Chapter 143: The Lunatic Actually Followed Her

Is it a coincidence? Or did she deliberately follow me here?

Mo Qi calmly scrutinized the nurse.

Tang Bin gave her a puzzled look. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Mo Qi smiled and shook her head. "I'll go back to rest first."

Bidding farewell to Tang Bin, Mo Qi went to the simple dressing room to remove her makeup.

The actress had already finished retouching her makeup and gone back outside, aiming to wrap up the remaining scene before the rain started.

After removing Mo Qi's makeup, Xi Miaomiao frowned upon seeing the red mark on her right cheek. "Sister Mo Qi, the allergy on your face is more serious than I thought. You need to apply some ointment."

"What kind of medicine do we need? I'll go down the mountain to buy it right now," Xiao Zhang asked.

Xi Miaomiao shook her head. "I'm not quite sure either. Brother Xiao Zhang, why don't you take a photo and show it to a doctor? They will definitely know what to prescribe."

Xiao Zhang nodded. He took a picture of the allergic reaction on Mo Qi's face and hurried down the mountain to buy the medicine.

Mo Qi was still distracted, her mind lingering on the nurse.

Mistaking her preoccupation for worry about the allergy on her face, Xi Miaomiao comforted her, "Sister Mo Qi, don't worry too much. My skin is extremely prone to allergies, but as long as I remember to apply the ointment, it heals on its own without leaving a single trace."

In such sultry weather, wearing heavy makeup on the face naturally trapped heat and prevented the skin from breathing freely, resulting in a few minor rashes. Mo Qi hadn't taken it to heart at all.

"I think you're more worried than I am." Mo Qi smiled and pinched Miao Miao's soft, pink cheek. "They'll wrap up shooting early today, and I'll head back to the camp to rest shortly. What about you?"

"There's no way I can leave yet." Xi Miaomiao pouted. There were only three makeup artists for the entire crew, and one of the senior ones was dedicated solely to the male lead, Hu Ye. Everyone else relied on her and another young makeup artist, making early dismissal completely impossible.

Mo Qi chuckled. "With great power comes great responsibility. I'm going to change and head out first."

Xi Miaomiao lowered her head with a sigh. "Alas, I wonder when I'll ever become the exclusive makeup artist for some major star."

"Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. Keep up the good work."

With a sincere word of encouragement, Mo Qi changed out of her costume and stepped out of the tent, running right into the nurse she had seen earlier.

A flash of panic darted across the nurse's eyes, and she didn't dare meet Mo Qi's gaze at all. Mo Qi, on the other hand, maintained a calm and composed expression. "Is there something you need?"

"No, nothing." With that, the nurse lowered her head and turned away in a hurry.

Xi Miaomiao poked her head out of the tent. "Who was that?"

"A temporary nurse hired by the crew." Mo Qi smiled. "I'm heading off now."

"Bye-bye, Sister Mo Qi." Xi Miaomiao waved listlessly.

Mo Qi glanced once more at the nurse, who was currently helping a crew member check his arm, before turning to walk back to the camp with three other supporting actors whose scenes had also wrapped early.

"Hiss! Nurse, is my arm a bit swollen from mosquito bites?" Feeling the grip on his arm suddenly tighten, the crew member winced slightly and drew in a sharp breath.

The nurse lowered her head, lifted her eyelids to glance at him, and offered a soft smile. "It's a little red and swollen, but nothing to worry about. Apply some lotion and it'll be fine by tomorrow."

"O-okay, thank you." Pulling his arm back, the crew member cast a somewhat jittery, stealthy glance at the nurse holding the medicine. Why did that split second make him feel like the look in the nurse's eyes was nothing like a normal person's, but rather like that of a raving lunatic? Was it just his imagination?

Holding out the medicine with a smile, the nurse said, "Take this. Apply some now, and put it on again before you go to sleep tonight, and the swelling will be gone by tomorrow. Remember to spray a bit more anti-mosquito repellent on yourself when you're in mountain forests like this, otherwise it gets pretty miserable."

"Got it, thanks, Nurse." The crew member scratched his head and smiled. It really must have been his imagination just now. The nurse in front of him was clearly very gentle, and quite pretty and pleasant-looking to boot.

Not long after Mo Qi returned to the camp, the sky began to drizzle with a light rain, and soon dark clouds gathered thickly overhead, followed immediately by a torrential downpour.

Crew members wearing raincoats and clutching equipment ran back to the camp one after another. Xi Miaomiao struggled a bit as she hauled one large and two small makeup cases.

Mo Qi pulled on her raincoat and dashed out. "Give me those cases."

"Sister Mo Qi?" Xi Miaomiao quickly shook her head. "It's fine, I can carry them."

Snatching the large makeup case, Mo Qi grabbed her hand and ran.

The two of them dashed back into the tent, their trouser cuffs soaked through.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xi Miaomiao set down the makeup case and acted spoiled with a silly grin. "Sister Mo Qi, you're the best."

"Are you out of your mind? Carrying so much by yourself on a difficult mountain path—if you'd taken a tumble, you'd be the one hurting." Mo Qi handed her a dry towel. "Your hair is soaked, hurry up and dry it."

"Everyone else was busy moving equipment, so I had no choice but to carry my own stuff," Xi Miaomiao pouted.

Lifting her eyes, Mo Qi saw the crew's more senior makeup artist running back empty-handed.

Xi Miaomiao gave a cheeky laugh. "It's only right for newcomers to do a bit more work."

Mo Qi sighed, took the towel from her hand, and dried her hair. "This isn't the first time you've been bullied into doing extra work, is it?"

Xi Miaomiao just smiled and kept quiet.

As Mo Qi wiped her bangs, she fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Miao Miao, I don't have much fame right now, and my words don't carry much weight in the crew or the entertainment industry yet, but I still really want to invite you. Would you be willing to become my personal makeup artist?"

Xi Miaomiao's eyes lit up, and she instantly wanted to agree, but Mo Qi stopped her.

"You don't have to answer so quickly," Mo Qi said. "I don't have a makeup artist by my side. If you come with me, there certainly won't be anyone for you to learn from, and growing into a senior makeup artist will depend entirely on your own learning and accumulated experience. Think about it carefully before you give me your answer."

"I don't need to think about it," Xi Miaomiao shook her head, raised her chin slightly to meet Mo Qi's eyes, and said earnestly, "Sister Mo Qi, I'm willing to follow you because I believe that by your side, things like what happened today will never happen again. Even if others might have seen too much of it and grown used to it, you refuse to turn a blind eye."

Xi Miaomiao was currently just an unknown little makeup artist, forced to act as a newcomer no matter which crew she joined, ordered around by senior makeup artists to handle all sorts of odd jobs.

In fact, it wasn't just the makeup industry; other industries were the same. People might start out feeling a sense of injustice, but once they saw it often enough—and when such behavior became an established custom—they gradually grew numb, eventually coming to accept it as normal and natural.

Xi Miaomiao was willing to follow Mo Qi not simply because Mo Qi opposed such practices, but because Mo Qi had helped *her*, and *only* her.

There were still plenty of crew members busy moving equipment in the heavy rain, and plenty of people far more disheveled than she was, yet Mo Qi had only helped her. That was because Mo Qi treated her as a friend.

Mo Qi might not overturn all the underlying rules of this circle, but when it came to friends, she would lend a hand.

Principled, but not blindly righteous. This was the real reason Xi Miaomiao was willing to follow Mo Qi.

Deeply moved by Xi Miaomiao's absolute trust, Mo Qi pinched her cheek and said, "Look how well you can speak now. If anyone ever says you're bad with words again, I'll be the first one to beat them up."

"You're so skinny, you'd probably end up getting beaten up instead." Xi Miaomiao blurted out without thinking, only realizing what she had just said after the words were already out.