Chapter 26: So to Speak, Senior, I Want to Change Clothes Myself

“Come on, come on~ Senior~ don’t be shy, just treat this like you’re at home~”

Li Qing, like a little girl about to dress up her beloved doll, forcibly pressed Lin Yu onto the soft-padded bench, her smile making him shiver from head to toe.

(…At home? If my ten-square-meter rental looked like this, I’d probably suspect every night that I’d wandered into some kind of silk web cave.)

Lin Yu raged inwardly but was utterly powerless after the “visual therapy” he had just endured. He could only let Li Qing take control.

Out of the corner of his eye, he warily surveyed this strange space brimming with “feminine” energy.

It was at least five times larger than his tiny den.

Soft warm yellow lighting illuminated rows of white lockers with electronic locks, spotless and immaculate.

The air was thick with the sweetly cloying scent of shampoo, body wash, and cosmetics.

Chen Bing stood at the doorway, arms crossed, radiating cold disapproval.

Clearly, she didn’t belong here.

Lin Yu couldn’t even imagine how she could be associated with “cute.”

“Alright, senior, since we’re going on a date full of ‘love’ and ‘dreams’ this afternoon, we obviously have to change out of these sweat-stained clothes~”

“Let’s start the [Magical Girl Dress-Up PLAY] now~❤”

As Li Qing spoke, she opened a locker, revealing a mountain of lace, ribbons, bows, frills, and countless fabrics Lin Yu didn’t even know the names of.

“Ta-da~ look, look! This is the newest piece I got last month—the [Starlight Frosted Cream Fantasia] series of Lolita dresses!”

She presented a multi-layered, cake-like Lolita dress like a treasure.

It was predominantly pink and white, with an exaggerated hoop skirt.

Gold stars and moons adorned the hem, while the chest and sleeves were covered in outrageously abundant lace and bows.

“What do you think? Isn’t it super—cute? I’m telling you, wearing this, you’ll be the most dazzling little princess in all of District F!”

Lin Yu’s face twitched.

Summoning all his strength, he forced out a few words through clenched teeth:

“No… I don’t want to, Senior Li Qing… This… this is just too much…”

“Eh? Too much?”

Li Qing tilted her fluffy pink head, innocence personified.

“This is the most orthodox ‘Sweet’ style! As magical girls, we arm ourselves with clothing full of love and hope!”

“…I refuse.”

Lin Yu’s voice carried the last shred of his male dignity.

“Wearing this, forget walking—I’d need two subway tickets. One for me, one for this skirt that takes up three seats.”

“Tsk, senior really doesn’t appreciate it, huh.”

Seeing her first proposal rejected, Li Qing feigned distress, clicking her tongue, then her eyes suddenly sparkled.

“Ah! I get it! Senior thinks the ‘Sweet’ style is too sugary, not matching your [Gray Crystal]-level cold temperament, right? No worries! I have something even better for you!”

She dove back into the “armory” and, after rummaging, pulled out another outfit that made Lin Yu’s temples throb.

It was a black dress.

No exaggerated hoop skirt this time, but lace, ribbons, and metal cross pendants adorned it in abundance.

Even more threatening was the slightly pathological corset-like waist and the bondage-style straps on the shoulders, giving off a strong “yandere” aura, a mix of mental fragility and possessive obsession.

“Ta-da~ This one’s the hottest trend right now: [Landmine Style]!”

Li Qing’s tone brimmed with “see, I understand you,” prideful and confident.

“Cool and cute! Perfect for someone like you—outwardly cold, inwardly hiding deep secrets! Wearing it will awaken that delicate, fragile, protective side in your heart!”

(…No.)

Lin Yu felt his stomach twist.

(…If I wear this, I’d probably pull a knife from my pocket, cry hysterically, and carve flowers into the wall while asking ‘why don’t you love me?’)

“I… I will never wear this.”

Fear trembled in his voice.

“Li Qing, stop playing.”

Just as Lin Yu neared a breakdown, the cold “black statue” at the doorway finally spoke.

Chen Bing frowned, giving Li Qing a look of exasperation as one would a mischievous little sister, halting her perverse “dress-up game.”

“Tsk~ Chen Bing really has zero sense of humor~”

Seeing this, Li Qing knew the prank had reached its limit. She feigned regret with a pout.

Looking at the weak, pitiful, helpless Lin Yu, she finally “showed mercy” and brought out the third and final outfit.

“Alright, alright, no more teasing. Since senior insists, then… wear this. This should be ‘normal’ enough, right?”

She pulled out a plain set: a soft white round-neck shirt, a loose beige knit cardigan, a knee-length navy plaid skirt, and a beret with a touch of literary charm.

No extravagant decorations. Ordinary enough to be the everyday wear of an unremarkable female background character in any school romance anime.

Lin Yu compared this to the previous two “weapons of mass destruction”—the Lolita and Landmine styles—and inwardly waged a battle between dignity and survival instinct.

Finally, survival instinct won.

(…Fine.)

He told himself in the humiliation of defeat:

(…Better to be a ‘background character’ than a doodle on the wall or a psycho… I guess I can accept it.)

Taking the clothes felt like signing a surrender.

He instinctively looked for a changing stall to complete this humiliating transformation in private.

But the moment he took a step—

“Senior, where are you going?”

Li Qing, like a swift little snake, blocked his path.

“Of course you change clothes here! We’re all girls, what’s to be shy about? Come on, I’ll help you!”

“No… I can do it myself…”

His protest was cut off by Li Qing’s unyielding advance.

“Ah, don’t be shy~”

She reached her soft, pale hand toward the side zipper of Lin Yu’s blue sailor uniform.

“Shhh—”

Lin Yu froze as if struck by high-voltage electricity.

*(Crap crap crap crap—!!! What… what are you doing?! Stop! Men and women shouldn’t touch each other! Even though I’m female now… my soul is male! How is this any different from pulling down my pants in front of you?!)

“Li Qing.”

Chen Bing frowned again, giving the same “stop messing around, little sister” look,

“Hurry up. Don’t just play around. We only have thirty minutes left for break.”

“Tsk~ Chen Bing really has zero fun~”

Li Qing, seeing the signal, knew it was time to stop, feigned regret with a pout.

“Alright, alright, no more teasing. You change yourself, but…”

She pulled out a small pink makeup bag from somewhere.

“If we’re going on a date, basic girl etiquette applies~ Don’t move! Though I’ve dropped out, let this former ‘top student of the art academy’ give you a ‘heart-throbbing everyday makeup’ that will make all the men in District F fall for you~”

“Makeup? Unnecessary, I think bare face—”

Lin Yu’s protest was weak against Li Qing’s gaze, which practically screamed: “No makeup, I’ll fry you!”

In the end, he had no choice but to let Li Qing smear scented makeup tools across his face.

When it was done, he looked in the mirror.

His gray short hair was perfectly fluffed, green eyes clear and bright under light eyeshadow.

Almost no traces of makeup were visible, but the original [Gray Crystal] cold detachment was entirely replaced with a clean, pure “girlish” aura.

He looked… like a real-life girl who could appear in anyone’s youthful memories: quiet, a little cute…

…A girl-next-door?