The stolen kiss never came. Yang Yi wasn't exactly a gentleman, but he was very mindful of Mo Fei's feelings—what if she got upset?
Besides, Xixi was in the back seat, her big eyes sparkling as she watched. Even if they could get intimate, this wasn't the time!
Mo Fei kept her eyes closed, caught in a tangle of emotions, letting Yang Yi work on her disguise. Her daughter's occasional exclamations from behind made her both uneasy and curious.
"Alright! Take a look in the mirror." Yang Yi's magnetic voice sounded by her ear, then he gently pressed her shoulders to sit her up straight and let go.
Mo Fei quickly opened her eyes, grabbed her touch-up mirror, and checked what Yang Yi had done to her.
"That's not Mommy..." Xixi said weakly from behind. If she hadn't watched the whole process, she'd have trouble accepting this transformation. Even so, seeing her mother's current appearance, she still doubted her own eyes.
Right! Was that even herself in the mirror?
Surprise flickered in Mo Fei's eyes.
Her eyebrows looked a bit thicker, which was fine, but the main thing was that under Yang Yi's special eyeliner technique, her eye shape had undergone a strange change, looking completely different from before!
Of course, it wasn't ugly—Yang Yi's makeup skills were incredible!
Not only that, Mo Fei noticed that the skin tone on her face and along her neckline had darkened a bit, as if she'd been to Africa. Her nose and lip shapes had also subtly shifted under the cover of highlighter and eyeshadow.
"What's this?" Mo Fei touched a black dot below the corner of her eye, thinking it was a stray mark from Yang Yi's hand.
"It's called a beauty mark," Yang Yi chuckled. "I drew it with eyeliner pencil, eyeshadow, and your liquid liner."
Mo Fei was almost ready to bow down to Yang Yi. A man could not only casually rattle off the names of women's makeup products but also "paint a beautiful face." If he hadn't just explained it, she'd want to crack open his head to see what was inside!
"Is this enough? Xixi, can you tell it's Mommy?" Mo Fei turned to ask her daughter, still uncertain. This wasn't a small matter—if their identities were discovered, it would be trouble.
Xixi stared at her mother's face, her little expression conflicted. She pouted and said, "I don't think it's Mommy."
Then, a bright idea struck her. She covered her eyes with her hands and giggled, "If I can't see, then it's Mommy!"
Mo Fei breathed a sigh of relief. If even her daughter couldn't recognize her, it should be fine, right? But then Yang Yi thought of something and had Mo Fei lean her head over so he could do her hair.
Yang Yi braided Xixi's hair almost every day, often in different styles, so he was not only skilled at it but also had hair ties in his pocket...
Mo Fei's originally loose, center-parted long curls were smoothed down by Yang Yi, leaving only two strands hanging by her temples. The rest was gathered above her ears and tied into a ponytail at the back of her head.
The ponytail was tucked inward, then braided into a three-strand plait. He gently pulled at the braid to give it a fluffy look, and finally, he lightly tousled Mo Fei's bangs, turning her center part into a slightly airy fringe (though uncut, it was a bit heavy).
"Take a look!" Yang Yi called out to Mo Fei, who had closed her eyes, her face flushed with shyness.
Mo Fei looked in the mirror again and barely recognized herself—the youthful hairstyle and the rosy, lively face made her look no different from a girl in her early twenties! She couldn't help but cup her cheeks in delighted surprise.
Xixi recognized the hairstyle and proudly told her mom, "Mommy, I'll tell you, Daddy did Xixi's hair like this before!"
"Haha, Xixi, isn't your dad amazing? In no time, he's swapped you for a new mommy!" Yang Yi laughed, teasing his daughter, unfazed.
"It's not a new mommy!" Xixi wasn't that easy to fool. She pouted and said, "She's still my mommy, just, just looks different. Xixi still likes the original mommy..."
"It's okay. After we watch the concert tonight, your mommy can use makeup remover and go back to how she was." Yang Yi reached out and ruffled the little one's head.
"Hey, my hair's a mess..." Xixi protested.
Mo Fei looked at Yang Yi playing with their daughter, her expression complicated. Inside, happiness was still overflowing—whether from when Yang Yi had cupped her face earlier or now. But she felt a bit flustered because Yang Yi had been giving her too many "surprises" lately. Such rapid changes made Mo Fei feel like things were moving too fast, leaving her with a sense of insecurity.
But there was no time to dwell on it. Yang Yi started the "Baolang," and they had to hurry to the Red People Music Hall. Though it was in the same district, the makeup and hairstyling had eaten up their time, making it tight.
...
Outside the music hall, a short line was queuing for ticket checks—most fans had already gone in. In a more distant corner, Yang Yi held Xixi in his left arm and waved his right hand at Mo Fei, who was hiding in the shadows.
"Come on, don't be scared!" Yang Yi said with a smile. "I checked, no paparazzi staking out."
The concert was about to start, and the paparazzi following Chen Yijie wouldn't be hanging around the entrance—they'd be at the backstage door instead.
Mo Fei pressed down on her hat brim, suppressing her racing heart, and muttered as she stepped out, "It's all your fault, not even letting me wear a mask. If we get caught, it's on you!"
They joined the queue for ticket verification, and soon someone lined up behind them. Mo Fei was so nervous she pressed close to Yang Yi, their shoulders occasionally brushing.
"Hey, you..." Suddenly, a girl behind them curiously leaned in.
Mo Fei's face drained of color in fright, but luckily, under the dim streetlights outside, the change wasn't noticeable. Just then, a large hand reached over and grasped her cold, delicate one. The warmth gave Mo Fei enough strength to keep a faint smile on her face.
"Oh, nothing, I thought you were a friend of mine." The girl instead looked embarrassed and apologized to Mo Fei.
So it was just a misunderstanding...
"That's really rude of you!" The girl's companion scolded her.
"I'm so awkward too. From the back, I thought it was A-Sam, but it's not, though she's super pretty..." Mo Fei stopped listening to their murmurs. The huge weight in her heart finally lifted.
But Yang Yi didn't let go of her hand, as if he'd forgotten. Mo Fei hesitated for a moment but didn't pull away.
Standing in the crowd, holding hands like this felt pretty nice...