Chapter 40

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 40

Chapter Title: Lan Mei (1)

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‘Hmm.’

No.

No matter how much I thought about it...

This just didn’t feel right.

Finally suppressing that intense impulse with cold reason, I closed all the apps and let out a light sigh.

‘...Am I actually losing my mind?’

To think I’d even considered a maid outfit and a sailor uniform...

I must have lost my senses for a moment.

I am the manliest guy in all of old Bucheon, the reincarnation of the heavenly god Hwanung, the great pharaoh of the 21st century.

As one who reigns above others, I have a dignity to uphold.

Click!

Pushing down my troubled feelings, I selected today’s outfit from the closet, returned to my roots with a V-pose, snapped a photo, and uploaded it to Clam.

However, four hours later, an identical photo appeared on Lan Mei’s account.

It rocketed to the top of real-time popular posts, drawing reactions dozens of times more fervent than mine.

‘......’

Is she seriously picking a fight with me right now?

And not only is she blatantly copying my actions, but none of her followers are calling her out on it?

‘Hmm.’

She’s right-handed, so why is she mimicking my left-handed V-pose?

Honestly, it was starting to piss me off a little.

Is this what they call the psychological warfare women go at each other with?

Hmm

Honestly, there are tons of fashion influencers way more successful than me.

So why is she targeting me of all people?

I’m just a small-animal type maximizing my cuteness appeal—I’m not some deep fashion expert producing pro-level content.

Someone of Lan Mei’s caliber had no reason to copy me.

Ding!

Exactly.

This wasn’t me overreacting or making a fuss.

Lan Mei was definitely aware of me and actively reaching out.

A mega hunter prospect with 12 million followers, no less.

‘......’

It’s fine.

Lan Mei was just a girl on the cusp of adulthood, while I was the far more experienced senior.

So I was prepared to graciously embrace her with the magnanimity of an elder.

However.

As this repeated day after day, stretching into a full week, my vast ocean of patience finally hit rock bottom.

No, doesn’t a person need some basic decency? Does she seriously not know when to quit?

It was time for a more serious response.

Letting such an insolent copycat run wild would tarnish the great pharaoh’s prestige.

[Pastel Half Frill Maid Outfit Sky / White]

[Sailor Uniform Black 3-Tier Short-Sleeve Long Skirt Scarf]

[Marine Look, Summer Navy Uniform Cosplay Navy/White]

Unable to hold back the building impulse any longer, I went ahead and ordered them.

Less than two days later, a sky-blue maid outfit set lay on my bed.

“......”

Wear this?

For real...?

I’d bought it on impulse, but this felt completely different from slipping into a well-made women’s outfit.

But what can you do? Once a man draws his sword, he has to chop something—even if it’s just a carrot on the table.

With my resolve hardened, I carefully slipped into the outfit.

Swish.

Swish.

Rip.

There were a few unfamiliar decorations, but since it was mostly one-piece, it wasn’t too hard to put on.

I adjusted the decorations, straightened the frilled skirt, donned the headband, and tidied my hair.

And finally, the last piece... the white over-knee socks.

‘Hmm.’

I’d chickened out on something similar last time.

What to do?

It felt too weird to wear them, but skipping them would ruin the outfit’s vibe.

My heart pounded like I was doing something I shouldn’t.

Making yet another snap decision, I picked up the socks and slipped my dainty feet in.

“Hoo...”

Looking in the mirror after changing, there stood the super-genius beauty perfectly pulling off the outfit, just as expected.

Before, it felt like looking at a game character that wasn’t me, but now... honestly, I wasn’t sure.

Humans are creatures of adaptation, after all—if I wasn’t getting used to it, that might be the real problem.

‘...It’s cute, though.’

That was enough.

Overthinking it would just complicate things.

Moving awkwardly in place, I used the stand Cha Se-ra gifted me to snap a tea-pouring concept shot, then proceeded to take various poses.

Click!

Click, click!

Nearly two hours of shooting and selecting yielded eight solid photos.

Satisfactory results.

I picked one to upload to Clam, and scheduled the rest for the subscriber page.

‘Hmm.’

No way China’s elegant genius prospect Lan Mei would copy something this blatant, right?

I didn’t think so.

She was a hunter at the end of the day, not a real-deal influencer like me.

Ding!

(Smug lesser panda emoticon)

That’s right.

In the end, our levels of resolve were different.

Lan Mei couldn’t counter my bold move and ended up as the defeated underdog.

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠notion crumbled the next day when Lan Mei posted something new.

An explosive reaction, overwhelming praise.

Lan Mei had gone and copied my outfit, appearing before her followers in an even more upscale maid outfit.

And with a huddled posture and shy expression that melted their hearts in an instant.

“......”

Honestly... she nailed the key points.

A classic black-haired beauty in a maid outfit acting all bashful like that? Of course it’d blow up.

I’d shot my photos calmly, hiding any embarrassment, but Lan Mei took it a step further, piercing straight to her followers’ desires.

‘She’s got some bite...’

Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?

It was such an obvious hook.

‘Have I gotten too used to just being cute?’

With her massive follower count and that strategic bullseye, her reaction haul was on another level.

Let me say it now: I haven’t lost yet.

But on the flip side, maybe I’d been too complacent lately.

I’m definitely the cutest High School Dropout Middle Schooler out there, but maybe my lack of effort wasn’t fully showcasing that cuteness?

“......”

The truth is, I’d been coasting on my cheat-code looks, and I might have lost sight of what “cute” really means.

That realization brought a sudden wave of self-reproach.

Ding!

Like she was taunting me, another post went up right away.

This one mixed a Chinese-style qipao with a crop top—Lan Mei’s personality shining through, blending cool elegance and cuteness.

She’d been so shy in the maid outfit, but here she exuded confident grace.

‘...A genius?’

Establishing her character, instilling national pride, and skyrocketing her appeal with a masterful gap moe play.

With just maid outfit and qipao, she’d snatched every possible gain.

Truly high-level maneuvering.

(Extremely flustered lesser panda emoticon)

Is this how a 12-million-follower influencer conquers the market?

Way tougher than I expected.

While I stagnated, content with the status quo, my rivals were honing their skills to new heights.

Time to return to basics.

No matter what, I’m still the cutest— if I leverage that effectively, bigger fruits await.

‘Hmm.’

She might be a shameless copycat, but she gave the great pharaoh new insight, so I could praise that much with kingly virtue.

With that reflective intent, I tapped a like— the numbers updating to nearly 100K amid the flood of recommendations.

“Ahh.”

So slow, even liking takes forever.

As I wallowed in self-mockery, a sudden alert rang out— an inexplicable private message from Lan Mei.

Ding!

For some reason, checking it felt utterly terrifying.