Chapter 16: Protective

In the dressing room, Fang Chuning sat in front of the mirror…

In the dressing room, Fang Chuning sat in front of the mirror while a makeup artist stood beside her, applying makeup to her face. The smell of the cosmetics made her a little uncomfortable. “Cara, don’t put it on so thick. My face is getting stiff.”

Cara was a female makeup artist who pursued perfection and wanted both herself and her “work” to be the best. She pinched the girl’s chin with two fingers, not letting her move. “It’s not thick at all. You have a good foundation. I’ll just deepen your contours a bit more and it’ll be perfect.”

Fang Chuning felt like a lump of clay, being molded by others.

She stiffened her body, and the only thing she could move was her eyes. Beside her, Gao Qiong was leaning over the mirror, doing her own makeup. She didn’t like others doing her makeup and insisted on doing it herself.

Fang Chuning moved her eyeballs and glanced at her through the mirror. To be fair, it looked quite decent. “When did you learn to do makeup? I didn’t know you had this skill.”

Gao Qiong was at a critical moment and didn’t respond to her. She glanced at the photo of the male witch on her phone screen and steadily “painted” on her own face with an eyeliner pencil, just like the man’s makeup.

Fang Chuning couldn’t help but admire, “Amazing!”

The door of the dressing room was pushed open and a girl walked in. “President, someone is looking for you outside.”

Fang Chuning looked over through the mirror. “Who?”

“He said he’s your brother, President.”

Cara pressed down on the girl’s restless head, a little displeased. “It’s not done yet. Can you sit still?”

Fang Chuning froze again. The powder brushed lightly on her face. She couldn’t resist the urge to scratch but was stopped. It took about ten minutes to finish. She looked in the mirror from left to right. Except for her features being more defined, her skin being whiter, and her lips being redder, there were no other changes.

The fruity lip balm on her lips made her can’t help but lick them. Then she felt the color was a bit light, so she reapplied the lip balm herself.

Then she couldn’t resist admiring herself in the mirror and sighed, “You really don’t know until you put on makeup. It turns out I’m so good-looking.”

Gao Qiong beside her snorted, “Have you suddenly realized that you were reincarnated into the wrong body?”

Fang Chuning ignored her, thinking that she was too lazy to walk back and forth later, so she might as well change into her costume now.

Outside the dressing room, Fang Tianli was getting a little impatient. “I don’t know if that girl told her or not. It’s been so long and she still hasn’t come out!”

Su Qi held his arm and comforted, “She’s probably not ready yet. Let’s wait a little longer.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the door of the dressing room open. The girl had her hair up in a high ponytail and was wearing a white and red princess dress. Both the color and quality of the dress were exquisite, luxurious yet elegant. She was still fiddling with the gold button at the collar with one hand. Her face was expressionless, and with her tall and charming figure, she looked noble and unapproachable.

Su Qi only felt that the left side of his chest was beating very fast. He bit his lip and stared straight at the girl, his hands unconsciously tightening.

“Ah, it hurts!” Fang Tianli forcefully pried his hand off and rubbed the spot where he was pinched, glaring at him, “Qi Qi, what are you doing!? You hurt me!”

Su Qi came back to his senses and quickly apologized timidly, “I’m sorry, Lili. I didn’t mean to…”

“If you didn’t mean to, why did you pinch so hard!” Fang Tianli’s cheeks puffed up in displeasure.

“I…” The little boy looked utterly helpless, his tear-filled eyes making people feel distressed.

Fang Tianli became even more unhappy. He was the one who pinched him, but why did he look like he was about to cry? After being with him for so long, why was he still so timid?

Fang Tianli was upset in his heart and didn’t want to give in, so he simply turned his face away in anger and ignored him.

Fang Chuning came out and saw this scene that looked like a broken plastic brotherly bond. “What’s wrong with you two?”

Su Qi’s eyes were filled with tears. He pursed his lips, looking like he wanted to say something but didn’t dare to.

Fang Chuning looked at her younger brother. Fang Tianli’s cheeks had deflated a bit, but he still didn’t pay attention to him.

Su Qi carefully touched the reddened spot where he had pinched and apologized weakly, “I’m sorry, Lili. I’m sorry…”

Fang Tianli glanced at him. His anger gradually dissipated, but he still maintained his posture and refused to acknowledge him. Fang Chuning knew her brother’s little thoughts well. She patted his head and helped Su Qi out, “Are you two hungry? Do you want me to take you to eat something?”

Su Qi’s eyes turned to her again. He pursed his lips and waited for Fang Tianli to make a decision.

Fang Tianli was in no mood to eat now. He glanced at the person beside him and raised his little chin proudly. “Don’t ask me. Ask him.”

Fang Chuning’s gaze shifted to the shy little boy. Su Qi’s ears were flushed red, and his watery eyes peeked at her timidly. “If Lili eats, I’ll eat a little too.”

That meant they wanted to eat. Fang Chuning took them to the school cafeteria. There were quite a few parents accompanying their children to eat there, and it was quite crowded.

As soon as they entered the cafeteria, Fang Tianli showed a look of disdain. “Why do we have to eat in the cafeteria? There are so many people. I don’t like it.”

When at school, his lunch was delivered by the servants every day. He had a special place to eat, quiet and comfortable. At worst, he could go to a restaurant outside and have a private room to eat by himself. There was no need to squeeze with people here.

Fang Chuning glanced at the time, not intending to accommodate him. “Then you can watch us eat.”

Su Qi gently held the boy’s arm and raised his hand to point to a less crowded corner. “Lili, let’s sit over there. There are fewer people there.”

The three of them sat at the spot he pointed to. Fang Chuning put her phone on the table and asked them to watch it for her while she went to get food.

Su Qi took the opportunity to say, “Ningning, I’ll go with you. You can’t carry three servings by yourself.”

Fang Chuning had no objection. She quickly regretted changing into her costume so early. In the cafeteria, other people were either wearing school uniforms or casual clothes. She stood out in the crowd dressed like this.

Feeling the gazes falling on her one after another, Fang Chuning’s ears grew hot. The key was that she was tall, and as soon as she entered the cafeteria, she could be spotted at a glance.

She coughed awkwardly and then noticed that the junior in front of her turned around. Seeing her dressed like this seemed to surprise him a little, and then his eyes lit up. “President Fang?”

Fang Chuning wasn’t surprised to be recognized. After all, her portrait was posted on the school forum from time to time, with the so-called effect of imposing authority. In fact, she felt that it was no different from the Zhong Kui* figure pasted at the entrance.

The junior looked very happy and even asked if he could take a photo with her.

Fang Chuning felt completely awkward. “This is the cafeteria. It’s not convenient.”

The junior was a bit disappointed, but he quickly became lively again. “President, you look so good in this outfit!”

The junior was strangely honest. Fang Chuning smiled at him politely to express her thanks.

Just as Fang Chuning was being hit on enthusiastically, Su Qi behind her spoke up hesitantly, “Um… classmate, it’s your turn in front.”

The junior turned his head and realized that there was no one in front of him anymore. The uncle serving the food was looking at him impatiently. His heart suddenly jumped, and he hurriedly stepped forward in embarrassment to take the tray and pick his dishes.

New Star had high requirements for students’ diet. There was a wide variety of dishes, all requiring the freshest and most nutritious ingredients of the day. Moreover, to maintain the freshness for the students, the dishes couldn’t be repeated within a week.

*Zhong Kui: A figure in Chinese mythology known for warding off evil spirits and often depicted on door gods at entrances.

Fang Chuning ordered a bowl of extremely spicy handmade beef noodles. While the three of them were eating, a slightly chubby woman suddenly sat across from them, accompanied by a chubby girl who looked quite amusing.

She remembered this girl. Wasn’t she Zhu Xixi, the one who said she wanted to play ball with them last time?

“You’re the eldest miss of the Fang family, right? Thank you so much for taking care of our Xixi at school. Our Xixi is simple-minded and has no ulterior motives. It’s her good fortune to be noticed by Miss Fang!” The slightly chubby woman sat down and chattered non-stop, laughing so much that her eyes disappeared.

Fang Chuning didn’t pay attention to what she was saying, only knowing that the woman’s spittle from her chattering had added flavor to her beef noodles, which was a bit annoying. “I think you’ve misunderstood. I’m not familiar with this classmate Zhu.”

“Eh, but Xixi said that Miss Fang takes good care of her. But it doesn’t matter. I also brought a gift for Miss Fang today, hoping that Miss Fang can look after our Xixi more in the future. Although our Xixi is a bit clumsy with words, she’s very sincere at heart…”

This mouth kept going on about “our Xixi this” and “our Xixi that”. Perhaps she thought that although Fang Chuning was from the Fang family, she was just a child after all. Which child was not easy to fool and deceive? So the slightly chubby woman spoke without any reservations.

Fang Chuning hated this kind of person who couldn’t stop talking once they opened their mouth. She looked at Zhu Xixi sitting beside the woman, only to find that Zhu Xixi was staring straight at Fang Tianli next to her.

Fang Tianli also noticed and felt extremely disgusted. “Don’t stare at me!”

The boy was at the age of voice change, and his reprimanding voice had a hint of sharpness, carrying a fierce meaning.

Zhu Xixi timidly shrank her head, but her gaze still couldn’t help but stick to him. It was a kind of □□ gaze that was completely unmasked.

Fang Tianli, who had always been spoiled and willful, couldn’t stand it. He picked up the steaming bowl of soup and was about to splash it over. Fortunately, Fang Chuning caught his arm in time and slowed down the hot soup, preventing it from splashing onto the person’s face.

“Lili!”

Fang Chuning disapprovingly took the bowl of soup from him, frowning tightly. However, Fang Tianli ignored her and stared at the chubby girl with slightly fierce eyes. “If you dare to stare at me like this again, I’ll kill you.”

Except for Fang Chuning, the other three were all stunned by the boy’s vicious tone. Su Qi didn’t expect him to have such a reaction, as if he had been stimulated. It was completely different from his usual simple and gullible appearance.

Su Qi glanced at the expressions of the others and lowered his eyes, remaining quiet and not saying a word.

The slightly chubby woman’s face was a bit stiff. “What… what’s going on? Our Xixi didn’t mean any harm. There’s no need to be like this, right…”

She even looked at Fang Tianli strangely with a gaze that seemed to say “how could you be so ill-mannered”.

This gaze triggered Fang Chuning’s protective nature. “I don’t know if your Xixi has any ill intentions, but you have indeed disturbed us. I’m not familiar with your Xixi at all, whether it’s in the past, present, or future. So can you please leave?”

Their commotion was not small, and more than half of the people in the cafeteria were looking in their direction. Being lectured by a child of the same age as her daughter, the slightly chubby woman found it difficult to maintain her face. She raised her eyes with an unpleasant expression and spoke in a voice that was neither loud nor soft, “How can you speak to an elder like this? Really, no manners…”

She said the last three words very softly and with a sense of grievance, as if she wanted everyone in the cafeteria to hear it, but was afraid that if they heard it, it would spread to Fang Hong. By the time she had a bit of clarity left and wanted to take them back, it was already too late.

Fang Chuning stopped Fang Tianli’s attempt to smash someone with a tray and coldly smiled at the woman with a kind expression. “This auntie, at your age, didn’t your father teach you that you can’t disturb others while they’re dining?”

“You…” The slightly chubby woman’s face flushed red. She glanced around, swallowed her anger, and reluctantly showed a fake smile that couldn’t be any more fake. “Miss Fang is joking. I just wanted to come and say hello to you.”

“So you’re done saying hello?”

The slightly chubby woman stiffly nodded and was about to leave with a belly full of anger when she heard the girl continue, “I heard that the Zhu family is planning to open a branch company in City A recently?”

As soon as these words came out, the woman had a bad feeling. Sure enough, she heard the girl say again, “Why don’t I let my mom help you out?”

This was not helping, but cutting off the roots of their Zhu family! The woman finally truly realized the seriousness of the matter. If the Fang family really protected their own to the point of dealing with their Zhu family because of today’s incident, then everything would really be in vain!

The slightly chubby woman’s face was like a Peking opera mask, changing instantly. She started nodding and bowing. “I’m sorry, Miss Fang. I was a bit agitated when I saw you just now, so I rushed over to disturb you. Please don’t take offense!”

After saying that, she glared at her still dumbfounded daughter. “Hurry up and apologize!”

Zhu Xixi lowered her head, her voice meek. “S-sorry.”

Fang Chuning was not the kind of person who would relentlessly pursue someone who had already backed down, let alone Fang Tianli had indeed almost hurt someone just now. “Since you don’t want help, then forget it. Take care in the future. I don’t like people casually trying to get close to me.”

The woman repeatedly said okay several times. Regardless of the contemptuous or mocking gazes from those around her, she didn’t even care about her own daughter and hurriedly left the cafeteria.

The meal was ruined, and it was almost time for the performance. Fang Chuning arranged seats for the two of them and went backstage. There were many people backstage at this time, wearing various costumes and having various makeup. As soon as she arrived, she saw Xu Muzhou being surrounded by a crowd of people.

He wasn’t wearing glasses at the moment, and his bangs were combed up. He seemed to have light makeup on his face, making his features even more defined and exquisite. His pair of charming peach blossom eyes were smiling, giving off an impression of having an extremely good temper.

After a while, he seemed to notice her. His eyes lit up slightly, and he politely parted the crowd and walked over to her.