Morning light like shattered gold streamed through the clean windows of Unit 4 in District A, spilling across Jingyi's face, which carried a faint flush. Jingyi stood in front of the vanity, taking a deep breath. The thick-soled Mary Jane shoes Limeng had given her steadily supported her feet. The reflection in the mirror remained slender, yet the layer of perpetual, unyielding ice deep within her eyes seemed to have faded just a little.
"Jingyi thinks..." She forced the corners of her mouth upward at the mirror, trying out the third-person self-reference style common in Inazuma light novels. Before her voice finished trailing off, the tip of her tongue bumped against her teeth unexpectedly, and a sharp, fine pain made her gasp and cover her mouth with a "Hiss." The face in the mirror instantly flushed crimson, and a mortified shyness threatened to overflow from the corners of her eyes. "Sure... it still doesn't work, huh?" She dropped her hands, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of her skirt. "The book clearly said this looks very 'cute'..."
Unreconciled, she took two steps back, grabbed both sides of her skirt with her hands, and clumsily lifted it up a few inches. The thick soles made a muffled *thud-thud* sound as they grated against the floor. Then, she forced her toes inward, imitating the so-called "cute pigeon-toed stance." Her movements were as stiff as rusted gears forced to mesh together, and the muscles in her calves grew tense. Not only did the post…
Chapter 149