Chapter 6
You know those slice of life or romance stories where the main character and the love interest gather to have a date at somewhere like a shopping district or a mall, right?
The usual type of progression that goes in these stories are simple as well. The main character arrives on time and sees the love interest who arrived 30 minutes early but still says that she also just came, they both go and explore a couple of shops, finally ending up at the crucial scene: The lingerie shop.
During this, the main character would get embarrassed right? Bonus points if the love interest is tsundere and punches them in the face calling them a pervert.
Why is this important? Well…
That’s because I feel like I am in a situation similar to those main characters.
If you’re wondering why, it’s because I am currently in a lingerie shop inside a very oversized mall.
If I was still a guy and came here under the excuse of ‘accompanying’ my sister on her shopping trip, it would’ve been less embarrassing.
The problem is that we aren’t coming here to pick her a new set of underwear. The one who will ultimately receive these new things is me, the idiot who suddenly woke up to a gender change…
If you think hard about it, isn’t it embarrassing to do this? Of course, by body and gender standards, I am currently undoubtedly female, but there’s still traces of my old habits, you know?
I don’t really put in the time or effort to dress up nicely, mostly just donning the first shirt and pants that I can spot.
Having experienced a slight amount of what a girl has to go through, wouldn’t it be normal for someone like me to feel embarrassed and annoyed?
The best example would be my chest…
I don’t know if it’s normal for them to grow to a size where it’s hard to even see my own belly by just gazing down while standing still… but even if it was normal, just the fact that it actively messes with my vision should say a lot about how inconvenient it is, right?
Ah, and they also add weight to the chest area, though not really enough to make me that uncomfortable.
The obvious answer would obviously be getting a bra, right? But surprisingly, I find it hard to follow through with this.
Of course, since I said underwear, it naturally includes the bra, but my mind just thinks that this situation would be too embarrassing.
When we arrived at the shop, the first thing my sister did was to find an employee to help take my three sizes. Apparently the chest size is categorized as cups or something…? Ranging from A to god knows what…
Oh, and apparently mine was categorized as D cup.
I don’t really have a clue if that’s good or not, considering I have no clue about girl stuff, but considering it’s D which in exam terms, is a barely passing mark, I assume I passed with the minimum scores…?
For some reason my sister was looking at me weirdly once my three sizes were measured. It’s probably just her way of being relieved that I barely passed?
Anyhow, because I had to get my three sizes measured, it means that a worker had to physically touch me, if you know what I’m saying.
That’s where most of the embarrassment comes from, really…
It’s been less than a day since I’ve turned into a girl, I haven’t even explored my body, yet it feels like I am offering the chance for someone else to try it…
Being touched by another person, even if they are a girl… is embarrassing too!
Ah, but of course, Xia did also touch me a lot when forcing me to bathe earlier, but that was a different story!
Even so, I swallowed that embarrassment and managed to remain emotionless while getting my sizes measured, so it wasn’t that terrible.
“...They were large but… that large…?”
“Huh, what are you talking about, Xia?”
“Eh? Ah?! It’s nothing, Jia Lin!!”
Huh, I don’t know what my sister has been muttering about but seeing that she was so flustered that she even called me by name, it must’ve been a very embarrassing thing.
Very well, as her older sister who just came out of embarrassment hell, I can understand my younger sister’s concern so I, the decent older sibling that I strive to be, will not pry further! Aren’t I great?
Ah? Of course not… It's just an exaggeration at the end of the day. Any normal self respecting person would’ve given the other person space and privacy even if they aren’t family, you know?
“If you say so. Anyways, we are pretty much done right? You bought so many sets… are you sure that I’ll even use them all?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course you will. It’s not like I bought a large amount. A normal girl would at least have this much in her wardrobe, my clumsy big sister. Don’t tell me that you plan on slacking off and not wear any underwear?”
“Huh…!? Of course not! I am not that stupid, you know!?”
“Oh really? My same old brother who never bothered to sleep right and always ended up on the floor?”
“...Ugh, please stop, I can’t help it… it’s too annoying to get up!”
“The same person who complains about why the water in the shower is cold when he is the one who forgot to turn on the heater?”
“I… you win, Xia… please just stop…”
“Fine, fine. If my cute older sister is begging that persistently, I’ll stop~”
Is this really okay…? Is it normal for an older sibling to be pushed this much by their younger one?
Though Xia is much brighter and a better person than I’ll ever be, I still at least want to hold the position of the older sibling, you know?
Call it vain pride, but at least the thought of being able to do just that feels better than not having it…!
And… ‘cute older sister’?
That was totally a tease just now right? Xia totally just teased me, didn’t she?!
The same Xia who is colder than the concept of cold? What’s happening, did global warming affect my little sister too?!
Ah, but she is still the same old Xia that I’ll always adore, so her showing this much emotion is a good thing, isn’t it?
Even at the cost of losing my dignity…
Well, losing dignity is something I already do on a daily basis, so doing it to make my sister act like this is a pretty good deal, isn’t it?
Is this what they call sisterly… sacrifice? Ah, I actually feel fulfilled for once!
‘It’s just a delusion so stop it’? Who are you to try and break me out of it! At least let me dream this much, damn you!!
What Xia said immediately pulled me out of my thoughts.
“As for what you asked… Yeah, we are pretty much done.”
“Really?! Then we can go now, right? Let’s go, Xia!”
“Huh, what are you talking about? We are only done ‘here’, there’s still plenty of other things we need to buy for you, you know? Do you think that the scope of ‘girl stuff’ only covers underwear?”
“Ah…”
“We still need to get you some presentable clothing, better shampoo and hair conditioner too… Honestly, I don’t understand how you can survive on that three in one shampoo thing so that definitely needs to be changed for actual personal care products, maybe some make up and perfume too? But knowing your personality, you probably will just find it too troublesome to use. Ah, sanitary pads too when that time of the month comes and then—”
Hearing Xia keep talking on and on made my head hurt… Are there really that many things to buy…?
“Xia…?”
“Basically, there’s a lot of things we need to buy so we are nowhere near done.”
“...”
Before I could even steel myself properly, Xia suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“So, Onee-chan~ Bear with it, okay~?”
“Why the sudden Japanese?”
“Ah, it was a joke to ease you up, did it not work?”
“It did… but?”
Seeing Xia joke around like that is honestly unsettling…
“If it worked, then let’s go. We don’t have all day thanks to a certain clumsy person who decided to not bathe before going out and ended up forcing us to waste an extra two hours.”
“Ugh…”
I wanted to complain but she wasn't wrong… Now my self-esteem is definitely at its lowest. Ah, I shouldn’t say that. Each time I did, I somehow got proven wrong and hit a new low…
Oh well, this is going to be a long ‘walk’ but it should still be fine.
***
The me who said that it should still be fine, you were completely wrong… It’s not fine…
Ah, someone please kill me… I feel like I am dying again…
I don’t even remember how many hours passed by, all I know is that I want to sleep forever now.
Hearing it from my sister’s mouth was already bad enough, but having to experience it all was a different, special type of hell.
I really hated malls… I don’t get why they are so popular and always filled with people! Why does a big place like this filled with so many shops that it might as well be a maze even exist?!
Not to mention most of the items sold in malls tend to be more overpriced than your average shop, especially ice cream… I don’t get how people can spend nearly an entire day’s worth of meal money just to buy ice cream.
Ah, but since a mall is filled with so many shops, it’s much easier to just navigate through it instead of going around to different shops in the district? Still, this is too much! I’ve been walking so much that I felt as if my feet were already gone and I’m just dragging what remains of them…
Seriously, this is the worst…
“Wow, you look really tired. Here, take this. Should help a bit with the pain.”
While I was busy grumbling and complaining about the mall in my mind while sitting on a bench, Xia came back after exploring on her own and handed me yogurt ice cream that she had just likely bought on the way back.
“Thanks, but did you really need to buy this…? It’s really overpriced…”
“We aren’t financially unstable, you know? And I wanted to eat it too. That's why I also bought you one, so just eat.”
That… makes sense.
“But aren’t there cheaper options? We could’ve just bought some from a cheaper store.”
“Would you really rather suffer longer just for a cheaper price? You definitely wouldn’t.”
Actually, I would… but I think Xia would probably hit me if I said that, so I shouldn’t say it…
“...Fine.”
“Don’t grumble like that. We’ve pretty much bought everything that you’ll need for now, so it’s pretty much done.”
“Really?”
“Yep, really. Though I wanted to go back before it was too late, it seems like that’s not possible now.” Xia said as she glanced at her phone.
“Sorry…”
“What are you even apologizing for? We’ll just have to have dinner somewhere in the mall. I already called mom and told her that we’ll eat out so it’s okay.”
“Ah, that's fine then.”
“Then does ramen sound good? Haven’t had it in a while so I wanted some.”
“Yeah, it’s good, let’s go!”
Ramen! I really like it too!
“Pft… Where did that tired look of yours go? I wonder if I am the one who wants it or you. Follow me, I found a fairly decent looking ramen restaurant earlier.”
“Alright!”
***
After we had our dinner, we walked towards the nearest bus stop and waited there for our ride back home.
The ramen was really delicious, Xia picked out a great spot. The ramen almost made me think that everything I experienced today was worth it…
Huh, if a single bowl of ramen can make this agonizing experience worth it, then I might just really be that worthless…
Ah, now I feel bad. How did I turn liking a bowl of ramen into depressive thoughts, wow I am something…
“Jia Lin.”
Suddenly Xia called out to me.
“Mhm? What is it, Xia?”
We were sitting next to each other while waiting for a bus to come by. It was quite late so there were no other people nearby, making it quite a quiet scene.
“Did you… find today troublesome?”
Ah, so that’s what this is?
“No, not really. I know you are just trying to help me, Xia. Thank you for that.”
It was the truth, at the end of the day, my sister just wanted to help me so I didn’t really hate it at all despite all my complaints.
“Ah, is that so?”
“Mhm! Besides, it was somewhat fun too.”
“I see.”
Jia Xia casually replied before looking back at her phone. Though she couldn’t hide her slight smile.
“Pftt…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just a funny video, wanna watch?”
“Sigh… Don’t get distracted too much, else we will miss the bus.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Yeah, it was worth it after all.
I wonder how long it has been since I hung out with my sister like this. Maybe it’s the first time? But it was still refreshing and fun. I got to see many new sides of my sister that she would’ve never shown in the past.
Not to mention…
It feels as if we are actually bonding as family, for once.
Yeah, something like this is worth saving as a memory.
“Xia!”
“Eh? W-What are you?”
I grabbed my sister closer and took out my phone.
“Hah.. fine this time but give me the phone, I’ll get a better angle.”
“Sure sure!”
Though Xia was clearly grumbling, she was still smiling, making me smile too.
“There, not bad. Send it to me too.”
“Here.”
After she took the picture, I couldn’t help but marvel at it. I realized again that I’ve become a lot more beautiful as a girl. With me and Xia in the picture, we almost look identical.
It was a silly sight.
“Ah? There’s the bus! Quick, before the driver ignores us!”
“Ah?! Yeah!”
…
In the end, we got back safely, washed up and went back to our business.
I took out my phone and looked at the photo again.
Becoming a girl… Not bad.
If I can keep experiencing something like this, it’s not so bad after all…
But I wouldn’t hope for much, I know someone like me doesn’t deserve this and that today was just because of Xia’s kindness.
Even so, I want to cherish this as much as I can.
Because I want to be the decent older sister that I strive to be.
So I won’t let my own inferiority burden my sister further.
With that in mind, I slept, awaiting the next day as usual.
Though strangely, I had a good sleep this time around.
