After Being Reborn, I Had A Bad Ending With My First Love. - Chapter 10

The week before the National Day holiday, No.1 High School held its annual sports meet.

When Yan Sui entered the classroom, it was rare to find no students studying at their seats. Instead, they were gathered in small groups, chatting idly.

The props for the opening ceremony—colorful pom-poms—had already been placed beside the podium. The class monitor was crouched by a cardboard box, checking the prop count.

“Morning, Sui Sui.”

“Morning.” Yan Sui turned sideways and squeezed into her seat through the little gap Chen Ling had left for her.

Normally, her desk was piled high with textbooks, but now it was covered with a clutter of cosmetics, forcing her books to one side.

The school had explicitly forbidden students from wearing makeup. But on the first day of the sports meet, there was the opening ceremony, and many girls would take the chance to put on a light makeup look for their performance.

“Sorry, sorry.” Chen Ling apologized as she quickly moved the cosmetics from Yan Sui’s desk back onto her own.

“It’s fine, you can put them here.” Yan Sui stuffed the few books left on her desk into the cubby, hung her bag on the back of the chair, and sat down.

Once she was done, she looked at the table full of cosmetics. With no morning reading session, she suddenly didn’t know what to do with herself.

Unexpectedly, Chen Ling leaned her face close to hers: “Sui Sui, do you think this foundation shade is too pale for me?”

Chen Ling’s skin tone was naturally darker, and she usually wore thick glasses because of her severe nearsightedness. Many of the boys in class teased her behind her back, calling her “Little Blackie,” which made her feel insecure about her complexion.

But today, she had taken off her glasses, and to cover her natural skin tone she had chosen the lightest foundation shade. Without the rest of the makeup done, her face looked unnaturally pale.

Yan Sui gently pressed her shoulder back and studied her seriously before saying sincerely, “I don’t think this shade suits you.”

Chen Ling’s brows immediately drooped, and she said dejectedly, “But this is already the lightest shade I could find.”

Yan Sui shook her head. “The lightest shade doesn’t mean it’s the prettiest. Everyone has a different skin tone, so you should pick the foundation that matches you best. Don’t chase after ‘being white’—choose the shade that looks most natural on you.”

She had Chen Ling wipe off the foundation and borrowed a more natural shade from one of the other girls in class.

When she squeezed the foundation onto the back of her hand, Yan Sui suddenly remembered her previous life.

In her last life, in order to repay the massive debts her family had left behind, she had started doing odd jobs in high school to help cover living expenses.

But since she was underage and still a student, many places wouldn’t hire her for temporary work.

One day, after failing to find any jobs, she sat on a bench by the street at dinnertime, wondering what she would do with her future.

At that moment, a familiar voice reached her ears: “Yan Sui?”

It was Wen Qingman. She happened to be passing by and, seeing Yan Sui sitting there alone, couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing here?”

Back then, Wen Qingman had just been assigned to sit in front of Yan Sui. During breaks, she often turned around to chat with Yan Sui and Chen Ling about school gossip. She was one of the few lively students in class, got along well with Chen Ling, and together with their deskmates, the four of them often teamed up for school activities.

Some of the classmates who lived in the same neighborhood as Yan Sui had spread word of her family’s troubles, but since it was an honors class, the students didn’t waste much time gossiping, so it hadn’t caused much of a stir.

Chen Ling and Wen Qingman, being her closer classmates, had wanted to ask her about it several times but never dared.

Yan Sui herself didn’t think it was worth hiding. After all, it was Yan Zhaoting who had done wrong, not her. Why should she feel ashamed?

So when Wen Qingman asked, she answered honestly: “I’m looking for a job.”

When she said this, she had her own motives. She knew Wen Qingman’s family was well-off. If Wen could help her find a job, she could earn some money to help at home.

Wen Qingman’s face flashed with surprise, then pity. She sat down beside her and said, “So the rumors about your family were true. Are you really short of money right now?”

Yan Sui nodded.

“Wen Qingman, do you know anywhere that hires part-time workers on weekends?”

“I haven’t really paid attention to that,” Wen hesitated. “But Yan Sui, don’t you think working now will hurt your studies? We only have one year left before the college entrance exam. Even our rest time should be spent on studying.”

Hearing this, Yan Sui couldn’t help but find it ironic. Just over a month ago, she had never once worried about money.

She whispered, “I don’t have a choice. My family owes too much.”

That one sentence carried so much weight and complexity that Wen Qingman fell silent.

After a while, Wen suddenly said: “Yan Sui, would you like to work at my sister’s makeup store?”

“What?”

“Just helping with makeup. You probably can’t do it right away, but you could help out with chores and learn. Later, when you’ve practiced, you can help customers with makeup too.”

Yan Sui knew how it worked. Normally, even just doing chores at those stores required paying tuition as an apprentice, so she had never considered it.

“You don’t need to worry. You’re not going as an apprentice. You’ll just help clean and lend a hand while they do makeup. You can learn during your free time. No tuition, and you’ll still get paid.”

Yan Sui hesitated, but she wasn’t in a position to be picky.

If Wen Qingman could help her get this job, it would save her days of searching and give her a head start on earning money.

“Okay, I can do anything.”

“Then let’s go to my sister’s store now.”

“Mm.”

…

After securing the part-time job at Wen Qingman’s sister’s makeup store, Yan Sui felt so much lighter walking out than when she had gone in.

“Here.”

Just as she was quietly rejoicing, a bulging paper bag was handed to her.

She instinctively took it, opened it, and found a hamburger, some snacks, and a bottle of soda.

She looked at Wen Qingman in surprise. Wen shrugged: “I figured you hadn’t eaten, so I bought it from next door. Consider it a little celebration for starting your new job. But promise me, you won’t let this part-time work hurt your studies!”

Yan Sui smiled helplessly and nodded.

There wasn’t really anything to celebrate—she had only gotten the job because of Wen Qingman’s connections. Wen’s words were probably just to stop her from feeling awkward about it.

Wen waited with her at the bus stop for a while. Yan Sui ate the hamburger as they chatted casually until the bus arrived.

She had barely sat down after boarding when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

It was a message from Wen Qingman.

Wen Qingman: [I’m really glad you’re working at my sister’s shop.]
Wen Qingman: [I think this way, you’ll be safer~]
Wen Qingman: [Yan Sui, my classmate, please keep working hard from here on!]

Reading the three texts, Yan Sui’s nose stung.

Even if they were just classmates, even if neither of them could yet make their own decisions at that age—

Wen still did everything she could to help her.

And encourage her.

—

Because of those weekends in high school spent at the makeup store, Yan Sui had learned how to do makeup for others.

That skill later became one of her part-time jobs in college—

Doing makeup for clients.

—

Now, as she applied foundation to Chen Ling’s face, she felt as if she were back in those college part-time jobs.

Yan Sui deftly finished the base makeup.

Chen Ling’s skin was actually in great condition. Apart from her darker complexion, there were no major flaws. With the right shade, her complexion looked even and bright, without the unnatural paleness from before.

Chen Ling checked the mirror and was very satisfied.

After confirming the base, Yan Sui quickly set her makeup and added light touches. Since it was just a natural look, she finished fast.

The result: Chen Ling looked transformed yet still herself. Her natural features were highlighted, and small flaws covered. She looked completely different in style from usual.

Chen Ling praised it nonstop, and soon other girls noticed and crowded around, asking Yan Sui to do their makeup too.

In no time, her desk was surrounded.

But the morning was short. After Yan Sui finished a second classmate’s makeup, the homeroom teacher came to hurry the class downstairs to line up for the opening ceremony.

The ceremony had each class march in and perform for the leaders on the podium.

To save time for studying, Yan Sui’s class had prepared a simple poetry recitation.

Other classes, though, treated it differently—some went for the simplest acts, while others devoted themselves to elaborate performances.

After her class finished, they sat on the lawn in front of the podium to watch the rest.

Most student performances were the usual fare, but one group still caught Yan Sui’s eye—

The sophomore Arts Class (Class 1).

The arts class had mostly girls. Dressed in sequined cheer uniforms, with bright makeup and radiant smiles, they embodied youthful energy.

And Yan Sui’s gaze locked on the girl leading them.

She wore a cheer uniform in a different color from the others. With each dance move, the pom-poms in her hands seemed to come alive. Her skirt swayed as the “shh-shh” sound of the pom-poms blended seamlessly with the background music, accentuating every twist of her body.

Her high ponytail swished with each motion, yet never looked messy.

She was always like this—no matter the occasion, she could handle it with ease. Her face always carried a confident, winning smile.

“Isn’t that the new transfer student this year?” Chen Ling whispered in Yan Sui’s ear.

Before Yan Sui could answer, Wen Qingman leaned over and replied first: “Yeah, I know her. I think her name’s Yu Yunxi. I heard she’s really smart. She almost transferred into our class, but since she still wanted to take the arts exam, she went to the arts class instead.”

Chen Ling stared at the girl dancing, eyes shining. “She’s perfect for the arts exam. She looks like someone who’s destined for the entertainment industry.”

“Yeah, her family’s well-off too. She’ll probably enter showbiz someday.”

…

The topic kept revolving around Yu Yunxi. The ones talking were always Chen Ling and Wen Qingman, while Yan Sui sat between them, silent, her gaze fixed on Yu Yunxi.

Because she recognized her.

From her previous life, at university.