Su Yan shook her head. "Alright, I shall treat you like a complete novice. An utter amateur. I'll select the best colours for your skin tone and we'll proceed with fitting you with something that compliments your body type. "
"I'll leave it all to you then," Xue Ning said bemusedly. "I usually just wear black though. I think I look nice in it."
Su Yan took a deep breath, as though her words had wounded her. "Black is not a colour, it is the absence of colour."
"Okay?"
"And anyone can tell you suit cool tones more," she looked over Xue Ning's skin critically from head to toe. "Do you have tan lines?"
"No?" Xue Ning replied. "Unless you count the faint ones on my arms and legs after wearing T-shirts and shorts." She rolled up her sleeves to show it, and Su Yan made a murmuring noise.
"That's fine, it's not so obvious, unlike your pores." Su Yan said brutally. She peered closely at the skin on Xue Ning's face and asked, "When was the last time you exfoliated your skin?"
"...Never?" Su Yan's face looked like someone killed her puppy.
Xue Ning hastily added. "I wash my face twice a day with soap! I used a washcloth to scrub my face once. That counts right?" She added hopefully.
Su Yan let out a sound that resembled a sob. This woman must be her most difficult customer, and it wasn't even her attitude that was the problem!
"No that doesn't… nevermind, I shall get my girls to work on your skin while I prepare your outfits." She sighed, Sun Jingwei had better be prepared to compensate better for this stress. How can there be a woman that did so little skincare?
Thankfully, her skin was mostly clear, even if it did look rough at parts, probably because of the poor skincare.
After she had her measurements taken, Xue Ning was then shuttled to another area where another attendant was waiting with a plethora of hair and skin products.
"Make sure her skin looks fresh and clear, but don't irritate it." Su Yan ordered. "Makeup is going on after."
"Yes Madam," the attendant said as she looked down at her new customer. Personally, she thought her features were striking even without makeup, but Madam must have an image in mind.
=====
While Xue Ning got her eyebrows plucked and ten years worth of dead skin cells scrubbed off her face, Su Yan peered at her extensive catalogue of ready made clothes to see what would suit her.
The reason why Su Yan could rise above the cutthroat competition of other stylists was because she had a knack of figuring out what suited a person and their personality, while making them look unique.
She didn't want her clients to look like someone they were not. She wanted them to look like the best version of themselves, to unlock the true potential of their beauty. That's why she expanded her outfit styling business to include hair, makeup, facial and spa services.
Because when a person was treated well, they would glow from within!
However, as time was in short supply, Miss Li would not be undergoing any pampering treatments beyond the bare necessities. The facial scrub and skin care was to ensure that her makeup would hold up under the harsh lights of the cameras. She would not get a relaxing massage or a foot spa.
Even with all these adjustments, they were still pressed for time. The fact that she didn't have any prior knowledge about Sun Jingwei's supposed fiancee made things worse, because she couldn't plan outfits for her beforehand.
And Miss Li was so unlike most women that walked through her doors, her plans would need changing anyway!
The women that entered came expecting to be pampered like royalty. They knew their worth, and were raised with the best money had to offer.
Meanwhile, Miss Li Xue Ning seemed to be a country bumpkin! She couldn't dress Miss Li in haute couture, even if she had the dresses for it, because her body language would show that she was merely playing dress up.
What were her other options?
Flowery dresses were cute, but they would make her look childish. They would be fine for dates, but not for possible press pictures. She needed something that looked a bit more formal - like she wasn't Sun Jingwei's newest fling, but his actual future wife.
Long sweeping silk dresses were out, because she wasn't tall enough. She didn't have time to tailor it to her height thanks to the short notice.
A corset? Possible. She had a very shapely bust, and her waist could stand to be highlighted further. Perhaps she could cinch her waist more tightly to create the hourglass figure… off shoulder?
She began to smile as an outfit entered her mind.
Now…where did she put those heels of hers?
======
"Lady Boss, we're done," Yu Li said to her 45 minutes later, as she finalised her wardrobe. She had sent Xue Ning to wait at the dressing tables first, after she changed out of her clothes and into the bathrobe that all their clients used.
"I plucked her brows, scrubbed off five layers of dead skin, I even exfoliated her lips and gave her a face and eye mask."
"Good job." Su Yan said, "how did she take it?"
"Pretty well," Yu Li said happily. "She didn't make any fuss and she's also polite."
Yu Li leaned in and whispered, "so unlike our other clients."
Su Yan could only give her a look, warning her to keep silent. They had opinions on their clients, but this was not the time to talk about it.
"Wait…Zhou Yu hadn't left yet?"
"No Boss, she did not. She wanted another foot scrub and demanded refreshments."
Su Yan's face paled.
"Boss, what's wrong?" Yu Li asked.
"Sun Jingwei's current fiancee is now right next to his ex-fiancee." Su Yan replied faintly. "Incidentally, we know how badly behaved she is. How can I not worry?"
Not to mention she had a feeling Miss Li wasn't a doormat that would let anyone step over her, let alone a brat like Zhou Yu.
"Maybe nothing bad will happen," Yu Li said hopefully. "After all, they don't know each other. Maybe Miss Zhou will just think Miss Li isn't worth talking to."
Just as she finished speaking, they heard a loud scream from the other room.
They stared at each other, horror dawning on their faces.
It came from the hair and makeup station.
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