Chapter 31 : Epilogue

“Sorry… it’s because of my stubbornness that you two got scolded…”

Su Xinran said apologetically.

“It’s fine, really. After all, we did take a little stroll through the shopping district during work hours. It was pretty fun, actually. Here.”

Huang Qinyin handed Su Xinran a cup of milk tea—it was still warm.

Holding the cup and feeling the warmth in her hands, Su Xinran felt a bit touched.

Since her relatives were visiting, she wasn’t supposed to drink anything cold.

She hadn’t expected Huang Qinyin to be so considerate.

Truly worthy of being a maid.

Wait a second!

A sudden thought struck Su Xinran—Huang Qinyin shouldn’t have known that her relatives were visiting… Could it be…?

Su Xinran cautiously glanced at Huang Qinyin’s expression but couldn’t detect anything suspicious.

In truth, the warm milk tea was simply because Ranzhu preferred her drinks hot, so when Huang Qinyin ordered, she didn’t bother adjusting the temperature setting.

But that small coincidence made Su Xinran unusually nervous.

Huang Qinyin, unaware of all this, was cheerfully carrying a bunch of shopping bags.

Ranzhu, on the other hand, looked a bit downcast—her cat ears drooping, face covered in black lines, muttering strange things under her breath.

“How could the perfect maid like me do something like this… ugh… got scolded, got scolded… I’m doomed…”

In the car, Su Xinran noticed through the rearview mirror that several cars were following them from a distance.

She grew tense, even preparing to summon her mechanical exoskeleton for combat at any moment.

Fortunately, nothing happened all the way home.

Just as Su Xinran was about to enter her room, Ranzhu called out to her.

“Wait, we have something for you.”

Ranzhu handed her a luxurious gift box.

“This is the academy uniform. We picked it up for you. And this.”

She pulled a sparkling black bag from the pile Huang Qinyin was carrying.

“What’s this?”

Su Xinran curiously took the bag and pulled out what was inside—a stylish school uniform carrier.

The clasp of the bag was impressively designed, and the overall look was high-end.

Hanging on the side was an adorable little Cinnamoroll charm.

“We actually wanted to call you to come choose it yourself, but in the end, we just picked one. Not sure if you’ll like it…”

“You don’t need to call me ‘miss’—just ‘Xinran’ is fine. And this bag… emmm…”

Deep down, she really wanted to reject the overly cute uniform bag.

But her hands were already stroking the material instinctively, and she gave the plush charm a gentle squeeze.

“Well… it is a bit too cute… but since you spent so much money on it, I’ll reluctantly accept it.”

Su Xinran said something that clearly contradicted her true feelings.

“Good, as long as you like it. Miss, please get some rest now—we won’t disturb you any longer. The new semester starts in three days, so please be sure to get plenty of rest.”

Ranzhu bowed and withdrew.

Su Xinran carried all the bags and packages into her room.

“Whoa!”

The sight before her stunned Su Xinran.

All of her belongings from her old safehouse had already been moved here!

The household staff worked so efficiently, Su Xinran thought, impressed.

She dragged the rest of her bags into the room.

As soon as the door closed behind her, all of her cool and composed demeanor vanished.

Her eyes sparkled as she held up the uniform bag.

“Kawaii…!”

What macho man could possibly resist such a sweet and girly accessory?

None!

In her past life, all her bags were plain old backpacks—she’d even carried an Ultraman schoolbag from elementary through junior high.

She was laughed at by classmates for years.

After carefully putting the bag away, Su Xinran sat on the fluffy carpet in her room and began unboxing the luxurious gift box.

The box wasn’t tied with a ribbon, and after fiddling with it for a while without figuring out how to open it, she accidentally pressed a hidden button, and with a click, the box popped open.

A deep, rich fragrance drifted out—none of that factory-new clothing smell.

Inside were three short-sleeved summer uniforms with plaid skirts, three long-sleeved autumn uniforms with bust-supporting skirts, and a gym outfit…

Su Xinran picked up the gym uniform, holding it up and imagining how she’d look in it.

Hmm… yeah, no.

She decided then and there—she’d be on her period every single gym class from now on.

She kept digging.

Under the gym outfit was a winter coat and then… wait, what was this…?

Su Xinran pulled out a light blue garment.

This… was this a school swimsuit?

What the f—?!

Su Xinran felt her face heat up.

Th-this…!

Was this what being in a prestigious noble school meant?

They even had swimming classes?!

She was a certified non-swimmer.

In her previous life, whenever there were swim classes, Su Xinran would just treat them as eye candy events.

But now, she just felt awful.

Because now she was no longer the one watching—she was the one being watched.

“Seal it! This cursed outfit must be sealed immediately!”

Shouting as if casting an exorcism spell, Su Xinran hurled the swimsuit far away, then started rolling around on the carpet.

“I absolutely, definitely will not go to swimming class!”

But…

She’d… actually never worn a swimsuit like that before…

Hmm… what would she look like in it?

Staring up at the ceiling, Su Xinran fell into thought.

Maybe… maybe she could try it on…?

I mean, this was her bedroom, and no one else was around. She’d just try it on, that’s all…

Yes!

Su Xinran sat up decisively.

“I’m just trying on my school uniform, there’s nothing wrong with that!”

Having convinced herself, she nodded firmly and stood up.

After some rustling sounds, Su Xinran had changed into the swimsuit.

Ahem!

Standing solemnly in front of the mirror, Su Xinran took a deep breath.

“This is merely a test of will.”

She kept telling herself that, but her face had turned red all the way to the tips of her ears.

Looking at her reflection, Su Xinran was surprised to find that… it actually didn’t look overly lewd or anything.

It was just an ordinary school swimsuit, after all—it was meant for class.

The only eye-catching detail was how the white thigh-highs hugged her legs, forming a “perfect zone” between the fabric and bare skin.

“That’s it?”

Su Xinran relaxed a bit.

She bounced a little on her feet, glancing left and right.

“Kinda plain… is it the hairstyle?”

With that thought, she took down her single ponytail, grabbed another hair tie from the desk, and styled her hair into twin tails.

“Oh~ so it was the hair!”

With the twin tails in place, the girl in the mirror looked like a whole new person—instantly more vibrant and youthful.

“Ooooh~”

Now fully unrestrained, Su Xinran struck a few energetic poses in front of the mirror like a cheerful anime girl.

Her own reflection nearly overwhelmed her with its cuteness.

Still unsatisfied, she sat on the floor in a duck-style pose, curling her hands into kitty paws.

“Nya~”

Click.

“?!!”

The bedroom door suddenly swung open—

Wang Ya, exhausted after a long day, had planned to just take a shower and crash.

But she remembered her earlier outburst and worried it might’ve upset Su Xinran.

So despite the fatigue, she went upstairs to check on her.

In her tired state, she hadn’t knocked—just pushed the door open.

What greeted her was enough to stun her on the spot.

There stood Su Xinran, in a school swimsuit and white thigh-highs, twin tails swaying, her cheeks blushing adorably, mid-“nya” pose with her hands curled like paws.

In that instant, it was as if Su Xinran had launched a tiny invisible love-heart straight from her hand, striking Wang Ya’s heart dead-on.

Critical hit! 999999 damage!!

“Ah… I… I…”

Su Xinran was frozen solid.

Why is embarrassment coming at me in waves?!

“PFFFFFT—!”

Wang Ya instantly snapped out of her fatigue and dove at Su Xinran like a predator.

“W-Wait!! Sis, have some self-respect!!!”

The rest of the night went unspoken.