During the days of preparing to return to her home country, Xu Xiu wasn’t idle either.
She bought a set of cosmetics and dragged her suitcase to the commercial street nearby.
After laying out all the bottles and jars, she placed a sign she had prepared in advance:
[For only 3Y yuan, let mysterious Eastern power transform you completely.]
The striking slogan immediately attracted attention, and soon a small crowd gathered.
Xu Xiu didn’t rely on words to promote herself. Instead, she proved her skill through action.
She carefully held Xu Zhirang’s little face and began applying makeup.
Xu Zhirang noticed more and more people gathering around. His small face tensed up, looking very serious.
But inside, he was already so shy and awkward that his fingers were twisting together.
He wanted to tell his mother they should go home, but then he remembered her promise—after finishing, she would draw Ultraman on his arm—so he held back.
Just like that, lured by Ultraman, Xu Zhirang obediently stayed seated.
Under Xu Xiu’s focused hands, a blue butterfly that looked like it was about to take flight soon appeared beside the corner of his eye.
The crowd gasped in surprise.
Not long after, a mother pushed through the crowd.
Her daughter was going to attend a runway show nearby, and she asked whether Xu Xiu could do stage makeup for her child.
Xu Xiu smiled slightly and agreed immediately.
That was exactly her purpose in setting up the stall here.
She had done research in the past few days: a nearby mall would be holding a children’s runway show in the afternoon.
Prices in this city were extremely high, and very few parents were willing to spend dozens of yuan on makeup for their children.
So she specially bought face paints safe for children’s skin and attracted customers with extremely low prices.
As expected, she successfully drew in parents.
Xu Xiu studied the girl in front of her. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and her outfit was a mermaid costume, so Xu Xiu designed a mermaid-style makeup look for her and added shimmering scales.
Her features shimmered like rippling water, perfectly matching her outfit.
After one makeup was finished, more parents quickly lined up.
Xu Zhirang sat nearby holding a hat, which contained the money people had given him.
He hugged the hat tightly, but his eyes kept drifting toward Xu Xiu.
He had never seen his mother like this before.
So focused, so serious—so much so that it felt like she naturally drew everyone’s attention.
Admiration quietly grew in Xu Zhirang’s eyes.
Xu Xiu worked quickly and finished makeup for more than ten children in no time.
After being done, the children didn’t leave. Instead, they sat in a circle around her, watching curiously.
Like living advertisements, the children wore different designs—blue ocean waves, cute little deer, and other styles—which attracted even more people.
Soon, even more people lined up.
Outside the crowd, a Bentley was waiting at a red light.
In the back seat, a man in a suit looked cold and distant. After closing the documents, he tiredly removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Xingyi, look over there. It’s lively. They look like they’re also Chinese.”
Hearing his friend’s words, Shen Xingyi casually turned to look out the window.
He was about to look away immediately, but upon seeing a certain side profile, he suddenly pressed the button beside him.
The car window slowly rolled down.
From a few meters away, a black-haired girl sat by the roadside, earnestly doing makeup for children.
Her profile was strikingly beautiful, with a high nose bridge and a perfectly defined jawline.
Stray strands of hair were tucked behind her ear, though the wind occasionally lifted them, brushing across her cheek.
Perhaps satisfied with her work, she slightly curved her lips, her eyes bright and smiling.
Shen Xingyi recognized her at a glance.
The girl he had met at the mall that day.
Even though it had only been a brief encounter, he somehow remembered her clearly.
His cold eyes sharpened slightly as he looked at her, and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed together—a habit he had when thinking.
Soon, the car started moving again, and he withdrew his gaze without lingering.
He suppressed the strange sense of familiarity and pressed his thin lips together.
Before leaving Country Y, Xu Xiu had already earned a small amount of money from street makeup.
The mother and son didn’t have much luggage, each carrying a suitcase as they arrived at the airport.
As soon as they entered the terminal, the familiar “novel plot” came crashing in.
Because Xu Xiu, just like in the novel, ran into the female lead here.
It was the same woman who had appeared beside Shen Xingyi in a photo before—Lin Youqiao.
She walked past them and headed straight toward the VIP lounge.
In the original plot, the host had decided to return early after seeing that photo, so when they met on the plane, she immediately recognized her.
But now, although Xu Xiu’s timing of returning home was different from the novel, the story still strangely followed the same direction.
Was this… the unavoidable force of the plot?
Xu Xiu’s mood sank slightly.
Beside her, Xu Zhirang was completely unaware of her thoughts and was absorbed in curiosity.
It was his first time on a plane. From check-in to boarding, he tried hard to stay calm, but his little face kept looking around.
He kept asking Xu Xiu what this and that were.
Their relationship had improved greatly during this period, and Xu Zhirang was no longer as afraid of her as before.
“Mom, are we going to fly up soon?”
After boarding, hearing the announcement, he asked excitedly in a soft voice.
Xu Xiu forced a slight smile.
“Yeah. If you’re sleepy, just sleep a bit.”
“I’m not sleepy, Mom.”
The little kid had been so excited that he stayed awake until midnight, then got up early for the flight.
After all that, even Xu Xiu felt tired, but Xu Zhirang was still full of energy.
While talking to him, Xu Xiu couldn’t help glancing toward the curtain in front of them.
According to the novel, Lin Youqiao had argued with her brother and stormed out of first class in anger, asking the flight attendant to find her another seat.
That seat just happened to be next to Xu Xiu and her son.
Xu Xiu thought that since the timing had already shifted but the encounter still happened, the rest of the plot would probably follow the same path.
And sure enough, Lin Youqiao soon came out from behind the curtain just like in the story.
Her expression wasn’t good as she walked over and sat beside Xu Xiu.
It was a three-seat row. Xu Zhirang sat by the window to look outside, Xu Xiu sat in the middle, and Lin Youqiao sat on the other side.
Lin Youqiao didn’t look at them, turned her body away, and wore sunglasses, looking sulky.
Xu Xiu felt complicated.
Thinking about what would happen next in the novel, she rubbed her forehead helplessly.
Since the plot couldn’t be avoided anyway, she decided to go with the flow.
After the plane stabilized, the flight attendants began serving meals. When they reached their row, Lin Youqiao waved it off and refused.
Xu Xiu suddenly had an idea and turned slightly, about to intervene.
But in the next second, Lin Youqiao’s hand accidentally knocked into another passenger’s drink, spilling juice onto her sleeve.
“Ah… what are you doing?”
Lin Youqiao’s exclamation made Xu Xiu close her eyes briefly.
As expected—it still couldn’t be avoided.
Next came the flight attendant’s apology and Lin Youqiao’s slightly reproachful complaint.
Seeing Xu Zhirang about to speak, Xu Xiu shot him a warning glance.
“Eat your food. Don’t talk.”
Xu Zhirang obediently stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and stayed quiet.
In the original novel, the host had felt jealous upon seeing Lin Youqiao standing beside the male lead and ended up mocking her.
But Lin Youqiao had skillfully shut her down, causing other passengers to criticize the host instead.
Even her son had been forced to apologize to Lin Youqiao.
The incident was secretly filmed and uploaded online, and edited clips led to the host being cyberbullied.
Thinking about all that trouble, Xu Xiu decided to stay out of it.
But she didn’t realize that although she kept her mouth shut, her son—Xu Zhirang—was an unpredictable variable.