Chapter 261: Changing Clothes and... a Terrorist Attack?!

Xia Yao clearly knew her fashion well, and she was quite familiar with this area.

She directly pulled the cherry-haired girl into a high-end women's lingerie shop with a cute, pink-and-fluffy decor.

The saleswoman caught sight of the black-haired girl's face and seemed to recognize her. When she saw the cherry-haired girl behind her, her entire demeanor instantly warmed up, and she moved to start making recommendations, only to be cut off cleanly and decisively by Xia Yao.

"Basic style, comfortable fit, no lace, no push-up, nothing flashy. A+, slim build, small band size."

"Panties, pick whatever looks comfortable."

The saleswoman nodded knowingly and turned to fetch the items.

"..."

Xia Yao looked at the cherry-haired girl, who seemed utterly lost standing amidst the racks stocked full of bras, and tilted her head with a smile:

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be wrong... because I'm the same size as you. Probably."

Mid-sentence, her tone turned a bit gritted-teeth and somewhat mournful.

Lin Guang: "..."

- Was this what they meant by recognizing a fellow sufferer?

"Hurry up and go change. Your collar is so wide open, if you bend over or ride an elevator, anyone turning around can see everything!"

"I have tape..."

"Use the band-aid! It'll hurt like hell when you peel it off!"

Xia Yao felt her blood pressure rising.

A few minutes later.

The cherry-haired girl, now wearing the new undergarments, pulled the old T-shirt back on. The still-warm, faintly scented band-aid and the discarded white old panties were tossed casually into the trash bin, which gave Xia Yao a phantom twinge of sympathetic pain.

The good news, though, was that the silhouette of her bra now provided support beneath the fabric. The white material draped smoothly down her front. It was still an ill-fitting old shirt, but at least it no longer made anyone nervous.

Xia Yao nodded with slight satisfaction, then unhesitatingly picked out ten more sets for her, swiped her card to pay, and then briskly led the cherry-haired girl into the girls' fashion boutique next door.

The shop's decor was a classic fresh style: raw wood shelves and flooring, warm white lighting, and racks filled with garments in gentle, soft tones.

Xia Yao zipped around the store, quickly pulling three or four coordinated outfits from the racks, shoved them into Lin Guang's arms, then pushed the slightly dazed girl into the fitting room and drew the curtain shut.

Ten seconds passed. Not a sound from behind the curtain.

Xia Yao stood outside with her arms crossed, waited a moment, then couldn't help but call out: "Done changing?"

"..."

Still no sound.

Xia Yao was just starting to look puzzled when she suddenly realized something.

"Wait... don't tell me Mengmengxiang doesn't know how to put on clothes?"

The curtain slid open just a crack.

The cherry-haired girl poked half her pretty face out, her sakura-red eyes fixed on her, saying nothing.

But that look was clearly an admission.

The black-haired girl fell into thought:

"You've worn clothes like this before, right?"

"Mhm."

The cherry-haired girl thought for a moment, then nodded.

She probed further: "But, other people always dress you, so you never learned how?"

"..."

Lin Guang paused, then nodded again, an extremely rare hint of awkwardness flickering in her eyes.

- In the Trial world, after all, she had been constantly fighting, with few opportunities to change outfits.

And even on the rare occasions she encountered complicated clothing, Su Fang had always volunteered to help her put it on.

As for that one time after everything ended, when they'd gone shopping for clothes... well, everyone had volunteered to dress her then.

When it came to doing it alone, she really had never done it.

These clothes were different from the casual everyday ones at home. Better aesthetics naturally came with structural upgrades. In her eyes, these garments felt even more complex than the spell structures inside that belt...

She couldn't exactly use her embryonic Domain on the spot, or wake up Mengmengxiang for an impromptu lesson, could she?

"Fine, fine, I get it. You're the real young lady here."

Xia Yao took a deep breath, resigned to her fate, and pushed aside the curtain to squeeze in.

The fitting room wasn't exactly spacious, and with two people crammed inside, there was nothing left but shoulder-to-shoulder contact.

The cherry-haired girl had already peeled off her old T-shirt, leaving only the new set of plain white undergarments. The thin straps accentuated the delicate, slender lines of her collarbone and shoulders.

She seemed to have no wariness of Xia Yao's closeness at all. The transparent red gem pendant hung against her chest, and under the fitting room's bright lights, it seemed to shimmer with a strange red glow, looking absolutely gorgeous.

Xia Yao's gaze lingered on it for several seconds, then roamed over Lin Guang's slim, lovely figure, and she couldn't help but let out an appreciative look.

The phrase "jade skin and icy bones" was probably invented to describe this slightly airheaded girl.

Every line of her body was slender and flowing, with not a single awkward angle. Her skin glowed faintly under the warm yellow lighting, from collarbone to ankle, her whole being soft and clean, carrying a warm, sweet fragrance.

For some reason, that scent and that feeling felt so familiar it was almost intimate.

What a nice body.

- Though it was a bit grudging... but it felt like it was even better than her own.

The next moment, a glint of enthusiasm seemed to flash through the black-haired girl's eyes.

- She suddenly really wanted to see what she looked like in those outfits!

...

An hour later.

The cherry-haired girl and the black-haired girl walked out of the fitting room for the twelfth time.

This time, she was wearing a blue-and-white high-waisted pleated skirt paired with white stockings. The ruffled collar of the blouse nestled against her collarbone, and a bow sat neatly at her chest, softly echoing the colors of the skirt.

"Spin around once, let me see."

Lin Guang twirled lightly at the words, her cream-white little leather shoes scuffing softly against the floor.

The hem of the skirt flared out as she spun, the pleats spreading like a blooming flower. The blue-and-white palette combined with her sakura-red long hair in a strangely harmonious way, giving off a clear, vivid feeling.

Her lovely legs were wrapped in white stockings, with just the right hint of soft pressure at mid-thigh.

Xia Yao was absolutely delighted: "So pretty! We're getting this one too."

"Get another set of the same, for myself."

Lin Guang: "..."

You say that for every single set.

"Mm... that's about enough."

Xia Yao, looking like someone thoroughly satisfied after playing a dress-up game, pulled out her card again, seemingly ready to pay.

The beautifully dressed cherry-haired girl watched her movements, appearing lost in thought.

These clothes weren't cheap.

Even if Xia Yao was being kind, she had no intention of freeloading.

So, what should she do...

But just as she was thinking this-

The cherry-haired girl suddenly whipped her head around, staring in a certain direction, her brow furrowing slightly.

Xia Yao instinctively spoke: "What's wrong?"

The other girl didn't answer.

But in that instant, some kind of blazing majesty seemed to burst forth from her flawless face, making Xia Yao's heart skip a beat.

BOOM-!

Out of nowhere.

A few seconds later, a muffled explosion roared in the distance.

A shockwave and tremors followed, the fitting room's walls and even the floor tiles seeming to vibrate slightly.

The pedestrian street outside went silent for a full two seconds, then instantly plunged into chaos. The screams of the crowd and the blare of car alarms wove together like a hive that had been kicked over.

The saleswoman shrieked in terror and bolted away at top speed.

Xia Yao's eyes widened slightly.

- No way.

- Was this... a terrorist attack?!

Given Xia Yao's background, she naturally knew more than the average citizen.

Uncle An had told her that those so-called gas explosions and all kinds of news stories were actually just covers for certain dangerous incidents.

If that weren't the case, she wouldn't have obediently listened and headed home at seven every day.

She was stubborn, not stupid. She knew full well that Wind Capital hadn't been all that peaceful lately.

"Mengmengxiang, let's get out of here..."

The next moment, she grabbed her bag and turned to pull the cherry-haired girl to safety, but the words died in her throat.

The fitting room was empty.

Xia Yao froze for a second, then hurried to the shop entrance and looked outside.

In the panicked, scattering crowd, she barely managed to catch a glimpse of a flash of sakura-red long hair and a flying skirt hem, vanishing around the street corner in an instant.