The maid outfit—this could be said to be part of Chu Lian's black history. After all, Ayase had forced her to wear maid costumes more than anything else. To this day, her computer still held at least a thousand photos in all sorts of maid outfits.
White stockings, black stockings, black-and-white stockings, blue-and-white stockings, fishnet stockings; long skirts, short skirts; cat ears, bunny ears; cat tails, fox tails—it was utterly humiliating. Yet every time, she resisted to no avail.
Compared to those, today's maid outfit was far more normal: a black knee-length maid dress trimmed with white lace. Wearing it didn't make her feel much of anything.
If not for her icy expression and her refusal to say more than a word, it really did seem that way.
Though her features and figure were as gentle as flowing water, under her queenly aura, this loli maid truly didn't give off any friendliness. Place anyone beside her now, and you'd wonder—who exactly is the master here?
Inori carefully noticed her distaste for maid outfits. So after taking just over twenty photos, she pulled Chu Chu back, letting her change into something else.
Each outfit change made Chu Lian look like a completely different person. Under these circumstances, her ability to shift her aura to match each situation was simply astonishing.
By the third change into a student uniform, her queenly demeanor had already dissipated, replaced by her usual self. But fully aware of the situation she was in, she couldn't back down. Even if she was inwardly dying of embarrassment, she couldn't bring herself to refuse the outfits.
Now she had thrown caution to the wind. After all, everyone here was female. Even if something was seen, it wasn't worth caring about. As for the photos being uploaded later—that was a problem for the future. Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it…
Aside from Inori who always watched carefully and Li Xiu'er who silently observed, only Chu Chu noticed the changes in her. But all of them stayed quiet, lest they make things worse for Chu Lian and leave her no way to step down.
Despite how Chu Chu always clung to her and teased her whenever she could, her care for her was one of the deepest of all. Whenever her big sister's dignity or pride was on the line, Chu Chu always acted more thoughtfully than anyone.
So as Chu Lian gritted her teeth, tossed aside her shame, and continued changing and posing for photos, the girls encouraged her silently. After all, she was destined to become a superstar. Beyond the screen, her musical talent alone would demand live concerts, which meant countless outfit changes.
At a single concert, she might need over a dozen costume swaps. But given her current state, there was no way she could face tens of thousands of eyes on her. This rare chance to experience the pressure of the spotlight—wasting it would be a loss.
Realizing this, Inori and Li Xiu'er exchanged subtle glances toward Chu Chu. Seeing her confused expression in return, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Was this all coincidence, or had she deliberately orchestrated it? Only Chu Chu herself knew.
Regardless of what they thought, Chu Lian forced herself to maintain her queenly mask. It was her way of hiding, afraid that they might notice. She knew it was just self-deception, but it was better than nothing.
But once she changed into different outfits, that mask crumbled, leaving only her purest self.
Wearing a pink nurse dress with white stockings held by garter straps, her cheeks faintly red and her face set in a tsundere expression—it was as if she were saying: "I'm not worried about you. I'm just doing my duty as a nurse. Don't think too much. Hmph. Be good, open wide, take your medicine!"
When that nurse-loli photo hit the internet, someone commented: "Which hospital has such an adorable nurse? I'll check in for ten years. I'll watch her grow up, watch her bloom, watch her become someone else's girlfriend… Why not mine? At this rate, I'll end up in orthopedic care in Germany~"
Then came the pure white loli dress, her face lit with an innocent, angelic smile—like heaven's messenger on earth. This was the color she showed the world most often, and her most beautiful form.
Comment: "Lord, please grant me such a loli… ah, no, please grant me such a kind and adorable angel. I will live a life of goodness, never doing wrong."
A black gothic loli dress. Her head lowered slightly, lips curved in a half-smile, she tilted her body as if glancing sideways, exuding a gloomy aura.
Comment: "Once again, Chu Lian-chan's gothic style—amazing! Though not as overpowering as Queen-sama, this dark little loli is adorable too! That subtle half-smile is just foul play. You may be wicked, but please let me pamper you!"
Someone summed it up: "Anyone posting or agreeing with these comments must be a masochist. Sorry, I'm one too… So please, elder sister, take me in!"
…Let's just ignore these comments. Otherwise, a flood of extreme gentlemen might appear…
In short, as more and more of Chu Lian's outfit-change photos hit the internet, countless people went mad. Some fans even declared today a holiday—when else would they get so many private shots of Chu Lian-chan?
Of course, the action-takers were no fewer. Photos of plane tickets flooded online, with captions like: "I can't take it anymore, I'm going to find Chu Lian, I must see her with my own eyes." / "I'm off to see Chu Lian-chan. Once I get a photo with her, I'll post it—don't be too jealous." / "Now's the time to act, not to sit here doing nothing." — stirring up plenty of envy.
As time and hype built, more and more people became aware of it. Whether they were fans or not, everyone nearby grew curious to take a look.
Meanwhile, Taobao conveniently listed items like "Chu Lian's Qipao Outfit," "Chu Lian's Maid Outfit," "Chu Lian's Campus Outfit," "Chu Lian's Nurse Outfit," "Chu Lian's Pure White Loli Outfit," and "Chu Lian's Gothic Loli Outfit."
The styles she had worn were immediately identified and put up for sale at 20% above the usual price—yet fans who adored Chu Lian so much snapped them up anyway. Within minutes, everything was sold out.
The shopkeepers, watching their stock vanish in no time, could only curse themselves for not preparing more. These were costly items, but every sale meant profit! If only they could know in advance what Chu Lian would wear next, they could prepare better.
Regardless of what sellers or fans did, Chu Lian's outfit-changing session finally reached its last set.
It was a one-piece swimsuit. On the beach, it would have been considered conservative. In Japan, this type was called sukumizu—but Chu Lian had never once worn one. Because once she did, no other clothing could be layered on top. Simply put, half her skin would be exposed.
The earlier outfits, no matter how embarrassing, still covered enough. But this… this was beyond her bottom line. She flat-out refused.
"How about this, Big Sis—you can change in the dressing room, and only me, Inori, and Xiu'er will look. No one else can come close, okay?" Chu Chu proposed a compromise. Though it still meant wearing it, at least it gave her a way out.
Chu Lian considered, then nodded. With steps as light as a cat, she darted into the dressing room, leaving the three girls exchanging helpless glances.
After several long minutes, her faint, mosquito-like voice finally came: "Um, I've changed… you can come in."
Her words were heard not only by Chu Chu and the others, but also by the group of girls gathered outside. Though they desperately wanted to see Chu Lian in a sukumizu, none dared move forward. Anger her, and other fans wouldn't let them off. They knew very well—they were fans, but so was everyone else around them!
"Waaah, so cute! Big Sis, don't cover your chest with your hands—spread your arms and let me capture this moment!"
"Lian, you look so cute right now. If people outside saw you, I bet half of them would have to be hospitalized immediately."
"Chu Lian, how dare you wear that! Just watching you makes me feel embarrassed!"
The three girls chattered on, making the crowd itch with curiosity. Quite a few of the women who had been recording video from the start had already decided to upload it later. Their reasoning was simple: "If I can't see clearly, then you won't either. At least I got to experience it live—while you'll only have video and envy, and you won't feel it the way I did!"
In other words, once women get domineering and unreasonable, it's easy for men to suffer. Let's have 0.1 seconds of silence for those poor guys who will be crushed by this later…
After the photoshoot, Chu Lian changed back into her hanfu. A faint pink still lingered on her face, proof of her lingering shyness. Now aware of what was happening online, she knew she couldn't delay any longer. Turning to the attendant in the yellow qipao, she said: "Please wrap up all the outfits I just wore, and also the ones those three tried on. We'll take them all."
She gave the girl a golden card, whispering the password, then sent her to pay. Afterwards, she leaned close to Chu Chu, whispering softly in her ear.
Moments later, Tina leapt down from Chu Chu's arms and darted toward the door. Meanwhile, the attendants quickly gathered the clothes, returning after two minutes with over twenty items neatly packed.
The yellow-qipao attendant handed the golden card back to Chu Lian and kindly asked: "Would you like us to have these delivered for you?"
Chu Lian nodded. "Yes, please have them sent to Room 014, 40th floor, Qingping Grand Hotel. Thank you."
"Of course. We'll arrange for delivery shortly. Is there anything else you need?" The attendant looked at her expectantly, clearly hoping Chu Lian would stay longer.
But before Chu Lian could answer, a few cries rang out from outside: "A tiger! Everyone run!" The screams mixed with the roar of a tiger shook the boutique, throwing everything into chaos. No one had the heart to watch Chu Lian anymore as they all scrambled.
When the attendant turned and saw the white tiger outside, her stunned expression quickly gave way to concern as she turned back, wanting to shield Chu Lian and the others.
Yet in that brief moment, the four girls who had been there just a second ago had already vanished…