Five minutes later, the fitting room door finally opened.
Lin Lu rushed out with a flushed face, her hands tightly clutching her chest — though her dress was already on, the sensation of being handled all over just moments ago still lingered.
Su Tang followed lazily behind her, holding a measuring tape with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Mmhmm, noted, noted.” She pulled out her phone and started typing rapidly.
“Lin Lu, your size is — oh, by the way, what size shoe do you wear?”
Lin Lu paused in her tracks.
‘Shoes?’
She looked down at the pair on her feet — they were high-heeled loafers she had grabbed randomly this morning.
They were… size 38?
“Thirty… 38?” she said uncertainly.
Su Tang rolled her eyes and asked, “You don’t even know your own shoe size? You really are a rich young lady. Whatever, we’ll know once we try some on at the shoe store later.”
Lin Lu opened her mouth, wanting to say ‘I’m not a rich young lady,’ but she swallowed the words before they could leave her lips.
‘Fine, young lady it is…’
Su Tang had already walked over to the lingerie section and turned back to wave at her, “Come here, come here! Let’s get your undergarments sorted first! Looking at the measurements I just took, which styles do you like?”
Lin Lu looked at the sea of colorful lace, cotton, and athletic styles, and steam slowly began to rise from the top of her head.
“Um…” she began with difficulty.
“Is there… something more plain?”
“More plain?” Su Tang tilted her head and asked, “How plain?”
“Just…” Lin Lu gestured with her hands.
“No frills, no lace, none of those messy decorations. Just… solid colors? Cotton?”
Su Tang stared at her for three seconds and then burst out laughing.
“Lin Lu, you really don’t know anything, do you?” She pulled Lin Lu over to a shelf.
“Here, basic style, pure cotton. The ‘most plain’ ones you wanted. However — ” She leaned into Lin Lu’s ear and lowered her voice, “I suggest you try this one.”
She picked up a piece from nearby and unfolded it in front of Lin Lu.
Lin Lu took one look, and her face turned red again.
It was a light purple piece with lace trim.
“T-This won’t do!” Lin Lu waved her hands frantically.
“Why not?” Su Tang looked innocent, “Purple is so elegant — it matches your dress perfectly! Think about it, if you ever wear a slightly sheer top and a granny-style bra shows through, it would be so jarring!”
“I would never wear a sheer top — “
“But what if you do?”
“There is no ‘what if’!”
The two argued for a long time before finally reaching a compromise.
Lin Lu took three sets of basic solid colors and changed into one herself.
Su Tang forcibly stuffed the light purple one into her hands as well.
“This one’s on me!” Su Tang patted her chest and said, “Consider it a meeting gift!”
Lin Lu replied, “…We’ve known each other for less than an hour.”
“So what? It’s fate that brought us together!” Su Tang was already pushing her toward the checkout counter.
“Besides, I think you’re pretty interesting. Let’s be friends!”
Su Tang then took Lin Lu to the shoe section to pick out several pairs of women’s loafers.
Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “Oh, right! Lin Lu, I’ve been meaning to ask. You look so young, you must still be in school, right? Which one do you go to?”
Lin Lu didn’t think much of it and told Su Tang directly.
“Beijiang University.”
“Beijiang?!” Su Tang froze for a moment, then excitedly grabbed Lin Lu’s wrist.
“What a coincidence! I’m from Beijiang too! How have I never seen a beauty like you before… That’s so strange… If I’d known about you earlier, I definitely would have recruited you into our Anime Club!”
‘I only became like this today, so it would be weird if you’d seen me before…’
“Ah, haha… I probably just keep a low profile. I don’t go out much. Besides, I rent a place off-campus.”
“Oh… I see. No wonder then.” Su Tang scratched her head, looking thoughtful.
“Let’s go! Let’s check out the next store.”
Lin Lu was pulled along.
The two of them wandered through the mall all afternoon.
Su Tang was truly energetic, going from one store to the next, trying on this and that, and constantly recommending all sorts of clothes to Lin Lu.
Lin Lu was resistant at first, but she eventually gave up and let Su Tang treat her like a character in a dress-up game.
“This looks good! This one too! And this — wow, this one is amazing!”
“Lin Lu, try this! You’ve definitely never tried this style before!”
“These pants match that top perfectly! Buy them! Buy them all!”
By the time Lin Lu snapped out of it, she was carrying six or seven bags.
She glanced at the balance on her phone, and her heart bled.
‘But the food budget for this month… should still be enough, right?’
Lin Lu looked down at the bracelet on her wrist, ‘It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t turned me into this, my wallet wouldn’t be suffering such a heavy blow!’
Lin Lu tried to see if she could take the bracelet off.
Unfortunately — it wouldn’t budge.
It was as if it were grafted onto her skin.
“Hey! What’s that?”
“Good grief, why did the sky change so fast? Is there going to be a rainstorm?”
“No way, I haven’t brought my laundry in yet…”
Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside.
Lin Lu looked up.
Everyone in the mall was looking out the windows.
Some were pointing at the sky and saying something.
Su Tang also ran to the entrance, looked up, and then turned back to shout: “Lin Lu! Come quick! There’s something over there!”
Lin Lu walked out.
The sky was darkening rapidly, and a patch of black mist was condensing in the distance.
The mist grew larger and thicker, and a faint crimson glow could be seen flickering within it.
Lin Lu’s heart sank suddenly, and the bracelet on her wrist began to feel inexplicably hot.
“That’s…” Su Tang squinted, “What is that? A dark cloud? But the color is wrong…”
“Run!”
“Huh? Where to?” Su Tang was stunned, “Leaving now? We’re not finished shopping yet — “
“You idiot!” Lin Lu had already grabbed Su Tang and started pulling her toward the mall exit.
“How could the sky normally look like that! A Shadow Beast must be coming!”
“What — !”
Lin Lu practically dragged Su Tang as she ran away from the mall.
“Emergency notice! Emergency notice!”
The mall’s intercom system suddenly blared.
“Due to a sudden abnormal situation, all customers are requested to evacuate the mall immediately and in an orderly fashion! Please do not use the elevators. Please exit through the emergency stairs! Repeat, all customers are requested to evacuate the mall immediately — “
The crowd began to panic.
People screamed, pushed, and shoved as they rushed for the doors.
Fortunately, Lin Lu had reacted quickly and was among the first to successfully make it out of the mall entrance, otherwise, she would have been crushed in the crowd.
The sky outside had turned completely dark.
In the distance, the mist had already taken shape.
It was a gargantuan monster.
Its body was covered in black scales, shaped like a bat magnified hundreds of times, with several twisted tentacles waving from its back.
Lin Lu stood rooted to the spot, looking up at the monster.
“No way, why does it look so bizarre!”
That was a Shadow Beast.
It was something she had only ever seen on the news, and now it was right in front of her.
People on the street were running frantically in the opposite direction, and for a moment, the scene was pure chaos.
The bracelet on her wrist grew so hot it felt like it was about to burn.
Lin Lu looked down at the bracelet.
The silver surface began to glow, and purple-black patterns spread from the bracelet to her wrist, extending upward along her veins.
“Su Tang, run!”
Lin Lu let go of Su Tang’s hand and gave her a push.
“Eh?! Well… what about you, Lin Lu?” Su Tang was still a bit dazed.
“Don’t worry about me. I… I think I dropped something in the alley next door. You go first, I’ll leave on my own in a second.”
Lin Lu started walking away before Su Tang could respond.
“Ah… okay, fine. You have to be careful!” Su Tang shouted loudly.
Lin Lu turned a corner and stared at her bracelet.
“Stupid bat, what are you trying to do!”
Lin Lu could feel something from the Shadow Beast’s direction constantly pulling at her, like… a cat smelling catnip…
Just as Lin Lu was wondering, the monster’s gaze swept over from the distance.
A blood-red light locked onto her with precision.
Then, it moved.
The massive body descended from the sky and landed in the middle of the street, crushing the pavement and flipping cars over.
It marched toward Lin Lu, every step making the ground tremble.
“Crap, crap, crap — !”
Seeing the Shadow Beast suddenly charging toward her, Lin Lu turned and bolted.
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