I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 62: Yuan Juan Who Couldn't Laugh

Yuan Xiu was the last of the military dependents to have her makeup done. After she finished, Yuan Juan, as if finding the perfect excuse, pointed at Yuan Xiu's face and said, "Didn't you say all stage makeup is the same? Look at her, why isn't her makeup as heavy as ours!"

She kept staring at it, holding back her full bladder and not going to the toilet.

They wanted to catch Sun Ying and Yuan Xiu doing something wrong as soon as possible.

She looks like Yuan Xiu, but Yuan Xiu's makeup is obviously better than hers, though Sun Ying won't admit it.

Let's see what they have to say now!

Sun Ying, hands on her hips in anger, snapped, "I told you to go out and see the world, but you just stand here making a scene! Are you out of your mind?!"

Yuan Juan: "You..."

"That's true. If you weren't out of your mind, would you impersonate someone else and steal their partner?"

Sun Ying's scolding caused the military dependents who were still in the room to burst into laughter. They no longer cared about Yuan Juan's words and were now just watching the show.

Yuan Juan's face flushed red. "You said your stage makeup is like this, but the makeup you did for Yuan Xiu is clearly different."

Sun Ying got up and called Wu Yufen, who was busy outside, in.

"If you have any objections, say them in front of Officer Wu."

Wu Yufen looked at this one, then at that one, and asked, "What's wrong now?"

Sun Ying crossed her arms and said, "Officer Wu, I suggest you take Comrade Yuan Juan to the dressing room of the art troupe to see how they do their makeup, so she won't keep bothering me."

"Yuan Juan, what are you saying now? You've been behaving so well before, what's wrong with you today?"

Yuan Juan said aggrievedly, "I just asked Comrade Sun Ying why our makeup was different from Yuan Xiu's, and she started cursing at me."

"So what if I cursed at you? Don't pretend with me!"

Officer Wu tried to mediate: "It's not worth it for such a small thing. Since she asked, just explain it to her. She's only been here from the countryside for a few months, so it's normal that she doesn't know anything. Yuan Juan, you too, if you're curious, just humbly ask her. Don't chatter on and on. Little Sun worked so hard to do everyone's makeup, and you're questioning her. If I were her, I'd be angry too."

Yuan Juan bowed to Sun Ying and said, "Then I apologize to Comrade Sun Ying. Comrade Sun Ying, can you now tell us why our makeup is different?"

Sun Ying snorted coldly, "Why should I tell you? If you want to know, go out and see for yourself!"

Yuan Xiu tugged at Sun Ying, knowing that if they continued, Sun Ying would appear to be being unreasonable.

"I think it's related to the group dance and the solo. The makeup for the group dance needs to be heavier so that all the dancers can stand out. There's only one person on stage for the solo, so the makeup doesn't need to be as heavy, and it also avoids wasting cosmetics."

Sun Ying nodded: "That's right, that's exactly it! I've seen your dance performance; it's for the New Year, so it's supposed to be festive. The makeup definitely needs to be festive too. You've all seen the troupe's 'The Red Detachment of Women,' right? The stage makeup for that requires a heroic air. I spent all last night thinking about how to make your makeup even more festive, and now look what happened! I didn't sleep a wink all night, and it's turned into something else entirely!"

"Oh, Xiao Sun, don't be angry. She doesn't understand, but we do. Did you see what we said? We didn't say anything."

The military dependents began to persuade Sun Ying.

"That's right, anyway we're very grateful to you, I think you did a great job making me look good."

"That's right, I also think she's quite pretty. It's normal that she's not as good-looking as Yuan Xiu, isn't it? I'm not as pretty as her to begin with, so what's the point of comparing? If you really have to blame someone, you should blame your parents for not giving you such good looks!"

"That's true..."

As they talked, the military dependents burst into laughter.

Only Yuan Juan couldn't laugh.

……

By the time everyone had finished their makeup, it was already 12:30 pm.

The cafeteria delivered lunch, one pound of dumplings per person.

It's filled with cabbage and pork.

This is a subsidy issued by the military so that the actors participating in the New Year's Day performance can have a good meal.

Yuan Xiu couldn't finish a pound; it was quite a large one. She ate ten of them and was full.

Seeing that her lunchbox was still more than half full, the military dependent next to her said, "You have such a small appetite, no wonder you're so thin."

Yuan Xiu smiled and closed the lunchbox.

Many people didn't finish their food. Some, like Yuan Xiu, couldn't finish it, while others couldn't bear to finish it and planned to take it home for their children to try.

When it was time to rehearse, everyone took off their outer cotton-padded coats and went up in their single dance costumes.

They were all shivering from the cold.

Only Yuan Xiu fared somewhat better; she wore a sweater under her military uniform to protect herself from the biting wind.

"I'm not cold. If I were wearing clothes underneath, I wouldn't be able to move at all, how could I dance? Oh, you should just worry about your little wife, why are you so concerned about me?"

"Let's go home tonight and celebrate the festival together."

"My brother isn't here, so who's going to reunite with whom? If you want a reunion, then the three of you should reunite. I won't bother you."

"You found out? Your Aunt Shen, she..."

"I'm not stupid! My belly's already showing, do you think you can hide it from me? I've already written to my brother!"

"Hey, Tingting, your Aunt Shen did nothing wrong. She doesn't owe us anything. You're all grown up now, it's time to be sensible."

"She doesn't owe you anything, you do! Who told you to be a couple! You think I'd give her a kind look? No way! You expect me to be sensible? If you'd been sensible back then, my mother wouldn't have died so tragically!"

"Tingting!"

Yuan Xiu never expected that she could overhear Political Commissar Wang and his daughter arguing just by going to the restroom.

Just before Wang Ting ran out, she took a step back, stood against the wall, and watched Wang Ting run past her in a thin dance costume.

Wang Ting didn't notice her, but Political Commissar Wang did. "It's Xiao Yuan. You've made a fool of yourself in front of everyone."

Yuan Xiu smiled awkwardly: "No, I'm sorry, Political Commissar Wang, I didn't mean it."

Political Commissar Wang waved his hand: "It's nothing, it's nothing. My family's affairs aren't a secret. You go ahead with your work."

After saying that, Political Commissar Wang walked away with his hands behind his back.

Before the show started, Sister Xiulan took Sister Chunmei backstage once, and Yuanxiu handed the net bag containing the lunchbox to Sister Chunmei, asking her to give it to Jiangzhou.

People are coming and going backstage. Just now, someone accidentally bumped into it, and the plump white meat and egg dumplings from the lunchbox rolled all over the floor.

The military family members whose dumplings had been spilled could only pick them up and quickly rinse them under the tap.

Dumplings are made from refined grains and contain meat, and are a rare treat, not even on special occasions like holidays.

No one who spilled it could bear to throw it away.

Even if you throw it away, you'll still get scolded.

Chunmei and her sisters arrived just in time; she felt relieved to leave the matter to them.