My mother opened a high-end boutique specializing in silk sleepwear. The prices were astronomical-2,000 for a short set and 4,000 for a long one. Yet, female customers flocked to the store in droves. They claimed that my mother’s sleepwear was made of the finest silk, promising to make their skin silky smooth and give them a youthful glow. However, when my sister wanted to try one on, Mother wouldn’t allow it. My sister, feeling defiant, decided to sneak into the warehouse and steal one for herself. In the middle of the night, I heard my sister’s voice coming from the warehouse. My mother opened a small boutique next to a beauty salon, selling only women’s sleepwear. The catch? It was only available for a limited time each night, with just ten pieces sold per day. One evening, a group of pretty young women arrived, nervously pushing and shoving each other at the store entrance, their faces flushed with embarrassment. “Hello, beautiful ladies! Won’t you come in?” I peeked out from behind my mother, greeting the girls. The most attractive and mature-looking woman among them spotted me. With a toss of her flowing hair, she giggled and pushed her shy, blushing friend towards my mother. “Mrs. Liu, do you still have any stock left? Could you pick out a sleepwear set for my friend here?” She leaned in close to my mother’s ear, whispering conspiratorially. “We want the longest, most form-fitting one you’ve got!” “Oh, and one more thing,” she added, a pretty blush creeping across her cheeks. “I accidentally damaged the one I bought before. Could you pick out another one for me, Mrs. Liu?” Upon hearing this, my mother’s previously warm smile faded. “How many times have I told you? The silk for our sleepwear is incredibly precious and rare. Once you buy a piece, you must treat it with the utmost care! How could you have damaged it?” “It’s just that the fabric felt so good against my skin, I couldn’t help myself and… Oh, please, just pick out another one for me. I promise I’ll be more careful this time! I’ll pay whatever you ask, I’m begging you, Mrs. Liu.” “Alright, fine,” my mother finally relented after the young woman clung to her arm, pleading for quite some time. “Short sets are 2, 000, long sets are 4,000.” She gave the young woman a once-over, frowning at her excited, almost manic expression. “For you, this time, it’ll be double – $8,000! And you can only try it on in the store, you can’t take it home.” “Deal!” The young woman exclaimed happily, stamping her high heels in excitement, her face blooming like a flower. “$8,000?!” Her friend gasped in shock. She looked at my mother with a worried expression, then whispered to the excited woman, “Sis, is the sleepwear here really that good? Is it really worth several thousand dollars? That’s $8,000! Do you know how many hours we’d have to work at the salon to earn that much?” “Don’t worry, Mrs. Liu’s silk sleepwear is the best I’ve ever worn. After wearing it…” Her smile suddenly turned shy. “Let’s just say, Mrs. Liu’s sleepwear is magical! Once you wear her sleepwear, you won’t have to worry about attracting men anymore. Just trust your big sister on this one.” The younger girl nodded hesitantly. “Mrs. Liu, remember what I said, pick out the longest, most form-fitting one for her!” The woman emphasized again. My mother ran her hand along the girl’s waist, measuring her up, then flashed a strange smile. “Don’t worry, we have a full range today. Long ones, short ones, whatever style you want, we’ve got it.” Mother led the two girls to the warehouse in the backyard and slowly opened a hidden door. “Why… why do we need to go to the basement just to choose sleepwear?” The younger girl asked nervously, eyeing the dark staircase leading down. Mother gave her a meaningful look. “This isn’t just any sleepwear. It needs to fit perfectly – the right size, the right length – for you to sleep comfortably at night.” Before the girl could say anything more, her friend eagerly pulled her inside. The hidden door slowly closed in front of me. I sat on the ground, bored, waiting for them to return. Mother never let me enter that door, saying children shouldn’t see what’s inside – it wasn’t good for them. But I was grown up now. Pouting in dissatisfaction, I pressed my ear against the door, trying to hear what was happening inside. The sounds coming from behind the door were strange – rustling noises mixed with occasional startled cries. Had the sisters started fighting over the same piece of sleepwear? I wondered to myself. After more than two hours, several loud shouts suddenly came from inside. I knew this meant they had finished choosing, so I stood up, brushing the dirt off my legs. Sure enough, moments later, the basement door opened from the inside, and Mother emerged with the two sisters. The girls’ faces were flushed red, the younger one’s legs even trembling slightly. The older sister wore a short one-piece dress, while the younger had on a form-fitting nightgown. But they don’t look that long to me, I thought, confused. They did look more beautiful, though. When the other girls waiting outside the store saw the transformation, their eyes went wide. “Oh my god, your complexions look so much rosier!” “It’s not just that, even Silkworm’s skin looks better!” The girl called Silkworm touched her blushing face shyly, hiding behind her sister. Mother smiled proudly as she helped the two girls out the door. “This is just the immediate effect of putting it on. It’s quite noticeable at first. The longer you wear it, the better the results. We only accept customers recommended by our regulars. When you’ve saved up enough money, you can all come buy sleepwear from me.” “But remember one thing,” Mother’s expression turned strange. “The fabric for these sleepwear sets is extremely precious. You must remember to wear them carefully.” “Whatever you do, don’t damage them again.” One day, my sister came home crying hysterically. It turned out her boyfriend of four years had dumped her, and the reason was unbearable for her. He said she was ugly. “Mom! I can’t go on living! My sister and I are both your daughters, so why are you so beautiful while we’re so ugly? Are we really your biological children?” Mother’s gaze shifted uncomfortably as she avoided the question: “Well, that’s because your father had bad genes and passed them on to you.” But we’ve never even seen our father! “I don’t care! Mom, everyone says wearing the sleepwear you make can make you beautiful! I want to wear your silk sleepwear too. I want to become beautiful like those girls at the salon! I’ll make Chad regret dumping me!” My sister clamored to wear the silk sleepwear to become beautiful, but Mother wouldn’t allow it. She didn’t give a reason, just kept saying it was for her own good. Of course, my sister wasn’t having it. That night, she yanked me out of bed, insisting I help her steal some sleepwear. “I know where Mom hides the silk sleepwear – in the basement of the warehouse. Once I steal some and put it on, I’ll become as beautiful as Mom, with a gorgeous face and figure. Then Chad will definitely come crawling back to me!” My sister cupped her flushed cheeks, daydreaming about her future with her boyfriend. I was afraid Mother would catch us, so I kept trying to push her away. The warehouse at night looked even scarier than during the day. When we opened the hidden door, the narrow corridor was pitch black. We stared into the darkness of the basement, looking at each other hesitantly, neither of us daring to go down. After a long while, my sister finally couldn’t resist the temptation of becoming beautiful. She felt her way along the wall, taking small steps down into the darkness. She kept looking back at me, her face pale with fear, as if there was an invisible monster lurking in the depths, waiting to devour her. I also felt something wasn’t quite right. I had seen how other people made clothes before. They usually hung the fabric out in the open to air it out and let it catch some sunlight, to prevent any musty smells. So why did Mother keep her silk sleepwear hidden away in such a dark and creepy basement? Suddenly, I heard a loud “bang” from the basement that made me jump. Worried something had happened to my sister, I was about to go down when she called out to stop me. “Mei, don’t come in yet! This place… Ah!” “What’s wrong? Jia! Did you fall?” I heard my sister cry out in surprise and was about to rush in. But then she suddenly exclaimed excitedly that she was about to become beautiful and told me not to come in. “Mei, don’t- don’t come in! I’ve found Mom’s sleepwear! Wait for me, I’ll- I’ll put it on and come right out!” She asked me to keep watch outside the basement and make sure Mom didn’t catch us. Then she quickly ran to the door and locked it from the inside. She stayed locked in there for over an hour. I was getting anxious. Does it really take this long to steal a piece of sleepwear? It was almost dawn, and Mom always woke up early. If she caught us, she’d have my head! “Jia! Hurry up!” I whispered urgently, knocking on the door. My sister didn’t answer, but the strange noises from inside were getting louder. I could faintly hear what sounded like a girl crying. What was going on? Had she gotten hurt in the basement? “Jia? Are you okay? Why does your voice sound so strange?” Scared and worried, I knocked on the door again, calling out softly. My sister’s voice suddenly stopped. After a long moment, she finally let out a sound that seemed like she couldn’t hold it in anymore, but still didn’t answer my question. A long time passed before my sister’s voice came through again, broken and halting. “I’m fine, it’s just… the sleepwear I chose is too long… it’s hard to put on. Don’t come in, no matter what!” My sister kept insisting I shouldn’t come in, but her voice sounded weak and strained, not at all like someone who was “fine.” I couldn’t help but grow curious. What exactly was my sister doing in there? I found a crack in the wooden door and peeked through. But the basement was so dark I couldn’t see a thing. I watched for a long time, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, before I could finally make out a vague outline.
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