A Cosplay Master in the World of Honkai Impact 3rd

Li Pu said seriously, "It's just that Siegfried—your dad—has a little more of that in his heart."

"Have you ever thought about it?" Li Pu put on a grief-stricken expression again. "When you look at the clothes you like, your cosmetics, the hairstyle you want most... all of it is within reach, yet you can't have any of it because of society's judgment."

"What kind of feeling would that be?"

"Everyone loves beauty." Li Pu continued sorrowfully. "Kiana, if it were you, because of all this..."

"You couldn't dress yourself up beautifully and could only watch from afar, watching other people."

"Yet you'd have to force yourself to act like you weren't envious or jealous, and might even have to compliment them."

"Tell me, could you bear that feeling?"

Could she?

Kiana didn't know, but perhaps she couldn't. She had never experienced such feelings, nor had she ever imagined such a situation. But now, putting herself in that position as Mother had said...

It really did seem terribly painful.

"Is Mother like that too?" Kiana frowned at Li Pu.

Could it be that her mother was like that too? Then her... family...

"I'm not!" Li Pu had a bit of a headache. How had this gotten dragged onto him?

"My situation is different from Siegfried's," Li Pu said. "Anyway, mine is complicated. There's no way to explain it clearly to you."

"In short, I'm perfectly normal in every respect."

"Let's talk about Siegfried," Li Pu said seriously. "So, Kiana, you need to learn to understand."

"Isn't there a saying? 'Long live understanding.'"

"Oh..." Kiana still couldn't understand, but since Mother had said so, she would try her best to understand. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she had imagined.

"But if it really is like Mother said..." Kiana asked, "Then should I...?"

"It's fine," Li Pu said. "Your dad is a very broad-minded person. He..."

"If he really minds it..." A crooked thought suddenly came to Li Pu. He immediately said with ill intent, "How about we buy him some clothes?"

"You know your dad can't exactly go out and buy those clothes openly."

"Why don't we help him buy some? Maybe he'll be very happy."

"Oh..." Kiana said as if it made some sense, "Then I'll go ask for leave..."

"Come to think of it, how did Mother find me?"

"As for that question~" Li Pu gave a mysterious smile. "That's called being connected by heart."

Damn it, just as he'd guessed! That system claimed it wouldn't interfere, but it definitely did interfere somehow!

Li Pu was convinced that his chances of randomly running into Kiana while wandering around were 100%!

And look!

He really had run into her!

Kiana, the Making and Breaking of It All

Why did it feel like he was walking straight into a trap?

Did he need to seriously reflect on his actions?

Li Pu felt that Kiana didn't really seem like she was here to buy clothes for Siegfried?!

Li Pu subtly shifted his feet at the entrance of the cross-dressing shop.

"Mom~" Seeing that Li Pu had no intention of going inside and was merely standing at the entrance with an extremely wary look, Kiana was about to ask what was going on.

"Ahem~"

But Li Pu's cough interrupted her before she could speak.

"I need to ask," Li Pu said solemnly. "Kiana, are you buying clothes for your... Siegfried? Are you sure they're for Siegfried and not someone else?"

There was a saying: keep your word and see things through.

Kiana carried out that saying exceptionally well.

If she said she would do something, then she would absolutely do it, without any compromise.

So since she had said today that she would ask for leave and buy clothes, then she absolutely had to do it! As for whether today was suitable for taking leave, whether the teacher would approve it, what would happen to her classes after taking leave, or what would happen to her training...

Was there any need to consider such things?

There was absolutely no need!

They simply weren't worth thinking about!

Why were there so many ifs and whys, so many causes and effects? Wasn't this the kind of thing where you just did it? If the teacher approved her leave, she would walk out the front gate. If the teacher didn't approve it, she would climb over the wall.

If she had said she was going today, then she was definitely going.

So...

I never said we were going today. Li Pu took another step back.

Kiana was that kind of person. She dragged Li Pu to the shopping place she knew best, "Seventhmist." That name sounded familiar, didn't it?

That's right, it was that "Seventhmist"!

The place that had gotten blown up in a certain series!

Even the name of the area it was located in was pretty similar.

Seventh New School District!

Li Pu knew that the locations in certain scientific works and little yellow books all had real-life inspirations. Even some restaurants could be traced to real-world counterparts.

But those real-life counterparts couldn't possibly be here, could they?

Whether they were or not, this place was a genuine large-scale shopping and entertainment complex.

The mall had twelve floors in total, encompassing film and entertainment, KTV, food and drinks, cosmetics and daily necessities, clothing and department stores—a full-fledged comprehensive shopping center.

Kiana loved this place. She and Mei came here often.

It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that you could find pretty much anything you wanted here, and if you couldn't find it here, you probably wouldn't find it anywhere else either.

That might not have been absolutely true, but it was close enough.

Li Pu knew this place too. He had bought things here before. It was also where he had run into Mei!

But Li Pu didn't really like it here, because the prices were relatively high.

For a poor bastard like him, who wished he could stretch one cup of instant noodles across three meals, this really wasn't the kind of place he should be visiting.

It was fine if he was just here to kill time or occasionally splurge on some small item, but if he actually came here to shop for clothes and the like, this place really wasn't suitable for a poor guy like him.

Even if he was about to become rich.

Of course, that was only "about to." The money wasn't actually in his hands yet, so it didn't count.

"If it's just to buy something for Siegfried..." Li Pu said with a forced smile, "then I'll just watch from the side. I'll wait for you over there."

"I trust your taste, Kiana!"

With that, Li Pu prepared to slip away.

"Smack~"

He didn't get away. Before he could disappear into the crowd, Kiana grabbed his wrist. Wearing a sly grin, she said, "Buying clothes for... him is important too."

"But... you need some too, right?!"

"Uh..."

Looking at Kiana's triumphant, scheming smile, Li Pu suddenly realized that he seemed to have been tricked! Or rather, had he dug a hole for himself and jumped right into it?!

"Although I don't know why Dad dressed like that," Kiana said with apparent confidence, "but..."

"I don't think Dad is that kind of person."

Kiana said confidently, "There's no way he'd wear Cross-dressing clothes. Giving them to him would just be a waste."

Kiana was very sure of herself. She had grown up following her father. Although she knew he had all sorts of flaws and plenty of traits that left people helpless, he was still a good father. He absolutely could not have the strange fetish Mother had mentioned!

There was only one possibility for why he had dressed like that: he had been forced into it to achieve some purpose.

But no matter what, that was Siegfried's business. Kiana knew she had no right to pry. Her father had already made his decision and acted on it, so asking him about it would be useless.

Even if she didn't like it, trying to persuade him would be pointless.

So now, she turned her attention to Li Pu!

"Why can't Mother go shopping with me?" Though Kiana looked like her scheme had succeeded, her attitude softened. She looked at Li Pu almost pleadingly as she said, "I know Mother has her difficulties. Maybe she doesn't have money. But I won't make Mother spend anything."

"I just hope... I just hope Mother can be with me."

This was one of her wishes.

It was a scene she had imagined countless times, and seen countless times.

Back then, she could only watch longingly from the side as other mothers accompanied their children to buy things and pick out clothes. How badly she had wished for a day like that.

Today, Kiana had run out regardless of everything not for the sake of one or two pieces of clothing.

She simply wanted to enjoy that kind of time.

"This... Kiana..." Li Pu didn't know how to refuse.

It was a pure and genuine emotion, a burning expectation. Li Pu knew that Kiana was willing to be kind to him and willing to let go of the unpleasantness she had once been unwilling to accept.

All because she had fixated on one stubborn belief.

Only then did Li Pu realize that this would not be a one-time thing. For a long time to come, he would be caught in this same dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

Either deceive her, or make her understand that cruel truth.

Given Li Pu's current situation, if he endured it, he would likely sink deeper and deeper; if he took a step back, he would be doomed beyond redemption.

"I understand..." After hesitating and struggling for a long time, Li Pu ultimately chose to sink deeper.

There really wasn't anything else he could choose now.

"Um... Kiana." Li Pu still planned to struggle a little as he said, "Well, you see, here... with my current identity, wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"You see, how about definitely next time? Next time, I'll definitely come with you..."

Before Li Pu could finish, Kiana dragged him into the shop in front of them without giving him any say in the matter.

She casually grabbed the outfit she had apparently already picked out and stuffed it into Li Pu's arms.

Then she pushed him into a fitting room.

"This time, definitely!"

Kiana said firmly, "I don't want a 'definitely next time'!"

Chapter 56: Defeated by Kiana, Too

I actually got schemed against by that dumb bug.

Li Pu clutched the outfit in his hands, feeling deeply indignant.

He had schemed against Siegfried—well, calling it scheming was a bit much. He had merely harbored some bad intentions. But those little bad intentions had ended up being like lifting a rock only to smash his own foot.

That feeling was truly despairing.

Should I put it on? Li Pu held the clothes, feeling as though he had no way out now.

Well, that's not quite right either.

Li Pu scratched his head. Rather than having no way out, it was more like they were making use of each other to some extent. Cecilia was a character who could not possibly be separated from Kiana.

At least for now, if he wanted to equip this character, he still needed Kiana's help.

I'll just treat it as testing and training. There's no harm in that.

Even if it means cross-dressing...