Daisy poked at her cheeks in front of the mirror, then made a silly face.
Seeing the unfamiliar yet delicate girl in the reflection mimic the same expression, she finally dared to believe it was really herself.
Turning to look at Youlan, she couldn’t help but reveal starry eyes filled with admiration.
“You’re amazing, Youlan! You don’t look like me at all! And you know so much—it’s like nothing in this world can stump you!”
At first, she only wanted to casually browse around, but who knew Youlan would take care of everything that followed?
She was practically a superwoman!
“Haha, I just happened to have heard about some of the rules in this circle, and also knew someone who had the clothes.”
Youlan smiled as the sincere praise lifted the corners of her mouth, but her hands kept moving steadily.
Only one last step remained: lip makeup.
She gently pinched Camellia’s chin and applied the lip tint onto her lips.
“Actually, I’m not that amazing… I’m only capable of handling a very small part of this. This time just happened to fall into my area of expertise.”
Ten years ago, she had been the second-in-command special forces soldier at the Xiangyang City Comic Convention!
Knowing cosplay makeup techniques inside and out and owning several cosplay costumes at home was perfectly normal for her!
As for the wig, she had stayed up all night last Friday after receiving Daisy’s message, giving it a corn perm, trimming, and styling it.
One day was more than enough.
If it weren’t for the fact that her skills had dulled a bit after years of working odd jobs, she could’ve done it even faster!
Camellia was a little uncomfortable with the sticky feeling on her lips but still opened her mouth stubbornly.
“Being good at what you’re skilled in is impressive too.”
Her gaze dropped to the three bulging shopping bags piled at her feet, with a corner of the “Maple Leaf Weaving” logo peeking out from one of them.
“Maple Leaf Weaving… that’s an old label. You’ve had this set for a long time, haven’t you?”
This store’s cosplay costumes were always known for their faithful reproduction, and they never used the cheap fabrics common to cosplay outfits.
Both the fabric and accessories were carefully selected from high-quality materials.
Yet their prices were still low compared to others in the industry, making one wonder if they could ever recoup their costs.
“…Camellia, you’ve said quite a lot today, surprisingly.”
Youlan felt a little itchy and wanted to pinch Camellia’s face but reluctantly refrained, considering the makeup was freshly done.
She tried to shift the focus of the conversation away from herself and onto Camellia.
“I already said they’re borrowed! And yes, it’s definitely an old label. I remember they changed their logo three years ago, and the labels changed along with it. You really know your stuff, huh? I thought you were the type who didn’t care about worldly things…”
That wasn’t exactly true.
Camellia loved the everyday hustle and bustle too much; any misunderstanding came from her deceptive appearance.
Camellia lifted her eyes to stare at her for a moment, then looked away before Youlan started sweating.
Whenever the topic came to things about Youlan herself, she would quickly change the subject.
Yet she went to great lengths to fulfill one of Daisy’s wishes, even exposing much of her own information.
That meant she didn’t exactly treat Camellia and Daisy as mere acquaintances but harbored some kind of hesitation—a vague anxiety that made her shrink back, unwilling to let them see the real “Youlan.”
Camellia had long noticed this but didn’t want to make things difficult for Youlan.
If she didn’t want to talk about it, then they wouldn’t push.
Someday, Youlan would let go of those worries and feel safe sharing with them.
Strategically, Camellia took another sip of her cola.
“The owner of that store is… my acquaintance’s mother, so I know a bit about it.”
The atmosphere was right, so she chose a middle-ground explanation to avoid unexpectedly revealing her identity and triggering the other two’s reactions.
The next moment, her cola was snatched from her hand by Youlan.
“Wait, I just applied your lip makeup!”
“…Sorry. Could you redo it for me?”
Camellia glanced at the faint ring of lipstick on the cup’s rim, sheepishly admitting her mistake.
Saying “Maple Leaf Weaving” was run by an acquaintance’s mother wasn’t wrong, but this acquaintance was Yun You.
Lin Zhifeng wasn’t greedy.
For some special reason, she would never lack money for the rest of her life, so she set the prices extremely low.
Most of the profits from Maple Leaf Weaving flowed into the accounts of her junior magical girls.
Selling cosplay costumes and related goods was a way to provide those girls, who had contributed so much, with a steady income comparable to renting a school district apartment in the city, so they wouldn’t have to struggle financially in the future.
Even magical girls have to eat; dreams and miracles can’t be exchanged for money.
But with this support, they could pursue whatever they truly wanted.
Though Lin Zhifeng could hand the money to them directly, she preferred to go around it, not wanting them to feel like they were being handed charity.
In Lin Zhifeng’s words, customers got products worth every penny, magical girls got paid, and she got happiness!
No one loses!
Lin Zhifeng was already preparing to negotiate licensing for this generation of magical girls.
She had written most of the project proposal and was just waiting for the right moment to invite them.
While Camellia and Youlan chatted, Daisy blinked her big eyes, quietly observing them.
She didn’t notice Youlan’s nervousness or Camellia’s concessions—only feeling that everyone got along really well!
And surely, they hadn’t suspected her identity!
Looks like everything was going smoothly.
Very good, very good!
Though the transformed body could get her through unnoticed, Daisy had struggled for a long time to figure out her outfit before going out.
Her wardrobe was full of children’s clothes, which didn’t fit well even though her body was smaller and slimmer than Camellia and Youlan’s.
The more she looked at those clothes, the more childish they seemed—wearing them out would definitely earn her the label of a little kid!
So, young Zhao Chaoxi set her sights on her mother’s clothes.
Her mother kept in good shape, and though the clothes were a bit big on her, there were no other choices.
Fortunately, she hadn’t revealed anything strange so far.
Faced with her many curious questions, Youlan patiently answered each one without seeming annoyed, while Camellia listened attentively, occasionally responding to show she was paying attention.
This atmosphere kept the smile on Daisy’s lips from fading.
Indeed, summoning the courage to invite them to hang out had been the right decision!
Yay!
After finishing makeup for the two of them, it was Youlan’s turn.
It was clear she was truly skilled, completing her own full makeup in no time.
Camellia even thought that without using Cognitive Obscuring Magic, no one would recognize them.
Changing clothes, Camellia had never been more grateful that the McOrestaurant bathroom was so cramped it didn’t bother to separate men’s and women’s restrooms—otherwise, which one should she have gone to?
Either choice felt awkward!
Youlan’s clothes didn’t fit Camellia perfectly, but Youlan had come prepared, bringing some safety pins and hair clips to help with adjustments.
She murmured to herself, Magical girls are symbols of dreams and hope, embodiments of perfection—being slimmer than me is perfectly normal…
Damn, starting tomorrow, no more milk tea!
If I drink it, it has to be sugar-free!
Magical Girl Only, as the name suggests, was an event exclusively for magical girls.
On the way to the venue, they spotted at least four or five “Red Maples,” one even holding hands with a “Kikyo,” and there were cosplayers of magical creatures as well.
Camellia quickly looked away, silently beating a wooden fish drum in her mind—just hoping there wasn’t a real one mixed in here…
Haha, probably not, right?
“Food?”
Youlan was so excited her smile never left her face.
She glanced at Camellia, wanting to hint at selling something too.
Camellia casually pointed ahead.
“Look, it’s Mil.”
Mil was the mascot of the Red Maple generation.
Theoretically, this mascot should be a close partner of Lin Zhifeng, but Yun You had never seen it in person growing up—only heard of its existence in animations.
Of course, the real mascot wouldn’t appear here; what she saw was a cosplayer in a fluffy animal costume.
Judging by the quality of the furry head and fur texture, this cosplayer had clearly spent a lot.
Youlan let out a silent squeal and, stepping quickly in the same low heels as Kikyo, rushed over to take selfies with Mil.
Then Daisy joined in.
“Shan… Red Maple, aren’t you coming with us?”
Youlan remembered not to call Camellia by her real name in public, instead using her cosplay character name.
Camellia silently shook her head.
“I’ll take the photos for you.”
This outfit, with its big tail and sparkling round eyes, maximized the cute factor, but Camellia didn’t feel the charm.
Instead, it made her uncomfortable.
Was it because the mascot had been enlarged so much compared to the original palm-sized version that it triggered her fear of huge things?
Maybe.
“But now that I think about it… I haven’t seen Lily in a long time. I kind of miss it.”
Daisy tilted her head in confusion.
Youlan propped her chin and pondered.
“That’s true, I think I only saw it once, right after getting my transformation device… I read on the forum that usually those mascots go home with their magical girls? Why haven’t we seen it here?”
“…It did come home with me.”
Camellia’s gaze drifted away.
That little thing, relying on Cognitive Obscuring Magic, couldn’t be seen by ordinary people—
Then it was dragged by Lin Zhifeng’s tail, head down, and brazenly followed Yun You home, where they “communicated” for quite some time.
That was the first time Yun You had seen that clouded, dark expression on Lin Zhifeng’s face.
Even when Yun Li once disappeared for three days, returning battered, Lin Zhifeng never showed such an expression.
“But it seems it came here without passing the Fantasy Species exam, and did some things that broke the contract rules signed by Fantasy Species, so it was sent back to the Fantasy Species gathering place to retake the course… Oh, the species that can contract with magical girls is called Fantasy Species.”
But even including Lin Zhifeng, no one cared much about the formal species name.
Everyone preferred to just call them mascots.
When this was said, Daisy, Youlan, and even Camellia—who was explaining—were all reminded of a forum post: magical girls, except for them, were usually girls aged twelve to eighteen.
Camellia: Oh no, I’m not a girl.
Daisy: Oh no, I’m under twelve.
Youlan: Oh no, I’m over eighteen.
They all thought simultaneously: the rule Lily broke can’t be this one, right?