwei. She would never stoop to doing anything that made her feel compromised.

To put it plainly, even with an eighty-point Favorability rating, it wasn’t enough to make her sacrifice her pride. If it reached ninety, maybe then there would be a chance.

Still, it wasn’t easy to climb that last ten points.

Wait—had he forgotten something?

A sudden thought struck him. His eyes lit up, and he quickly activated the system, issuing a command to apply the Charm Halo to Tantai Yaoyue.

【Ding. Charm Halo cannot stack with Super Peach Blossom Halo. Charm Halo activation failed.】

And with that, Wang Haoran’s last hope of an easy win vanished.

So much for seduction through system tricks. If he wanted results, he’d have to earn them the hard way.

Frustrated but composed, Wang Haoran dropped Tantai Yaoyue off in front of Liu Yue’s villa. He waved goodbye, watching her step out of the car.

Outside the villa, a few delivery trucks were parked, and workers were busy unloading beds and other pieces of furniture. Tantai Yaoyue walked through the gate and found Liu Yue overseeing the workers as they set up the rooms.

She wasn’t surprised by the sight.

The villa was becoming more crowded by the day. Originally, there were only four bedrooms—no longer enough for all of them. Lately, the sisters had been doubling up in pairs just to make space.

Liu Yue had mentioned last night that she planned to reorganize the house, converting rooms like the gym and recreation area into additional bedrooms.

By late morning, the renovations were finished.

The villa had two floors. Now, each level had four bedrooms, for a total of eight. Each of the seven sisters would get their own room, and the smallest one was left as a guest room.

To avoid confusion, each room now had a numbered plate on the door—Rooms One through Seven, matching each sister.

Tantai Yaoyue’s room was Number One, the largest and most spacious of them all.

After Liu Yue paid the workers and saw them off, Tantai Yaoyue looked around and noticed no one else was home. “Where are the others?” she asked.

“Second Sister, Third Sister, Fourth Sister, Sixth Sister, and Seventh Sister all went out to buy groceries,” Liu Yue replied.

“Groceries?” Tantai Yaoyue blinked in surprise.

“Seventh Sister’s been practicing her cooking for a while,” Liu Yue said with a smile. “Tonight, she’s planning to cook for her boyfriend.”

Tantai Yaoyue nodded but still found it odd. “Does it really take that many people to buy groceries?”

“She only asked Third Sister to go, but then Second, Fourth, and Sixth wanted to tag along. So they all went,” Liu Yue explained.

Tantai Yaoyue didn’t question it further. She figured they just wanted to help carry things—typical behavior for the older sisters.

After a pause, she turned and asked, “Fifth Sister, do you know how to do makeup?”

“It’s one of a woman’s must-have skills, of course I do!” Liu Yue replied without hesitation. But the moment she saw the slight dip in Tantai Yaoyue’s expression, she quickly added, “But Big Sister, you’re already so beautiful. You don’t even need makeup. You’d look perfect either way.”

“Teach me,” Tantai Yaoyue said simply.

She was blessed with beauty—her figure, her presence, her face—each aspect was beyond rare. Even so, she knew that a well-applied touch of makeup could enhance what nature had already perfected.

Besides, as Liu Yue said, these were things a woman should know.

A woman dresses for the one she loves.

She hadn’t cared about such things before, but now… things were different.