Chapter 52: Asian Sorcery (Makeup)

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Asian Sorcery (Makeup)

She put the money into the plastic bag she carried with her, wrapped it round and round, tied it tightly, and then stuffed it into her deepest pocket.

At noon, she went to work at the restaurant again.

Working at the restaurant was much more exhausting than sorting vegetables or collecting scrap. During her two-hour shift, she spun non-stop like a top. The bright side was that the boss provided her with a meal, so she didn’t have to worry about lunch.

Just as Yun Zhen was about to leave the restaurant, Brother Yang said to several waiters, "A student at the University City College of Arts and Sciences ordered food, and we have to deliver it ourselves. I’ll pay a twenty-yuan delivery fee. Which of you wants to go?"

Hearing this, the waiters looked at each other. A twenty-yuan delivery fee was quite high. After all, it was only a ten-minute walk from here to University City, or a single stop by bus. Yet, none of them wanted to go. There were fewer customers in the afternoon, so the waiters could go to their dorms to rest between two and three o’clock. Being dead tired from the lunch rush, who would be willing to run around for twenty yuan?

Yun Zhen was willing! She was going to "Da Xue City" to sell her crochet dolls anyway.

She raised her hand. "Brother Yang, let me deliver it. I happen to be going there."

"Yun Zhen?" Brother Yang pulled out twenty yuan and handed it to her. "Then be quick about it. Don’t make the customer wait too long, or we’ll get a complaint."

Yun Zhen said solemnly, "Don’t worry, Brother Yang, I’ll definitely deliver the food to the customer early!"

Brother Yang suddenly thought of a problem. "Do you know the way?" If it weren’t for the fact that no one else wanted to go, he really wouldn’t have bothered Yun Zhen.

"I can ask for directions," Yun Zhen said.

Brother Yang reminded her, "Remember the address: the school gate of the University City College of Arts and Sciences. Leave it on the stone steps on the right side of the main gate. The customer will pick it up themselves."

Yun Zhen indicated that she understood, and so she set off on her mission. She didn’t know where "Da Xue City" was, but she could ask for directions.

She discovered another advantage of this world. The pedestrians on the road were very friendly. When asked for directions, they would point the way if they knew it, unlike in her world, where one had to pay a copper coin as a speaking fee.

She walked and asked along the way. "Excuse me, where is ’Da Xue City’?"

"Da Xue... you mean University City, right? Just walk straight ahead and you’ll see it." The person she asked was almost thrown off, realizing the young girl just had a heavy accent.

Yun Zhen asked three people and soon arrived at the so-called "Da Xue City."

She froze for a moment. "Da Xue City" was bustling with activity. There were so many pedestrians, and the iron-shell bug cars driving on the road were fast and crowded. However, she didn’t see the city gates of "Da Xue City."

She found someone and confirmed it twice. She was sure she hadn’t gone the wrong way.

She continued to walk and ask, "Where is the College of Arts and Sciences?"

A friendly passerby pointed the way for her. "Just turn right under the pedestrian overpass ahead. It has a white marble school gate, and there’s a food street next to it."

"Thank you!"

Yun Zhen actually didn’t understand the full meaning of his words, only looking in the direction he pointed. After asking two more people, she finally found the place!

She tilted her head up and looked at the towering white marble gate in front of her. Her eyes widened, her mouth hanging open in shock. A sense of timidity arose in her heart, making her a bit afraid to step forward.

Had she arrived at the Imperial Palace?

The main gate was bigger and taller than the city gates of her home county. It looked like the legendary white jade, radiating a pure and flawless light under the sun.

What kind of place was this exactly? Could it be that a group of high-ranking officials lived inside?

No! She saw many young women going in and out of the gate. Whether male or female, the young people coming out of here all carried a scholarly aura.

She saw people constantly passing by the jade-white gate. From time to time, people would place various bowls and containers on the white steps, and many people bent over to check the slips of paper attached to them.

Brother Yang had told her to leave the food on the stone steps, right? She walked over and placed the tightly wrapped bag in her hand onto the steps.

Finding an empty spot, she took out the yellow cloth and crochet dolls from her bag and arranged them neatly. This area was much more bustling than the vegetable market, with way more people. She also saw a few young women who, just like her, had laid out a piece of cloth or a simple folding table covered with a bunch of small trinkets.

She saw people selling flowers, selling candied haws, and even someone using a large bug-like car to pull a whole load of fruits to sell. It was so lively that her eyes couldn’t take it all in.

"Little girl, how much is this Piggy Hero?" A question pulled Yun Zhen’s attention back.

In front of her stood a young couple. The girl squatted down and picked up a Piggy Hero doll. It had a cocky expression and a leaf perched on its head. She liked it the moment she saw it.

Yun Zhen demanded an exorbitant price: "One hundred yuan!"

She took a deep breath, not feeling guilty at all. These few crochet dolls were much more complicated to make than the ones she had sold before. Their clothes were exquisite, and they had many colors. She figured she would try to sell them for a hundred, and if they didn’t sell, she would lower the price back to the original sixty yuan.

"Huh? One hundred is too expensive. Even though your craftsmanship is good and the items are exquisite, they aren’t worth that price." The girl regretfully put the item down and pulled her companion away.

Failing to make the sale, Yun Zhen couldn’t help but feel disappointed for a moment. She felt a bit of regret—was it too late to change the price to sixty?

"Little girl, we meet again! I didn’t expect you to come to our school to sell your crochet dolls."

A young and cheerful voice rang out. Yun Zhen froze for a moment. She looked up and found the person somewhat familiar.

The girl’s face was clean and fair. She smiled and said, "Little girl, don’t you recognize me? I bought six crochet dolls from you before and gave them to my roommates as graduation souvenirs."

Yun Zhen’s eyes widened. "It’s you!"

It was exactly because the woman in front of her had bought six crochet dolls that she had earned so much money for the first time. No wonder she looked familiar.

Yun Zhen felt annoyed with herself. How could she not recognize her just because she changed clothes?

She observed her carefully. "I’m so sorry, I didn’t recognize you. You changed your clothes, your face got whiter, your eyes got bigger, and your nose got taller. Eh? Even your mouth changed color. You look much prettier than before!"

How strange!

She remembered that the last time she came, Su Yue’s face wasn’t this white, her eyes weren’t this big, and her nose was round and full, unlike the defined angles it had now. Her lips had also changed from a dull red to a deep red. Even with makeup, it shouldn’t be possible to look completely different from before, right? Did she have some secret recipe for beauty?

Yun Zhen stared at her in astonishment. Her words were a little too honest, causing Su Yue to blush.

Of course! She had been bare-faced last time, but today she had put on makeup. "Ahem, little girl, you’ll understand when you grow up. Your big sister here used Asian sorcery!"

Yun Zhen suddenly stiffened, her face turning pale!

Sorcery?

Su Yue noticed Yun Zhen’s abnormal expression and was taken aback. Had she scared someone just by putting on makeup?

"Little girl, I just put on some makeup. It shouldn’t have scared you this much, right?"

Makeup? She had applied makeup?

Yun Zhen’s lips trembled. "But you just said sorcery..."

"Pfft!" Su Yue couldn’t hold back her laughter. "Hahaha! Did you mistake Asian sorcery for actual demonic sorcery?"

How could there be such an innocent little girl!

Su Yue laughed until tears came to her eyes. Suddenly, she realized it wasn’t very polite. "I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it just now. Little girl, I apologize for scaring you. It’s a misunderstanding. Ahem, a total misunderstanding."

Oh, Yun Zhen’s poor heart! It was jumping all over the place.

Forget it, it was just her own lack of worldly experience. She could tell that the woman in front of her bore no ill will. She probably just thought of Yun Zhen as a country bumpkin, which was why she couldn’t help but laugh.

But Yun Zhen was also genuinely shocked! How could the people of this world be so smart yet so eccentric? To think they actually referred to applying makeup as sorcery! She felt afraid, repulsed, and even a little superstitious about it.