The white stockings slowly rolled up from her toes, and her fair, snow-like skin looked almost translucent in the morning sunlight, flawlessly beautiful legs gradually being covered by the stockings until they reached above the knees.
She bent down slightly, lifting her other leg, feeling a bit uneasy with the touch of the stockings against her skin, but still pretending to be calm as she slowly pulled the stocking up, leaving a patch of snowy white exposed.
Finally, she fastened the garter straps on the stockings. This made her legs look as if they were drawing a white line in the absolute territory, even more enticing.
Holding the lace edges of her white skirt with both hands, she bent forward slightly, looking at herself in the mirror, and unconsciously smiled.
"Ayase, what do you think would happen if I went to school dressed like this? How would those boys react?" Her tone was full of anticipation, genuinely wanting to go out like this.
"You'd better be prepared for all kinds of looks directed at your legs. After all, no guy could resist seeing you dressed like that," Ayase's tone was somewhat indifferent, clearly not fond of her dressing this way.
"Well, I only wear this at home. I wouldn't dare to wear it out. I used to wear white cotton socks that weren't see-through, so the visual impact was minimal. But now, I'm wearing semi-transparent white lace stockings, and they're garter belts too..." Chu Lian was just saying this; she would only dress like this at home. Although Ayase forced her, only Ayase could see it, so it wasn't a big deal.
But to really go out dressed like this was something she absolutely wouldn't do. It wasn't just about shame; she also disliked being looked at by people with such gazes, like hungry wolves eyeing food. Even though she had once had such a gaze herself, she didn't want others to look at her that way.
Just as she was about to take off the newly put-on garter stockings, her mother hurriedly opened the door and saw Chu Lian in garter stockings, a white lace short skirt, a light pink off-the-shoulder tank top, her smooth long hair tied into a ponytail reaching her perky buttocks, hands under her skirt about to take off the stockings.
"So cute!" Startled by her mother's sudden entrance, the next moment Chu Lian was tightly hugged by her mother, cheeks rubbing against each other like a cat, murmuring, "This adorable daughter, I must show her off to others!"
The outfit that made Chu Lian feel overwhelmingly embarrassed seemed perfectly normal to her mother. After all, this attire only showed a bit of thigh and a hint of shoulder, which was quite modest given the current weather.
"Mom, let me down first; I need to change clothes..." Struggling in her mother's embrace for a while, seeing no way to escape, Chu Lian sighed and said.
"No need to change, there's no time left. Even though it's Tuesday, we need to leave for school a bit earlier. You see, I have a meeting with your principal about the literary competition our company is co-hosting with your school."
"And I'm in charge of this project. We scheduled the meeting for eight o'clock, and it's already 7:45. Even with a car, we won't make it if you change. So, be a good girl, and I'll get your things. Remember to follow me." Her mother kissed her cheek, smiling as she picked up Chu Lian's school bag, scooped up the sleeping Tina from the bed, and walked downstairs in her high heels.
Looking out the window and then back at herself in the mirror, Chu Lian sighed silently. "Oh well, let's just go with it. I can't let this affect my mom's work. I just have to tell myself that wearing such embarrassing outfits will be normal from now on..." She glanced at herself again, put a silver bracelet on her left wrist, and walked out of the room in her slippers.
Arriving at the entrance, she found a pair of white high boots in the shoe cabinet. While putting them on, she asked Ayase, "Why do I feel something is off..."
In the system space, Ayase helplessly rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit frustrated with Chu Lian's slowness. After thinking for a moment, she decided to let Chu Lian discover it herself. So, she said, "It's nothing. It's not the first time you've dressed like this. It's just the first time you're going out like this, that's all. I'm going to sleep now, don't bother me unless it's urgent."
Since last night's strange conversation, there had been a subtle change between the two, a mixture of attachment and distance. Neither she nor Ayase understood it, and perhaps they wouldn't until the seed sprouted in the future.
After putting on her shoes, Chu Lian walked out of the house, locking the door behind her. Her mother was already sitting in the white Maserati T-3507, with the front passenger door open, clearly wanting Chu Lian to sit beside her.
"The world really is different. What I used to know about daily life doesn't apply to many things now, like this T-3507. It's named after the robot protagonist T-3507 from the movie 'Man from the Moon.' It's not what I expected..." She knew this car; her mother had bought it with her own pocket money for daily commuting. She also had a similar model in light blue, with each car priced at 35.07 million yuan.
In terms of cost performance, it was pretty good, but she found its sleek, sci-fi movie-like design a bit too much. Because of this, she thought the technological development of this world must have taken a different path, otherwise, how could they create a car that was clearly ten years ahead of Earth's technology?
"Alright, buckle up, honey. Mom's going to drive fast..." Saying she was going to speed, but the top speed was no more than 40 km/h. Even so, her mother had a satisfied smile on her face.
"It's been so long since I've seen Mom like this. She used to worry about me all the time. Ever since that heart-to-heart talk at the hospital, she's regained her old vitality..." Looking at the rapidly passing scenery outside the window, Chu Lian turned to look at her mother, silently saying in her heart.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Her movements weren't concealed, so even though her mother was driving, she noticed Chu Lian's expression and asked curiously.
"Nothing, I just think Mom looks beautiful today..." Chu Lian smiled gently, not telling her mother what she was really thinking, but complimenting her instead.
As expected, hearing her favorite daughter say this made her mother beam with joy. "Sweetie, you're so good. I'll buy you lots of goodies when we get home..."
"No sour, bitter, tasteless, or yucky food, especially no corn! I want to eat..." At the mention of food, Chu Lian became just like her mother, first listing what she didn't want to eat, then naming the things she did. Her mother, who hadn't had such a happy chat with her daughter in a long time, nodded in agreement to all her requests.
"Meow~" At some point, Tina, who had been sleeping, stretched her limbs, opened her eyes, and got up. In just one glance, she knew she wasn't at home anymore. Before she could figure out the situation, she was dazzled by the list of food Chu Lian mentioned and couldn't help but meow.
"Oh, does little kitty want to eat too? What do you want?" Her mother's deliberately lowered voice caught Tina's attention, causing her to run towards the source of the sound and burrow into her mother's arms.
Smelling the familiar scent, Tina realized who it was. Just as she was about to struggle, she heard her mother's playful laugh and soft words, "Don't move, little kitty. I know you understand us. If you try to run, you'll only get milk for every meal..."
Hearing the threat, Tina's body trembled, and she dared not move again.
Chu Lian stifled a laugh as she watched her mother successfully subdue Tina once again, a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes. This troublesome cat, always treating me poorly, now you get what you deserve.
Indeed, everyone has their match. If you bully me again, I'll hand you over to Mom...
Outside the window, the entrance to Suti High School came into view. Suddenly realizing something, Chu Lian took out her phone from her bag and checked the time—7:52.
"I knew something was off! We have a car! Walking takes more than ten minutes, but driving only takes a few minutes, so I definitely had enough time to change clothes, Mom!" Chu Lian turned around, her eyes misty, looking at her mother and complaining.
"Haha, I just wanted to show off my daughter's prettiest side..." Her mother laughed foolishly, as if she hadn't done anything wrong.
Well, as Ayase said, Chu Lian could be really slow sometimes...