'Hiss—'

I scratched my itchy face and felt a few protrusions.

A sense of unease surged within me, and I quickly ran to the mirror to take a look. Several big pimples had unexpectedly appeared on my previously flawless face, and one of them even had a whitehead, which was quite conspicuous.

The acne that had been cured and hadn't recurred for several years had inexplicably resurfaced.

A sudden restlessness overwhelmed me, and I hurriedly bought some saline solution for wet compress and took a few anti-inflammatory pills, hoping the pimples would subside quickly.

In the afternoon, when my roommates returned from class, Qiao Lan stopped abruptly as she passed by me.

'Hey, weren't you teaching me how to treat acne? How come you're getting pimples too?'

She looked at me with a smile that seemed like a mockery, and for a moment, I couldn't tell if she was joking or making fun of me.

Zhao Mei came over with concern and looked at me, comforting me:

'It's okay, it's just two pimples. It might be due to temporary excessive internal heat and won't affect your beauty.'

'Well, it's not certain. Pimples are like shooting stars; they ignite at the slightest touch.'

I turned my head and felt a surge of anger, retorting:

'Indeed, and once they grow, they're not easy to fade away.' I looked at Qiao Lan. 'You know this better than I do.'

She was so infuriated that her chest rose and fell dramatically, her mouth open but unable to find a retort.

The next day, the pimples hadn't flattened, so I anxiously took a leave and went to the dermatology department at the hospital.

After the doctor learned about my history of acne, he stared at my face and suddenly said:

'Did you use any allergenic substances or products with high alcohol content that might have caused this sudden recurrence?'

I froze, my mind running through the skincare products I had used on my face.

But recently, I hadn't bought any new products; I had been using the ones I was accustomed to.

With the prescription from the hospital in my hand, the doctor's words kept echoing in my mind.

The recurrence was so sudden; it might be due to a problem with the topical products.

Back in the dormitory, I thoroughly inspected all my skincare products to make sure I hadn't used them incorrectly.

I had already washed and sun-dried my pillowcase long ago, so these were the only things that came into contact with my facial skin.

I couldn't think of anything else that could trigger the growth of pimples.