Chapter 8: What Are You Staring At? Did You Pay Me?
“I came here alone.”
With her head held high and not a trace of guilt, Yi Ning perfectly posed as a child trying to show off her maturity by shopping alone.
“Then, please come with me.”
The shop assistant led Yi Ning to the fitting room and pulled out a measuring tape. “Okay, raise both arms for me.”
“Oh…”
Yi Ning lifted her arms above her head.
The shop assistant wrapped the soft measuring tape around Yi Ning’s chest at its fullest point, then read the number from behind her.
“Hmm… your bust is 82 centimeters.”
Then, she wrapped the tape around Yi Ning’s underbust.
“Underbust is… 70 centimeters.”
She did a quick calculation. “That’s a B70.”
The shop assistant left the fitting room and returned with a few appropriately sized bras for Yi Ning.
“These are all the right size. Feel free to try them on and just pick the ones you like.”
She handed the bras to Yi Ning, then stepped out of the fitting room.
Wow~ These are really...
Yi Ning held the bras in front of her and compared them against her body.
Maybe the saleslady really thought she was a child—she had picked mostly cute or plain styles. But even so, just facing these bras nearly exhausted all of Yi Ning’s courage.
Under the wave of intense embarrassment, Yi Ning’s mind went completely blank.
“Is everything okay? If you can’t reach the back clasp, you can fasten it in the front and turn it around, okay?”
Maybe she had been silent too long in the fitting room. The shop assistant gently knocked on the wall.
“Huh? N-No…”
Startled by the sudden voice, Yi Ning replied reflexively. Then, realizing how awkward that sounded, she added, “Thank you.”
But thanks to the scare, her rationality returned to the battlefield.
She’d already come this far—if she gave up now, wouldn’t all the shameful suffering she’d endured be wasted?
Staring at the bras, Yi Ning began forcefully hypnotizing herself. Gritting her teeth, she pulled off her top and slipped one on.
Fortunately, her fingers were nimble—the clasp didn’t give her much trouble.
Yi Ning glanced at herself in the mirror. Once she confirmed the fit, she quickly removed the bra, put her shirt back on, and without trying the others, walked out of the fitting room blushing and clutching the selected bras.
“These will do.”
Yi Ning paid, grabbed the packaged bras, and left the shop quickly, her face still flushed.
Looking down at the bag in her hand, her expression turned complicated.
She’d thought she could quickly adapt to being a girl. But now it was clear—she was still a long way off.
As for women’s underwear, the most she could currently accept was triangle briefs.
And even that might just be because men also wore triangle briefs.
She’d save the rest for when she was more adjusted.
Yi Ning sighed, glanced down at the clothes she had on now.
Just a simple T-shirt and pants—only slightly feminine in style.
Maybe she had overestimated her adaptability, thinking she could handle lingerie.
So naive, really.
On the other side, Lu Zheng—still hidden in the crowd—watched Yi Ning with a confused expression.
He couldn’t help but think of his childhood friend Qiu Yu.
Why did women get inexplicably mopey out of nowhere?
Dr. Alien was someone who could get slammed into the ground and still laugh like a maniac, yet now that she was a woman, she looked totally disheartened?
Lu Zheng began to feel grateful he’d dodged a bullet.
Time to go home.
Yi Ning collected herself and turned to head back. But just as she did, she suddenly felt a sharp gaze pierce her back.
She hadn’t planned on paying any mind to whoever was staring.
She was now a top-class beauty, after all. Getting stared at was normal.
Out of respect for her former shared gender, she didn’t mind giving the guy a little eye candy.
It’s not like looking would cost her anything.
But then she realized—the gaze had been there ever since she left the apartment building, except for the time she was in the fitting room and lingerie shop.
That gaze hadn’t left her for a second.
This kind of perception-blocking ability...
Was it a superpower? Magic? Or some strange invention?
And why was it failing now?
Coincidence? Or deliberate?
Yi Ning stayed calm, blended into the crowd, and subtly scanned her surroundings.
Maybe the guy hadn’t noticed his ability stopped working—his gaze was completely unguarded, and he wasn’t even trying to hide. Yi Ning quickly located the source.
She froze for a moment.
It was the neighbor she’d greeted earlier.
She hadn’t investigated her neighbors too deeply since she didn’t plan to cause trouble near her real residence—just that he seemed like a regular 9-to-5 office worker.
Why was he following her?
Other than being a stalker, Yi Ning couldn’t think of any other possibility.
But people with special abilities were required to register with the Hero Association. They were also educated and warned against reckless use.
Each branch of the Hero Association had a danger-sensing alarm. If any ability-related threat occurred in their region, heroes would be dispatched.
Yi Ning relied on that system to get Pixel Mask to show up at her evil base on schedule every workday.
Could this guy be unregistered?
Having someone like that living next door would be a major hassle.
After thinking for a moment, Yi Ning turned around and walked straight toward Lu Zheng, sitting down right next to him.
Lu Zheng didn’t seem to realize his power had stopped working and continued to stare at Yi Ning.
“What are you staring at me for, huh?”
Yi Ning turned to meet his gaze with no hesitation.
Lu Zheng: ?
He looked to the side, assuming Yi Ning was talking to someone else—but no one else was there.
“Don’t look around. I’m talking to you.”
Yi Ning stared coldly at him.
She was the evil scientist here to conquer D-City. If she didn’t have a few tricks up her sleeve, her dumb friends wouldn’t have trusted her to come here alone.
Lu Zheng looked a bit awkward.
He didn’t understand—how had his power failed right at this moment?
“Uh... well...”
Lu Zheng’s eyes wandered.
Getting caught stalking someone left him feeling guilty.
“I... I just thought you looked pretty...”
“Mmhm~”
Yi Ning snorted coldly.
In a panic, Lu Zheng spotted a nearby restaurant. “How about... I treat you to dinner?”
He couldn’t explain anything. What was he supposed to say? That he was Pixel Mask, and he saw the evil scientist Dr. Alien—who was plotting to take over D-City—and had followed her out of concern she might start trouble?
Yi Ning glanced at the sweat-soaked Lu Zheng, then at the restaurant he pointed to.
“Sure.”
She nodded.
She wanted to see what exactly this guy was up to.