Wen Qing only found out when Qiao Ying returned that Du Juanjuan had gone to seek Yang PeiMin. Not only did she know that her cousin had unjustly blamed someone,but she also took it upon herself to push her own matters onto him. Suddenly, a rage flared up in her heart.
She immediately wanted to go and apologize to Yang PeiMin, but Qiao Ying stopped her, "There’s no need to go over anymore, things have been settled . When I was leaving, I met PeiMin’s husband. He said he doesn’t want these matters to involve his wife. Seeing his displeasure, let’s not go over as we might just cause issues between the couple."
As she had just reached downstairs, she saw Shen Yiguang standing there, his posture upright as a javelin blending into the night. She had seen military stances plenty in the army, and being a soldier herself, she didn’t find anything special about it, yet the commanding presence of the man before her was rare.
He seemed to be waiting specifically for her to come down. Without any preliminaries, he said, "Mr. Qiao, my wife is naïve. I hope you won’t drag her into your affairs anymore! If there is a next time, I’ll handle it my way."
Qiao Ying nodded in shame, "I promise."
After that, Shen Yiguang strode cleanly upstairs.
Qiao Ying unexpectedly felt a sense of relief. This man instilled in her the same impression she had when she met Commander Wang, a veteran from the Anti-Japanese War, a revered revolutionary with life-and-death battle honors, commanding respect effortlessly with his sharp, authoritative eyes even in his late eighties.
Wen Qing was somewhat taken aback, "PeiMin’s husband knows about it too?"
Qiao Ying nodded, then sighed, "It seems that word has spread, even the male soldiers have heard about it."
"Wen Qing, let’s leave this matter as it is for now. We need to investigate who’s stirring things up on our side. If you have any ideas or notice anything, let me know so we can find the person responsible and quell these rumors."
Wen Qing nodded subconsciously, "Okay, I understand."
Qiao Ying patted her shoulder, "Cheer up, even if there is no makeup for the show, the lead role is still yours. As long as you perform normally, the success will be yours."
Wen Qing managed a weak smile, "Yeah, I understand."
As Qiao Ying still had matters to tend to in the troupe, she didn’t stay long and ventured into the night towards the meeting room.
Wen Qing sat down on her bed, reached for a water cup, took a sip, and felt somewhat less irritated.
After sitting for a while longer, she stood up, pulled out the suitcase she had brought from under the bed, and started searching through it, bringing out a lipstick, a box of face cream, a bottle of hand oil, and a box of foundation - items she had saved up for nearly a year to have someone buy for her, and only used for performances or important events.
Despite being frugal, only a small amount of foundation and half a stick of lipstick were left. She looked at them and then tightly screwed the box shut, wrapped the items in a small cloth, and placed it on the head of her bed before pushing the suitcase back under the bed.
A teammate nearby asked her, "Wen Qing, are you still going out this late?"
Wen Qing glanced at her and nodded, "I’m going to my cousin’s place."
"Taking something nice to your cousin?" the teammate inquired, eyeing the small cloth bag.
Wen Qing smiled but said nothing.
Then she told her she was going out and picked up the small cloth bag from the bedside table to walk to Du Juanjuan’s dorm.
Shao Hui hadn’t come back yet; Du Juanjuan was idly flipping through a sketchbook.
Seeing Wen Qing arrive, she first felt surprised, then a bit guilty. "Sister, it’s so late, why have you come?" she said as she invited her to sit down and brought out biscuits from home that she had been reluctant to eat.
Wen Qing sat down with a troubled look, glanced at Du Juanjuan, lowered her head slightly, and sighed.
Du Juanjuan knew her cousin knew about her visit to Yang Peimin and started to explain immediately, "Sister, I was just so upset. You don’t know the nasty things those gossipy women say. They say you are shameless, clinging to a married man. They even say you were rejected because you are not as pretty as that countryside woman..."
But before she could finish, Wen Qing interrupted her sharply, "Juanjuan!" A shadow crossed her face.
Du Juanjuan realized she had touched a sore spot for her cousin and quickly added, "Sister, I didn’t say those things—it was all those uneducated countryside women... I think this whole thing worked to Yang Peimin’s advantage. First, she got to promote her skills, and second, it prevented you from getting involved with Shen Yiguang... Otherwise, who else but the parties involved would have such clear insight..."
"Enough," Wen Qing interrupted her again. "It doesn’t matter now who started the gossip. What’s important is that I have to perform tomorrow."
Du Juanjuan was momentarily taken aback.
Wen Qing was somewhat irritated, but in front of her pampered, temperamental, and highly-born younger cousin, she patiently said, "Several high-ranking officials will be attending tomorrow, and military families are invited too. The scene is going to be bustling. It’s a chance for me."
Du Juanjuan nodded, aware; her sister had briefly dated a high-ranking officer’s son soon after joining the group years ago. They had broken up for unknown reasons and afterward, her sister’s promotion had stalled, no matter how hard she tried. Years had passed, and the man had married. Wen Qing presumed that was behind her and seized the opportunity to star in the play to settle her promotion. Otherwise, without the promotion, she faced being turned back to civilian life.
Wen Qing looked at her suddenly and asked, "Juanjuan, how do you think I look?"
Du Juanjuan was momentarily stunned, then quickly said, "Our family’s girls are all outstanding, Sister. You have fair skin, a beautiful face, and a graceful manner; you’re the dream daughter-in-law in many mothers’ hearts."
"And compared to Yang Peimin?"
"She, well, just has a pretty face but is uneducated, bitter, and vulgar. How could she compare to you?"
"And Juanjuan, would you think the same if you were a man?"
"Sister, when did you ever lack confidence? What does Yang Peimin have to qualify her to compare with you?"
Wen Qing shook her head. "I also think she’s pretty. Do you think it’s because she knows makeup? It makes her look like a goddess."
Du Juanjuan paused, not quite following her train of thought.
"I mean, if I also knew how to do makeup, not only would tomorrow’s performance be a roaring success, but people would also have a lasting and memorable impression of me... A lot of times, isn’t the first impression people have of someone based on appearance..."