Lin Xiaoman is the executive director of an investment company in Lujiazui, Shanghai. She has been repeatedly discriminated against in the workplace because of her long-term use of cheap lipstick. The lip mark on her coffee cup was ridiculed by the director as "like the edge of bread gnawed by a dog." Her chance encounter with a vain roommate carrying a baby stung her self-esteem even more. Under the pressure of life, she unexpectedly reunited with her first love in college, Chen Mo. At this time, Chen Mo was already the CEO of a beauty group, but she was still a "transparent person" in the workplace who was worried about rent.
Ten years ago, the two regretfully broke up because of the material gap of "a lipstick": Chen Mo secretly sold blood to collect Lin Xiaoman's traditional Chinese medicine expenses, but lied about "lipstick is an IQ tax" because of his low self-esteem; after Lin Xiaoman discovered the salary slip, he broke up with her boyfriend so as not to burden her boyfriend, and tore up the lipstick samples he had hidden under the pillow. After the reunion, Chen Mo used "lipstick" to make up for his regrets, while Lin Xiaoman gradually unraveled the knots of the past while getting along with each other. At the same time, the dilemma in the workplace inspired her to gain insight into the "beauty needs of women in the workplace" and decided to transition from an administrative position to start a business.
She founded "Shimmer Makeup", which focuses on "cost-effective workplace makeup". However, she encountered multiple challenges such as industry suppression and the prejudice of her husband's family during her entrepreneurial journey. In order to support her, Chen Mo broke up with his family, and the two reconnected with their relationship as business partners. In the end, they established a business marriage with "dual brands operating independently" to realize the equal symbiosis of career and love. The story uses the small but concrete symbol of "lipstick" to show how urban women break their inferiority complex and rebuild their self-worth amidst real-life pressure and emotional entanglements.
