My grandma, Lu Shirong, had spoiled me rotten all my life. You could even say she’d gone as far as outright doting on me.

As far back as I could remember, Grandma had never hit or scolded me. If I liked something, she liked it too. If I wanted something, she’d do her best to buy it for me. Most of the time, though, she couldn’t afford it. When that happened, she’d buy something else to cheer me up.

An ice pop. A small cake. A bottle of soda.

Those little snacks and treats made up most of my childhood.

I remember that when I was very young, my mother had to work overtime and couldn’t come home for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Grandma took me by bus to Chang’an Square in the Central District of Vanilla City, far from our village.

A huge Mid-Autumn Festival gala was being held there. The place was packed with people, and Grandma and I couldn’t squeeze through. So she lifted me onto her shoulders.

From up high, I could see the dancers onstage clearly.

Back then, I thought Grandma was my hero. She was my entire world.

Unfortunately, as I grew older, I gradually entered my rebellious phase. I started thinking Grandma was “old-fashioned.” Little by little, I spoke to her less than I had as a child.

I stopped seeing her as a harbor I could rely on, too. My personality gradually became more withdrawn.

Those rebellious memories weren’t truly mine. But they were still deeply imprinted in the brain of the body I now inhabited.

Whenever I saw them, I felt as if they were my own past. As if I really had been that rebellious and inconsiderate.

I didn’t know whether I should feel guilty or relieved.

I couldn’t say how much I’d achieve in the future. But at the very least… I could be filial to Grandma. I could make sure she didn’t worry or feel hurt.

“…”

Rem’s cosplay outfit was a fairly ornate maid dress. It wasn’t too revealing, so under normal circumstances, neither my mother nor my grandmother would reject it.

At most, they’d think it was a little too flashy.

When the time came, I could simply explain to Grandma that it was something young people liked. It could also attract customers.

Vanilla City was a top-tier metropolis. There were plenty of high schools and universities near Liao Family Village. Grandma had been selling desserts here for several years.

She’d surely seen plenty of sailor uniforms, Lolita dresses, and the like.

However, Rem’s maid outfit had a major problem if I wanted to wear it every day.

It was simply too elaborate. There were too many accessories.

The sleeves on both arms, the white lace piece around the neck, and the skirt itself were all separate.

“Grandma, go ahead and start cooking. I’m going to change.”

I returned to my room and shut the door. Then I stood before the full-length mirror and took off my clothes.

Soon, the girl in the mirror was wearing nothing but pure-white underwear.

As for the bra, I was wearing a three-quarter cup style today. Two straps hung over my neck. The panties were ordinary cotton briefs with a tiny bow on them.

The girl in the mirror had a figure so stunning that even I blushed when I looked at it. Her beauty was flawless, almost unreal.

A full chest, a flat and firm stomach, long, slender legs…

Her skin was still smooth and snow-white, without a single blemish.

She was practically a devil.

I picked up the garter stockings beside me and removed the clasps first. Then I put on the fastening straps.

I rolled up the long white stockings, which were made of velvet and trimmed with lace, and slipped my small feet inside. Like pulling on thigh-high socks, I carefully drew them up.

The stockings still carried the faint scent of new clothing.

I didn’t pull the waist straps into place until I’d confirmed that the entire pair perfectly covered the delicate skin of my legs. Then I fastened them to the ends of the stockings.

The difference between garter stockings and thigh-highs was that the former had something like a belt. It was secured around the waist first.

That “belt,” worn beneath the clothes, held the stockings up with two straps on each side. No matter how much I ran or jumped, they wouldn’t slip down.

I moved my small feet, wrapped in the soft white stockings, and sighed inwardly.

As expected of high-grade material, they were surprisingly comfortable.

I picked up the maid dress and carefully slipped it on. Then I tightened the corset section until it hugged my waist.

It emphasized the petite, graceful curves of a girl’s body.

After that, I adjusted the position around my chest.

Next came the white ornament around my neck and the maid sleeves on both arms.

Neither Bai Xinxue herself nor I, a middle-aged man in my previous life, had any experience wearing clothes like this. It took me nearly fifteen minutes to figure everything out and put the maid outfit on properly.

Just as Wang Lei’s “Uncle Wang” had said, the craftsmanship was extremely impressive. It was nothing like those cheap, shoddy outfits sold online for a few dozen yuan.

I’d bought and worn a few cosplay costumes in my previous life. I remembered clearly how most sellers cut corners to keep prices low.

The materials were as rough as they could possibly be. Some parts of the clothes were even made of plastic, giving off an awful smell.

But this maid dress felt completely different.

Every seam was sturdy and flawlessly stitched. It was comfortable to wear, and it didn’t have the slightest unpleasant odor.

The material had a soft, fluffy, cotton-like feel. I felt it could even work as pajamas.

I didn’t know much about clothing production. Still, I was certain that if this outfit were sold on the market, it wouldn’t cost less than 600 yuan.

Selling it for 1,000 yuan wouldn’t be unreasonable, either.

Once the clothes were on, it was time for the wig.

That was another blind spot in my knowledge.

I spent more than ten minutes searching online with my phone. Then I spent nearly another ten minutes tying up and hiding my shoulder-length hair.

Finally, I put on the blue wig and fixed it securely to my head.

At this moment, aside from the color of her eyes, the girl in the mirror was completely a real-life version of Rem.

Speaking of which, this wig was seriously inconvenient.

I tried brushing the hair away from my right eye. The next second, it fell back into place.

All right…

Looks like I might not be able to use my right eye later.

Thinking helplessly, I carefully put in my colored contacts while facing the mirror. Then I went out onto the balcony and stared outside for a while to adjust to them.

Only after that did I take out my makeup and skincare products and begin applying them.

With my current appearance, I didn’t really need much makeup to cosplay Rem.

In my previous life, I’d once believed that girls with naturally fair, delicate skin—skin that never broke out, scarred, or developed freckles—simply didn’t exist.

Now I knew I’d been wrong.

Bai Xinxue was the kind of girl who seemed blessed by angels. Even without makeup, she was beautiful enough to make people jealous.

All I needed was a little eyeliner and a slight touch of whitening.

Only now could I confirm that Liang Zhiming had been right when he said, “Your figure is exactly the same as Rem’s.”

This outfit perfectly accentuated the curves of my body and thighs.

My already ample chest became even more eye-catching beneath the maid dress’s corset. And the long legs beneath the skirt were especially alluring under the cover of white stockings.

There was just one issue.

Rem’s official height was 154 centimeters. I was nine centimeters taller than that.

I took out a pair of petite maid shoes with buckles. Their craftsmanship was just as exquisite.

I slipped my stocking-clad feet inside, fastened the buckles, and moved around a little.

Mm. They fit perfectly.

These tiny shoes had to be a size 32.

Once I had the entire cosplay outfit on, I stood before the mirror with my legs turned slightly inward. Then I brushed aside the blue hair obstructing my right eye.

Perfect.

“Xiaoxue… are you… still not done changing?”

A herbal scent unique to grass jelly drifted through the air, mixed with the aromas of mung beans and soybeans.

I heard Grandma apparently walk up to the door.

“Grandma’s finished making everything!”

“Coming!”

Following the way Rem spoke in my memories, and matching her tone of voice, I tried my best to shift my own voice in that direction.

“Sorry.”

I opened the door.

A strong fragrance of grass jelly, mung beans, and tofu pudding immediately washed over me.

“Xiao… are you Xiaoxue?”

Grandma froze when she saw me. Then her eyes widened.

“Wh-What kind of clothes are those?”

“Do you think they look good?”

I lifted the hem of my skirt and spun around once.

“They’re costumes for a school club dance. All my classmates love them.”

Looks like I’d have to find time to join the anime club. Lying to Grandma made me feel a little guilty.

“For dancing?”

Grandma came back to herself.

“Th-Then you’re going out dressed like that?”

“Of course. Didn’t I tell you? We’re going out to sell things today.”

I took Grandma’s aged hands in mine.

“Your food tastes great, Grandma, but it needs publicity. Just look at those successful commercials on TV. Aren’t they all like this?”

“And remember when we went to the square to watch performances? You haven’t forgotten, have you? They danced while selling things.”

“That’s the only way we’ll have an edge…”

“Or how about you stay home and rest today? Xiaoxue can go out alone.”

“Oh… Oh—no, that won’t do. Grandma’s going too.”

I didn’t know if she’d remembered what happened with the garbage collecting. Grandma quietly withdrew her hands from mine.

“If we’re… selling things, Grandma can do it alone. You should… you should study…”

It was obvious that Grandma was thrilled by the thought of me wanting to sell things with her.

But perhaps she wasn’t used to her granddaughter suddenly becoming warm after ignoring her ever since starting high school. Perhaps she was worried it would affect my studies.

Her wrinkled face showed a hint of resistance, leaving her caught in a painful contradiction.

“Grandma—”

I switched to a spoiled, coquettish tone.

“Your adorable granddaughter will have to leave school and enter society someday. If you don’t let her get used to it early, it’ll be too late by the time she graduates from college!”

“Oh…”

Grandma scratched her head.

“Then… all right. But Grandma’s going with you.”

As expected, Grandma still spoiled me rotten.

“Then we’ll go together!”

I walked over to the several large iron barrels packed to the brim.

“These are the ones, right?”

Grandma made a quiet sound of agreement behind me.

I opened the door and began carrying the iron barrels outside, one by one, loading them onto the tricycle.

To be fair, barrels filled more than halfway with grass jelly and tofu pudding were heavy.

Really heavy.

I could imagine how, over all those years, Grandma—with one disabled leg—had staggered by herself as she loaded them onto the tricycle.

Then she would pedal across most of Dadong District, calling out to sell her goods.

“Grandma, can we leave now?”

The morning rush hour had already passed. There were far fewer vehicles in the passage outside the first floor of the rental building, leaving the road wide open.

“Mm… Oh.”

Grandma still didn’t seem used to the fact that her granddaughter had suddenly become so filial and enthusiastic. She looked a little dazed.

“Grandma, bring the keys.”

I raised the sign at the back of the tricycle. It displayed the WeChat Pay and Alipay QR codes, along with the prices:

“Grass jelly: 3 yuan. Mung beans with kelp: 4 yuan. Tofu pudding: 4 yuan.”

Then I sat at the front of the tricycle and watched Grandma emerge from the house in a daze.

She closed the door in another daze.

For some reason, a strange sense of pride welled up inside me.

Maybe…

This was what family felt like.