Chapter 295: Beauty or Beast?
“Ancestor… if you’re not here to punish me, then…” Shao Wanwan finally relaxed once she was sure she wouldn’t be disciplined. Her voice softened as she asked the question lingering in her heart.
“The stuff I told you to bring. Did you?” Wang Haoran asked calmly.
“Of course!” she nodded with exaggerated earnestness, quickly producing several thin, flat pouches—each only about two fingers wide. She respectfully handed them over.
Wang Haoran accepted them without a word. “That’s all. You can go.”
“Yes, Ancestor. This subordinate takes her leave.” She gave a proper bow. But when she straightened up again, her heart jolted—he was gone.
Not a sound. Not a shadow. She hadn’t even sensed his departure.
We were barely half a meter apart… and I didn’t feel a thing… The sheer mastery of it made Shao Wanwan’s reverence deepen all over again.
Meanwhile, Wang Haoran returned to the set.
Filming was still underway.
Director Gu Nanfeng and leading actor Shen Yixing were caught up in scenes, while Lu Beige was on a business call nearby—he’d been on it for over ten minutes and showed no signs of stopping. Well, with a hundred-billion-dollar company to manage, long calls weren’t exactly shocking. Li Yunxi, on the other hand, was just a background actor today. She had a quick appearance, then wrapped up early. With no more scenes and the leading men all busy, no one was paying her any attention.
For someone like her, used to being the center of male attention, the sudden lack of admirers felt… unsettling.
Left with nothing to do, she wandered back to the extras’ break area.
It was quiet. Most of the other background actors had gone to watch filming, leaving the room empty.
Li Yunxi welcomed the peace. She sat down, pulled out her phone, and started scrolling through Douyin.
But after a few swipes, her eyelids grew heavy. She leaned back into the chair… and drifted off.
She had no idea how long she’d slept before she slowly stirred awake.
Checking her phone, she saw that only twenty minutes had passed.
And yet… she felt groggy, like she’d been asleep for hours. Her limbs ached dully, and an unexplainable discomfort lingered across her whole body.
Still, she brushed it off and got up, heading back to the set.
But as she walked, she found herself craving attention again. She’d gotten too used to being doted on by pretty boys. The silence felt unnatural.
Returning to the filming area, she was disappointed to find that Gu Nanfeng and Shen Yixing were still mid-shoot.
Lu Beige? Still on the phone. Seriously—what kind of call lasted half an hour?
But then again, he was the CEO of a hundred-billion-yuan group. Busy was normal.
She’d just have to wait.
Right at that moment, another handsome guy strolled by. He wasn’t part of the shoot and clearly had free time.
Seeing him, Li Yunxi’s eyes lit up. She raised her chin and called out dramatically, “Walking right past me like that… trying to get my attention, are you?”
Wang Haoran stopped mid-step, turned, and deadpanned, “There’s only one path here. I’m just passing through. Don’t flatter yourself. I’m really not interested in you.”
Li Yunxi tilted her head, as if she’d seen through his soul. “Playing hard to get? You think I can’t tell?”
She snorted and added, “Forget it. That tactic doesn’t work on me. If you really want to pursue me, be straightforward about it.”
Pursue you? Why not just call it simping at this point?
Wang Haoran sneered inwardly, then said aloud, “You think a bit too highly of yourself. You really think you’re beautiful?”
Li Yunxi lifted her chin higher, smug. “Look at my eyes, my lips, my nose, my face shape. This isn’t beautiful?”
Wang Haoran’s voice dripped with scorn. “I only acknowledge natural beauty. Anyone caked in makeup? Automatically disqualified.”
Li Yunxi’s smile froze. “I look good without makeup too!”
Wang Haoran smirked.
She couldn’t take it. “Don’t believe me? Fine, watch closely!”
Li Yunxi was confident in her natural looks. Determined to prove him wrong, she stormed off, returned with a bottle of cleansing water and cotton wipes… and started removing her makeup right there on the spot.
Less than a minute later, she looked up again, face bare. “Now. Say it. Am I beautiful or not?”
Wang Haoran stared at her. His expression… odd.
“If this counts as beautiful,” he said dryly, “then there really are no ugly women left in the world.”
Li Yunxi’s face fell. “You’ve either got no taste… or you’re just lying through your teeth!”
She turned to the crowd around her. “Hey! Do I look like an ugly woman to you?”
The surrounding extras had already started whispering. Now, faced with her bare face, they couldn’t hold back.
“You… you’re Li Yunxi?” one of the extras—someone who’d worked with her before—asked hesitantly.
“Obviously! Can’t you tell?” Li Yunxi frowned. Her makeup and bare-face difference wasn’t that dramatic, was it?
The actress stared a second longer, then, recognizing her voice, gasped, “You—your bare face is… hideous!”
Li Yunxi’s expression turned cold. “Xiao Zhen, are you seriously that jealous of me? I thought we were friends.”
But Xiao Zhen just shook her head solemnly. “You should really put the makeup back on.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?! Where am I ugly?” Li Yunxi shot back, growing defensive.
Xiao Zhen had no idea how to answer… so she said nothing.
Li Yunxi, now fuming, looked to the other extras. “What about you? You all think I’m ugly too?”
“UGLY!”
A chorus of voices rang out—dozens of extras speaking in perfect unison.
“You’re all blind!” Li Yunxi snapped, voice rising.
“My god, have you never looked in a mirror after putting on makeup? You don’t know how much of a difference it makes?”
“Yeah! Being ugly isn’t your fault, but scaring people sure is.”
“This is some next-level makeup sorcery. Damn.”
“Ugh, I almost lost my appetite for dinner.”
At first, no one wanted to say anything. But once Li Yunxi started going off on them, the crowd couldn’t help but push back.
One person’s comment she could ignore—but with everyone saying it, it started to sink in.
Maybe I didn’t clean off all the makeup properly?
She pulled Xiao Zhen aside. “Did you bring a makeup mirror?”
Xiao Zhen nodded and handed one over.
Li Yunxi took it, stared into the reflection…
And screamed.
She was shocked speechless. The woman in the mirror had dull, lifeless eyes, dry cracked lips, speckled freckles, and rough skin.
No. No way. This isn’t real. Must be dirt. She rubbed her face hard, making her cheeks sting. But the flaws didn’t disappear.
AHHHHH!
She lost it, shrieking so loudly it pierced the heavens.
And at that exact moment… her three knights—no, her three simps—came charging in.
Each of them had dropped everything the moment her scream rang out, sprinting at top speed like Olympic sprinters.
“Xixi! Don’t be afraid! I’m here!”
“Who dared to bully Yunxi?!”
“Yunxi, Brother Lu is here to protect you!”
Three voices echoed across the set, full of passion and blind devotion.
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