President Qing had not prepared a traditional black-and-white maid outfit for Sister Xuan. Instead, like Sparkle's dark rose ensemble, it was a fully custom-tailored maid dress made to her exact measurements.
The maid skirt was cut from pale lavender satin, hugging every curve. The purple astrolabe disc from her original outfit had been miniaturized into a choker styled like a pet collar, a golden chain dangling from it and disappearing into the depths of the lace neckline — rising and falling with each breath, flickering between the pale white valley beneath.
White-and-purple lace cinched a waist one could circle with both hands. A tastefully cut-out window in the bodice framed two clouds of soft jade.
Gold-thread embroidery traced along the curves of her chest before vanishing into the shadowed entrance where the lacings knotted and tangled.
White silk stockings with cloud patterns pressed into the plush of her upper thighs; walking would cause the slit in the short skirt to bloom open, the sheer gauze fluttering upward, the triangle beneath veiled — yet not quite hidden — beneath flesh-toned stockings that ran from the thigh ring all the way to the hip line.
A violet crystal anklet was clasped around her left ankle to prevent escape. Inside the cream-white heeled boots, her toes curled shyly.
"Hssss——!"
Stelle and Caelus inhaled sharply at the exact same moment.
Stelle's star-bright golden eyes blazed, then filled with profound, reverent awe:
"President Qing's understanding of Sister Xuan is literally carved into her bones! No wonder she's grown the Celestial Jade Group into every corner of the galaxy — that eye for detail is razor sharp!"
"She has achieved the golden ratio of visual aesthetics!"
That 'President Qing' came from the very bottom of Stelle's heart — full conviction, face on the floor.
Fu Xuan's adorable charm and lively spirit were on full display in this custom-designed interest-maid outfit.
"When there's work, the secretary does it. When there's no work, ■ the secretary."
Qingque crossed her slender legs elegantly, her pert little rear settled right on top of Caelus's lap.
"Mhm, mhm!"
Caelus propped a knuckle against his chin in a show of pondering, then his fingertip shot out to press against Dream-Fu Xuan's lower back: "If the cinching here could shift three millimeters inward, it would make the curve of the — hmm — peak stand out even more..."
His finger slid downward, pressing into the silky hollow behind her knee, leaving an ambiguous dimple in the flesh-toned cloud-pattern stocking — and the words died on his lips as Dream-Fu Xuan clenched her thighs together with a shudder.
"Keeping the back design from the original outfit was a stroke of genius, honestly."
Caelus leaned in, lifting a stray lock of pink hair. Dream-Fu Xuan's snow-white skin from the back of her neck all the way down to her waist was completely exposed, held in place by nothing more than three thin purple satin ribbon-straps crossing over her shoulder blades.
One snip of a single strap was all it would take...
"Wasn't that your suggestion, Caelus?"
Qingque, legs still lazily crossed, extended a delicate finger. Her fingertip gave the ribbon at the back of Dream-Fu Xuan's neck the lightest little hook — and tugged the knot loose. The entire front panel of deep indigo and white satin whispered down to pool at her waist.
"Hm?"
Caelus blinked and pointed at himself. "Me?"
What does the design of someone's mental illusory realm have to do with me?
Also — besides fueling Qingque's entrepreneurial ambition, had the Heliobus stirred up some other, stranger desire while it was at it?
This interest-maid outfit of Fu Xuan's had a distinctly BDSM flair to it. Add Little Qingque's high-and-mighty CEO dominatrix energy to the mix, plus the delicate pet choker — he meant collar — and the anklet around Fu Xuan's neck...
Dream-Fu Xuan had been clutching the hem of her skirt gently, her gilded eyes shimmering, the corners of those eyes flushed with shy pink.
The satin that had been shielding the small tender buds fell away. She instantly crossed both arms over her chest in a panicked cover:
"Pr— President Qing, the tile round hasn't started yet, you can't move yet..."
The maid headband on top of her head swayed with the motion. The tips of her ears were so red they looked ready to bleed. Dream-Fu Xuan was every inch the sweet little darling being jointly disciplined by a couple.
The real Fu Xuan watched this scene unfold. She slowly lowered her head, her pink bangs falling over her eyes.
If this were a manga panel: the crimson born from the collision of shame and fury would begin rising from the soles of her feet, climbing like a blood-pressure gauge measuring a vertical skyscraper — climbing, climbing, all the way to the top — and then...
Complete detonation.
"QING——QUE——!!!"
Fu Xuan's composure shattered entirely. Explosion.
In a single motion, a pink-violet formation array was kneaded into shape between her hands, surging power flooding into the bagua-patterned array disc.
The terrifying energy level was enough to draw even Caelus's genuine attention.
Fu Xuan slammed both hands together. Across heaven and earth, a dazzling violet barrier array blazed into existence — roaring down to engulf the entire floor-999 office and its attached private suite.
"Form becomes manifest — shatter the Law!"
As the orb of light in Fu Xuan's hands spun without pause, it seemed as though the entire world had been seized in her palm.
BOOM.
Fu Xuan wrenched her hands shut. A violent explosion blazed with blinding brilliance, and Caelus felt his vision flood completely with violet stardust light.
"Wow, was that really necessary? She went straight for the ultimate."
One could see how badly Fu Xuan had been pushed.
The star-violet radiance gradually faded. The illusory world crumbled into a chaos of fragments. Qingque, like a robot that had lost power, went blank — her eyes vacant and glassy.
Then, as time trickled forward, the chaos around them resolved like a camera coming into focus — the golden cage, the octopus chair, the maps, Dream-Fu Xuan and the maid outfit — all sharpening from blurry to crystal clear.
"Master Diviner, what you just did is useless, you know. This is an illusory realm."
"That's right, that's right, don't get angry — it's not good for your health."
Stelle and Caelus flanked Fu Xuan on either side, patting her smooth, dewy shoulders in consolation.
In the outside world, a hundred Heliobus put together would be no match for Fu Xuan. But inside Qingque's mental illusory realm, the Heliobus was on home turf.
No matter how powerful Fu Xuan's attacks were, striking a mirage accomplished nothing.
Unless she threw Qingque's safety to the wind and went with brute force and miracles — directly destroying the foundations of the entire dream world itself.
That would break the illusion. The cost would be damage to Qingque's soul.
Furious as she was, Fu Xuan hadn't truly lost her reason. She would never endanger Qingque.
She was just venting.
"Infuriating — absolutely infuriating! This Seat — This Seat! AAAARGH!"
Her gilded eyes blazed with an anger born of absolute mortification. Fu Xuan glared daggers at Qingque, whose gaze had cleared as the environment around her restored itself.
She turned sharply to look at Caelus and berated him, face red with a mixture of shame and fury:
"Caelus, you rascal — what were you doing just now?!"
"I — I didn't do anything?"
Caelus spread his hands with the pure innocence of a man who definitely did not do anything.
"You call that 'nothing'?! And Stelle!"
"Do you think This Seat didn't see — you two, to the illusory me... the stockings, those legs..."
Her teeth bit down on her lower lip. Fu Xuan's little face was crimson as a sunset sky: "You— you two were doing things to the illusory me— the stockings— that leg—"
Her words, broken by shame, were mostly impossible to make out.
"Master Diviner, we've been wronged!"
Caelus raised Dream-Fu Xuan's ankle — the anklet and bells jangling in a chaotic chime — "I was checking the illusory realm's level of verisimilitude, seeing whether the illusory character had their meridian acupoints mapped correctly."
Watching Caelus's fingertip slide upward along the lace edge of the stocking.
Fu Xuan finally squeezed fractured syllables through clenched teeth: "That— that part— what acupoints could possibly be there!"
Stelle pressed one palm to Dream-Fu Xuan's chest, and pressed Dream-Fu Xuan's wrist against her own, tilting her head back to reveal the earnest devotion of a martyr:
"I was synchronizing with the illusory Master Diviner, preparing for an Xyz Summon!"
Synchronizing with what?!
And what on earth is an Xyz Summon?!
March 7th, for her part, could only feel relief — she and Qingque had only recently become friends, so she had no presence in Qingque's mental illusory realm. Otherwise she would be facing exactly the same predicament as the Master Diviner right now.
Like a boulder hurled into a moonlit pond, the ripples on the water's surface gradually settled, and the illusory realm restored itself completely to its former state.
Qingque was briefly disoriented by Stelle and Caelus's teleport-like disappearance, unsure of what had just happened. Seeing the two of them now standing in front of March 7th and Fu Xuan, she extended an invitation:
"March — and this friend here..."
Qingque smiled as she looked at March 7th and the real Fu Xuan:
"Would you like to play Strip Mahjong with us? The R&D department has been testing a lot of six-player variant modes — we could try one out."
Caelus found himself wondering: why did Qingque have that cognition filter only for Fu Xuan?
Was it because Fu Xuan existed within the illusory realm?
But judging from how the NPCs had reacted, he existed in the illusion too.
Could it be that President Qing's kept toy-boy existed only at the setting-layer level, while Fu Xuan had been 'rendered in full detail'?
Highly possible.
"No no no! I'm sitting this one out!"
March 7th waved her hands in frantic refusal.
Stelle's golden eyes lit up. She lunged over and grabbed March 7th's hand:
"Ah Qi, what are you chickening out for? Forgotten how the two of us absolutely dominated last time we played Strip Mahjong? Come on come on — six minus two means we can't even start without you."
"I won't!"
March 7th shook her head like a rattle drum.
Just thinking back on that last Strip Mahjong experience still made her cringe with shame.
Absolutely dominated? She says?
That traitor had voluntarily triggered the penalty rule for peeking at an opponent's tiles multiple times!
March 7th herself had ended up completely stripped, which meant every subsequent penalty was paid entirely by her alone.
"Ah Qi~~!"
The Stellaron spirit deployed her skill: Aegyo. She buried her face in March 7th's pink hair and rubbed against it nuzzlingly:
"Come on, come on~~ I promise I'll protect you this time!"
"Oh right — you lost that bet we made before. I'm cashing in my one command right now: come play Strip Mahjong!"
"I..."
March 7th opened her mouth, then closed it, unable to find the words.
"So, Master Diviner — are you playing?"
Having watched Stelle pin March 7th into the octopus chair and strap her in, Caelus turned to look at Fu Xuan.
"..."
Fu Xuan very much wanted to roar: Play what?! Play nothing!
Have you all forgotten why we came into the illusory realm in the first place?!
To wake Qingque up! Wake Qingque up!
"Don't worry — this is part of the awakening plan."
Reading Fu Xuan's expression perfectly, Caelus composed his features into a look of grave solemnity.
"...Really?"
Fu Xuan stopped spiraling and stared at him.
She wasn't entirely without options herself, but doing it safely — without endangering Qingque — would take a very long time.
"Master Diviner, I never lie."
Caelus pressed a hand to his chest with sincere conviction and spoke with carefully chosen half-truths.
Technically, this was true — just incomplete.
Playing the game would genuinely help wake Qingque. He just hadn't mentioned that it wasn't the only way.
"It's just a game. Play it or don't — totally up to you."
Caelus smiled lightly and glanced over at Dream-Fu Xuan in her purple custom maid dress.
Fu Xuan, who had been about to refuse, followed his gaze — and looked at herself in that shameless outfit. Qingque was in the middle of pulling open the top of Dream-Fu Xuan's white silk stocking and tucking something purple-hearted inside.
The blood pressure that had just barely come down shot back up instantly.
She had absolutely no doubt: if that AI wearing her face sat down to play tiles with Caelus and Qingque, it would be stripped to nothing inside of one round.
Oh wait — correction. Given the current state of affairs, there were no undergarments to begin with.
One round would lose everything. The moment round two's second item came off, the whole person would be...
Pink fists clenched until her knuckles went pale. Fu Xuan's face cycled between red and white, and finally — she bit down, stomped her foot.
"Fine! We play! As if This Seat would ever lose at mere tiles and cards to the likes of you!"
"However — hmph~~!"
As she strode toward the tile table, Fu Xuan conjured a pink array disc between her hands and draped it over herself and Dream-Fu Xuan alike — two identical silhouettes slowly overlapping, merging into one.
"She can do that?"
Caelus raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise.
With Qingque's safety in mind and the premise of not shattering the illusion — Fu Xuan still had moves.
By merging herself with the illusory construct, she could replace the dim-witted little secretary AI and take the field in person.
Matrix of Prescience at full power, computational capacity cranked to maximum — she refused to believe she could lose at a game of pure calculation to Qingque.
She absolutely could not lose.
And she definitely could not end up pushing Qingque's backside.
"Alright, alright — so Ah Qi keeps teaming up with Stelle then."
Caelus took his seat. That was the handicap arrangement for the weaker players.
Round one begins — and ends.
Caelus and the head-held-high Fu Xuan turned to look at Qingque.
"I'll give Caelus this round."
Qingque's slender jade fingers gave a delicate pinch. Accompanied by a soft, barely audible click, her magnificent blue robes slid gracefully down to pool at either side of her waist.
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