Chapter 16: The Ninth Day

That night, Su Shengxin ate some light food and slept for a long time. By the next morning, her fever had completely subsided, though her face still bore a trace of fatigue.

The producer asked whether Su Shengxin could participate in the event that day. She confirmed she could, so the ninth day of the program proceeded as planned.

In the morning, they had to cooperate with the program’s title sponsor for some activities.

The show's rules were quite peculiar. First, the four “husbands” had to personally apply lipstick to their “wives.” In the morning, the makeup artists would do the facial makeup for the wives but leave the lips bare. The husbands then had to choose one lipstick from a vast array of products and complete the lip makeup themselves, showing the audience the effect. The process was expected to be full of unexpected moments, making the production team extremely curious and eager.

The show was masterful at maintaining balance. Afterwards, the husbands were also required to use a specific lipstick from the sponsor, but in a special way—the wives’ necks—be it the back, side, or front—would be marked with a straight line of lipstick, and the husbands would then kiss along this red line, coloring their lips. The final “makeup effect” would help the sponsor amplify their brand discussion.

It was a fresh and novel concept.

Once the production team was ready, the game recording began.

The actress, known for her stunning beauty, had an international director who was poor at makeup but excellent in aesthetic taste for women. He browsed through hundreds or thousands of products on the brand’s entire shelf before finally selecting a classic bright red shade.

On the ninth day of “Three Lifetimes of Promise,” the rules were relaxed once more: besides the lips, the face and neck could also be touched. The international director observed for a while, gently cupped his wife’s chin with his left hand, and the actress parted her lips, cooperating fully.

The director clearly didn’t understand the nuances of lip makeup but had seen it done a few times. So, he imitated the process, setting down the lipstick and picking up a lip liner pencil. However, he did not use the lip liner’s true function of refining the lip shape; instead, he meticulously traced the natural contours of her lips with the pencil, sealing them in. Then, he carefully applied the lipstick in several strokes on the upper and lower lips, leaving a layer of product. Finally, he took a small lip brush and carefully filled in the color.

He looked very serious, his eyes focused intently on every movement, as if treating it as his art. The director’s demeanor was elegant and classical, and this scene oddly reminded one of ancient Chinese eyebrow painting techniques.

For example, the subtle gradations in eyebrow shading… though at that moment it was lip coloring, not eyebrow painting.

The actress was already beautiful. Even with the director simply filling in the color along her natural lip line, the result was stunning.

After finishing, she smiled gently.

Next came the NBA player and the Hong Kong-Taiwanese singer.

The NBA player had a thoroughly straightforward male aesthetic. His eyes scanned the dazzling array of products on the shelf. When he spotted a deadly Barbie pink, his eyes lit up clearly. He immediately gripped it tightly and walked over to his wife, shaking it proudly as if claiming credit.

The singer hesitated for a moment, then smiled indulgently and whispered, “Go ahead.”

The NBA player’s hands were very large, making the lipstick seem tiny in comparison.

He also applied the lipstick seriously and carefully, carrying the delight and anticipation of personally making the person he loves look beautiful.

His technique was exactly the same as the international director’s. A few minutes later, he announced, “Done.”

The Hong Kong-Taiwanese singer was about twelve years older than the NBA player—now thirty-seven—with fans already calling him an “old man.” Wearing that pink shade inevitably looked a bit odd, but he smiled gently. Not only did the NBA player stare blankly, but the others suddenly found the look quite handsome.

After the pianist and the lead dancer came the female-female couple—a top investment bank executive and a genius chess player.

In such a program, when the woman took over, the approach was entirely different from the previous couples.

The investment bank executive adjusted his wife’s jaw, then skillfully selected seven or eight tools from the shelf, placing them aside.

Su Shengxin watched in fascination throughout the entire process.

Jiang Wen took out a tube of lip scrub, squeezed a bit out, and lightly applied it to his wife’s upper and lower lips with his fingertip, watching and waiting, occasionally glancing at the diamond watch on his wrist.

Because the process took so long, the chess player tried to speak, but Jiang Wen raised a finger to his lips, shushing him, so the chess player fell silent again.

A few minutes later, Jiang Wen gently fixed his wife’s chin and used his other hand’s fingertip to massage her lips in circles. Then, he took out a soft cotton pad and carefully exfoliated the old keratin from her lips.

The producer exclaimed, “Wow.”

Next, Jiang Wen pulled out a box of black contour powder, lightly applied it to conceal the original lip color, and sculpted the Cupid’s bow and the corners of the lips to appear more three-dimensional.

After finishing, Jiang Wen examined both sides of his wife’s lips, seeming quite satisfied. Then he carefully applied a bright red shade.

“???” The NBA player was bewildered, loudly asking, “Why—why only half the lips? Why is only half of the upper and lower lips painted???”

The bright red color was applied only to the lower half of the upper lip and the upper half of the lower lip.

“Also,” the NBA player continued after a while, “why did she draw a little triangle in the philtrum?”

Su Shengxin didn’t understand either. In the lowest depression of the philtrum, her husband had neatly filled in a red triangle with lipstick.

But Su Shengxin was eager to learn. He pulled out his phone to look it up and said, “That’s called a ‘Cupid’s bow triangle.’”

Shang Yin gave him a half-smile. Su Shengxin put away his phone and lifted his eyes. Their gazes met softly.

In front of the camera, the investment bank executive checked again, clearly more satisfied, then used the pad of his right middle finger to gently and patiently blend the red color from the inner lip outward along the edges, creating a gradient effect from deep inside to lighter on the outside. This gave Xiahou Miao’s lips a gradual gradient from deep to shallow. As the little triangle also blended out, the contrast between light and dark became more pronounced.

Jiang Wen stared for a while longer, then drew three triangles inside the lips with red color: two upright triangles inside the upper lip’s Cupid’s bow on each side, and one inverted triangle in the center of the lower lip. He blended these in with his fingertip, deepening the sense of fullness with the gradient effect.

Finally, Jiang Wen took out a transparent lip glaze and layered it carefully onto his wife’s lips. Instantly, her lips became crystal clear and three-dimensional, like a blooming peach blossom.

Plump and moist.

The investment bank executive held his wife’s chin, staring for a long moment. His gaze gradually became raw and unrestrained, impossible to control or suppress.

After a while, he sighed, slid his chair back, and left.

The show still forbade kissing. The genius chess player looked extremely aggrieved, sitting there calling, “Wen Wen…”

Jiang was even called “Wen Wen,” prompting Shang Yin to raise an eyebrow.

Su Shengxin, ever eager to learn, searched on his phone and said, “This lip makeup is called—”

His words trailed off. Shang Yin casually asked, “What is it called?”

“...” Su Shengxin replied, “Pouty lips.”

“???” Shang Yin asked, “Which ‘pouty’?”

“It’s—” Su Shengxin’s expression was calm, his eyes even calmer, but he couldn’t find a better way to describe it immediately. He paused, then made an octopus pouting emoji face, saying, “This one.”

Shang Yin chuckled, “I get it.”

Finally, it was Shang Yin and Su Shengxin’s turn.

Shang Yin obviously knew very little. He lightly speculated and pulled out a lipstick in a shade he remembered from Su Shengxin’s advertisements. Casually, he snapped the metal cap onto the table and picked up a lip brush.

Su Shengxin glanced at it and shook his head. As the brand ambassador, he knew well what suited him and what he should use. He didn’t want this appearance to affect his compatibility with the brand, so he proactively helped him. Bowing slightly, he first took out a lip balm, then a bright red lipstick with fine golden shimmer, opening both caps.

Seeing Shang Yin’s hands full, Su Shengxin lowered his eyes, circled the lipstick tube with his index finger, and gently tapped Shang Yin’s knee with the other three fingers below. His hand slipped naturally between Shang Yin’s parted knees, tapping twice on the inner side of Shang Yin’s left knee with the pads of his fingers to spread the knees slightly apart, then tapping twice on the inner side of the right knee with the backs of his fingers to spread it as well, revealing some of the chair surface. Then Su Shengxin placed the lipstick tube squarely on the exposed chair surface between Shang Yin’s legs.

Shang Yin wore bespoke tailored trousers, knees apart, motionless, eyes lowered looking at the lipstick standing between his legs.

Su Shengxin then placed the transparent lip balm in front of the lipstick.

A delicate metal tube, the opened lipstick and lip balm, flanked by strong thigh muscles and expensive tailored pants.

Shang Yin lifted his eyes, his gaze deep and inscrutable.

Their eyes met for a long moment. Shang Yin picked up the transparent lip balm, held Su Shengxin’s chin with one hand, and applied the balm with the other, carefully blending it to the lip edges with a small brush.

Su Shengxin obediently cooperated.

Shang Yin quietly glanced at the tip of Su Shengxin’s tongue between his teeth, tempted to tease it out and stir it until he could no longer swallow saliva.

After moisturizing, Shang Yin took the bright red, gold-shimmered brand lipstick, applied it, then brushed it again with the small brush.

Su Shengxin’s lips were beautifully shaped. Every line was so calm and distinct.

Every time the lips were pressed or released, or brushed and rubbed with the small brush, sliding to one side then returning, Shang Yin watched without blinking.

After a while, it was done.

Not as intricate as the female-female couple’s, but very beautiful.

Su Shengxin’s skin was very fair. Today, the makeup artist on “Three Lifetimes of Promise” had fitted him with a pair of ascetic metallic glasses, and lightly applied faint red under the outer corners of his eyes. Now, the cool, restrained gaze, the ascetic frames, the faint red under the eyes, and the color on his lips with the subtle golden shimmer above created a completely different aura.

Su Shengxin was always professional. He looked at Shang Yin, curling the corner of his lips.

Shang Yin’s face was impassive, calm and relaxed as ever, but his breathing faltered for a moment.

When Su Shengxin stood up, he accidentally knocked the used lipstick, which immediately tipped over, the tip falling first onto Shang Yin’s leather shoe before dropping to the floor.

The vivid red stain appeared on the pointed toe of Shang Yin’s shoe. Because the lipstick fell, the product piled up and left a messy mark.

Shang Yin looked at the shoe, then at Su Shengxin, who was doing the same. Their gazes entwined again, locked in a silent duel for a long moment.