Shae Harris sat at the breakfast table and sighed.
Wei Zhi also sat beside Mori Aoi and sighed.
Both of them looked so sad and reluctant.
They both looked at each other and sighed even more.
"Sigh all you want, there's probably a character you can cosplay as who is always sad," Ming Jun said, rolling his eyes.
The two looked at him with resentment and finally started eating their breakfast.
Mori Aoi giggled while chewing her food.
After a period of time and a lot of food stuffing, they were finally ready.
Shae Harris stood at the door, facing the van with reluctance for the first time.
Her hand was pressed to the door, and she constantly turned back.
Wei Zhi patted her back and sighed.
He stood beside her,
looking at the sky with a lost expression,
his back to the inside of the apartment,
and his hands clasped behind his back with his figure straight.
"You guys can meet us over there when you get serious," Ming Jun shoved past the two of them.
But he wasn't alone.
He was holding a giggling Mori Aoi and walking past.
He held her by her wrist and carefully led her forward.
Mori Aoi giggled as she now stood in front of the van.
Wei Zhi was the first to cave in.
He dropped his head down and sighed.
Then he walked over to Mori Aoi and rubbed her head.
Shae Harris saw her compatriot shrugging at her and also gave up.
She looked back at the apartment one more time before walking over to the van.
Yi Zheng was seated at the driver's seat already waiting for them.
"Finally done," he said.
"Sigh, it's just for us this opportunity to get good karma," Shae Harris said as she got in.
"Why do you make it sound like you're doing me a favor!" Ming Jun exclaimed in shock.
He also entered the van.
"Good people never announce their good deeds," Wei Zhi added as he hopped in.
Mori Aoi, who had been enjoying the show all morning, let out another giggle.
"All you've done is laugh," Ming Jun rolled his eyes at her.
Mori Aoi smiled even more and got into the van.
"That's because they are doing funny things," she said.
"Hey sister, you don't get the main thing.
If they can unite, why don't we?" Ming Jun said, rubbing his hands.
"No thank you," Mori Aoi refused immediately.
Wei Zhi and Shae Harris snickered as Ming Jun glared at the two of them.
"Alright, where are we going?" Yi Zheng interrupted what he knew to be the next round of arguments.
"It's a store named Cosplay," Ming Jun replied, then began to give a series of directions.
Yi Zheng said okay and began to drive.
After a certain amount of time, they were finally there.
Ming Jun got out first and walked eagerly to the store.
The others also followed behind him.
The store was dusty, and there was a little blood splatter here and there.
But in the current situation, it could be said to be clean.
There were racks of different set pieces of clothes hung in open wardrobes.
Each wardrobe was divided by a plaque with the name of the anime on top.
Everyone except Ming Jun looked at the combination of outfits that looked weird and pursed their lips.
"You can't escape it," Ming Jun said, glancing back to see their pained expressions.
So they could only show a determined look.
"So which one first?" Shae Harris asked bravely.
In truth though, she wished the answer was none.
"Naturally, a pirate crew," Ming Jun said.
Then he went over to one wardrobe.
He studied the clothes, then turned back to them.
He did this a few times, and each look felt more and more weird—especially when he focused on the two girls.
"What is it already?!" Shae Harris couldn't take the pressure anymore.
"The… the chest… well, it's really too big," Ming Jun said sheepishly.
Then he glanced at a certain part of the female body before looking away.
Shae Harris studied the jeans, the orange hair, and most especially the big bikini top.
Then she looked down at her chest.
And looked at the bikini top again.
Then glanced at her chest.
And looked at the bikini top that suddenly had a mocking smile on it.
Shae Harris looked at the hallucination of a bikini mocking her.
Then she resolutely told herself one thing:
Big-chested anime girls deserve to die!
Those perverted scumbags who drew them like that also need to feel my wrath!!
Shae Harris swung a fist at the air in indignation.
Mori Aoi was red, and she covered her face with her hands.
Especially at the sight of the purple jacket that wasn't completely zipped up and the long lilac skirt—
the same skirt that revealed a long slit at the side.
Just imagining wearing the top already made Mori Aoi embarrassed.
The combination, seen on the small picture of the characters placed on top of the wardrobe, made her red.
And also made her subconsciously peek at Wei Zhi—
who was looking at the ground and blushing.
Suddenly, she felt a little bit less embarrassed.
Especially seeing as his face was even redder than hers.
And he couldn't bear to look at the outfit.
"Yes, unfortunately there's nothing to do unless you wear that thing," Ming Jun spread his hands.
"What thing?" Shae Harris said, looking at him with suspicion.
He beckoned them closer and showed them an oval foam-like thing placed below the outfits.
Shae Harris was confused at first,
but then the way it was made to look like real skin made a thunderbolt echo in her mind,
and she grasped the meaning.
Shae Harris immediately gave Ming Jun a stinky look, as if he had tried to harass her.
Mori Aoi moved back from the box quickly, and her red face went up a notch.
She also dragged Wei Zhi back before he could see what it was.
"No matter what body I have, I also have to show integrity," Shae Harris said righteously.
"So does that mean you are letting yourself go just because you wear this?" Ming Jun looked at her in surprise.
He hadn't expected someone like her to have such reservations.
If anything, he had expected it from Mori Aoi.
"No, I'm just saying—how could I wear them now that you've shown me?
What type of girl would I be to rely on your help even with this kind of thing?" Shae Harris looked at him in righteous anger.
Ming Jun: Huh?
So you're angry not because I said you should wear it, but because you didn't discover it yourself?
"Then let's just pretend that you found it," Ming Jun offered.
"Are you still doubting me?
Or are you deliberately trying to cross me?" Shae Harris snatched the outfit and walked away.
Ming Jun stood frozen in confusion.
No, wasn't I just trying to help??
Sigh, girls are really confusing.
Mori Aoi also took her outfit and hurried after Shae Harris.
But she still gave the two boys a disappointed look.
Wei Zhi: Me too??
I didn't say a word since we came in, so why was I roped in??
Ming Jun: Sister, not you too!!
Did I really do something wrong?
Ming Jun didn't want to bother anymore and took the leader's outfit.
Wei Zhi also took the blonde wig and suit.
Ming Jun looked at him in surprise.
"What?" Wei Zhi asked with a bad feeling.
"That character is actually a major pervert.
The worst kind—exaggerated even among the anime community," Ming Jun chuckled.
Wei Zhi decisively abandoned it and nervously took the green wig and three swords.
He felt the familiar spongy foam feeling and sighed in relief.
But he still didn't feel comfortable having a sword around him.
Even if it was fake.
They all separated into changing rooms.
Yi Zheng sat on a sofa in the lounge and waited.
Shae Harris stood in front of the mirror and watched as the bikini top sank once more.
She happily imagined beating up those anime creators each time she saw it slide down.
Eventually she gave up and tried to fix her crooked wig.
Mori Aoi, who had finished wearing her clothes and didn't dare to look in the mirror, came over.
She instead leaned in and fixed the wig on Shae Harris's head.
Then she tied the bikini more tightly and adjusted her appearance.
"You're quite good at this," Shae Harris said, watching her work through the mirror.
"I used to help my sister a lot, and I kinda like it a little," Mori Aoi flushed with the praise.
She had watched dozens of tutorials on makeup and styling because her sister found it too bothersome to do it herself.
Plus, she found that, like dancing, Mori Aoi also had a talent in things like makeup and outfits.
So she added another extra layer of work—
and forced her to work in high-end boutiques to humiliate her and shop at the same time.
One has to admit her sister had an amazing ability to multitask when it came to her.
Her sister could visit her favorite place while also making sure to put down her older sister—
two things she very much enjoyed.
"Done." Mori Aoi adjusted one more thing and stepped back.
Shae Harris looked at the neat and tidy image, feeling pleased.
Due to her small size, not much skin was showing at the chest area.
And she was okay with showing other areas.
After all, there was truly nothing worth looking at, so she felt at ease.
It was just her stomach—no big deal.
If there was, then her father might have shipped her off sooner.
Shae Harris snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the fidgeting girl beside her.
"Come over," she said, waving her hand.
Mori Aoi hesitated and shook her head slightly.
Shae Harris rolled her eyes and dragged her forward.
Mori Aoi was forced to look at the mirror.
She saw the pale-faced monster in a purple outfit and realized that the girl in the mirror looking back was herself.
Ah, I really do look like a monster…
"Cute," Shae Harris said, wrapping a hand around her waist.
Then she chuckled as Mori Aoi blushed and stuttered a refusal.
"I'm pretty ugly, especially with these crazy eyes and pale skin," Mori Aoi uttered silently at the end.
She wasn't naïve enough to believe what Shae Harris said.
She was very clear about her appearance.
Her family had repeated that directly into her ear over and over again.
She also noticed the stares from customers as she worked,
and the dissatisfaction of her various bosses.
So she knew she looked like a monster.
But she was the one who felt most disgusted with herself.
Seeing Shae Harris about to say something,
Mori Aoi shrugged her hands off her waist and dragged her out.
"Come on, the others are waiting," she said cheerfully, as if the conversation had never happened.
Shae Harris also respected boundaries and didn't continue.
She understood that kind of blatant self-analysis—
one where you could calmly tell yourself the truth.
So she respected her stubbornness.
But she did wish she could convince her that she wasn't lying.
The timid girl was actually really cute if someone hung out with her.
Especially with the way she trembled when I hugged her waist.
Shae Harris let out a perverted chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" Ming Jun looked at Shae Harris suspiciously.
"Your outfit," she replied straightforwardly.
"What's wrong with it?" Ming Jun looked at his red shirt and straw hat.
"Can't you see how he has six pack, and you have a negative?" Shae Harris answered even more brutally.
Ming Jun was choked.
"It's not so nice now, is it?" Shae Harris smiled mischievously.
Ming Jun looked aggrieved.
I was only trying to help, okay? I really didn't mean anything else.
Wei Zhi, on the other hand, was nervously avoiding Mori Aoi.
The girl had zipped the purple jacket completely up so no skin was showing.
But there was nothing she could do about the slit.
So she could only try not to let it show.
But that still made both of them shy.
They didn't dare look at each other and blushed.
"Alright, picture time." Ming Jun didn't want to bother with Shae Harris.
He took the phone from the cat that suddenly appeared and handed it to Yi Zheng with a pleading gesture.
Then they all stood side by side with the two girls in the middle.
"Cheese," they chorused as the phone went off with a click.