Could Ethan have gone to work?
But today was Saturday, why would he go to work?
Ethan had said last night that he would take care of her styling. Now he wasn’t home, so what was she supposed to do? There were only a few hours left before the evening banquet.
“Clara…” Someone knocked on the door.
It was June.
Clara quickly ran to open the door.
“June.”
June smiled and said, “Clara, I’m going out to get my styling done. Do you want to come with me?”
Clara hesitated.
Ethan had said he would handle her styling with his team.
But now he was nowhere to be seen, and he hadn’t called or messaged her.
She didn’t know what his plans were. Maybe… Ethan had forgotten about it.
Clara thought she should go with June to get her styling done.
Just as she was about to agree, the phone rang.
Clara said, “Let me take this call first.”
June nodded with a smile.
Clara turned back into the room to find her phone. Seeing it was Ethan calling, she quickly answered, “Hello…”
“Are you up?” Ethan asked.
Ethan’s voice over the phone sounded different from usual, slightly deeper and magnetic… almost like… the way he sounded in bed.
Clara blushed. “Yes.”
“The stylist will be at the house soon. Once you’re ready, wait for me at home. I have some things to take care of now, but I’ll come pick you up in the evening and we’ll go together,” Ethan said.
Clara replied, “Okay.”
Ethan hung up the phone.
June looked at Clara.
Why was Clara blushing just from taking a phone call?
Clara hung up and, still blushing, said to June, “Your brother said… he’s sending someone to the house for me, so I won’t go with you.”
A look of surprise flashed in June’s eyes.
She looked at Clara.
In her memory, her brother never cared about such things.
But now…
“Alright,” June said with a smile. “I’ll be going then.”
Clara nodded.
June left.
Clara threw herself onto the bed, her face still red.
She thought he was such a pervert.
Just hearing Ethan’s voice had made her think of those things…
How had she become like this?
Luckily, no one knew what she was thinking inside, otherwise… she would be too embarrassed to face anyone.
—
Ethan’s styling team arrived at two in the afternoon.
Clara had thought that a styling team would consist of at most two or three people.
But there were… more than ten people.
And each one carried a large case.
What was in those cases?
When the cases were opened, Clara realized… they were filled with dresses.
Clara looked at the dresses. She didn’t recognize all of them, but after cramming last night, she recognized a few… several looked familiar, like current season pieces from certain designers.
“Ma’am, let’s choose a dress first,” the stylist said. “Once we’ve chosen the dress, we’ll do your hair and makeup based on it.”
Clara nodded.
She picked through the dresses.
Finally… she chose a white dress.
It was a white spaghetti strap dress. Even without trying it on, it was clear it was very form-fitting.
White was the most basic color, not flashy, with simple and elegant cuts.
Clara liked it very much.
She felt this dress wasn’t flashy but wouldn’t make her blend into the crowd either.
“Ma’am, please change into the dress,” the stylist said.
Clara nodded.
She took the dress and went into the dressing room with the makeup artist.
Many dresses were difficult to put on and required assistance.
Clara hadn’t thought much about it before.
But once in the dressing room, when she took off her pajamas, she saw the marks on her chest.
Her face turned red instantly. She looked at the makeup artist in embarrassment and confusion.
This… Clara realized what was happening and hurriedly put her pajamas back on, her face flushed red.
The makeup artist saw it too but smiled without saying anything.
“I… think this dress… might not be suitable…” Clara stammered with a red face, feeling so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to hide in.
She hadn’t thought about it when choosing the dress… how could she wear a spaghetti strap dress with all those marks on her chest?
Although the dress wasn’t very revealing, it would still show part of her chest.
And she… even had ambiguous marks on her collarbones and neck.
“Ma’am, it’s okay,” the makeup artist said with a smile. “Any marks can be covered with concealer.”
Hearing this made Clara’s face turn even redder with embarrassment.
She had wanted to go out and choose another dress.
But thinking back… most of those dresses were quite sexy.
The one she chose was relatively conservative.
“Really… can they be covered?” Clara asked.
Could such obvious marks really be covered?
The makeup artist nodded with a smile. “Yes, they can.”
Clara hesitated for a moment and said, “Alright then.”
She then took the dress to a private spot and changed into it.
The makeup artist looked at Clara in the dress.
Almost immediately upon seeing Clara, she had an idea in mind.
“Really… can they be covered?” Clara asked again with a red face. Looking at herself in the mirror, the white dress made her skin look even fairer but also made those ambiguous marks more noticeable.
“Yes,” the makeup artist said with a smile. “Please trust me.”
Clara nodded.
What else could she do but trust her?
She decided to trust her for now.
If the marks couldn’t be covered, she would choose another conservative dress later.
The makeup artist began doing Clara’s makeup, starting with her body.
The main task was to cover those marks on Clara’s body.
Initially, Clara was skeptical.
Could such deep marks really be covered?
But… when the makeup artist finished, she was amazed.
Really… after watching the makeup artist apply layer after layer of concealer and foundation, all those ambiguous marks were covered. And it looked very natural; the products used blended seamlessly with her skin tone.
Clara knew how to do makeup herself.
But compared to this makeup artist…
She felt like a kindergarten student compared to a PhD holder.
With all those ambiguous marks thoroughly covered, Clara felt relieved.
The makeup artist led Clara out of the room.
The stylist looked at Clara for a moment and had an idea. Then he instructed his team-some worked on her hair while others did her makeup. Several people busied themselves around Clara.
Clara felt like a doll being dressed up by them.
It wasn’t until five in the afternoon that they finished.
When they were done, Clara looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She blinked… Was this really her?
But… it was a version of her that had never been so beautiful before.
Her long hair was straightened perfectly and parted in the middle. She wore delicate light makeup.
Actually… the makeup steps were similar to what she usually did herself, but… she had never looked this good before when doing it herself.
She looked very pure and innocent.
The stylist had analyzed Clara’s age, temperament, and appearance to create this look for her.
The young girl had a pure look with a bit of baby fat on her face; there was no need for a sexy style.
Pure and innocent suited her well.
Clara already looked youthful on her own.
The stylist and makeup artist just enhanced that youthful charm even more.
Even though she wore a spaghetti strap dress, it didn’t make her look exposed at all.
Instead, she looked like a pure and innocent girl-white-skinned and clean-looking-very beautiful indeed.
Clara liked this version of herself very much.
She knew she was just ordinarily pretty, not stunningly beautiful. But after the styling team’s meticulous work, her pure look could make people take notice.
She understood the styling team’s intention.
They avoided the universally loved sexy look and highlighted her natural qualities instead.
“Thank you, I really like it,” Clara sincerely thanked the styling team.
“Ma’am, you’re welcome. It’s our job,” said the stylist.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they left.
Clara waited at home for Ethan while admiring herself in the mirror from time to time.
This version of herself… was really beautiful.
When Ethan returned home, he saw Clara admiring herself in front of the mirror.
But… he had to admit that today Clara indeed had every reason to admire herself in the mirror.
Today she looked as fresh and bright as a campus belle from a novel-wearing a white dress and smiling brightly-attracting attention from boys who whistled as she walked by on the street corner.
Clara noticed Ethan and blushed immediately.
When had he come back?
How long had he been there?
Had he seen her admiring herself in front of the mirror?