Rebirth on the Doors to the Civil Affairs Bureau

Chapter 19 Lipstick

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New York!

In a Department store!

Xia Feng was looking to buy a lipstick for Yu Dong and was browsing at the cosmetics corner. The clerk recommended many colors, but Xia Feng didn’t know which ones to buy so he stopped thinking so hard and called Yu Dong.

Yu Dong was currently on the bus to work. When she saw the caller ID she was surprised: “Xia Feng?”

“I’m buying lipstick for you but there’s too many colors. What colors do you usually use?” Xia Feng asked.

Lipstick? “What lipstick?”

“Item 55 on your list.” Xia Feng said.

“Oh!” Only then did Yu Dong remember. But then she released what was happening and couldn’t believe it, asking: “You aren’t actually….Are you buying me one of each everyday?”

“No, I’m buying your masks all in one go. If I buy those once a day, I’m afraid the clerk will scold me.” Xia Feng said.

“Hah!” Yu Dong couldn’t help but smile, “You bought everything on the list?”

“I’ve bought most of it.”

“You’re quite obedient.” Yu Dong raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you ask me to buy it?” Xia Feng heard Yu Dong’s disbelieving tone and asked, “You didn’t just write this list casually to amuse me, did you?”

Thinking about it, while there were many things on the list, they had no specific brand, price or color. Most of the items only had one requirement: That they’re good-looking.

“Of course not.” Yu Dong tried to change the subject with a guilty heart. “Which counter are you in now?”

Xia Feng looked at the sign and said, “CHANEL.”

“What color are they?”

Xia Feng picked up several colors recommended by the clerk and said, “The clerk said that colors 1, 2 and 11 are more popular this year…”

Yu Dong blinked and asked, “What’s the date today? ”

“Ha?” Xia Feng was stupefied, “November 6th.”

“Then 11 and 6.” Yu Dong didn’t bother to be picky.

“Alright.” Xia Feng picked the 2 colors and gave them to the clerk to be wrapped.

“You’re not asking me why I chose those 2 colors?” Yu Dong asked.

Xia Feng was busy taking bills out of his wallet and carelessly answered: “Why?”

“Because today’s the 6th of November.”

“What does today’s date have to do with anything?” Xia Feng was puzzled.

“Idiot!” Yu Dong couldn’t help but scold him.

Xia Feng ended up being scolded, but he continued to ask, which resulted in Yu Dong hanging up on him.

At this time, the clerk handed the bag to Xia Feng, and he was about to leave.

“Xia Feng!” An An didn’t expect to see Xia Feng in this shopping mall. Her expression showed genuine surprise.

Xia Feng saw An An coming towards him with another Asian girl.

Xia Feng stopped and waited for the girls to approach. After nodding at them he said, “What a coincidence!”

So they came to buy Chanel’s lipstick too.

An An accepted the shopping bad from Xia Feng’s hands with some joy and a little shyness. She opened it and with some surprise said, “No. 11 and No. 6?”

“No. 11 is good, but No. 6 doesn’t match your style that well.” CC commented, then suddenly realized, “I know, today’s November 6, your boyfriend must be hoping that you’ll think of this day every time you wear lipstick.”

An An shyly nudged CC, then affectionately looked at Xia Feng, saying: “You remembered that I like this brand of lipstick.”

Xia Feng’s eyes flashed. That must be why once he entered the mall, he felt that the counter was familiar – he bought it several times before.

“Gee, it’s so bright!” CC exaggerated, “Why do I feel so bright today? It’s probably because I accidentally turned into a light bulb.”

(T/N: a thing I’ve never understood, where calling yourself a light-bulb or having wattage is you lamenting that you’re a third-wheeling.)

“CC!” An An’s sweet voice was full of anger.

Since the lipstick was taken by An An, Xia Feng could only make an excuse to leave: “You go on ahead, I have to go back to the hospital.”

“Alright!”

Xia Feng left the shopping mall, stood at the crossroads for a while, then finally crossed to the department store opposite. He approached a counter and asked the clerk: “I’m buying for a girl, Asian with very white skin, around 22 years old, what color would suit her?”

Xia Feng walked out of the department store with the newly purchased lipstick and sent a message the Yu Dong.

Then he wrote a short message and sent it to An An.

An An who was going through some clothes, heard her phone’s notification and took it out only to find that Xia Feng had sent her a message. Her mouth started to curve, but soon froze when she read the message.

[ I didn’t buy the lipstick for you, but go ahead a keep it! ]

“What’s wrong?” CC saw that An An suddenly looked wrong and asked her.

“Nothing!” An An pocketed her phone as if nothing happened.

…………

Shanghai, Radio Station.

“Well, it’s the end of our program, see you again same time, tomorrow!” After 2 hours of live broadcasting, Yu Dong rubbed her neck tiredly.

“There were more phone calls.” Senior Yu left the telephone room to talk to Yu Dong.

“Yes, there were more wonderful problems to talk about!” Yu Dong shook her head and lamented.

“Wonderful problems?” Senior Yu laughed, “There was a text message saying that your answers were more wonderful than the problems.”

“Was there?” Yu Dong would never admit to anything.

“Yes!” Senior Yu nodded.

Yu Dong summoned her dubbing skills and began to sell Meng.

(T/N Meng aka cuteness)

Senior Yu shook his head and said, “Ever since the French boy’s letter was stuffed with 100 yuan, there have been letters sent to the station for Midnight Phantom filled with 100 yuan.”

“According to statistics, there’s 100 yuan in every 20 letters!” Senior Yu cautioned,” Although you’ve donated them all, the station’s started to pay attention, this isn’t good. ”

“Isn’t there a meeting tomorrow? Report this there too.” Senior Yu reminded.

“Alright!” Yu Dong looked at her watch and grabbed her bag, saying: “Senior Yu, I’ll be leaving first.”

When Yu Dong returned home, she habitually turned on her computer and logged into her QQ. She intended to message Xia Feng that she had returned home, only to see that he messaged her.

Looking at the timestamp, it was sent right after she started her broadcast.

[ I changed to another lipstick, the clerk said this color was better. ]

Although it was strange for Xia Feng to have suddenly changed lipsticks, Yu Dong didn’t ask and replied:  [ The color doesn’t matter, as long as you bought it. ]

[ You’ve arrived home? ] The other party responded quickly.

[ I’ve just arrived! ]

[ Go to sleep early! ]

[ Alright ]

There 4 messages were repeated every day, but it had become an indispensable part of Yu Dong’s night.

Xia Feng stared at Yu Dong’s first message and became lost in thought.

Then, his phone suddenly rang.

Xia Feng looked at it for a while, then answered the call.

“Xia Feng, what do you mean by sending me that email?” After a busy day, Shao Yifan came home to find that Xia Feng had assigned him a task without notice. He was unhappy and complained, “You didn’t send me anything, why do I have to be the one to get it?”

“Are you sure you want to discuss this with me when we’re calling international long distance?”

“Crap! I forgot!” Shao Yifan roared, “I’ll get the things tomorrow, but you better transfer me the tariff costs!’

“Stingy!”

“Be grateful I don’t ask for labor fees!” Shao Yifan complained and was about to hang up when he saw several messages jump out of his MSN. He asked Xia Feng, “Did you meet with An An?”

“What’s wrong?” Xia Feng noticed the change in Shao Yifan’s tone.

“An An is sending me messages asking for you.” Shao Yifan read through the messages and said, “She says you seemed to be really angry with her, that you met twice but you didn’t seem to care. She also said that you lied to her, telling her that you’re married, and for me to help be the peacemaker.”

“Don’t involve yourself any further.” Xia Feng frowned.

“Who wants to get involved?” Shao Yifan said, “But you need to settle this.”

Xia Feng recalled the 2 times he met An An, then said: “Then tell her I’m really married.”

“How can I say that?” Shao Yifan refused.

“Just tell her that I really did get married, and that you’ve seen my marriage certificate!”

“There’s no going back from that!” Shao Yifan was surprised.

“It’s better to avoid muddying this kind of situation even more!”

“Really think about this, you’re not going to look back?” Shao Yifan asked him, “You’ve only been with Yu Dong for a month, and you’ve been abroad in most of it. You’ve been with An An for many years.”

“Whether I’ll regret it or not, I at least don’t want to give myself a way out, it wouldn’t be fair to anyone!”

“What era are you living in, why are you so old-fashioned!” Shao Yifan rolled his eyes.

“When it comes to marriage or love, in my opinion, it should be one-on-one.” Xia Feng said, resolute.

***