DM Chapter 28

Chapter 28: The Taste of “Talent Not Being Recognized”

 

Jiang Xiaoyuan’s makeup was just an ordinary everyday look. At first glance, it didn’t seem to have any particularly dazzling technical content. The operational procedures and techniques were different from those taught in school, appearing especially imaginative.

When it came to deeper technical issues, Chen Fangzhou, being only half-layman, couldn’t explain them clearly. However, he had a feeling that the makeup Jiang Xiaoyuan had done for Lily was less about covering up facial flaws and more about expressing—or interpreting.

It seemed as though Jiang Xiaoyuan had quietly communicated with the model’s originally dull and plain features, setting a precise yet vague unified theme across the entire face. She then uniquely interpreted every shadow and contour.

Eyes, nose, and lips—Jiang Xiaoyuan seemed to treat them as dusty pieces of art, gently holding them in her hands, carefully wiping away the dust bit by bit, meticulously examining and refining them, and finally adding the perfect finishing touch to illuminate their inherent, original brilliance with a stroke of genius.

The makeup was not heavy; Jiang Xiaoyuan did not use thick layers to paint over. Yet, every decorative element was just right. Suddenly, Boss Chen, who had never paid much attention to Lily’s appearance, felt she had come to life, even developing the illusion that she was naturally a beauty.

Chen Fangzhou had to admit that Jiang Xiaoyuan had some real skill.

After finishing with the face, Jiang Xiaoyuan decided to manage her hairstyle as well. Once the full set was completed, the guest-starring stylist seemed quite unsatisfied, as if it were a great regret not to let Lily change outfits as well.

“It’s too late today,” Jiang Xiaoyuan straightened up, casually tossing the used cotton swabs onto the table as if she had just done it casually. “I can’t do the full set; otherwise, the clothes and accessories would need to be changed too—Boss Chen, what do you think?”

Chen Fangzhou pondered and didn’t speak.

Lily was on the verge of tears. Since she was born, she knew the words “beauty” had nothing to do with her. No one would call her that except the stall owner who wanted to sell things to her. Lily had never been this beautiful before. Tears welled up in her eyes, but afraid of ruining her eye makeup, she stubbornly widened her eyes like two light bulbs, holding back her tears.

Lily: “Boss, you can deduct my monthly performance bonus and give it to Xiaoyuan. Let her spend twenty minutes on my makeup every day. I’d rather be a poor person than stay ugly.”

Chen Fangzhou: “With your meager monthly salary, you still want a dedicated stylist? Just forget it.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan detected the unspoken approval in his words. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she restrained herself, trying to appear less eager, as she looked towards Chen Fangzhou.

However, Chen Fangzhou paused and said blandly: “No.”

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Jiang Xiaoyuan but also the onlookers felt it was unfair. These chattering girls, who were skilled at internal squabbles, were unanimous in their external criticism, launching a group attack on Boss Chen.

“Why not?”

“If this doesn’t work, what will?”

“What’s wrong with opening a separate business? It doesn’t take up any of your equipment. It’s just about buying some cosmetics, not even the best ones.”

“Mr. Chen, why are you like this? You don’t even want to make money!”

Chen Fangzhou was nearly bombarded by their words and could only helplessly wave his hand. “Ladies, please be kind, do you see what this is?”

He tapped his nameplate: “These two characters read ‘Store Manager’. I’m a store manager, not the owner. I’m also an employee. I have to work where the boss tells me and do what the boss says. Business scope and pricing decisions are not up to me. The boss decides everything. Buying a set of cosmetics is not difficult. The problem is that you have to promote it, right? You have to join the pricing system, right? You have to have corresponding performance evaluation and service staff level standards, right? Which of these can I decide?.”

His attitude was sincere and well-reasoned, and the girls fell silent.

Chen Fangzhou: “Our store is close to the city center with high foot traffic. The boss has already made many people unhappy by letting me manage this store. If I make more trouble, how will I explain it?”

Saying this, Mr. Chen jumped off the table and patted Jiang Xiaoyuan on the shoulder. “You have some talent, but right now, my words don’t count. When I save up enough start-up funds in the future to start my own business, I’ll keep a position for you in styling design. How about that?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan’s disappointment almost overflowed from her throat, and she didn’t say a word for a while.

It’s still unknown when Chen Fangzhou’s 30-year mortgage will be repaid. She was afraid he wouldn’t be able to work alone in this life.

“Go, go, go home and get some sleep. We have to work tomorrow.” Chen Fangzhou waved his hand, dispersing the employees who had gathered after work.

Lily cautiously tugged at Jiang Xiaoyuan’s sleeve: “Hey, are you okay?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan shook her head, silently packing up the cosmetics and preparing to return to her own doghouse.

“It’s actually not a big deal,” she thought. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. In a year or so, when I master hairstyling, I can find a place that specializes in styling.”

Studios, magazines, fashion companies… where wouldn’t it work?

Anyway, she never intended to stay in the hairdressing salon forever. She would eventually leave. However, being rejected by Mr. Chen at the very beginning, Jiang Xiaoyuan felt an indescribable sadness.

She had worked so hard to find a bit of brilliance in herself. This makeshift skill was almost her only talent, yet it was still not recognized.

For the first time in all these years, she knew the taste of “talent not being recognized.”

Lily hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly caught up: “Xiaoyuan!”

Jiang Xiaoyuan forced a relatively calm expression and stopped to wait for her.

Lily was a simple girl, with their improved relationship and a bit of admiration for the “worldly-wise” Jiang Xiaoyuan, thought for a while and came up with a comforting statement: “After all, this is a hairdressing salon. With your skills, you can go to a professional place to work as a makeup artist. I’ve heard that high-level makeup artists are very wealthy.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan perked up, intending to hear what this “wealthy” meant.

Lily, with lively gestures, said: “You can earn over ten thousand a month!”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “…”

Her gaze fell on the innocent face of her “work,” momentarily speechless. Lily’s sincere comfort only made Jiang Xiaoyuan feel more frustrated—Boss Chen’s rejection told her that her only talent couldn’t impress others, and Lily’s follow-up only told her that even if this “talent” was fully developed, it might still have no prospects.

In other industries, it might just be an entry-level salary for graduates, but it was already considered top-tier in this field.

Facing such a bleak future, Jiang Xiaoyuan felt a bit despaired even before she had fully stepped through the door.

She had once fantasized about immediately stunning everyone with her skills and then walking a path of reverence and power. However, when reality hit, she found that even “living like a person” was so difficult.

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and, as expected, it was another message from an invalid number: “Are you going?” This virus was quite good at finding loopholes.

Jiang Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but abandon her manners and cursed: “Damn it.”

Then she angrily removed the phone battery.

Since Jiang Xiaoyuan said “think it over,” she had not contacted Qi Lian again.

Qi Lian, not wanting to bother her like that persistent virus, had not actively contacted her. However, after more than ten days, Jiang Xiaoyuan still hadn’t made a sound. Instead, on the day after the salon’s payday, she transferred one thousand yuan to his account—this was the second installment of the five thousand yuan debt.

She was repaying monthly, which clearly expressed one thing—Jiang Xiaoyuan had rejected everything he offered.

Qi Lian was a bit surprised. Looking back, every time he met Jiang Xiaoyuan, she managed to make herself quite embarrassed, like a stray kitten just beginning to wander without developing survival skills, still maintaining an untimely arrogance.

Qi Lian understood this kind of naïve arrogance. It was like an untempered blade, seemingly sharp but likely to break with a twist. A young person with a princess complex like Jiang Xiaoyuan always felt her pride was paramount, but it was mostly because she didn’t know how much hardship it took to maintain that pride. Ignorance is fearless.

The clothes Qi Lian bought for Jiang Xiaoyuan, though somewhat shocking in taste, indirectly expressed his opinion about her.

And it turned out that Qi Lian was mostly right—if he hadn’t been concerned and gone to check on her that evening, she might have wavered and replied to the message, acquiescing to the virus’s intent.

So, what did this stray cat think? Qi Lian suddenly became curious.

After work, Qi Lian drove straight to Mr. Chen’s salon. Upon entering, he saw Jiang Xiaoyuan curling a customer’s hair.—perhaps still not used to the smell of perm solution and was allergic. Her eyes were red from the smoke and looked like a rabbit, yet she still worked meticulously.

Qi Lian did not rush to interrupt but was spotted by the front desk.

The receptionist asked, “Sir, do you have an appointment?”

Qi Lian: “Find Fangzhou and have him give me a haircut.”

When Chen Fangzhou heard that Qi Lian was coming, he immediately left other clients and personally washed Qi Lian’s hair, leading him to a quieter corner, removing his glasses and placing them aside. Qi Lian’s sharp features were revealed under his hair.

Chen Fangzhou examined his face: “How about a Korean-style perm?”

Qi Lian: “Get lost.”

Chen Fangzhou: “How about a Chen Yixun[mfn]Eason Chan or Chen Yixun is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He is one of the most popular and influential singers in both Cantopop and Mandopop. [/mfn] cut? Oh! By the way, retro-style slicked-back hair is trending again this year. It’s a male god standard. Your hairline is good; it’ll look particularly fresh and clean. How about trying it?”

“Fresh and clean”  He shot him a deadly look: “Cut it short as it is. Dare to mess with my hair, and I’ll chop off your hands.”

Chen Fangzhou: “…”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets: “Cut it short? Eighty yuan. I’ll get an intern to do it. It’ll be done in twenty minutes—your relative’s sister is just starting out with haircuts, and this simple one is perfect for practice.”

Qi Lian remained seated: “If you say one more word of nonsense—”

Chen Fangzhou backed off faster than light: “… Okay, I’ll cut it short as it is.”

He walked forward like a bullied young wife, grabbed Qi Lian’s head a few times, casually twisted the ends of his hair and observed for a moment, showing a shit-shoveling expression, and reluctantly began to trim it.

Qi Lian: “How is she?”

“Who?” Chen Fangzhou was momentarily confused, then realized and shrugged casually. “Maybe a bit down?”

Qi Lian frowned slightly: “Down about what?”

Chen Fangzhou didn’t answer immediately, his ten fingers flew up and down, and he neatly trimmed the ends of half of Qi Lian’s hair like an invisible hand, flowing smoothly and even with a mysterious rhythm, which can be classified as art.

After finishing half, he moved his feet and said with some nonchalance: “At first, she wasn’t used to it, learning and familiarizing herself with people, not having time to think. Now that things are somewhat stable, she feels a bit off—think about it, Mr. Qi, she’s a young girl who’s just started out. Seeing the end of her future at a glance, how do you think she feels?”

Qi Lian frowned.

Chen Fangzhou: “Actually, everyone is the same. Those who struggle without seeing their way forward are depressed, and those who have a relatively stable job are also depressed. We look at the people around us and feel like our whole life will be like this, anxious and unwilling, of course, it’s painful. It’ll be better once that period passes—your sister seems like the type to get frustrated and overthink. A few days ago, she even tried to persuade me to open a special styling and makeup business in the store. Tsk!”

Qi Lian: “How did she come up with this?”

Chen Fangzhou: “She does have some skill, but skill doesn’t matter in front of me. Adding a new business in the store is not something I can decide.”

Qi Lian was silent for a while. After a moment, he suddenly said: “Add it for her. It’s fine.”

Chen Fangzhou was stunned: “… Huh?”

“I said, find a way to add this business for her,” Qi Lian said calmly. “I’ll figure out how to talk to your boss.”

Chen Fangzhou: “How…How will you say it?”

“Just say my mother came to your store, and while she was there, the young girl did her makeup. She thought it was good and would come again next time, and also wanted to introduce a few more customers.” Qi Lian said without changing his expression, improvising, “Your boss is a shrewd businessman. After hearing this, he’ll be itching to start a new business to make money… Oh, and if that happens, don’t tell anyone it was me who said it.”

Chen Fangzhou sharpened the scissors with a “creaking” sound for a long time, gritting his teeth: “I hate rich people the most.”

Three days later, just as Jiang Xiaoyuan was thinking that this path was blocked and was painfully rethinking her future, a notice came from the main store. It instructed all branches to use the upcoming Christmas as an opportunity for pre-promotion, to send personnel back to the main store for training, and to start a pilot for makeup and styling services before the Chinese New Year.

Upon receiving the training notice, Jiang Xiaoyuan could hardly believe it. Was her luck about to change?

 

 

 

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