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Mengdie looked at her current delicate and fair hands, her heart filled with immense pain. Her current strength was not even a billionth of what it once was. Every time she remembered the man in the white cloak, a deep sense of powerlessness heavily tormented her. The stark difference in strength forced her to strive, to work harder, to become stronger!

"Hey, hey, you are a girl~~~" Aya laughed, patting Mengdie’s head, "Why does a girl need to be so strong? Be careful, or no one will dare to marry you."

Mengdie brushed away Aya's hand impatiently, her cheeks flushing with slight agitation, "I've said it many times! I am not a girl! I am a man! A thorough man!!!"

Aya seemed to completely ignore Mengdie's rebuttal. She continued smiling and patting Mengdie's head, "If you count as a man, then no one in the world dares to claim they are a woman."

Frustrated with the topic, Mengdie immediately shook off Aya's hand and stuffed a sweet potato into her mouth.

"Alright, alright, you're a man, okay? You've been staying with us for so many days, earning so much food for the family. I don’t have much to give you, but here, take this."

Aya smiled, pulling out something from her bosom and quickly clipping it onto the hair in front of Mengdie’s right forehead before she could process what was being said.

"How about that? Your hair is so long, it covers your face whenever you move. This makes you look much cuter, right?"

Mengdie felt something with her hand, a hair clip. The hair that had obstructed her view was now neatly parted, clearing her vision. Then Aya handed her a small mirror. In the mirror was a girl with a flushed, gentle face. The small, plain white hair clip wasn’t very expensive or ornate, but its simplicity added a touch of playfulness and cuteness.

Aya was quite pleased with her creation. However, the person in question was in a bit of a state...

I... I—I—I! I, a man, wearing a hair clip?!!

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The girl in the mirror looked serious, her eyes brimming with tears, as if about to cry from some grievance. But in reality, Mengdie was so angry that she was crying out of frustration!

"Are you kidding me—!!! A hair clip? Hair clip! I would never wear such effeminate things! I am a man, a man!!!"

Mengdie, enraged, reached to pull the clip out. But having lived in a temple for most of her twenty years and seldom interacting with women or their accessories, her attempt not only failed to remove the clip but also pulled her hair painfully, triggering tears of frustration.

As Mengdie carefully tried to figure out how to open the clip, she suddenly noticed something odd about her hair at the back of her head. Turning around, she saw Aya smiling at her. Looking at her hands, she had tied Mengdie’s long hair, which reached the ground, into a butterfly knot with a white ribbon.

"(In Chinese) Hey, hey, hey! What's going on? Aya! What is this?!"

Mengdie struggled to get away, anxiously inspecting the white butterfly knot on her hair.

Aya chuckled and explained, "Don't speak in your language, I don't understand. Your hair is so long, if you don't tie it up, won’t it be troublesome? These days, I've seen how often you get tangled up in your hair while working. Tying it up is better."

Mengdie didn’t care about any inconvenience; she knew the butterfly knot was an affront to her male dignity! And the hair clip, too, had to go!

Seeing Mengdie clumsily trying to untie the knot, Aya seemed a bit angry. Was her goodwill being taken as a nuisance? She grabbed Mengdie’s hand, stopping her from pulling at the knot, and spoke irritably, "Miss Mengdie, it's okay if you don't want to tie it, but with hair as soft as yours, can you find another way to solve the problem of obstructed vision and hair interference in daily life?"

Mengdie was suddenly speechless, realizing. Compared to before, her vision was much clearer now, and her hair didn’t scatter randomly. One could say that tying it up was beneficial without any drawbacks.

But... but but but! Such decoration... Feminine decoration!!!

Mengdie bit her lip, torn between "convenience in action" and "feminine decoration." She never knew making such a simple choice could be so difficult! It was even more challenging than any strategic decision she had to make in her past life!

"I..." After some contemplation, Mengdie regretfully lowered her head, "I... will use it. Clear vision and ease of movement... are... are a warrior's essential weapons... Damn it... Damn it..."

Aya nodded proudly, humming a tune as she walked back into the room. Mengdie was left in front of the mirror, deeply immersed in her painful dilemma.

During breakfast, Nia naturally found Mengdie's new look stunning. Her envious gaze made Mengdie uncomfortable, but in front of Aya, she couldn’t directly tell Nia to stop looking.

"Sister Mengdie... you look... even prettier today!"

Mengdie's face flushed (with anger): "Eat your food!"

"Ah~~~! Sister Mengdie is shy~~~! Honestly, compared to your previous disheveled, ghost-like appearance, today’s Sister Mengdie is much prettier~~~! If you go to a ball, maybe you could really become a princess!"

Mengdie initially thought Nia was joking and was about to scold her. But as soon as Nia finished speaking, Aya suddenly trembled! With her back to them, she couldn’t even hold the dish in her hand, letting it shatter on the floor...

"Clang—"

The sound turned the previously harmonious room silent. Nia’s laughing expression froze, and she became unsure of herself. Realizing she might have said something wrong, she covered her mouth, lowered her head, and quietly ate her breakfast.

"...Ball? Princess?"

Mengdie walked over to Aya, picking up the broken pieces while tentatively asking.

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