Chapter 155 Chapter 156 A Ray of Hope
Outside the clothing store lay an overturned cart, which belonged to Enlake.
Young Master Is raised his long sword and shouted, “Get out of the way!”
A wave of sound emanated from him, startling everyone. The Holy Maiden, Jenna, raised her hand, and a blinding light orb floated in the air, causing ordinary people to cover their eyes.
Jima hurried through the crowd and ran into the clothing store.
Inside the store was chaos; Enlake, dressed in women’s clothing, along with Lady Black Mary and the braided maid, were retreating into the back of the store. The braided maid lagged behind, using her body to shield against the fists and feet of the well-dressed thugs.
A thug ripped a white dress from Lady Black Mary’s hands.
Lady Black Mary rushed over, while the braided maid quickly hugged her waist, exclaiming, “Don’t go, don’t go!”
Enlake also grabbed Lady Black Mary.
Lady Black Mary exclaimed anxiously, “That dress is for you!”
“What?”
Enlake lost his composure and rushed forward. The braided maid couldn’t stop the two of them and could only watch helplessly as Enlake passed by her.
A thug kicked Enlake in the abdomen and turned to his companion beside him, shouting, “Tear this perverted dress to shreds!”
His companion drew a sword, a legally permitted weapon for protection, directing its point toward the clothing. Enlake fell to the ground, extending his hand and shouting, “No!”
Amid his agonized cries, the pure white dress was sliced open. Enlake, fueled by an unknown strength, stood up and grasped the blade of the sword in the thug’s hand, the sharp edge cutting into his palm, and crimson blood trickled down the blade.
The thug tried to pull the sword away to no avail, cursing, “Perverted freak.”
Saying this, he attempted to stab Enlake.
It was at this moment that Jima intervened, dragging the thug into a dream where twelve hungry, strong beastmen and a bar of soap lay on the ground. The thug gasped in fear and dropped his sword.
Holy Maiden Jenna rushed up, delivering a slap to the face of another thug holding the white dress. With a loud crack, the thug was knocked back, unconscious.
“Are you okay?” Jima bent down, trying to help Enlake.
Ignoring his bleeding hand, Enlake grasped the fallen pure white dress; as his bloodied fingers were about to touch the dress, he recoiled, wiped the blood off his hands, and then used his fingertips to pick up the white dress.
The dress was stained with dirt, yet its fabric’s luster and texture could not be concealed. However, it bore a large cut, resembling a gaping mouth mocking Enlake.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, smudging his makeup.
A thug with a swollen handprint on his face stood up, cursing, “Sissy, perverted freak! Disgusting!”
Jima grabbed a folding chair nearby and swung it at his head, hitting him with a loud thud, and the thug collapsed to the ground.
With Jima and her companions’ arrival, the chaos in the store was quickly quelled. Although there were many thugs, they were no match for the three extraordinary individuals, who frightened the thugs into fleeing.
After Holy Maiden Jenna healed Enlake’s injuries, she went to capture the thugs.
Enlake remained in a daze, and Jima pulled him away, saying, “Quick, go participate in the contest.”
He said nothing, gripping the torn clothing tightly.
Jima pushed Enlake onto Young Master Is’s carriage and then jumped off to find Jenna, discovering her using torn curtains to tie up the thug.
“Jenna, it’s time to go. They’ve all run away.”
Jenna kept her head down and said, “You go ahead; these thugs must be punished by the law.”
“Can you help escort us, Jenna? There will definitely be more thugs on the way.”
Only then did Jenna board the carriage with Jima. Young Master Is left his male servant to help and also boarded the carriage, instructing the driver to head to the commercial district.
Inside the carriage, Enlake blankly stared at the dress.
Young Master Is said to Jima, “If I’m not mistaken, your friend is named Enlake?”
“How did you know?”
“Yesterday people were spreading rumors everywhere that Enlake would participate in the beauty contest dressed as a woman.” Young Master Is continued, “Others even said that future beauty contests would require men to participate.”
“Although I know Marlin City hasn’t opened up to publicly accepting cross-dressing,” Jima remarked, “the rumors spread too quickly; in just one day, it’s created a huge stir, even that Enlake’s dress was custom-made by Lady Black Mary is known.”
Everyone was aware that if Enlake openly participated in the beauty contest as a man, it would certainly provoke strong backlash. Hence, they all tacitly agreed not to reveal it. Once the deed was done, Enlake would have long won the championship.
It would be impossible for no one to fan the flames behind this.
Enlake suddenly asked bitterly, “Could it be her?”
In the common tongue, the pronouns for “he” and “she” have different pronunciations.
Jima fell silent; as Enlake’s competitor, the red-haired noble girl had ample motive and suspicion. She didn’t say anything out of fear that Enlake’s heart might be shattered, causing him to retreat.
She tightened her grip on Enlake’s recently healed hand and said, “Don’t be discouraged. My mother often says the darker the night, the brighter the stars.”
Enlake’s tone grew more bitter, “The clouds have obscured my only shining star.”
Young Master Is seemed to sense something; he shifted away from Enlake, moving towards the window and saying, “Women look down on men who lower their dignity; don’t humiliate yourself.”
Jima retorted, “Young Master Is, shut up. A charming playboy like you who frequently engages in group activities in bed has no idea of the pain of longing.”
“I understand very well, Miss Xiao Qiao.”
Ignoring Young Master Is, Jima encouraged, “Enlake, you can overcome any obstacle. Your beauty will make her feel embarrassed; you can win. The more painful the fall, the sweeter the taste of victory.”
“What are you all talking about?” Holy Maiden Jenna looked confused at the three, “What happened?”
“Jenna, I was just saying I have a friend, a guy, who is participating in the beauty contest,” Jima explained, “and this is him, Miss Xiya.”
She briefly recounted the situation.
“En—Miss Xiya,” Holy Maiden Jenna encouraged, “it’s not your fault; don’t lose heart. I will protect you.”
“Thank you all.” Enlake wiped away another tear, “Do you have a makeup mirror? I need to touch up my makeup.”
“I have one, I have one.” Holy Maiden Jenna produced her makeup mirror and cosmetics she always carried.
Enlake regained his spirits. Dressed in the women’s outfit from the last contest, with a bloodstain on it, he needed to perform even better to make up for the hardware disparity.
The carriage arrived at the crowded open-air opera house. This beauty contest received the most attention ever, with streets almost full of people holding signs that read “Perverts get out of the beauty contest!” and loudly protesting.
Young Master Is’s carriage slowly advanced through the crowd; fortunately, no one knew Enlake was inside; otherwise, they would have surely attempted to overturn the carriage.
Jima and her companions escorted Enlake down from the carriage, and the excited crowd failed to recognize his real identity.
Inside the open-air opera house, the audience was barely orderly, shouting, “Boycott perverts!”
“Beauty contests belong to women!”
“The Flower of Marlin City can only be a woman.”
“Vote for women! Vote for women!”
Enlake anxiously lifted his skirt, walking towards the backstage when suddenly he stopped.
Jima asked, “What’s wrong?”
“My dad is here too,” Enlake whispered while pointing, “and there are a lot of people with him.”
Following Enlake’s指, Jima saw a man in the audience who bore some resemblance to Enlake, sitting with a sullen expression, surrounded by a circle of fierce-looking, muscular sailors, each bearing tattoos on their brawny arms.
“Dock workers; he must have hired them to stop me,” Enlake whispered. “Hiring thugs is his specialty; there’s a good chance they’ll drag me off the stage. This morning when I left home, he was so angry he smashed his favorite porcelain.”
Jima looked at Jenna. Jenna straightened her back and said, “Leave it to me.”
With that, Jenna approached Enlake’s father for precautions.
Young Master Is stuck close behind Jenna like a shadow.
Jima and Enlake maneuvered around the audience seats, avoiding his father’s gaze as they headed towards the backstage.
On stage, as the band began to play, the red-haired noble girl made her entrance, and as soon as she stepped out, the audience buzzed with excitement, someone shouted, “The Flower of Marlin City can only be female!”
“Anyone who doesn’t vote for her is a gay!”
Almost every audience member eagerly pulled out their tiles in a frenzy, rushing to toss them into the voting jar.
Enlake clenched his teeth, and Jima noticed Enlake’s anxiety; she whispered, “You can still charm the judges and win.”
The two reached the backstage entrance, and the staff guarding the door complained to Enlake, “Miss, you’re in the wrong place. Those merchants would rather let a man go to the finals than allow a beautiful girl like you to compete. They’re nothing but greedy folks.”
Enlake held his head high and said, “I am Xiya.”
The staff jumped aside in shock, clearing a path.
The two stepped into the backstage, the chaotic noise overpowering the band’s accompaniment, penetrating through to the backstage.
At a junction, a stout gentleman with a few papers blocked their way, saying, “You should really leave.”
“No, I want to go on stage.”
“We can’t guarantee what the furious audience will do,” the stout gentleman pushed up his glasses and said, “We can’t ensure your safety.”
“I don’t care.”
“Then sign this waiver.” The stout gentleman handed her a paper, adding, “Furthermore, I advise you, you are already done; don’t stir the pot. The band you hired has just left; they refused to play for you.”
Enlake fell silent, and Jima cursed, “Damn! Those contract-breakers! They deserve to be poor for life.”
“No one is willing to risk getting torn apart to play music on stage.”
Jima worried Enlake might give up and turned to him, saying, “Be optimistic; at least you’ve earned a breach of contract fee. Make those dog musicians pay; if you win, they will surely regret it.”
Suddenly, the host’s exciting voice rang out in front of the stage: “Judge No. 1 score: Five points! An unprecedented miracle in beauty contest history.”
“Judge No. 2 score: Full five points!”
…
The stout gentleman remarked, “Judges are likely to rate five points; no one dares not to give full marks at this moment, or the angry crowd will tear them apart. Why bother?”
Desperation slowly showed on Enlake’s face.
“Three points, three points; the harsh Judge Swann still hasn’t given his precious full score!”
The host’s voice was then drowned out by boos from the crowd.
Jima said, “There is still the last glimmer of hope.”
As long as he gets full scores from the judges, as long as…
This hope was exceedingly slim.
Enlake was now at a significant disadvantage; the judges, the audience, and even his family were all against him.
Through clenched teeth, he said, “I am willing.”
With that, he signed his name.
As Enlake stepped past the stout gentleman and turned a corner, he quietly asked Jima, “Jima, do you have the drug?”
“Of course.” Jima looked around to ensure no one was watching, took out a basket from her interdimensional space bag, lifted the cloth, and said, “Enhanced version, just 400 gold coins a vial.”
Several pink potions lay on the straw.
Enlake took one, gulping it down quickly.
Jima smiled, saying, “Good, one is enough; drinking too much will have negative side effects.”
But suddenly, Enlake snatched the remaining vials, uncorked them with determination, and poured them into his mouth.
Jima immediately raised her hand to pull him into a dream, but it was too late; the potions still went down his throat. He was so insistent that even in the dream, he struggled to swallow the liquid capable of granting him love.
————
Recalling a time when a British cross-dressing store selling women’s trousers was surrounded by British gentlemen.
