Chapter 20: Makeup

The entire morning passed in vocal training. After a brief lunch break, Xia Jin’nian headed to the YanZhiNet evaluation center, accompanied by Lin Xiyue and Secretary Xiao Li.

Just as Xu Wei had said, the evaluation center wasn’t far from Lin Entertainment—about a half-hour drive.

Contrary to Lin Xiyue’s imagination of some tall, imposing building, this so-called evaluation center looked no different from a slightly larger clothing store on the side of the road, with a big sign reading “YanZhiNet.”

“Welcome. Which company are you from?”
As soon as they entered, a well-featured hostess walked up to them and greeted them.

“Lin Entertainment—”
Secretary Xiao Li showed an ID, and the hostess immediately understood.

“Alright, please follow me~”

They walked all the way to a place resembling a dressing room before the hostess stopped.

“Please wait a moment. A makeup station will be available soon.”

This sentence left Lin Xiyue completely confused.
Isn’t YanZhiNet supposed to evaluate appearance?
Why is there makeup involved?
How does a makeup-based score even count?!

Secretary Xiao Li probably sensed her doubts, so she explained first.

“When YanZhiNet was first founded, they actually used bare-face evaluations. But that made many artists very hesitant, and almost none dared to come.”

“Because many actresses who look stunning on screen actually have poor skin from irregular schedules and long hours under harsh lights. Their appearance relies heavily on makeup to conceal flaws. Showing a bare face is pretty much social suicide.”

“Eventually they had no choice but to switch to light-makeup evaluations. They created a nationwide standard for light makeup, balanced for different types. Every artist’s score is based on this light-makeup baseline.”

While she spoke, a seat in the makeup room finally opened. Xia Jin’nian naturally went in, while Lin Xiyue stayed outside to wait.

Around ten minutes later, Xia Jin’nian stepped out.
One look—and Lin Xiyue couldn’t look away anymore.

Her stare was so intense that Xia Jin’nian’s cheeks turned slightly red, and she gave her a sideways glare.

“What are you doing? Why are you staring at me like that?”

Honestly, it wasn’t Lin Xiyue’s lack of self-control.
It was simply that Xia Jin’nian, in her current state, had a lethal level of charm—like a morning lily blooming under sunlight.

Xia Jin’nian’s face was already sculpted like a piece of art—fair, delicate, with exquisite and well-defined features. And that layer of light makeup was like a thin veil enhancing the beauty she already had, adding a soft, hazy allure.

If Lin Xiyue occasionally used light makeup for formal events thanks to growing up around the family business, then Xia Jin’nian was a pure, natural beauty warrior.

You couldn’t expect a girl whose fashion sense was always plain—borderline rustic—to know makeup. The Xia family was conservative.

So with just this touch of light makeup, Lin Xiyue felt that objectively speaking, Xia Jin’nian was now no worse than she herself was.

“Miss Xia, please come with me. We’ll now begin the evaluation process.”

Another staff member in uniform approached.

Xia Jin’nian hesitated a little. Having her appearance measured so directly made any girl nervous—she was no exception.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. Our Jin’nian is so beautiful today, her score definitely won’t be low~”

Lin Xiyue held her hand to comfort her, giving a gentle squeeze to that soft, boneless little hand, as if transferring strength to her.

“Miss Xia, don’t be nervous. I’ve worked here for years, and you’re one of the very few artists who genuinely impressed me.”

With the staff member’s reassurance, Xia Jin’nian calmed down, took a deep breath, and walked in.

Just when Lin Xiyue thought she only had to sit and watch the show, someone suddenly approached her.

“You’re Miss Lin, right? It’s your turn for makeup. Please come with me~”

“Huh?!”

Lin Xiyue froze.
Wait—I came to accompany the princess to study, so why am I taking the exam too?!

She looked at Secretary Xiao Li, who coughed lightly and turned her head away, pretending she saw nothing.

This was Xu Wei’s instruction—to schedule Lin Xiyue for an evaluation as well.

Poor Lin Xiyue was still clueless, and before she understood what was happening, she was dragged into the makeup room and pushed into a makeup chair.

“What style would Miss Lin like?”

The makeup artist, with her shiny manicured nails, pointed at several example looks.

“Ah? I… can I say I don’t know?”

The girl scratched her head, embarrassed. She truly didn’t understand any of this.

“It’s fine. If this is your first time, it’s normal not to know.”

“YanZhiNet’s evaluation covers four main dimensions—Beauty, Cuteness, Handsomeness, and Sexiness. Then they take the highest two scores and average them for the final rating.”

“Based on my years of experience, Beauty is pretty much a default. And you seem very suited for the Cute category. So I’ll do your makeup based on both Beauty and Cuteness. Is that alright?”

The makeup artist kindly explained the scoring standards. Lin Xiyue absorbed it for a moment, then nodded blankly.

“Um… okay.”

Then the makeup artist began carefully working on her face, occasionally leaning in closely, studying her features, silently amazed.

She’d seen plenty of celebrities in her line of work. Many so-called “generation-defining beauties” looked disappointingly normal when bare-faced.

But this girl was different. Even without makeup, she was stunning enough.
Not to mention how she would look after makeup.

Her refined, charming features and her smooth, rosy, elastic skin—it even made the makeup artist, as a fellow woman, a little jealous.

…Wait? Why is she turning redder?

“Um… sis, could you not lean so close?”

Lin Xiyue swallowed nervously as the makeup artist leaned in so close their eyes couldn’t even focus properly. Her whole body felt stiff.

She had never been in such close contact with a girl her age before. Xia Jin’nian was the only exception.

As for Brother Zhu…
That was a bro. A good bro.

“Oh~ haha, sorry. You’re just too pretty, Miss Lin. I got distracted. That was my bad~”

The makeup artist laughed apologetically yet gracefully, then continued adding color to the girl’s already beautiful face…