After waking up, Chu Lian glanced out the window. The sun hadn't fully lit up the area yet—seemed like she had gotten up even earlier than the day she transferred schools.
With her parents not at home and needing to go to school herself, she didn't bother much with breakfast. She figured she'd just grab something on the way and eat lunch at school.
After washing up, she stood before the mirror. The more she looked at her reflection, the more she felt that her current self resembled the old her. Yet, on closer inspection, there were subtle but significant differences.
If the Chu Lian from a year ago was like a lotus blossom—delicate and pink from the inside out—then the current her was like a lily blooming in the mountains. No matter how fierce the wind and rain outside, it could no longer stop her from blossoming.
As she stared, she thought of the passive skill she gained last night and sighed softly. Unfortunately, the school uniform was primarily blue—not the light blue kind, but a deeper shade.
Though white made up about half of the outfit, the skirt was pure blue, which meant the uniform wouldn't contribute much to the charm bonus.
She had already asked—for the passive skill "Orchid in the Valley," charm didn't only increase when dressed fully in white. When wearing light-colored clothing, the bonus scaled with the amount of light tones worn, up to a maximum of 15%. Only when fully dressed in white could she achieve the maximum charm boost.
She put on a pair of white thigh-high socks, then thought for a moment and found a light pink ribbon from the shopping bag she left in the living room yesterday, tying it around her wrist. Lastly, she took a white ribbon and gently tied it three inches from the ends of her hair.
She decided on a side ponytail today—a hairstyle the former Chu Lian used to love. By association, she'd grown fond of it too.
For someone like Chu Lian, who had grown out her hair for several years, tying a side ponytail with hair down to her waist was easy. Once the hairstyle was set, her aura changed subtly. She seemed to radiate a gentle, hard-to-describe charm.
She twirled a few times. Her uniform fluttered, her long hair danced with her movements. Cute yet innocent—it suited her current image perfectly.
She pulled a pair of white ankle boots from her wardrobe and put them on. Looking at herself in the full-length mirror, she noticed she looked slightly taller—finally no longer stuck below 140cm.
At the very least, now she could hold her head high. Well... not her chest—she didn't have one yet. Fine, at least she didn't look so tiny anymore.
Kids these days had much better living conditions than before, so their physical development was well ahead of what it had been in her previous life.
From what she had seen, in the first year of middle school, boys taller than 150cm were everywhere, with some even reaching over 160cm.
As for the girls, plenty were taller than 145cm. Her own height was just slightly below average. Often, she had to tilt her head just to look people in the eye—and she didn't like that feeling.
Stepping out of the quiet house, it was still not yet 7 a.m., so the streets weren't too crowded. Most breakfast shops, however, were already open. She looked around for a bit, picked the busiest Chinese bun shop, bought a few soup dumplings, and then grabbed a bottle of milk from a convenience store before slowly making her way to school.
She had thought it over: she couldn't keep pretending to get along with classmates on the surface while being completely indifferent inside. She needed to truly integrate.
Given how young she still was, debuting as a singer or actress wouldn't help much. In fact, becoming famous too early might even hurt her in the long run.
Early fame could lead to typecasting, making it hard for people to accept her in different roles. If that happened too soon, she'd lose many potential fans—not worth the risk.
Right now, besides writing novels, her best bet was to gradually build her reputation online. Cover songs would pave the way for her music career, while cosplay would lay the foundation for her future in acting.
For now, these two activities could be passed off as hobbies. After two days of thinking it over, she understood why the system had insisted she post her cover songs and cosplay photos online, instead of pursuing other types of work. It was all to lay the foundation for her future.
Whether it was cover singing or cosplay, both were difficult to box into a single image. Cover songs spanned all known musical genres, and cosplay allowed her to choose roles that suited her from countless film and television works, novel characters, and anime figures. Unless she stuck to one style for too long, people wouldn't assume she could only do that one thing.
Being flexible with image and style would help her attract fans of all preferences. It would also help her establish a "chameleon" image during the long years of her growth.
During that time, she could gradually show off her talents in music, her mastery of instruments, her versatility in performance, and her literary skills.
Once fans and others who had heard of her became accustomed to being surprised by her talents, they wouldn't be shocked by future displays of ability. Instead, they'd respond calmly with something like, "What new trick does Chu Lian have up her sleeve this time? She's always worth looking forward to."
That calmness didn't mean they weren't delighted—they had just become used to being impressed, hiding their reactions until she released her next work and reignited their excitement.
Such extraordinary talent, the earlier it manifested, the better. Fans who grew up alongside her would become her most loyal die-hards. With their support, even if she failed at times, she could bounce back quickly. It was a near-guarantee of success.
This was the conclusion she reached after observing the reactions to her uploaded videos and analyzing her own image and the system's capabilities. Maybe she was right, or maybe she was overthinking it.
The system never directly answered her questions, but she could infer a few truths from the clues it dropped.
This so-called "Goddess Development Plan" system could be frustrating at times, but when it came to helping her grow into a "goddess," it was seriously committed.
Clearly, it wanted the best for her. It was laying the groundwork for her future as an "all-around goddess." It worried she wouldn't complete her tasks. It cared that her future would be hard. Yet, it didn't say any of that aloud—it just kept roasting her instead.
Come to think of it, wasn't it just like Ayase? Both of them were classic tsunderes...
"Ah? Little Lian'er, who are you calling a tsundere?" Ayase's lazy voice suddenly echoed in her ear, making her ear itch and her heart flutter. "I mean, people say I'm a tsundere... hmph, but I'm totally not one."
Of course Chu Lian wouldn't tell the truth. She cleverly shifted the topic back to herself. "I mean, someone said I was a tsundere."
"Hmph, isn't Little Lian'er a tsundere too? Yawn... I'm not talking anymore. Just woke up—going back to sleep..." Ayase, much like Chu Lian, was someone who loved to sleep.
Even if she went to bed around 9 p.m., she'd still laze in bed until nearly noon the next day. Total sleep addict.
So, with it being just past 7 a.m., getting Ayase out of bed was no easy task. If Chu Lian hadn't said something sensitive just now, Ayase was probably still asleep. Now that she'd resolved the problem of someone "bad-mouthing" her behind her back, of course she went back to bed.
"Phew, that was close. Good thing I dodged it..." At first, Chu Lian didn't quite understand why Ayase, a spiritual entity, had such human-like habits—especially her love of sleep.
But not long after, she remembered a certain ancient barrier where an eternally self-proclaimed seventeen-year-old auntie loved sleeping in just the same way. That made her feel better. Though she seemed to forget that, right after making that connection, a strange chill had passed through her body...
As she neared the school, more and more people filled the streets. Many students in uniforms just like hers were walking with their parents, chatting in groups, or zipping by on bicycles. Few walked alone like she did.
It wasn't her first time being alone like this—she was used to it. In her previous life, she had walked to school this way almost every day. And in this life, due to her personality, unless there was something especially important, she rarely went to school with others.
Shaking her head and smiling, she thought: now that I'm truly embracing this identity, wouldn't winning over these little boys and girls be a piece of cake?
"Well then..." She lifted her head and looked at the bold characters above the school gate: "Sudi High School."
"Are you all ready for my arrival?"