5. We’re here to buy a bra for Mom!
In the summer of Zaoc City, the heat has reached its peak.
A gust of hot wind sweeps through, and the space before her seems distorted.
The dust kicked up in the air makes her even more restless.
So when the cool air from the lingerie store hits her, Jiang Zhi has only one thought in her mind.
I’m alive!
This dreadful weather is unbearable; it wasn’t this hot yesterday!
She glances down at the little girl tugging at her pants.
You have to hand it to kids; even with sweat-soaked hair, she doesn’t complain about the heat.
“Mom, aren’t you hot?”
Su Ziqian looks up curiously at her mother.
Mom is dressed so strangely…
Wrapped up in so many layers, she looks like a big dumpling.
Jiang Zhi forces a laugh and avoids her gaze.
How to explain to Qian Qian? It’s not like she can say that if Mom doesn’t wear so many clothes, she’ll be exposed, right?
To be fair, this body’s configuration is quite excessive.
Her lower body is manageable; the waistband is tight but she can just squeeze into her old pants.
But what about the upper body!
Those two balloons are so prominent and large; if she doesn’t wear a few more layers…
She’s afraid that just stepping out the door will lead to a lengthy discussion with the Police Uncle about indecent exposure.
“Hello, miss. May I help you with anything?”
A smiling Uniformed Young Lady walks toward the two.
“Ah? Oh, we’re here to… to… to…”
Jiang Zhi opens her mouth, but suddenly feels embarrassed; she can’t bring herself to say “buy lingerie.”
Why does it feel so shameful…
She’s a grown man, yet here she is at a lingerie store.
If she were standing here in her original appearance, the staff would definitely think she’s a pervert, right?
But she can’t not buy anything.
Feeling shy only after arriving at the store, Jiang Zhi thinks she might be overthinking it.
Gathering her courage, she says, “I want to buy…”
“We’re here to buy a bra for Mom! Qian Qian wants to pick the prettiest bra for Mom!”
Su Ziqian innocently raises her soft voice.
Click!
The courage she had painstakingly built shattered into pieces.
Jiang Zhi’s face instantly turned as red as a monkey’s butt as she shot an annoyed glare at the little girl by her side.
“Why are you looking at me, Mom?”
Su Ziqian looks completely innocent.
“…It’s nothing.”
Jiang Zhi finally admits defeat to her.
Although what Qian Qian said was not wrong, did she really have to say it so loudly?
And the fact that it came from such a small child made it sound even more awkward, didn’t it?
Damn it.
I’ll teach you a lesson when we get home!
Jiang Zhi lifts her head, only to find the Uniformed Young Lady looking equally perplexed, and can’t help but smile awkwardly.
“I’m just looking around.”
Oh no, oh no, they definitely think I’m a weirdo now!
Today is a total social disaster!
But in reality, Jiang Zhi is overthinking; the Uniformed Young Lady is more surprised than anything.
A mother?!
Goodness, she has kids and still looks so young!
What kind of skincare does she use?!
The innate instinct of women wanting to look beautiful made the Young Lady’s focus shift to a rather bizarre area.
“Hello, hello?”
Jiang Zhi calls out to the distracted Young Lady, confused.
“Ah!”
The Young Lady snaps back to reality and quickly apologizes, “I’m so sorry; I was a bit lost in thought.”
She finally remembers her identity.
A gold-star sales associate wanting a raise but needing to meet her sales quota urgently.
The Young Lady asks, “Could you let me know what size you’re wearing? I can help recommend something for you.”
Upon hearing that, Jiang Zhi’s face reddens again.
Her voice is barely above a whisper: “I… I’m not wearing a bra…”
The Young Lady’s eyes widen in shock.
Not wearing a bra?
That’s hard to believe; she looks like a pure young lady, yet she’s taking such a bold step.
The Young Lady continues to ask, “What’s your size then?”
“Let me think, maybe C…”
Jiang Zhi’s brain races through the information she reviewed about women before coming here.
From what she could see, it looked like a C size.
She can’t measure anything more detailed by herself anyway.
The Young Lady shows a slightly troubled expression: “Do you have a more accurate measurement?”
“No…”
The Young Lady silently gives a thumbs up in her heart.
Good job.
Where is this young mother from? Not even knowing her own measurements at her age.
How did she buy bras before?
Out of professional ethics, she maintains a polite smile: “Shall I measure you right here?”
“Sorry for the trouble…”
After a brief hesitation, Jiang Zhi shyly nods.
She does need to measure; next time she buys, she can just do it online to avoid another social disaster.
She can guess how neurotic her words sound.
“Qian Qian, you stay here and be a good girl, don’t run around, okay?”
As she follows the Young Lady into the fitting room, Jiang Zhi reminds the little girl standing still.
And then…
“Miss, let’s take off these clothes first.”
“Do I have to take them off?”
“…How can I measure without taking them off?”
“Fair enough…”
“Please stretch out your arms, yes, just like that, chest out, and look up.”
“Like this?”
“Good, I’m going to start measuring now.”
“Woo~”
“Miss, please don’t make such suggestive sounds!”
About five or six minutes later.
Jiang Zhi stares dumbfounded at her reflection in the mirror, mostly at her chest.
An unprecedented tightness envelops her entire body.
She knows she’s large, but didn’t realize it was this large; the rounded curves are accentuated by the bra, giving her vision a shocking increase in intensity.
Jiang Zhi is also somewhat out of breath; perhaps she’s afraid to breathe, fearing that breathing will cause the bra to snap, and then – an avalanche.
Her feelings are complicated; her face reddens, her vision blurs, and her ears itch.
She truly feels like a girl now, gaining and losing something at the same time.
The Young Lady behind her reminds: “You can breathe; our bras are of good quality.”
“Ah… Okay, okay…”
The Young Lady smiles: “Let’s go.”
When Jiang Zhi walks out of the fitting room, the redness in her neck and face has yet to fade.
What a disaster.
This day has almost equalized her annual quota of blushing.
When she was being measured in the fitting room, she felt like a pig on a scale waiting to be slaughtered.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt like a small flower pig dressed up.
It was also just then that she realized something—
She seems to be a sensitive type that many people like; just a gentle touch and she’s on the brink of collapse.
Jiang Zhi suddenly finds life a bit meaningless.
“36C, you have a great figure.”
The Young Lady right behind her shows a somewhat envious expression.
Not just her looks, but even after having kids, her figure is still so good; can we get in touch, sister?
“Ha…”
The little girl who has been obediently staying in place yawns.
Tired?
A child’s energy can be boundless but has its limits, and Jiang Zhi also wants to leave quickly.
So she asks:
“Do you have any recommended bras?”
Seeing the business about to open up, the Young Lady smiles even more sincerely.
“There are recommendations, please follow me.”
She leads Jiang Zhi to a row of racks.
Jiang Zhi looks at the various colors and styles of lingerie, her head starts to feel heavy.
What is all this?
She could pick out shoes all day, but picking lingerie is completely out of her comfort zone.
In any case, she first excludes those with lace!
Just wearing a bra is tough enough; those sexy ones are almost like asking for her life.
In the end, Jiang Zhi randomly chooses a few simpler styles.
“Let’s check out.”
Having changed into a bra and taken off two layers of t-shirts, Jiang Zhi feels much lighter.
“Okay, the total is one thousand even.”
“How much!”
Jiang Zhi’s voice suddenly spikes, thinking she must have misheard.
Those thin layers cost her a thousand?
Made of gold?
The Young Lady lets out a soft gasp, glancing at the astonished Jiang Zhi and then at her store’s logo.
We’re a boutique store.
Just one thousand, is it necessary to be so shocked?
However, as a top sales associate, she has to remain calm and utilize the moment to turn the situation around.
The Young Lady smilingly hands the bag containing the lingerie to Jiang Zhi.
“That’s how much women’s lingerie costs, may I ask if you prefer WeChat or Alipay?”
“…”
After leaving the lingerie store.
Jiang Zhi carries the bag, and her mind clears a bit, finally realizing something is off.
She checks online.
Only to find out she had walked into a brand-name store.
What a miscalculation!
She really knows nothing about women’s clothing and just casually entered a store.
Who would have thought so much?
Look at her; the well-known campus heartthrob of Zaoc University, handsome and poised, today actually fell like this.
I will never come back!
Forget it, consider it a lesson learned.
Jiang Zhi pats Su Ziqian on the head and raises an eyebrow: “Are you tired?”
“A little…”
The little girl pouts, looking unenergetic, completely losing the spirit she had earlier.
“I told you to stay at home, didn’t I?”
“Qian Qian was just playing with Mom; I didn’t feel tired at all!”
Jiang Zhi chuckles; the little one is clever for her age; she can let this slide!
“Hold on a little longer; once we finish shopping, we’ll go home.”
After calming Qian Qian, she can’t help but sigh.
She wants to go home too.
But there are still many things left to buy.
For the first time, she finds spending money so exhausting.
Jiang Zhi shakes herself awake and leads the little girl toward a nearby women’s clothing store.
Having finished with the lingerie, she still needs a few fitting clothes.
