Kitsune in the Shadows - Chapter 64 – Wagon Buddies

Once upon a time, there was a makeup artist who possessed outstanding skills and top-notch aesthetic judgement. When he did makeup for various stars, he could embellish sharpness onto the smooth vases that lacked edges, and he could make models who exceeded the boundaries of aesthetics to appear delicate and soft, more approachable to people.

Male stars loved to request him, for he had a thorough understanding of masculine charm in particular, and the makeup he did was never garishly slathered in oils or powders, instead exuding a natural, dashing air of elegance.

Female stars loved to request him, because not only was he excellent in his skills, he was also everyone’s closest confidant; when they chatted, he could easily hold any conversation, and his mouth would be tightly sealed, never allowing anyone’s privacy to slip out.

Although this person was quite young, after getting by in the makeup industry the past few years, he was virtually considered as a distinguished personality in his profession, and would be referred to as a ‘master’ wherever he went.

But he had a terrifying secret. He needed to carefully tread on thin ice and couldn’t expose even the slightest traces; otherwise, nobody would invite him to work ever again, and nobody would apply to the classes he led anymore.

—He was a straight man.

- Description from Novelupdates

He hated everything I was, but I searched for affection in every cruel glance he gave me.“There were so many things I wanted to say to you, but even writing them feels impossible. Because I know that if I were to put down the words I keep in my heart, you'd only say it's natural, after all, I’m just a stupid, self-centered person, like you often said.But I'm not. And that’s why I won’t bare my heart to someone who never truly knew me. Because... you wouldn’t trust the sincerity of a stranger. Right?But I did.You were the stranger whose sincerity I believed in.So I’m stepping away from being the person who embodies everything you hate—because I hate those things too.Maybe in another life, I’ll get to tell you who I really am.”

Cultivating his power by slaying demons and taming countless beasts, the emperor solidified his throne as the world's ruler. But not once in his life had he expected that his disciples would use research on demonology to sap the world tree's power and push the world to destruction.Trying to fix his mistake, he opted to use all of his cultivated power to cure the world tree and block anyone from sapping its power ever again. But in exchange, he was to lose all of his power.But...the worst had happened, his wife... had betrayed him.

“Let me tell you something honey, Revenge is the best dish served cold.’’****To her, betrayal was the most excruciating pain in the world—the kind that pierced her soul.The people she had loved with her entire heart had not only failed her, but ruthlessly deceived her.“How could you?” she had once cried, her voice shaking as she stared at the man she had chased like a madwoman. But he had already cheated on her—expecting a child with the very woman she despised with every fiber of her being.Her so-called “family ” was no better. The relatives she thought she could trust? They only wanted the inheritance meant for her and her little brother.The people who once smiled sweetly and flattered her? They were nowhere to be found when her glamorous and envious life crumbled to nothing.“I thought you all cared about me...” she whispered bitterly, watching as one by one, they all turned their backs on her when she needed them the most.In that devastating moment, everything became painfully clear. The bubble she had lived in popped and she finally saw their true faces.But....it was too late.Everything she had was gone, slipping through her fingers like sand in the wind.Except for him.Her former fiancé, the one man she had tried to ruin with every scheme she had planned, remained by her side until the end. He stood by her, even as she took her final breath.She had accepted her tragic fate—until something phenomenal happened. She woke up once again.Back to the past.Where nothing had happened yet.