novelraw Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Camouflage
Before heading out, Lu Li lingered in front of the entryway mirror for a long time.
A black baseball cap was pulled down over her head, the brim pressed low enough to barely conceal her conspicuous silver hair. On her face sat her only going-out accessory for the past few days—sunglasses. Over everything she'd thrown on a loose, wide-shouldered jacket.
Lu Li let out a sigh at her own reflection.
"...Looks like a delinquent girl who just ran away from home... Good enough."
The outfit was a little odd for summer, but it was better than parading around with silver hair and red eyes. Her wallet still had 2 100-yuan bills and some change—enough to buy a pair of colored contact lenses. As for everything else, she'd figure it out as she went.
"Let's go!"
****
The 2 PM sun was oppressively vicious. The moment she stepped out of the stairwell's shadow, Lu Li instinctively drew in her neck. Whether it was a side effect of the transformation or not, her skin was now extraordinarily sensitive to UV rays.
There weren't that many people on the street, but every passerby that passed near her sent Lu Li's heart racing. She walked with her head down and her steps quick, convinced that everyone was staring at her, watching those few strands of silver hair peeking out from under her cap.
In reality, no one was paying her any attention at all.
Everyone was busy with their own affairs. Who had the time to stand around staring at some girl in a baseball cap?
"Calm down... calm down..."
She kept her head low the whole way, like a thief with a guilty conscience, finally escaping the residential complex and slipping into a relatively quiet commercial street.
****
Her destination was an unassuming little eyewear shop. The reason she'd picked this one was simple—it was quiet. Peering through the glass door, she could see only a single shop assistant inside, leaning against the counter with nothing to do, scrolling through her phone. No other customers.
This was the one.
Lu Li paced in front of the entrance twice, gave herself a mental pep talk, and was just about to push the door open—
"Welcome!"
The door suddenly swung open. The shop assistant who'd been slouched over the counter appeared in the doorway in an instant, as if she had radar installed, her smile outshining even the sun outside. "Hey there, little sis! Looking to get glasses fitted, or something else? Come on in, take a look around—it's so hot out there!"
Before Lu Li could even react, an enthusiastic hand had already looped around her arm.
"Huh? I..." Lu Li went rigid all over, half-pushed, half-pulled into the shop by that irresistible warmth.
The shop assistant was a young woman in her early twenties, wearing light makeup. She sat Lu Li down in a chair and looked her over with a cheerful grin, examining this odd customer who'd bundled herself up head-to-toe.
"Um... I'd like to buy some colored contact lenses." Lu Li kept her voice low, coming out soft and a little mushy from nerves.
"Contact lenses! Sure, we've got those!" The shop assistant's eyes lit up. "What color are you thinking? We carry daily, monthly, and yearly disposables, plus all kinds of patterned designs—though honestly, little sis, with your complexion being so fair, anything would look gorgeous on you!"
"I want... a dark color." Lu Li cut off her recommendations. "The darker the better. Preferably ones that can completely mask the original eye color."
"Dark?" The shop assistant paused, then nodded with a knowing look. "Ohh~ Your school's cracking down, right? You want something that looks natural, yeah?"
She turned and pulled out a row of brown and black sample lenses from the counter.
"Come on, take off your sunglasses—I need to check the base curve of your eyes, otherwise the lenses won't fit comfortably."
The fingers clutching Lu Li's knees went slightly white... She hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised her hand and removed the sunglasses from her face, bracing herself to be screamed at, chased out, or reported to the police.
She lifted her head, revealing those crimson, blood-red pupils.
The air went quiet for a second.
The shop assistant leaned in close, staring into her eyes. Then—
"Wow——!!" An exclamation erupted inside the tiny shop.
Lu Li nearly jumped out of her chair in fright. "S-sorry, these are..."
"They're so beautiful!!" The shop assistant pressed both hands to her cheeks, stars practically sparkling in her eyes. "What kind of godly eye color is this?! Is it natural? Or are you already wearing contacts? This red is so perfect—like rubies... Are you mixed-race?"
"..." Lu Li froze.
"Um... it's natural." Lu Li had no choice but to tell a small lie. "It's too conspicuous—people always stare at me, so I want to cover it up a bit..."
"Cover it up?" The shop assistant looked genuinely mournful. "That's such a waste. Why would you want to hide such a gorgeous color?"
‘Because people would think I'm a monster, that's why.’
Lu Li complained internally, but could only manage a dry: "Just... wanted a change of look."
"Alright, alright..." The other woman finally backed off slightly and picked out a box of brown daily-wear contact lenses...
Then a new problem arose.
She didn't know how to put them in.
The old Lu Li had been a pure straight-cut man—she'd barely ever used eye drops, let alone contacts. She clumsily picked up the lens and balanced it on her fingertip, faced the mirror, and tried to push the floppy little plastic disc into her eye.
First attempt—she poked her lashes, blinked, and her false lash fell off. Second attempt—she poked her eyelid, tears streamed out, the false lash fell off again. Third attempt...
"Goodness, this is your first time wearing them, isn't it?" The shop assistant sighed and walked over in front of her, bending down. "Hold still, I'll put them in for you."
"No, no, I can—" Lu Li instinctively tried to lean back, but it was already too late.
One of the shop assistant's hands gently cradled her chin, tilting her face slightly upward. The thumb and index finger of the other hand softly held her upper and lower eyelids apart.
The distance was too close.
Close enough for Lu Li to make out the fine downy hair on the other woman's face, close enough to feel her warm breath brushing against the tip of her nose.
And this position—
She was trapped between the chair and the other woman's body, forced to tilt her head back.
And then there was—
That smell.
Drifting from the other woman's neck—faint, warm... the scent of something alive...
GURGLE.
Her stomach clenched violently.
"Don't blink—look up——"
The shop assistant didn't notice a thing, even leaning in just a fraction closer, fully focused on her eyes.
Lu Li's heartbeat began to accelerate.
The cold lens pressed against her eyeball. A foreign-body sensation surged in, and Lu Li instinctively wanted to shut her eyes, but the other woman's fingers held them firmly open.
‘Wrong’——
She reflexively held her breath, drove her fingernails into her palm, and used the pain to forcibly crush that sudden surge of hunger.
‘Don't move... don't open your mouth…’
‘She's human... can't eat her…’
"Alright, roll your eyes... close them, then open again."
The shop assistant's voice sounded like it was coming from far away.
Lu Li did as she was told mechanically, gasping deeply, like someone who'd just broken the surface from the depths of the ocean.
That lethally sweet fragrance finally receded, just a little.
A few seconds later, the left eye was done. Then the right.
"Done!"
The shop assistant stepped back and clapped her hands together. "Go check the mirror—how does it look?"
The girl in the mirror was the same face, but the color of her eyes had become a gentle brown, and she looked far more normal.
"Phew..." Lu Li let out a long breath. The wild hunger from a moment ago faded with it, leaving nothing behind but a back drenched in cold sweat.
"Good girl." The shop assistant smiled and released her hold, then, in passing, smoothed out her messy fringe for her. Her fingertips grazed Lu Li's sensitive earlobe by accident, giving it a small pinch.
"Little sis, your skin is seriously amazing—so white and soft, like you could squeeze water out of it... I'm so jealous."
"Oh right! These daily disposable lenses should ideally not be worn for more than 8 hours, otherwise your eyes will be oxygen-deprived. And also..."
That brief touch felt like an electric current.
Lu Li recoiled back into her chair as if she'd been burned. The pallor that had been in her cheeks instantly flooded scarlet, rising all the way up from the base of her neck.
"Th-thank you...! I'll take these! How much?"
"For the dailies, this box has 10 pairs—after discount, that's eighty-eight——"
Before she could even finish, a 100-yuan bill had already slapped down onto the counter. "Keep the change!"
Lu Li grabbed the bag holding the contact lenses and bolted out the door as if fleeing for her life.
Leaving the shop assistant standing there in blank bewilderment, change in hand.
"Huh? You're leaving already? I haven't taught you how to take them out yet..."
"Girls these days... are they all this shy?"
****
Only after she'd cleared the commercial street did Lu Li stop, leaning against a roadside utility pole and catching her breath.
Her face was still burning.
"...That was way too much excitement."
She pressed her hand to her flushed cheek, her feelings complicated.
It was just buying contact lenses.
The other person was just being normally enthusiastic about customer service.
But for some reason, her heartbeat still hadn't settled down.
Lu Li attributed this inexplicable palpitation to the physical changes her body had undergone, and was entirely unwilling to acknowledge any other possibilities.
Whatever. No more thinking about it.
The mission was accomplished. Contact lenses: secured.
Next—it was time to make contact with the Night Wanderer Society.