A Moment of Self-Appreciation, Interrupted

‘Oh, this is unexpectedly good, isn’t it?’

Inside the mall’s fitting room, as I gazed at the silver-haired loli in the mirror, now clad in a blue and white gown, I found myself utterly captivated, unable to hold back a string of praises.

Ahem… don’t misunderstand. I was merely offering the most objective assessment of my reflection, approaching it with an appreciative and professional eye.

Perfect features, fair skin, bright blue eyes, and alluring pink lips. Forgive my limited vocabulary, which proved woefully inadequate to fully capture the extent of my charm, but my current appearance was truly irresistible. It was, dare I say, a face kissed by God himself? Yes, there was no other way to describe it—flawless, and so adorable it was almost infuriating!

Alright, having been transmigrated into such a delicate, doll-like loli, I had to grudgingly give Serena, that scoundrel, a little credit. Even though she’d turned me into a girl under Chen Si Yi’s orders, at least her taste was decent. That much was commendable.

‘If only there were more time, I’d genuinely be curious to see just how much trouble this little one could cause when she grew up.’

I couldn’t help but utter this thought while admiring myself in the mirror, only to snap back to reality and mentally slap myself across the face.

‘What are you thinking, Lin Yan!’ I screamed internally. ‘Snap out of it! Remember how Chen Si Yi and Serena were manhandling you yesterday? And you actually want to stay like this for a few more years? You must have a masochistic streak!’

‘And you’re actually thinking so far ahead?’

‘Are you insane?’

‘You should be focusing on the present, shouldn’t you?’

‘Right, I should try on that Lolita dress next.’

After twirling a few times in front of the mirror, clutching the hem of the dress, I suddenly remembered there was another dress I hadn’t tried on. I hastily unfastened the hidden buttons on the inner side of the skirt and the zipper at the back, then crouched down, rummaging through the mountain of discarded dresses to find the missing Lolita-style frock.

‘Well, with my adorable appearance, it would be a waste to come all this way and not try on a Lolita dress designed specifically for little girls!’

After several minutes of diligent searching, I finally retrieved the Lolita dress that Chen Si Yi had shoved into my hands earlier. It featured a dominant blue hue, accented with delicate pink lines, and its ruffled skirt fell just to the knees. The style suited my current self remarkably well.

When that dress was first thrust upon me, I had frowned and protested vehemently, utterly repulsed by the childish garment Chen Si Yi had chosen. After all, in front of her, I still needed to uphold my image and dignity as an older brother, so a superficial show of reluctance was absolutely necessary. But that certainly didn’t mean I was a pervert who enjoyed wearing women’s clothes. How did that saying go again?

‘When they’re young, girls play with dolls and boys play with machines; but when they grow up, girls play with machines, and boys play with dolls.’

‘Exactly, I simply belong to this perfectly normal category.’

‘Hmm, it looks quite fitting.’

I held the Lolita dress against my chest, assessing it for a moment, and was just about to put it on when I suddenly felt a gaze fixed on me from behind.