Daily-Disposable Face
What's it like to be really good at makeup?
Lily Vance didn't have much to say on that score. She was average-looking, with somewhat dark skin, and lazy to boot—she couldn't be bothered with the hassle of makeup—so she'd been plain from puberty straight through to the present.
She left a comment: For someone like me who's all thumbs, it would be perfect if there were something that could put on and take off makeup in under a minute.
Someone replied to her comment: That kind of thing does exist. Add me on WeChat if you want one.
Out of curiosity, she added the person's WeChat.
The seller went by the name "Masquerade." Their Moments page wasn't plastered with ads like a typical online seller; it only showed photos of a single product—a face mask. Snow-white and fine-textured, with no openings for eyes or nose, it looked like an oval piece of white silk.
The seller offered to send her a few samples to try before deciding whether to place an order.
The masks arrived quickly—three of them. Each package bore a different label: Natural Look, Innocent Big-Eye Makeup, and Japanese Peach Blossom Look.
She chose the Japanese Peach Blossom Look and tore it open. Regular masks were always saturated with essence, but this one was completely dry and extraordinarily thin. When she pressed it against her face, a faint fishy odor crept into her nostrils, tinged with a slight metallic scent. Her heart began to pound for no reason.
The mask started to heat up, seemingly releasing steam, hot enough to sting her face slightly.
After about ten seconds, the burning faded, replaced by a cool sensation and a faint prickling itch.
The person in the mirror had changed completely.
She hadn't become a different person—but her face had reached its most perfect state since birth. Her features were vivid and well-defined, her skin practically poreless, and the makeup was exquisite, delicate and natural, her cheeks suffused with a soft peach-pink glow.
Her entire face looked as though it had been meticulously retouched with a beauty app, complete with a built-in soft-focus filter—lively, lovely, and radiant.
She couldn't believe her eyes. She kept touching her face—the mask had vanished, as if it had melted completely into her skin.
The packaging bore usage instructions: the mask would automatically detach at midnight.
In other words, from now on, the makeup-averse Lily Vance possessed a daily-disposable face.
Her phone rang. It was her college classmate Ginger Jiang calling. "Lin Muyuan is bringing his wife to Haicheng and has invited everyone to dinner. Do you want to come?"
For a long time, the name "Lin Muyuan" had been forbidden territory for her. He was her college boyfriend. The failed relationship had wounded her so deeply that even now she couldn't let it go.
In the past, Lily Vance would have firmly said no.
But now, looking at her radiant reflection in the mirror, she said mildly, "Send me the address."
She deliberately arrived a bit late. When she walked into the private dining room, almost everyone was already there.
The moment they saw Lily Vance, everyone froze. A hush fell over the room.
"Oh my god, everyone look—Lily is stunning!" It was Ginger who broke the silence first.
Lin Muyuan greeted her. "You look really beautiful today."
His smile was gentle, but she could never forget the resolute expression on his face when he'd broken up with her, or those words: "I'm tired. I don't want to be in a relationship anymore."
Yet less than a month after the breakup, he'd started dating—and eventually married—a girl with a prettier face, longer legs, and a fuller chest than hers.
Lin Muyuan was still decent-looking, but he'd put on quite a bit of weight since college, and his hairline was showing signs of retreat.
Lily Vance suddenly felt a sense of release. She found it incredible that she'd grieved over him for so many years.
She soon met a friend Lin Muyuan had brought along—a young, handsome doctor named Tim Luo.
They hit it off immediately. After the gathering ended, they went browsing in a bookstore together, then shared dinner, and afterward sat for a while at a bar.
She felt a special connection with him, as if they had endless things to talk about.
She remembered someone once asking online: What's the biggest advantage of being good-looking?
A respondent answered: The biggest advantage is that the person you like will probably like you back.
Sipping cocktails, chatting with the handsome doctor, time slipped through her fingers like fine sand.
Before she knew it, midnight was approaching.
"Is something wrong with your face?" Tim suddenly stopped talking, staring at her with an uncertain expression.
Lily Vance started and quickly touched her face. She felt a small patch of skin on her chin that felt like dry paper, curling up and about to peel off.
The mask was supposed to detach automatically at midnight. She'd been having such a wonderful time with Tim that she'd completely forgotten.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Leaving those words behind, she bolted for the bar restroom.
Her phone showed exactly midnight.
In the dim mirror of the restroom, her face looked horrifying. The skin was drying and cracking at a visible rate, breaking into pieces and falling off.
Her original, unremarkable face was revealed underneath.
She had no makeup on her and lacked the confidence to go back and face Tim bare-faced.
Lily Vance slipped out the bar's back door and sent Tim a WeChat message saying she had a family emergency and had to leave first.
Tim was understanding and said they could reschedule.
She ordered a large batch of masks from Masquerade. Every time she went to see Tim, she applied one first, always appearing before him in radiant beauty.
Their dates never extended past midnight—she said a girl shouldn't stay out too late.
Tim thought she was the traditional type and was quite pleased about it.
Beyond dates, the masks adapted to every occasion.
Smoky eye makeup for concerts with friends, the natural look for client meetings, oil-based makeup for swimming, vampire makeup for the Halloween party...
No matter the style, she carried it off with effortless elegance.
In addition to attracting attention from male colleagues, she could also feel the jealousy and admiration of her female coworkers.
The intern Faye made no effort to hide her envy. "Sister Lily, you're so pretty! Your skin is amazing and your makeup is always perfect! I want to learn from you!"
Normally, Lily Vance looked down on Faye a little—she wasn't pretty, dressed plainly, and was a bit simple-minded.
But faced with her worshipful gaze, Lily Vance's vanity was immensely satisfied.
Ginger Jiang pestered her even more for makeup secrets, saying her chances of landing her dream guy depended on it. Lily Vance knew she'd been chasing a senior from college for three years, so she gave her Masquerade's WeChat contact.
Within days, the plain-looking Ginger Jiang had also transformed, as if reborn, into a striking beauty.
Once she asked Tim, "If I didn't look the way I do now, would you still like me?"
Tim glanced at her. "What do you mean? Did you have plastic surgery?"
"No, no." Lily Vance waved her hands. "Just asking."
"Even if you did, it wouldn't matter." Tim smiled slightly. "I like you as a person, not just this face."
For a moment, warmth bloomed in Lily Vance's heart—but it chilled again in an instant.
She didn't believe there was a man in the world who wouldn't care about her appearance. Such sweet words were all lies.
Given one turn, they'd all come sprinting after a prettier girl, just like Lin Muyuan.
Days passed, and Lily Vance and Tim's feelings for each other deepened.
Finally, one day, she found a diamond ring inside the Häagen-Dazs he'd bought her.
Facing Tim's proposal, Lily Vance's reaction was one of alarm—and she flatly refused.
Seeing Tim's wounded expression, her heart sank too.
She'd refused on the spot because her thoughts had immediately gone to the masks.
If they lived together, the mask situation would be discovered sooner or later.
"I'm sorry—I don't want to hurt you, I just haven't thought it through yet," she stammered. "Please give me a few days to consider."
Tim gave her a gentle hug and nodded.
She had to find a once-and-for-all solution.
She needed a mask that could make her beautiful—one that would never detach.
"Such a thing does exist," Masquerade's reply filled her with joy—but the next words plunged her into despair. "However, it can't be bought with money."
Three days later, the new mask arrived.
The packaging was transparent. The mask's color wasn't white but blood-red, exuding a thick, rank odor that could be smelled even through the bag.
She rubbed the packaging back and forth, seeming lost in thought.
After a moment, she looked up at her reflection in the mirror—her complexion like a lotus emerging from water, her features as lovely as a painting.
No trace of makeup, yet the effect of makeup.
Every detail of her time with Tim surfaced before her eyes, replaying like film clips.
She paced the room, restless and agitated.
Finally, she stopped, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.
"Sister Lily, what are you doing here?" Faye beamed when she saw Lily Vance at her door.