046 It Must Be an Illusion

The next morning, Mo Bai took out his keys and pushed open the doors of the maid cafe.

Since Sister Li and the three maid newbies were all habitual slackers who never showed up a minute early, Mo Bai was almost always the first to arrive. Naturally, unlocking the shop fell squarely on his shoulders.

Mo Bai really wanted to complain: leaving those three aside since they were just hired hands, why on earth did you, Sister Li, as the store manager, always show up right at the stroke of opening time? Whose shop is this anyway?!

"What are you~ doing~..."

As he pushed the glass door to the left, the voice of a certain old acquaintance rang out. Mo Bai glanced back at the sparsely populated street, his eyes turning wistful.

True to their status as the director of the Regional Command branch and his sister, even though he knew they were secretly protecting him in the shadows, he couldn't catch a single glimpse of them.

They were far more professional than that guy Cao Chen. Whenever Cao Chen stalked Mo Bai, his gaze was basically indistinguishable from a pervert on a midnight train.

Entirely transparent.

Then there was Mu Sheng. Mo Bai glanced up at the tall building on the right, where countless glass panes vaguely flashed with a glint of light.

It was Mu Sheng.

He was lying serenely on the rooftop, setting up a White Steel International heavy sniper rifle worth 4700, constantly keeping watch over Mo Bai's maid cafe.

He looked exactly like a pervert using binoculars to peep at maids.

Ah, wonderful, looks like everything is ready.

Mo Bai nodded, stepped inside the shop, and began cleaning up in preparation for official business.

"Hah... so sleepy, morning, Bai-ge..."

The first to arrive was Xie Zijun, her eyes half-closed, her hair a messy tangle, looking thoroughly sleep-deprived.

"Your hair is a mess, look at how those strands are sticking up." Mo Bai fiddled with Xie Zijun's protruding cowlick. "How about you cosplay as the Golden-Haired Lion King today?"

"No way!" Xie Zijun covered her head and tried to press her hair down. "There's still time, I'll go to the back and brush it."

"Oh right, Bai-ge, what cosplay outfit am I wearing today?"

Mo Bai paused: "?"

"You're getting addicted to this cosplaying business, aren't you?"

"Hehe..." Xie Zijun smiled faintly. "It actually feels pretty fun."

"Anyway, I don't have to pay for it, so of course I'm going to freeload off Bai-ge to my heart's content~"

Mo Bai gently gave Xie Zijun a karate chop on the head with his hand. "You actually dare say that right to my face."

"Here, today's outfit."

"There really is one? Bai-ge, you massive pervert..." Xie Zijun took the packaging bag and peeked at the pink-and-blue clothes inside. "Which character is this one?"

"March 7th."

"March 7th?" Xie Zijun tilted her head. "Isn't March 7th already in the past?"

"Not the date, the character's name is March 7th."

Mo Bai patiently explained, "Trust me, this character's vibe will definitely match yours."

"Eh? Really? Why?"

Xie Zijun hugged the clothes tight. "Could it be because she's as cute as me?"

No, it's because I think you're an absolute goofball.

Silently complaining in his head, Mo Bai nudged Xie Zijun toward the back room. "Don't ask so many questions, we're about to open, go change right now."

***

After March 7th—err, Xie Zijun left, Mo Bai inexplicably felt a chilling breeze sweep over him. Strangely enough, this chill felt somewhat familiar.

It was almost as if someone was glaring at him with resentment.

Mo Bai winced. "Hiss..."

"Must be my imagination, definitely just my imagination..."

The industrious Mo Bai resumed his cleaning. Just a minute or two before nine o'clock, Gu Xiaoxiao and Lu Chun arrived fashionably late.

"Yo, Lao Bai, morning."

"Damn it, I should've slept for just a few more seconds..."

The two of them dashed into the changing room like bolts of lightning to put on their maid uniforms. As exemplary maids of a maid cafe, changing into a maid dress, thigh-highs, and a headpiece in under a minute was already an essential survival skill (definitely).

The last to arrive was Sister Li, dragging her feet like an old grandfather while applying lipstick on the go.

Though after spending all that time applying it, it looked as if she hadn't put on any at all.

For the umpteenth time, Mo Bai voiced his grievances: "Sister Li, this is your shop, after all. Could you at least show up a bit earlier..."

"Mmhv, aren't you here?"

Sister Li naturally ruffled Mo Bai's hair and began her routine teasing: "Yaho~ Are you so eager for me to come early? Do you want to spend some exclusive, private time with your big sis every morning?"

"Mo Bai, ecchi~"

Mo Bai gave her a deadpan look. "As if. Honestly, I respect you as much as I would my own mother."

"Besides, you're getting up there in age, stop trying to act cute like an anime magical girl, it really doesn't suit you!"

"Bulls*t!" Sister Li flared up in anger. "I'm only eight years older than you, you damn brat! What do you mean treating me like a mother? Does your little sister know you're out here adopting mothers?"

"And anyone under thirty is a youthful beauty! What acting cute? Who's acting cute? I'm just showing my true colors, alright!"

Taking a couple of light punches from Sister Li, Mo Bai wore a wistful expression. "Ah, right, right, right. You'll forever be twenty-nine."

"Forever a youthful maiden."

"Still running that smart mouth of yours." Sister Li pinched Mo Bai's cheek. "Still, good job."

"Your cosplay strategy has actually had some results; revenue is starting to pick back up. Though it's still a pity you can't offer host... cough cough, butler services."

Mo Bai: "Don't sound regretful about that kind of thing, hey!"

"I insist." Sister Li had already planted herself in her exclusive slacking spot in the back. "Oh right, don't rent the cosplay outfits anymore, just buy them directly using the shop's funds."

"After all, I can't keep making you pay out of pocket."

"However, the maid theme is our foundation and can't be changed. Next time, have the three of them take turns cosplaying, one per day, and you can pick the outfits."

Sister Li looked at Mo Bai with a solemn expression. "Mo Bai, the future of this maid cafe is in your hands."

"Keep up the good work!"

Mo Bai: "..."

"So you're the manager here, at least put in some effort yourself, hey!"

"Ehe?"

"What's with 'ehe'? I told you to stop acting cute at your age, dammit... Wait, huh?"

Mid-complaint, Mo Bai once again felt that resentful gaze piercing through him. He shrank his neck and looked outside.

"Must be my imagination, definitely just my imagination..."

***

Outside the maid cafe, in an inconspicuous spot, Mo Mo was staring intently at Mo Bai as he paced back and forth inside.

Mo Mo: *Stare—*

She clenched her fists tightly.

Even though she knew her brother worked at a maid cafe and had met his coworkers before, that had always been during off-hours.

Now, seeing Mo Mo's working state firsthand—where he was either teasing cute girls or being teased by them—her gaze grew increasingly displeased.

Damn it, the psychological impact this might have on Mo Bai was simply immeasurable.

"Xiao Mo, your gaze is way too obvious."

Beside her, Chu Aoqing was leisurely sipping an iced orange juice and offered a lazy reminder. "Staring that blatantly is going to get you found out."

"Sorry."

Mo Mo pulled back her gaze. "Speaking of which, will we really not get found out dressed like this?"

She looked down at her own outfit: a *痛衣* (nerd shirt) plastered from top to bottom with countless loli-style anime girls.

It felt genuinely bizarre.

"Relax, I've got it covered."

Chu Aoqing flashed an OK sign. "This is the hottest trend in the undercover world right now."

"As the saying goes, even scammers are too lazy to trick shut-ins with 2D profile pictures. Those terrorists would never suspect that a dorky 2D otaku wearing a anime shirt on the street is actually a hero protecting the city, right?"

"Absolute perfection."

Mo Mo: "..."

She decided it was best not to argue with Chu Aoqing.

However, remembering how Mo Bai had handed the cosplay outfit to Xie Zijun earlier, Mo Mo wondered: did her brother really like watching girls play cosplay that much?

Should she... maybe try cosplaying a character herself one of these days?

Come to think of it, her hair was white, after all.

A faint, subtle smile touched Mo Mo's lips. The next second, Chu Aoqing's phone started ringing.

*"Cosmic Superman, open your eyes, I am Zoffy, from Nebula M78..."*

The ringtone cut off as Chu Aoqing answered the call. As she listened to the voice on the other end, her expression gradually turned serious.

"Understood, I'm on my way."

Chu Aoqing hung up the phone.

Mo Mo couldn't help asking, "What happened? Do you have to leave?"

"Qi Lin has been located."

Chu Aoqing chugged the rest of her iced orange juice, her voice grave. "She's down by the coast, trying to breach the blockade."

"I have to go stop her, otherwise..."

Chu Aoqing sighed. "Once she makes it into the ocean, she really will..."

"Escape."