Page 24 of He Is My Bride
—
As November drew towards its close, Anne suggested to Li Ying they should go out with him in full crossdress.
“To get you used to it, because you will be treated differently as a woman,” Anne had said. “We should gauge the reactions of people, see if they buy it.”
“Yeah, we should definitely do a test run.” Li Ying had agreed. If it proved to be a disaster, there would still be time to cancel the plan, since Hanjun hadn’t yet told his family he would be bringing company. He wanted to wait until Li Ying was certain he was ready for this, and hadn’t taken his word for it yet.
—
On the day of their outing, Li Ying did a casual day make-up, employing the tricks Anne had taught him to feminize his features. He did his hair no differently than usual, just gave it a quick brush and pulled it up in a mid-height ponytail. He left his wispy new curtain bangs to frame his face, to give him a softer, youthful look.
He taped up and donned his bra as Anne had taught him, and because he was feeling confident and kinda flirty, he contoured his breast and opted for a deep-plunging black halter top, with a bow in the back of the neck. To test the limits of his presentation, Li Ying tucked tight and paired the top with skinny jeans.
Damn, myasslooks great in these!Li Ying peered over his shoulder in the hallway mirror to check out his behind: it was perfectly round, not too big, but perky. He took a picture for Hanjun
Li Ying knew what he was doing. He didn’t forget to slip in the hip pads to give himself a more feminine curve where people’s gaze would inevitably be drawn to. For shoes, he picked a pair Anne had chosen for his wardrobe: black patent Jimmy Choo sandals. Of course, these sandals came with four-inch-three worth of heel each.
His accessory collection was also starting to come together, thanks to Anne’s tireless efforts and Hanjun’s wallet. Out of this collection,Li Ying chose a black velvet choker with a tiny rhinestone bow on the front. It was glamorous yet cute, a little bow of bling around his neck.
While checking out his neck, Li Ying fretted whether his Adam’s apple would give him away, but luckily his was small and slender. Anne had assured him it didn’t stand out in a way that would break the illusion.
Admiring the choker in the mirror, Li Ying blushed, thinking of something naughty: he should wear it, and only it, for Hanjun. Resisting the urge to keep posing and taking pictures of himself for his man, Li Ying tore himself away from the mirror and grabbed his leather jacket on his way out. It was a good match for his casual look.
Li Ying couldn’t bike in heels yet and was not feeling like practicing while tucking, so he took the subway. He would meet Anne at an upscale café that had recently opened on Park Avenue.
Li Ying was self-conscious only for a few minutes until he noticed no one paid any more attention to him than usual.
No, wait, that guy was definitely looking.Li Ying began noticing that some men even looked up from their phones when he approached, as if by instinct. Was it that they heard the clack of a heel or something caught their attention in their peripheral vision? Their eyes lingered on him, and a few smiled.
Ah, I shouldn’t be staring at them.Won’t they think I want to chat?Li Ying tried to fix his gaze forward and ignore the onlookers, but now he was well aware of the gazes he was getting. He wanted to stop someone and ask, ‘do you think I’m a woman?,’ but that might not have been a good idea.
Li Ying got off at the subway station and found the café. Anne was already waiting for him, cradling a matcha latte in her hands.
“Hey,” Li Ying greeted. “Sorry I’m late, this stuff does take a while.”
“Voice.”
“Oh…” Li Ying had already forgotten, but Anne went on as if nothing had happened:
“It does. You should remember to take enough time to get ready. That means you have to wake up early sometimes.” Anne raised a brow behind her cup while sipping her drink. “Have you improved on that front since high school?”
“Well, I’ve had to, I’m trying to learn being an adult.” Li Ying used his feminine voice now. It was easy to do consistently once he remembered it. “I’ll go get myself a coffee—Oh, hi!”
“Hi, welcome! How are you doing!” a handsome male waiter greeted him. Of course there was table service, the place was nice. “What can I get you today, miss?”
“Can I have an Americano and the mozzarella toast, please.”
“Sure thing, right away miss, thank you.”
When the waiter was gone, Li Ying looked at Anne, grinning. When she smiled back at him they both broke out giggling.
“Oh!” Li Ying exclaimed, “You thought he was cute!”
“What, no? I’m just excited for you. How do you feel?”
“Huh, me? Good. I think some guys were looking at me on the way.”
