Chapter 11: My Hard Beauty

Isn’t this focus a bit strange?

Shouldn’t Lin Guanqi be blaming Bai Ningbing for messing around with her?

She didn’t fuss too much over this matter either. She picked up the newly delivered cosplay outfit, tried it on, and found that it fit pretty well—just that the hem of the skirt was a bit short.

For Lin Guanqi, this was still an acceptable degree.

“Cosplay makeup and styling… I wonder what the standards are in this world?”

Then, Lin Guanqi opened the Xiao Hongshu app, where plenty of people shared their experiences.

She typed into the search bar: What should I pay attention to when cosplaying Kroluru’s makeup and styling?

After searching, Lin Guanqi understood—the only modification was the outfit, the rest was exactly the same.

She stared blankly at herself in the mirror, starting to doubt whether, even without makeup, this face wouldn’t go OOC.

“But… I don’t know how to do makeup?”

A spark of inspiration flashed through Lin Guanqi’s mind. She suddenly thought of a solution.

She could hire a makeup artist!

Afterward, she posted on Xiao Hongshu, looking for a makeup artist in Jiangcheng.

It didn’t even take a few minutes before someone commented below.

“You can check my portfolio in my space~”

“Sweetie, what kind of makeup artist are you looking for? My post has sample pictures~”

Lin Guanqi checked them one by one, finally choosing one she thought was good.

The two exchanged contact information through private messages, but the makeup artist’s price was far from cheap. For this, two hours of work would be gone for nothing.

Looks like she needed to try learning cosplay makeup herself.

She sent Chen Xi a message.

“Can I come to work tomorrow?”

“Of course! The nearby students already know you’re coming to work here, and my private messages are about to explode from their questions. You’re basically the lucky charm of my shop.”

Chen Xi said.

He remembered clearly how many people gathered at the shop entrance the day Lin Guanqi came by. When news broke that she was joining, even more people waited outside, as if afraid to miss out.

And as the shop owner, naturally he needed to do what would boost his revenue.

A lot of netizens left comments under his official Xiao Hongshu account.

“What? It’s really Lin Qier! She’s so pretty, and she’s actually going to cosplay as the café front desk?”

There were plenty of similar comments.

This post’s view count completely surpassed all of Chen Xi’s previous posts, and the account gained nearly ten thousand new followers.

If Lin Guanqi had her own account, she might’ve gained over a hundred thousand followers herself, with a signing bonus of several thousand.

Unfortunately, due to system restrictions.

Lin Guanqi looked at her outfit, thinking, she couldn’t wear just one set all the time, could she?

But cosplay outfits were so expensive…

[You can go to work in a Magical Girl form! That way, you can earn plenty of popularity points, and you’ll gain both money and popularity—doesn’t that tempt you, Host?]

Hmm, that did sound like a solution!

“But, Magical Girl outfits are fixed too. If I wear it too long, it’ll lose its effect.”

[Don’t worry, Host, this system already prepared for that. There are four Magical Girl forms. Every week, you can switch between them!]

Well, that sounded good!

“Alright, let’s do that then!”

[Host, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, so…]

Of course. Lin Guanqi had read so many fantasy novels, but never once seen a system willing to be charitable.

“So, how much popularity do you want?”

[This is letting you master four elements, Host. Of course, the price in popularity points can’t be low. The original price is 5,000 points to unlock one Magical Girl form, but since you’re so eager to earn popularity, a bundle of all four is only 20,000 points!]

“You think I’m worth 20,000?”

I barely have 100 popularity points, and you want 20,000? Do I look like an idiot?

Also, a 19,900-point loan—who even thinks up this stuff?

Just after the 200,000-point loan, now I need to borrow another 20,000.

What’s the deal? Am I doomed to debt this lifetime?

“A loan? I’ll take the loan!”

[I can give you a discount—17,000.]

“Loan it is! I’ll take the loan!”

[Spent: 17,000 popularity points. Obtained: Four Magical Girl forms.]

[Popularity: -16,900]

[Host, remember to pay back your loan on time!]

“Sigh, so now, if I convert this to cash, I’ve fallen into debt by over a million. Am I bound to the system only to end up poorer than before, not even earning a cent, but losing a million?”

Lin Guanqi wondered if she’d fallen into a high-interest loan trap. Other people become Magical Girls and get all kinds of luxury items, but for her, it’s just a pile of loans waiting. Is that fair?

The next day.

After putting on her cosplay, Lin Guanqi prepared to head to the corner café for her first part-time day.

When Ling Xue saw her cosplay, her eyes went wide—she’d never seen such a perfect cosplay before. Was this even OOC without makeup?

“Qier, I don’t think you need any makeup. Even if you went as your original self, I don’t think anyone would dare say anything!”

Maybe, but she didn’t want to risk it. To be safe, she’d do her makeup properly.

“Are you coming with me to get my makeup done? If not, I’ll just go alone—I already booked the makeup artist.”

Ling Xue couldn’t let Lin Guanqi go alone. Such a beautiful girl—what if someone took a fancy to her?

“No way, I have to go with you! What if some creep targets you?”

“Is it really that serious? Do you think any creep would dare lay a hand on a Magical Girl?”

That… actually made sense?

No, wait, that wasn’t the point! She wasn’t talking about that!

“No, what I’m talking about is drugging. No matter how powerful a Magical Girl is, she’s still human. If you get drugged, you’ll be at their mercy.”

Well, she had a point.

If she got drugged, no matter how strong, she couldn’t resist.

“Now you’ve scared me—let’s go together!”

Lin Guanqi arranged to meet the makeup artist at a KFC.

The makeup artist was already waiting on the second floor.

“I’m here, where are you?”

“I’m by the window on the second floor.”

Lin Guanqi went upstairs and saw a girl by the window with a makeup bag, wearing a mask and playing on her phone.

That was probably her.

Lin Guanqi wanted to go straight over, but Ling Xue stopped her.

“Wait here for a second. Let me check it out first—just to be safe.”

With that, Ling Xue walked over by herself.

“Look over there, that’s a COS, and it’s Kroluru!”

“Damn, bro, this is the first time I’ve seen someone pull it off so perfectly without makeup. Stunning!”

“Don’t stop me, I’m going over for a photo!”

With that, this brave fellow rushed over, phone in hand.

He stopped in front of Lin Guanqi, stammering,

“T-teacher, can I get a photo with you?”

Lin Guanqi froze for a second, then said, “Of course, but I haven’t done my makeup yet—is that okay?”

“Of course not!”

Suddenly, a girl’s voice rang out from behind.