"Come on, Mo Mo! Look this way!"

"Mom, can’t you tone it down a bit?"

Lying in bed, still recovering from surgery, Li Mo was already grumpy about the unfamiliar sensations replacing what she’d felt for over a decade. Now her own mother was circling her with a camera, making her mood incredibly complicated.

Oh right—she should be called Li Mo now.

The day after her surgery, her mom—who’d picked up photography skills from her dad over the years—had secretly snapped ID photos of her. Thanks to a backdoor connection through her maternal grandfather, she’d gotten a new ID card in just three days.

And changed her name too.

She’d protested at first; "Li Mo" worked fine for boys or girls, but her mom had flatly refused.

"Why not? My daughter’s so cute—just two photos!"

"Cute…"

It was just surgery, not plastic surgery. Her face hadn’t changed. The only difference was her hair, uncut during her ten-day hospital stay, now styled slightly differently by her mom.

"Whatever, do what you want. But once I’m discharged, I’m cutting it first."

Her bangs blocked her vision if left messy. She’d never had super-short hair, but having strands constantly tickling her eyes was annoying.

"No way!"

Her mom’s gentle demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by fierce objection: "Don’t you dare cut it! It’s already so short. What girl keeps her hair that cropped? It’s not cute at all!"

"…………"

Those words instantly crushed Li Mo.

*Girl… girl…*

She’d been a 5’3" troublemaker with legendary chaos skills—a real tough guy—and now her mom called her a *girl*…

The more she thought about it, the more pathetic she felt. Slowly, she shrank deeper under the covers until only a tuft of hair peeked out.

"Hey, I’m not done yet…"

Her mom pouted, wanting more shots to show her dad. But Li Mo was fully hidden now.

"Sweetie~ Just two more photos for Mommy?"

She reached out, patting the lump under the blanket, but Li Mo’s body stiffened in strong resistance.

"Sigh…"

No choice but to give up.

Ever since the surgery, her kid had acted strangely. Once sunny and mischievous (or just plain naughty, depending on who you asked), she was now quiet and rarely smiled. It worried her deeply.

But Li Mo refused therapy. Nothing anyone could do.

Headache.

"Mom."

Li Mo’s hand emerged from the blanket, grabbing her mom’s phone. "Aunt Tang’s calling you."

"Oh, hand it over."

Taking the phone, she glanced at the screen and stepped out to take the call. Only when the door clicked shut did Li Mo slowly peek out.

Phew…

Suffocating.

Her own phone was charging, too far to grab. Li Mo just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

So boring. She really wanted to be discharged.

School had started half a month ago. If she didn’t get out soon, she’d miss Sports Day—the only fun chance senior year. She couldn’t afford to skip it.

But…

Would she be seen as a freak if she returned like this? Probably.

Would Mom make her transfer schools?

*Click.*

The hospital door swung open. Li Mo instinctively ducked back under the covers.

She didn’t want to see Mom or the doctors—especially the nurses who knew she’d transitioned from male… So embarrassing!

"Wenwen, where’s my goddaughter?"

*Holy crap??*

That voice—familiar yet terrifying, etched into her DNA.

Her godmother Tang Yunmeng! *Crap!*

"Under the blanket…"

Her mom’s weary voice came just before the covers were yanked off. Weak as she was, Li Mo couldn’t hold on.

"Oh my goodness! My poor baby…"

A strong but pleasant perfume hit her nose as Tang Yunmeng’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Mmmph mmmph—"

"It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re healed now, don’t cry. No pain. I’ll love you just the same as a girl, my poor child…"

"*Huff… huff…*"

"Oh! Sorry, sorry!"

Tang Yunmeng had thought the muffled sounds were sobs—not near-suffocation. She loosened her grip instantly, freeing Li Mo. Li Mo scrambled to the corner of the bed, pressed against the wall, eyeing the woman warily.

Admittedly, her godmother looked great for her age—more mature than her mom—but her personality…

"Wenwen, doesn’t our baby look even cuter as a girl?"

"*You’re* the one who turned back into a girl! Stay… stay away from me…"

Though Tang Yunmeng had watched Li Mo grow up and adored her (one-sidedly), Li Mo had always disliked her. As a boy, she’d been delicate-looking, and Tang Yunmeng treated her like a pet—way too enthusiastic. Unbearable!

"Even pouting is adorable. I always said Mo Mo should’ve been a girl. No boy’s that delicate, honestly."

A flicker of regret crossed Tang Yunmeng’s eyes, but she was used to Li Mo’s rejections. She leaned in close to Li Mo’s mom, whispering loudly enough for Li Mo to hear: "So… does our old promise still stand? About her and Zhe’s… you know…"

"You’re not scared Li Zeyang will slaughter your son…?"

"Wait! What are you two talking about?? Me and Tang Zhe?? Is he coming too??"

Li Mo had definitely heard that third name…

A bad feeling crept in.

Tang Yunmeng had never married; Tang Zhe was her adopted son. They’d grown up together until eighth grade—a disaster duo.

Tang Zhe was even more mischievous than Li Mo used to be, often tricking her out of everything, even her underwear. Yet he played the perfect angel in front of adults.

They’d been close friends—but only when she was a boy.

She absolutely couldn’t let Tang Zhe see her like this! Pride, shame—everything screamed no!

"Your godmother got promoted and moved back. She’s staying put next door to us now," her mom explained. Tang Yunmeng added the final blow: "He’s so irresponsible. I can’t trust him alone for college entrance exams, so he transferred back too. You two childhood friends can even apply to the same university. Happy?"

"Happy? I’d rather die than see him now!"

"But…"

Li Mo felt like dying already. She could picture Tang Zhe’s smug face seeing her like this. Furious, she turtle-d up again, burying herself completely under the covers:

"You absolutely cannot tell him, got it?! Absolutely not!!"