A maid?

  She had to do the makeup for someone playing a maid?

  Lily took a deep, exasperated breath and nodded slightly.

  What else could she do but nod? The company bowed to capital, so she had to comply.

  But a maid's makeup didn't need to be too refined. Lily finished Cynthia's makeup in a few quick strokes. The hairpiece specific to a maid's role had to be fetched from the very makeup room where Cynthia was originally supposed to queue.

  Once that hairpiece was attached, Cynthia transformed instantly from a modern rich young lady into a servile-looking maid. The ordinary hairpiece had no hairpin, let alone a pendant hairpin; it only had a plastic begonia flower attached.

  So when Cynthia saw the final result, she was directly dumbfounded.

  Actually, this makeup and styling fit the character prototype. Maids, well, they were mostly similar. Even if you played the second young miss's maid, it wouldn't be particularly special.

  But because she had just seen Chloe's final makeup effect and had secretly raised her expectations to the maximum, the sense of letdown upon seeing her own final look was immense.

  Especially with Chloe sitting right there. Comparing the two, Cynthia felt she looked both ugly and dowdy, completely overshadowed.

  "This... this can't be right, can it?"

  Cynthia was unwilling, and she certainly didn't want to take promotional photos dressed like this. She looked at Lily and asked, "Why is my makeup so plain? The hairpiece is so ordinary too, not even a single hair accessory!"

  Lily was packing her makeup kit. Hearing this, she glanced expressionlessly at Cynthia and said, "Roles like yours all have this kind of makeup. Although I don't usually do makeup for maid roles anymore, I started with small roles early on. There's nothing wrong with your makeup."

  "At most, when matching clothes later, they might pick something different from the background extras."

  Different from the background extras?

  Her father invested five hundred Dollars! All she got was being different from the background extras?

  She wanted to be different from Chloe!

  But in a way, wasn't she already different from Chloe now?

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  "Madam, you must have made a mistake!" Cynthia said urgently. "I play the second young miss's maid! She's the one playing the fourth young miss's maid! In terms of role importance and screen time, my role is more significant!"

  The fourth young miss's maid?

  Lily blinked inexplicable, then couldn't help but let out a light laugh. "You've probably got it wrong. Actors whose makeup I do personally generally don't rank outside the top ten in the cast list."

  "Of course, you are the exception."

  With that, she couldn't be bothered to explain further, picked up her packed kit ready to leave, and reminded Chloe before walking out, "The photography side is even busier than us today. You might have to wait a bit longer."

  "It's fine, madam. Thank you for your hard work today." Chloe stood up and bid farewell to Lily very politely.

  After Lily left, Cynthia rushed up to Chloe in one swift step, looking at her with anger and demanding, "Chloe, who exactly are you playing?"

  She wasn't stupid. A cannon-fodder role with little screen time, who gets beaten to death early on, couldn't possibly warrant such beautiful makeup and styling.

  Painted eyebrows and eyes, powder, rouge, and nail color—nothing was missing. This simply wasn't a maid's makeup.

  Vivian also looked at Chloe belatedly. No wonder she had felt earlier that although Chloe's makeup was beautiful, it didn't look like a maid's at all.

  The Cynthia before them was what a maid's styling should look like.

  Chloe naturally wouldn't say. She had only told her sister, keeping even her roommates in the dark, afraid that leaking the news might cost her this precious opportunity.

  Just as she was hesitating over how to handle the situation, someone finally pushed the door open. "Bryan, Chloe, you two are up for the promotional photos."

  Bryan, who had been sitting in the makeup chair pretending to sleep, instantly opened his eyes at the sound. As soon as he stood up, his team members swarmed in.

  His agent, a capable woman, walked to Bryan’s side and said, "We need the photoshoot to be quick later. We have a flight at 6:30 PM to Veridia for a brand event. Must not be delayed; it's related to whether you can secure this endorsement."

  "Understood." Bryan nodded and quickly left the makeup room under the escort of several security guards.

  The next second, astonishing cheers and screams erupted in the corridor, all because people saw Bryan.

  Seizing the chance, Chloe grabbed Vivian's hand and hurriedly followed, leaving a stunned and confused Cynthia behind by herself.

  Cynthia was both furious and bewildered. Not only did Chloe not have to queue for makeup, but she was also taking promotional photos with Bryan?

  What on earth was going on?

  The reason was that Bryan wasn't the male lead or the second male lead, but the on-screen official partner of 'Daisy', the third male lead 'Ivy'.

  The moment Chloe stepped into the photography studio, the director of photography pulled her aside. Looking down at his notes, he spoke rapidly, "'Daisy', right? Later, just pose freely. The photographer will capture shots. Your movements need to suit your character—gentle, sweet, not too modern."

  "Then you'll take a set of promotional photos with Bryan. Your characters are a couple, but it ends in a bad ending. So remember to blend deep affection with despair and reluctance. Do you get what I mean?"

  Before Chloe could even answer, another costume person pulled her away. "Come with me to change."

  The entire shooting process was fast-paced. Chloe was pulled around like a puppet, changing into one outfit after another. It was the fifth one that best matched her makeup and styling.

  Then, in a flash, she found herself in Bryan’s arms.

  "Okay, look at each other deeply, with feeling. Bryan, hold her a little tighter, show that struggle of not wanting to let go."

  "Female lead..." The photographer was about to instruct Chloe but noticed her eyes were already slightly red at the corners, her gaze teary, filled with despair.

  A look of surprise crossed his face, followed by delight. He closed his mouth and pressed the shutter continuously, afraid Chloe's perfect state might vanish in an instant.

  "Okay, next pose. Bryan, sit down. Chloe, you lie down with your head on Bryan’s lap. For this one, let's make it sweeter. It can be used later as material for the couple’s shipping fandom."

  After helping Chloe up, Bryan couldn't help but take an extra look at her. The surge of full, rich emotion she had displayed a moment ago had genuinely surprised him.

  In all his collaborations with actresses since his debut, he had never seen one who could get into character so quickly, delivering emotions so fully and precisely.

  Bryan sat down, stretched out one long leg, and then looked up at Chloe.

  He noticed that when she broke character, her eyes were filled with panic, her whole person like a startled fawn, at a loss.

  Just before lying down, Chloe bowed apologetically to Bryan and whispered softly, "Sorry about this, teacher."

  "It's fine, let's make the most of the time," Bryan said quietly.

  Chloe took a deep breath, slowly lay on her side, rested her head on Bryan’s thigh, and simultaneously looked up at him, her gaze tender, lingering, and intricately detailed.

  She was immersed in character again in a second.