Chapter 340 - 164: Two Fellow Sufferers

Chapter 340: Chapter 164: Two Fellow Sufferers

"Boss? I’m just a poor student. I was worried you’d think this place wasn’t nice enough."

"Not at all. This place is great. I’ve been here before; their seafood is excellent."

"Oh, you’ve been here before? That’s a relief..." Shen Qingning raised her glass. "Thank you, Class President, for always looking out for me. This is to you."

Cheers.

They chatted as they ate.

"Qingning, have you found a job yet?"

"Not yet. There aren’t many part-time positions available right now. *Sigh*... I was hoping to get a job lined up by coming back early. That way, once classes start next week, I could work and study at the same time. Now, who knows how long it’ll take to find something."

"A friend of mine has a shop that’s short-staffed. You should go check it out after we eat."

"Oh no, it’s fine, I can find one myself. I don’t want to trouble you, Class President. You’ve already helped me so much; I don’t want to bother you any more."

"I just want you to earn some money so you can pay me back. So just listen to me, and you can’t go wrong."

"Alright! Even if you sold me, Class President, I’d still help you count the cash."

Su Ran chuckled. "It’s not that dramatic. It’s just a clothing store. Come on, eat. You’ll see when we get there."

After their meal, they took his electric scooter to the mall. They arrived at the shop run by Qi Shan’s wife—an otaku-themed clothing store that sold all sorts of cosplay outfits. The variety was astounding; they had everything you could imagine.

Qi Shan’s wife wasn’t in. After Su Ran gave his name, the store manager, a woman dressed in a Lolita outfit, let out a sound of recognition. "Oh, you must be Mr. Su. Mmm-hmm... The boss called a little while ago. He said you were bringing a friend for an interview. This young lady here, right?"

"Yes, that’s her. I’ll let you two talk. I’m just going to look around." Su Ran began to wander through the shop. Looking at all the Lolita dresses, cat maid outfits, and Japanese-style schoolgirl uniforms, Su Ran, a self-proclaimed manly man, felt his psyche take a direct hit.

A few moments later, Shen Qingning came over. Su Ran asked, "What’s the monthly salary?"

"Five thousand a month plus commission. If I take the job, I’d be on the night shift, from 6 PM to 10 PM, since I have classes during the day."

"That’s pretty good."

"But... one of the requirements for the job is that I have to try on a few of those outfits to see how they look." Shen Qingning pointed at the costumes on a rack. "What kind of store makes you wear their clothes just to get a job? I’m not into otaku stuff. I don’t like wearing things like that."

"That’s outrageous!"

"Yeah, it is. Maybe we should just go."

"Wait... It might be outrageous, but I think it could be worth a try."

"???"

"*Ahem*, what I mean is, it’s for money. There’s no shame in that, right?"

Shen Qingning hesitated. She glanced around the store, thinking about the salary—5,000 plus commission was actually really good. After a couple of seconds, she nodded. "Okay, I’ll give it a try."

"Great. Go pick out an outfit."

Shen Qingning turned to face the cat maid outfit. After a moment’s hesitation, she shuffled to the side and picked up a Lolita dress instead. She thought she heard the Class President sigh, but when she glanced back at him, he was smiling cheerfully. ’It must have been my imagination,’ she thought. ’There’s no way the Class President is some otaku who’s into cat maid outfits.’

Shen Qingning took the Lolita dress into the changing room. Su Ran waited for a moment before she pushed aside the curtain and stepped out. Shen Qingning was already slender with a delicate, almost pitifully sweet appearance. The Lolita dress made her look incredibly cute, especially with her fair, slender calves peeking out from beneath the skirt.

’Legs for days.’

"Not bad at all..." Su Ran gave a thumbs-up, then turned to the store manager. "Well, Manager? Does my classmate meet the requirements?"

"Let’s have her try this one on, too." The store manager handed a cat maid outfit to Shen Qingning. "Change into this. If this one looks good, you’ve got the job."

"Do I have to...?"

"No!"

"*Sigh*... Alright."

Shen Qingning took the outfit and disappeared back into the changing room. Su Ran was deeply unimpressed with this hiring process. He questioned the store manager, who simply said it was the boss’s rule. Annoyed, Su Ran called Qi Shan directly. After hearing him out, Qi Shan replied in a rather sleazy tone, "Why are you so worked up, Young Master Su? I arranged this especially for you! Didn’t you say you’ve gotten into otaku culture recently? I’m just giving you an eyeful. Isn’t it great?"

Su Ran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This Qi Shan really was a "Chief Eunuch."

’The system was always finding new ways to make him enjoy life.’

’And Qi Shan was always finding new ways to probe his interests and hobbies.’

"Class President~"

Just then, Shen Qingning’s voice came from behind him. Su Ran turned around and saw her wearing the lacy cat maid outfit. She really did look like a delicate, pitiful little kitten.

"Class President..."

She called out shyly. Su Ran walked over and looked her up and down in the cat maid outfit.

"Class President... will this do?"

’She felt she’d already thrown all her dignity away just to make some money.’

"You look pretty cute in this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This should be enough to pass, right, Manager?"

"Yes, you’ve passed."

"Thank you, Manager."

Shen Qingning bowed excitedly to express her thanks. But because the outfit was too small, the moment she bent over—RIP!—as she straightened up, the costume burst apart and fell right off her.

Panicked, Shen Qingning froze. In that instant, Su Ran reacted in a flash, pulling her into his arms to shield her from view.

Su Ran didn’t dare let go. He glanced at the store manager, who shook her head, signaling that this was a genuine accident and not part of some deliberate plan.

And just like that, the petite girl in the maid outfit was held tightly in Su Ran’s arms. A moment ago she had been terrified, but now, collapsing into his embrace, she wasn’t afraid of anything. Because Su Ran was there, she knew she wouldn’t be exposed. It was a deep, instinctual trust.

She looked up at Su Ran from his embrace and asked, "Class President, were you worried about me?"

Su Ran looked down and said, "I can’t let other people get a free show."