39. What's Under a Girl's Skirt?
When Ling Ning came out of the “Eternal Silence,” she noticed something seemed off in the café. After a moment of careful observation, she realized that there was a new face present.
It was a beautiful girl with long flowing hair, dressed in a maid uniform just like theirs. Her big, nervous eyes darted around as she clutched the hem of her skirt, clearly feeling insecure in the outfit. Other than her flat chest, Ling Ning couldn’t find a single flaw in her appearance.
Ling Ning studied this new girl and nodded approvingly. Even to her own critical eye, this was a rare beauty. The girl’s timid expression only made Ling Ning feel an odd urge to tease her.
“Xiaoxiao, did we get a new hire?” Ling Ning asked curiously.
“Nope~”
“Then who is this?” Ling Ning pointed at the shy young girl.
Seeing Ling Ning’s gesture, Zhou Xiaoxiao smiled mysteriously and said, “Oh, her? She’s our Lady Chu’s younger brother.”
“Oh, so she’s Chu Mengyao’s younger… Wait! Brother?” Ling Ning felt as if she’d just heard something that was simply unbelievable.
Seeing Ling Ning’s astonished expression, Zhou Xiaoxiao smiled even wider. “You didn’t mishear. This is indeed Chu Mengyao’s younger brother. His name is Chu Feng.” To emphasize, Zhou Xiaoxiao deliberately stressed the word “brother.”
“But… but this… there’s no way this is a boy!” Ling Ning pointed at Chu Feng in a daze, feeling like her jaw was about to drop.
Seeing Ling Ning still in disbelief, Zhou Xiaoxiao didn’t bother explaining further. She simply took Ling Ning’s hand and pressed it against Chu Feng’s chest. As expected, it was completely flat—without a hint of softness. Any girl, no matter how small, would at least have some kind of curve.
“If you still need proof…” Zhou Xiaoxiao gave a mischievous glance towards Chu Feng’s lower half, which made Chu Feng shrink against the wall, looking at Ling Ning pitifully.
“N-no need,” Ling Ning said, looking at Chu Feng with a complicated expression. Not even in her previous life had she seen such a perfect “trap.” No! Even drug-induced traps weren’t this convincing!
“Hello, I’m Ling Ning,” she said.
“H-hello… I’m Chu Feng.” Chu Feng eyed Ling Ning carefully, a shy and curious expression on his face. This was his first time meeting Ling Ning, as he hadn’t seen her on his previous visits.
“Do you always wear women’s clothes?” Ling Ning asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. The more she looked at Chu Feng, the more she thought he looked like a girl. His elegant gestures, the way he sat and adjusted his skirt—everything was so natural and refined. It wasn’t something an ordinary boy could pull off.
Seemingly touched on a sore spot, Chu Feng’s mood turned slightly agitated, and he said, “I’m a boy, you know! There’s no way I’d dress up like this every day! My sister threatened me with blackmail today, otherwise I wouldn’t have worn it!”
“Actually, Xiao Feng used to wear girls’ clothes every day until two years ago,” Chu Mengyao said as she appeared at Chu Feng’s side out of nowhere. “That was until some jerk told him the difference between boys and girls, and that’s when he started resisting wearing dresses. He even wanted to cut his hair! Luckily, Mom and I stopped him, or those beautiful locks would have been ruined. He was so much cuter in girls’ clothing.”
“Sister!” Chu Feng tried to stop Chu Mengyao from revealing more of his embarrassing past, but his slight frame was no match for her. With one hand, Chu Mengyao easily pinned him against the table, rubbing his head roughly.
“Did you all know? Back in school, Xiao Feng was basically the school belle,” Chu Mengyao continued with no care for Chu Feng’s protests. “He’d get so many love letters every day that his whole desk drawer would be stuffed full. I wonder how all those boys who fell for him would feel if they knew their ‘goddess’ was actually a boy with an even bigger package than them. Haha, just the thought of it makes me giddy.”
“Sister, one more word and we’re done!” Chu Feng warned, looking genuinely angry this time.
Seeing that Chu Feng was really getting upset, Chu Mengyao finally shut her loud mouth. But from her expression, it was clear she wasn’t done. If Chu Feng hadn’t stopped her, she might have spilled all his secrets.
“Alright, alright, don’t be mad. How about I buy you your favorite cream cake later?” Chu Mengyao said in a coaxing tone.
“Really?”
“Of course. But today’s Sunday, so there are a lot of customers. You’ll have to help out first, then I’ll treat you.” Chu Mengyao smiled slyly.
Seeing right through her ploy, Chu Feng snorted in disdain. “I knew it. I want a big piece, and I want to take an extra one to-go.”
“No problem, my dear brother. By the way, you didn’t tell Mom and Dad that I’m here, right?”
Chu Feng rolled his eyes at her. “Do you think I’d be here talking to you if I had? If Dad found out, you’d be lucky if you weren’t sent straight to the hospital.” At the thought of their hot-tempered father, Chu Feng shuddered involuntarily.
“Smart move. I’ll give you a bit of extra pocket money later,” Chu Mengyao said with satisfaction.
“Does your father really not mind his son cross-dressing since childhood?” Ling Ning asked Chu Mengyao in a whisper.
“Don’t you know there’s a species called ‘henpecked husbands’ in this world?” Chu Mengyao replied.
“Alright, then…” Ling Ning found herself at a loss for words.
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Ling Ning watched in amazement as Chu Feng handled everything so effortlessly. She finally understood why Chu Mengyao had brought him in. He could do the work of two people all by himself.
Watching him dart back and forth between tables, chatting and laughing with customers, Ling Ning noticed that he seemed to have quite a lot of regulars. Intrigued, she asked Zhou Xiaoxiao, “Do those customers know that Chu Feng is a boy?”
“Of course they do,” Zhou Xiaoxiao replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Then why are they still… so enthusiastic?” Ling Ning asked.
“Well, some customers just aren’t interested in ordinary girls. What they like are girls who have a little something extra under their skirts, like Xiao Feng.” Zhou Xiaoxiao explained with a smile.
“Oh~” Ling Ning nodded in understanding. Thinking back, she remembered that before she had come to this world, she, too, had gone through a phase where she was fascinated by such “girls.”
Despite it being a busy weekend with many customers, having Chu Feng around made their work a lot easier. They found themselves with little to do besides serving tea and refilling water. In fact, they almost felt idle, as so many customers specifically asked for Chu Feng.
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Author’s Note:
I’m considering changing the book cover~