Floating Color - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Can I Touch You A Little?
Translator: Claire.KK
Mi Chen was carrying a makeup box with a “Temporary Makeup Artist” work permit against her chest while standing outside a dressing room with some trepidation. When the members of the hottest idol group passed by her, the agent had already guarded them to one side and directed the makeup artists to finish up the last-minute touches for them before they went on stage.

Mi Chen was bumped into by their clothing stylist. Her shoulder hurt badly. However, the clothing stylist was so devoting himself to the final adjustment of his star’s costume that he was not paying attention to any “obstacles”. Mi Chen could only press herself against the wall of the corridor.

There were shouts and people running about frantically without a single pause. The sound from the front desk came from afar. This was another world. Under its thrilling façade it contained the most unexpected clamor and impetuousness that was beyond the imagination of any outsider.

The door finally opened, and Fang Chengye, a famous agent in the industry, beckoned to her. “Come in! You’re now in charge!”

Mi Chen took a breath and went in. She told herself countless times that it was a dream. If not a dream, she could only say that it was unscientific! She didn’t regard herself as a newbie but once she went back home after studying abroad, instead of being an “overseas elite” she became a “NEET”. Other than her roommate Miao, no one appreciated her makeup. Mi Chen also reflected by herself and she thought that maybe she was indeed a Vincent Van Gogh, and whether people would perhaps begin to appreciate her style centuries later? In any case Van Gogh made numerous sunflower pieces of high value now being copied by so many counterfeiters, but what did she have? A case of makeup which would soon expire? If she didn’t try rather hard to focus on both “temporary” and “formal” jobs, not only could she not even be an “overseas elite” or “NEET” but she would soon become trash!

As Mi Chen compared her life experience with Van Gogh, she was dragged here by Fang Chengye, that famous agent. She even wanted to do the makeup for a Best Leading Actor! This was comparable to the probability of being struck by thunder on a sunny day! She always thought that even if Juliet didn’t die and had fallen in love with Hamlet, she would not have the chance to meet any Best Actor or Best Actress – figures of that level.

Mi Chen gulped and went in. This dressing room was not big. Except for Fang Chengye, there was only one man sitting quietly in front of the mirror, and only when he heard the sound of Mi Chen entering did he then begin to turn his face slowly to the side with his lips curving slightly. All other things at that moment seemed to be pulled away from her, leaving only her breath as thin as silken strings. She felt as if she must have had a hallucination after eating expired instant noodles…Otherwise, how could she get into the dressing room of Bai Yihan?

Bai Yihan was the only Chinese actor who hadn’t made his way to Hollywood through “Oriental Martial Arts”. Bai Yihan was not a youth idol any more but the time which had passed had not seemed to have left a line on his face. The outline of his facial features was like a distant mountain in the mist; the closer you approached it, the more you would be surprised by its waves. Every time he raised his eyebrows and eyelids, he looked so invigorating, like someone who should only appear in a Chinese poem, and all the modern flashy glamour had long been left behind him. He already appeared so breathtaking before wearing any makeup, what more could a makeup artist do?

“Hi, I’m Bai Yihan. One more hour to go and I’ll be up on the stage so could you help me to do my makeup?” His mellow voice was like running water flowing along with the fleeing time. Maybe it was true after all that only men who had experienced a lot could bear such a temperament.

“Ah… Ok…” Mi Chen hurried to him.

“Though time is a little tight, you don’t have to be so tense.” Bai Yihan raised his head slightly and comforted her.

“Yes, Bai Yihan never needs too much modification.” Fang Chengye tightened his wristwatch and the displeasure on his face was obvious. “This sponsor is really interesting. Even if you didn’t sign to many companies just after you returned home, they don’t have to go that far—not even leaving a makeup artist for you! They originally said that they’d let a top makeup artist like Lin Ruyi or someone do the makeup for you. As a result of that, she was arranged to serve a pop-idol group. It’s actually too late for us to bring our own makeup artist! What a joke!”

“Come on, I’m not a female star. I’m not particular about makeup.”

“Why not! This is your very debut after returning home! Of course you have to make a good impression on the audience! You sit here and I’ll talk to the sponsor.” When Fang Chengye finished saying this he then strode off out of the room, leaving only Mi Chen to fiddle with her gadget on the dressing table.

“Well…Can I touch you a little?” asked Mi Chen carefully.

There was a flash of surprise in Bai Yihan’s eyes. He knew that some backstage staff would also ask the stars for autographs or to take photos together, but it was the first time he had heard someone ask for such a bold favour.

“Oh? Where do you want to touch me?” asked Bai Yihan in a leisurely manner, as the smile on the corner of his lips became more radiant.

Mi Chen was immediately embarrassed and she was totally going to be misunderstood by her Adonis as a female pervert! Although she really wanted to have a good touch of him, it was definitely not the right time. She was very professional! “The outline of your face. Is that ok?”

“Why?” If it was a reasonable request, it would be accepted by Bai Yihan anyhow. Facing his fans, Bai had always been very patient but he also had his own working attitude where he never appreciated any unprofessional behavior.

Mi Chen was worried that Bai was being displeased. After all, anyone who heard such a request would feel confused.

“Well…People’s facial features tend to be more flat than usual when they are on camera; that is, they might not be photogenic. I’ve checked tonight’s stage lighting effect and the images of other stars on the big screen, so I thought it might be necessary to enhance the height of your forehead and cheekbones…” Mi Chen pursed her lips. As Fang Chengye said, this was Bai Yihan’s first appearance on the stage after five-years living abroad. She had seen many of his films and had been touched by them, and she also adored him madly like a teenager would with their idols. Although she was no longer a star chaser, she still wanted to do the best for him.

Bai Yihan had associated with countless people. He could easily see through other’s acting skills and ideas. This time, he saw frankness in the eyes of this small and ordinary makeup artist. “Fine, go ahead and touch me then.” When he said the word “touch”, he smiled empathetically.

Mi Chen took a deep breath, feeling that her old days of admiring him madly as her idol had reversed. “Be professional, Mi Chen. Though you’re only an ordinary makeup artist, you have your own pride.”

At first Mi Chen used the back of her index finger to estimate the depth from Bai’s eyebrow bone to his eyelid and then to measure the width of his forehead and the height of his cheekbones as well. Finally she measured roughly the angle from his eyeball to his chin with a makeup brush. As Fang Chengye said, Bai Yihan’s facial features were perfect and did not need any modification. What she had to do was to enhance such perfection, to display his special sophistication and refinement without any flamboyance. Generally, Mi Chen applied foundation makeup first and after that she began to mix the different color tones on the back of her hand.

Bai Yihan slowly opened his eyes and what he saw was Mi Chen’s devoted expression towards the makeup brush. “Could it be that you’re only gonna paint my face into white porcelain, or give me a lower eyeliner as well?” Bai Yihan just felt that this makeup artist was too quiet and tense, so he felt like warming up the atmosphere for her for a while.

“There’s no need for that. As a male star, your skin condition is great already. You just need to look a tiny bit more light-toned than usual. And some pop fashion like lower eyeliner is nothing but an unfitting redundancy for you.” Mi Chen then raised her brush and said plainly, “Please close your eyes, Mr. Bai.”

Bai Yihan closed his eyes with a smile. Mi Chen’s voice sounded flat. It was a compliment in the eyes of ordinary people. However, Bai Yihan knew that the little girl was very serious when she said this. Feeling the brush rolling on his face, Bai Yihan had a very special feeling of being taken rather seriously. It seemed that his face was the canvas of an oil painting, and Mi Chen was the professional who was dedicated to it.

“Mr. Bai, would you please open your eyes and smile at me?” Mi Chen might ordinarily have shrunk away a little just now, but once she settled in she seemed to have become another person.

Bai Yihan had been used to the solemn tone of Mi Chen. His lips were slightly pressed together. He could see his face reflected in Mi Chen’s eyes. She turned her face slightly, observing him from a variety of angles, and then applied lip tint and finally filled some highlights around his chin.

After more than forty minutes Mi Chen let out a breath and smiled. “Mr. Bai, we’re done.”

“Really? Thank you.”

It never concerned Bai Yihan that his face might be painted grotesquely by others, because even the weakest makeup artist wouldn’t make him ugly.

At the same time, Fang Chengye came back. “The sponsors are assholes! They told me some shit that they dare not go against the Starry Cosmo and Great Waves…”

Fang Chengye suddenly paused, stared at Bai Yian and didn’t speak a word for a long while. “Gee…the makeup skill is so…”

“What’s up?” Bai Yihan turned his face away, saw himself in the mirror and his heart suddenly throbbed. Those lost times of his youth seemed to surge back all of a sudden and no one could stop it.

“Not…not okay?” Mi Chen gulped and felt rather nervous.

“It’s okay. It’s really good. Thanks.”

Bai Yihan turned around with a smile and Fang Chengye covered his chest rather melodramatically and retreated with several steps. “Oh dear! Oh Dear! My heart is gonna jump out of my chest! Your original self is already so flawless and I didn’t expect that this makeup artist could break though the limitations!”

Mi Chen was tidying up the makeup box while chuckling quietly. She took Fang Chengye’s exaggerated praise as appreciation for her work. The tension of entering the dressing room at the beginning gradually subsided and Mi Chen could finally let her breath out.

There was a reminder from the staff outside the door. Bai Yihan should be ready for the stage. He got up, straightened his clothes and taped Mi Chen on her shoulder. “Wait here. Chengye and I will treat you to dinner later.”

Mi Chen smiled more happily, feeling the recognition for all her efforts. She was not so naive to take Bai Yihan’s words seriously. Then the leader of the makeup team called to scold her severely. When the team leader arrived, Mi Chen had to apply makeup hurriedly for a group of backing dancers, and her ears were surrounded by the team leader’s shouting and swearing. The whole public dressing room was in a big mess. Mi Chen was nervous and flustered. The room was being cooled by the air conditioner but Mi Chen’s back was dripping with sweat.

Mi Chen didn’t have a single chance to go to the front of the stage to see the scene of Bai Yihan’s singing. Over at the other side, at the music festival, Hong Yueying, a senior hostess, warmly introduced the mysterious singer to the audience, and after she recited a long list of popular film titles and some international awards, she then blinked and asked, “Can you guess who he is?”

Lin Song, her male co-host, looked down at the auditorium, thinking that what he was going to say was amusing. “Well, maybe he has been away from the domestic audience for a long time, but how come there are no fans holding name boards with his name on it?” Hong Yueying mocked Lin Song in her heart. Even though Bai Yihan’s domestic popularity was not as huge as before, he was still an extraordinary star. Moreover, if anyone domestic wanted to make their way to the international market they had to rely on Bai Yihan to introduce them to those international directors! She had to ease this situation.

“Maybe after tonight, most of our audience will call out his name involuntarily!” By saying this, Hong Yueying only meant to be polite to Bai Yihan and she did not expect that she had already foreseen the truth.

The music was playing slowly. It was a movie theme song from eight years ago but most of the young people in front of the stage hadn’t seen it. Fortunately, the tune had been rearranged with many modern elements and the melody was beautiful, so it was easy for others to remember. Against the light, a figure slowly came out and each step of his bore calmness and elegance filled the hearts of the audience with a touch of curiosity.