Note:
There is a note from the author apparently deleted an interlude cap49-interlude-cap50.
The interlude only talked about Katherine planning to set up a security company called Umbrella hiring veterans but she didn't upload it again so it's just summarized.
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Ida's birthday is on January 1, Lisa's is on February 8, and Lily's is on September 1, but for some reason, only Jenny's birthday ever gets a proper party.
"Happy birthday!"
Everyone smiled at Jenny and handed her their gifts.
Catherine's gift was a platinum bracelet, delicate and beautiful.
"Time really flies. Another year has gone by," Catherine said with a hint of emotion.
Sometimes she felt time moved unbearably slowly, and other times she regretted how quickly it passed.
"Don't worry, Kate, we'll give you a birthday present in June too~"
"That's not what I meant."
Catherine shrugged and sat down on the couch.
"I think I should buy an air conditioner."
Even though it was only April, the temperature was already rising.
It seemed that air conditioning had been invented because of the severe drought that hit the United States in the 1960s.
Although it was still a relatively new product, people talked about air conditioners so much that almost everyone knew about them.
"Maybe we'll need two. The house is too big."
"No, just one for the bedroom will be enough."
The house had heating, but no air conditioning—after all, it was still something new.
"Kate, aren't you wearing any underwear?"
Lily suddenly looked at Catherine with curiosity.
Catherine turned red as a tomato and jumped to her feet.
"I… it's just because I'm at home. Wearing underwear isn't comfortable."
Catherine was wearing those orthopedic stockings; in fact, three pairs had been made for convenience.
The stockings were excellent quality, but one issue was that they were difficult to take off, so they had an open crotch design to make going to the bathroom easier.
These stockings were perfect for someone lazy like Catherine, so at home she often wore only the stockings.
As the weather got warmer, Catherine put on a miniskirt, but it was from last year and fit a bit tightly now, which was why Lily noticed.
"It's fine at home. This is our territory," Ida said, trying to reassure Catherine.
"Kate, a girl shouldn't dress so casually," Lily warned her. It seemed Catherine had heard this before—back when she didn't wear a bra.
"Kate never seems to care about her appearance, does she?"
"Who says that? I always do!"
"To be more precise, you care about your body, not the most important things for a girl."
"And does Kate ever wear makeup?" Lily added.
"So far, I've only ever seen her with a ponytail. I've never seen her try any other hairstyle."
Everyone chimed in, and Catherine found herself being criticized again.
In truth, Catherine cared about her looks and her body, but not about traditional feminine charm.
Aside from having a makeup artist do her makeup when she was on stage, Catherine rarely wore makeup in daily life. Even without makeup, she was strikingly beautiful. And because she took such good care of herself, she didn't even have acne.
"Honestly, I don't think being ladylike is that important. Kate is our Kate. Why should we care so much?" Ida said once again, coming to Catherine's rescue.
At the time, the hippie movement was in full swing, and attitudes in schools and society were changing. It was an era of transition.
In fact, much of Catherine's novel Fallout had been inspired by these emerging hippies.
Catherine didn't want to comment on this group, which was often vilified by mainstream magazines, but she already had her eye on them.
"Even now, Kate would look great in a dress. Being ladylike isn't really the issue. She's just too lazy," Jenny said.
"I walk ten thousand meters on the treadmill every day!" Catherine protested.
"That's for correcting your posture, Kate. At the very least, you need to learn how to do makeup and style your hair. These are basics for girls."
"I know how to do a ponytail…" Catherine's protest weakened.
Then, under everyone's pressure and temptation, Catherine sat down at the vanity and began torturing her hair.
Catherine had beautiful, long platinum-blonde hair that reached her waist, dazzling and captivating.
But she couldn't manage even basic styling, even with help.
So Jenny became her instructor, teaching her how to style her hair.
After Catherine carefully created a simple princess-style hairstyle, everyone asked Ida to teach her how to apply makeup.
In the end, what was supposed to be Jenny's birthday celebration turned into Catherine's training day.
Although she was far from proficient, by the end of the day Catherine finally understood what makeup was all about. At the very least, she could now apply light makeup or simple eyeshadow.
"Being a woman is hard."
That was Catherine's final "graduation speech."
"If you want to be one of those hairy, smelly gorillas, I don't have any objections," Lily remarked about men.
"Have you noticed that Kate seems to have grown again?"
"163 centimeters," Catherine reported her height.
"And the pair in front has grown too~"
Catherine's chest had reached a C cup. It wasn't considered large for her height—just average—but Lisa still seemed to hope Catherine would continue growing.
"A C cup is the biggest it should be. Any bigger isn't good!" Catherine herself disliked overly large breasts. Even though in her previous life she loved women in adult films and romantic thrillers with big, bigger, or even huge chests, when it came to herself…
"Kate, breasts don't obey anyone."
"Don't quote Marx!"
Catherine felt a little discouraged.
She then looked down at her chest. Not just her chest—even her hips were starting to lift. From the side, Catherine had a very attractive curve.
But in the end, she let out a soft sigh.
Why do Westerners like big breasts and big hips—sometimes even enormous ones?