It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Leaving aside the style, a long women's dress in red and black tones, paired with a yellow soft hat decorated with ribbons, would be pleasing to the eye on a beautiful woman, but if you wore it yourself... it might be a pleasure for a few interested cross-dressers, but for him it would be absolute torture. So here we will only talk about the comfort of wearing it.

A corset that's too tight makes it hard to breathe, whether it's around the chest or waist—it has pads on the chest and a corset around the waist. It's definitely a design that's anti-human for the sake of beauty. Corsets are one of the two cruel customs of the old century, along with foot binding.

The skirt felt chilly, and I was completely unaccustomed to wearing it because there was no coverage at the bottom. My lower body felt strangely drafty, and my jeans had an odd, droopy feel, like I was on a swing suspended in mid-air... Also, even though the skirt was long enough to cover my insteps, I often felt uneasy as if I wasn't wearing anything, and I also had a strange, unsettling feeling that someone was peeping at me...

While the physical discomfort might be bearable, the psychological discomfort was truly unbearable...

Just as Li Cheng was frantically talking to himself to pass the time, hoping the salon would end as soon as possible, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a slender figure walking towards him out of the corner of his eye.

Hey, hey, hey, you don't expect people to hit on you even when you're hiding in this corner, do you?

Startled, Li Cheng immediately pulled his wandering thoughts back and nervously glanced at the person out of the corner of his eye.

One step, two steps...

The man walked to the sofa where the two ladies were talking, but he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. Instead, he continued to look towards Li Cheng's location.

Wait, wait, wait, no way!

Seven steps. Eight steps...

Moving past another sofa, if at the beginning it could be said that the other party might have just happened to be looking for someone in Li Cheng's direction, now the probability of that is infinitesimally close to zero, almost like the probability of the Chinese national football team qualifying for the World Cup in 2022...

Holy crap, don't come any closer!

Li Cheng roared in terror.

The woman finally reached Li Cheng, her slender figure completely obscuring him. She politely inquired:

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

"..."

Li Cheng pretended to just notice and looked up to observe the person who had inexplicably struck up a conversation.

This is a young lady wearing the most fashionable long dress at the moment. She has fair skin and a pretty face. She seems to be around 19 years old, which is the most beautiful age for a woman. Her face full of collagen is enough to attract men's attention even without any makeup.

Li Cheng was also captivated by the woman's face, but not because of her youthful glow, but because... damn it, he recognized that face! It was Sophia, the difficult client who had asked him to design a dress! And to make matters worse, she was someone he had met twice before!

On closer inspection, however, it is quite normal for Sofia to be at the salon hosted by Phillips.

But the question is, why is it walking straight towards me? Did it recognize me? Did it recognize me based on just two previous meetings? Honestly, even I don't recognize myself in this disguise! How could this difficult client possibly recognize me?

Li Cheng's thoughts were in turmoil, and when Sophia saw that he did not answer, she thought he had not heard her clearly, so she asked again.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Li Cheng snapped out of his intense groan. Although he really wanted to say that the sofa was full and he should leave, he forced a stiff smile and shook his head slightly.

Speaking is out of the question. This is an all-female salon gathering. If I were to reveal my male identity while dressed as a woman, my life as a human being would be over...

As expected, she's a shy and reserved person. Is this her first time attending a gathering like this? Well then, let me guide you into this circle... Thinking this, Sophia tried to put on a friendly smile and asked softly, "May I sit next to you?"

Of course not! Get the hell out of here!

Li Cheng smiled and gently shook his head from side to side.

???

Sofia's smile gradually froze. It was undoubtedly a major blow to her, who had finally managed to show some kindness out of sympathy.

"Sorry, there was something wrong with how I phrased my question."

She paused for a moment, then asked again, as if to confirm, "May I sit next to you on this empty seat on your sofa?"

As Sofia waited expectantly, Li Cheng smiled, then shook his head gently but firmly... shook his head... shook his head...

click-

There seemed to be a sound of something shattering, and Sofia's forehead trembled violently.

"Sorry to bother you."

Since the other party had clearly shown their refusal, and was even so indifferent as not wanting to say a word, Sofia had no intention of making a fool of herself, and decisively left.

But just before leaving, she stared at Li Cheng for a moment, intending to remember the person who rejected her—not for revenge or anything, but simply to write it down, like seeing a rare flower on the roadside and wanting to take a second look and keep it as a memento.

But this time, the gaze caused Sofia's brows to furrow.

"I feel like...you look familiar."

She stared intently at Li Cheng's face, which Phillips had spent a full hour meticulously applying makeup to, and said somewhat uncertainly, "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

Chapter 302 Phillips' Malice

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

As always, this client was difficult, asking an extremely pointed question as soon as they met.

Li Cheng's heart pounded uncontrollably in his chest, adrenaline was being released, and all the muscles in his body were unconsciously preparing for battle, even though it seemed to be doing more harm than good.

"Are you kidding me? How can you recognize this?" Li Cheng maintained his smile and shook his head in denial.

"Haven't you seen it before?"

Ms. Sophia, the client, frowned, but she felt that the burly woman in front of her looked vaguely familiar. Finally, she couldn't help but ask again, "Excuse me, but I really feel like I've seen you somewhere before—um, could you tell me your name?"

"My name is Client Killer!"... Li Cheng shook his head with a stiff smile.

"It's just a name, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

Sophia frowned in displeasure and asked with some suspicion, "Speaking of which, why haven't you said anything since just now?"

Oh no, my constant nodding and shaking of my head has aroused suspicion.

Li Cheng inwardly groaned. He glanced at the center of the living room out of the corner of his eye, but the cross-dresser seemed either too engrossed in chatting with other guests or deliberately pretending not to see him (he strongly suspected the latter). In any case, she showed no sign of coming to his rescue.

"I just wanted to help you out of kindness, can't you even say a word to me?"

Sofia's initial patience gradually wore off. Seeing this person sitting alone in the corner of the living room, unable to fit into the atmosphere of the salon, she felt sorry for her and wanted to help her. However, the strong woman in front of her not only did not appreciate her kindness, but was even so indifferent that she did not want to say a word to her.

But Li Cheng could not speak. The difference between male and female voices is huge, and he did not know the techniques of voice imitation. If he spoke, he would only expose the fact that he was a man.

Therefore, Li Cheng could only keep his lips tightly shut, silently shake his head, and hope that the client in front of him would ignore him as soon as possible.

"You won't even say a word? Are you mute?"

But this head shake only enraged Sophia, who finally lost her temper and roared in a low voice, unable to contain her anger.

Although she realized her words were somewhat impulsive the instant they left her mouth and tried to control her volume, she still attracted the attention of those around her, who began to look in their direction. Seeing that a conflict seemed to be brewing, Sophia's friend simply stood up and walked over to Sophia's side.

"what happened?"

"Sophia's friend asked."

"It's nothing serious."

After Sophia finished her low growl, her anger had subsided considerably, and she now regretted her outburst: "This lady is probably just naturally aloof and doesn't like to talk to people. When I couldn't get her name, I acted impulsively and yelled at her."

"Unwilling to speak?"

Her friend looked Li Cheng up and down with a puzzled expression. Unlike Sophia, she attended almost every salon party hosted by Phillips, but she realized that she seemed to have never seen this rather tall red-haired woman before.

"Who is this person? I've never seen her before."

Her friend frowned deeply and turned to another acquaintance who was watching the commotion, asking, "Yonex, have you seen her before?"

"This is the first time I've seen this."

"Anna, what about you?"

"I don't know him."

"Suros?"

“Strange, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before.”

Several people around her said they had never seen Li Cheng before. After some inquiries by Sophia's friend, she was surprised to find that no one seemed to know the burly young lady in front of her, and they couldn't find the person who had brought her to this party. You have to know that this kind of private salon is not a public place that you can just walk into. You need to be invited by a member and have the permission of the salon owner to participate.

Did they sneak in?

Sophia's friend had this possibility in mind, and she didn't hide it, directly asking Li Cheng the question.

"Hello, may I ask how you got in? Who invited you?"

She stared sternly at the burly, red-haired woman before her, who had never uttered a word in her defense and whose background was highly suspicious: "Please tell the truth. If you don't explain yourself clearly, we might have someone kick you out of here. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Despite the possibility of being kicked out, Li Cheng wasn't too afraid. After all, Phoenix was the owner of the salon, and if things got really bad, he could just make a scene in front of her. Let's see who's afraid of whom.

But the problem is Sofia next to her!

The client, a young woman, was racking her brains, trying to recall if she had ever seen Li Cheng's face before. She seemed to be constantly thinking that this sturdy, silent woman was none other than Mr. Aorunji, who had once been her fashion designer!

"Little Louise, don't run so fast, you'll fall."

Just as Li Cheng was breaking out in a cold sweat, a somewhat familiar voice rang out, followed by a small red figure.

Following behind was a woman in her thirties, blonde with blue eyes, a voluptuous figure, and well-maintained skin; her name was likely Hudson. Running ahead was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl with red hair, black eyes, and a cute and well-behaved appearance.

Holy crap?!

Even if Li Cheng believed in his African heritage, he knew that the probability of such an event happening naturally was almost the same as the probability of getting five gold items in ten consecutive draws.

Since it's not a coincidence, it must have been orchestrated by someone.

In that instant, Li Cheng suddenly thought of many things.

First of all, as the owner of the salon, Phillips could not possibly not know who the guests would be at his salon.

Secondly, given the significance of this salon, Phillips would certainly have carefully screened the guests, and wouldn't have overlooked anyone he knew. The fact that he hadn't seen these two close acquaintances during his brief scan of the living room suggests that someone had deliberately arranged for them to be hidden in another corner, waiting for the right opportunity to introduce them.

Finally, even though he should have arranged for himself to be a friend/relative, dressed in women's clothing and received the 360-degree, unblinding gaze of the guests present, and spent the salon dressed in women's clothing, it would have been more meaningful. However, Phillips did not do that. Instead, he pretended not to know him, seemingly out of kindness, so that he could hide his presence in a corner.

In summary......

Holy crap, that crossdresser did this on purpose! He clearly wanted to show off my female attire to people I know!

Revenge? Is it really revenge?

Because he directly revealed Phillips' true identity, was that cross-dresser holding a grudge and deliberately taking this opportunity to make fun of him?

Chapter 303 Li Cheng...Sister

Sophia, Louise, and Mrs. Hudson were among the few people who had ever met Li Cheng... Wait, did I forget something? Never mind, that's not important.

Seeing the three people gathered in front of him for various reasons, and all looking at him with eyes that were either reminiscing or suspicious, Li Cheng, who was in drag, broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't even have time to mentally curse Phillips, and just wanted to get out of his predicament as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Li Cheng is currently unable to speak and cannot rely on his own strength.