Outside the window, the sound of rain pattered. The weather in Beisang City was ever-changing. Although raindrops still trickled from the dark clouds, there seemed to be a reassuring scent carried by the nightâs wind.
Zhu Pingniang looked out the window.
The originally pitch-black and unpleasant clouds now looked so beautiful, like an ink painting with varying depths, sparking countless imaginations. They resembled Ah Baiâs red dress.
Donât ask why Li Zhibai wore a red dress and claimed black clouds resembled her... There was no logic, nor was any needed. In the eyes of Zhu Pingniang now, anything beautiful was a part of Li Zhibai.
What does it feel like when the sky drops a pie?
Zhu Pingniang did not know.
Recently, she had encountered many things she thought were dreams, like learning from Xu Changâan that Li Zhibai wore a dress for Yun Qian. She once thought it was a dream.
Upon discovering her "delirious" words were overheard by Li Zhibai herself, she wished to escape reality and console herself in dreams.
But now, she truly fell into a dreamâan unprecedentedly sweet dream.
If there truly is a Supreme Principle of Heaven and Earth, an Impermanence Dao, then... dear Heavenly Dao, such a rare sweet dream... please let me not wake from it, to drown in it, would that be okay?
Inside the room, a pink atmosphere gradually spread like mist, rippling over and into Zhu Pingniangâs eyes.
The warmth and comfort made streams flow in her heart, desperately wanting to pour this surge of love over the girl in front of her.
But Zhu Pingniang restrained herself.
She gazed into the mirror.
At this moment, she was washing her face as Li Zhibai requested, the warm towel brushing over her skin, leaving a faint warmth from the hot water rising up.
In the room, Li Zhibai was selecting the makeup tools she would use from Flower Moon Buildingâs makeup box.
As Li Zhibai picked out the tools she recognized, the sound of those gold and silver items clashing was so pleasant to Zhu Pingniangâs ears. It resembled the sound of Li Zhibaiâs boots stepping in the clear water on a rainy day at Sword Hall, echoing in her ears and blending with the sound of rain falling on bluestone.
"...Ah..." Zhu Pingniang pinched her leg hard, and after a slight pain, her mind was momentarily lost in reverie.
Itâs not a dream, itâs real.
Those makeup tools would soon be held by her beloved, and then... applied to her face.
Zhu Pingniang never expected such a big change in Li Zhibai.
Itâs like the plain dress she gifted to Li Zhibai yet never saw her wear. Although Zhu Pingniang knew Li Zhibai could use the Makeup Technique, she never expected to see her putting on makeup, let alone... secretly hoped to enjoy the art of her Dianzhuang.
After all, itâs not just about makeup; Li Zhibai didnât even care if the edges of her garments faded from washing.
Mutually serving as makeup artists in Flower Moon Building was something that occurred only between two girls with the closest relationship.
Now...
Now Ah Bai was willing to do her makeup.
Thinking about how this opportunity came from her anger, after Wen Li annihilated her two Phantom clones, Zhu Pingniang wished she could pull Wen Li over and give her a big kiss.
If she had known she could have this chance, she wouldnât hesitate, even at ten or a hundred Phantoms, to lock her cultivation and get beaten by Wen Li.
To have Ah Bai do her makeup, forget about getting beatenâsheâd do anything.
Zhu Pingniang thought... once todayâs makeup was done, she wouldnât wash her face again.
Beside her.
Li Zhibai carefully selected the makeup tools.
Just as she thought, even though a girlâs face is only so big, the techniques and methods of makeup nowadays compared to her time... have changed drastically. After searching through the box for quite some time, she barely identified a few items like eyebrow pencils, lip balm, and foundation.
Out of dozens of makeup tools, she could only guess the purpose of a few.
Forget it...just rely on her experience.
Anyway, Ms. Yunâs face is not suitable for heavy makeup, although Tong Jun suits it... she still intended to use Tong Jun to test her hand, focusing mainly on light makeup.
"Tong..." Li Zhibai, with the tools sheâd prepared, moved to the vanity, then paused, sighed helplessly.
"What are you doing?"
She had asked Zhu Pingniang to wash her face, but the latter was so absent-minded. Not only was her cherry mouth slightly open, but she hadnât dried the water from her face, leaving strands by her ears sticking to her side, ruffled like just after a rain.
This Ni Zi.
Li Zhibai picked up a dry towel, bent down, and gently wiped Zhu Pingniangâs damp face.
"Tong Jun...come back to your senses."
"...Ah...mm." Zhu Pingniang nodded instinctively.
She was a beautiful girl, and covered with the warm waterâs heat, she looked even more endearing, so much so that even the atmosphere was briefly frozen, and Li Zhibai found herself staring at Zhu Pingniangâs slightly dewy face.
Truth be told, purely in terms of looks, Tong Jun was stronger than her, even with makeup, making her at best a plain woman.
Now, even an out-of-water lotus would pale in comparison.
Tong Jun truly was a stunning girl once, and still is today.
Li Zhibai always said Zhu Tongjun was the most troublesome girl, yet sheâs also her favorite girl; otherwise, she wouldnât indulge her and stay at Sword Hall for so long.