"Wake up! Hey! Brat, how long are you planning to sleep?!"

Mom shook Li Mo awake early in the morning.

Well, "awake" was generous—yanking the blanket off only made the girl groggily grab it back, fumbling to cover herself before collapsing again.

Seriously hard to keep a straight face.

"What on earth’s gotten into you… ugh."

Totally out of her depth. Her husband was already at his studio, and sending Wang Ziheng into her room would make the girl explode.

So…

"Fine, stay in bed. I’ll have Wang Ziheng open your door, then call Tang Zhe over to see you like this."

She ripped the blanket away again. Messy hair. Dark circles from a bad night’s sleep. Her pajama top hung unbuttoned, revealing the camisole underneath. Only underwear covered her lower half. Curled up like a chilled shrimp.

What kind of sloth had she raised?

Seeing her daughter slide toward NEET territory, Mrs. Wang decided: no more coddling. Time for drastic measures.

"Hey, Mengmeng? Send your son over. I can’t handle this little tyrant—I need his help."

"Got it. He’ll be right over."

She kept it on speakerphone. Let the lump on the bed hear the consequences of staying put.

"Sneaky…"

Li Mo shot upright at the real threat, glaring at her mom with sleepy eyes. She shuffled out of bed, rubbing tangled hair.

*Click.*

"What’s up? Why’d you drag me here?"

The front door opened. Tang Zhe’s voice echoed from the hallway.

He’d actually come to deal with Li Mo?!

Why so eager?! What grudge did he hold?!

Worse—the bedroom door stood wide open. Li Mo lunged forward, SLAMMING it shut just as she darted into the bathroom.

Hearing water run, Mom relaxed. She stepped out, closing the door behind her. Tang Zhe had already reached the hallway—good thing she’d shut it fast. Almost gave that boy a full tour of her daughter’s disaster zone.

…Though honestly, aside from the shocking mess, there wasn’t much to see.

Mom used to tidy up. Not anymore.

"Auntie Wang? What’s wrong with Li Mo? Why’d you call me?"

Tang Zhe’s curiosity spiked at her mysterious tone.

He’d abandoned breakfast mid-bite. If this was pointless, he’d have to grab baozi on the street later. Better not waste his time.

"Oh, she’s refusing school. Take her off my hands—I can’t stand watching her laze around."

"……………"

*That’s it?*

"Pfft. I’ll just come daily to drag her out. Yank the blanket, add a snarky comment—works every time."

"Really? You’d do that? Bless you—I’ve been struggling to wake her!"

They struck this bizarre deal in the hallway. Mom wasn’t worried, though. Today was Sports Day—they could arrive late. On a normal day? If Tang Zhe showed up claiming he was there to rip blankets off his daughter, her husband would’ve kicked him out as a creep.

That poor, daughter-obsessed man was already balding from stress over Li Mo ignoring him. Seeing some neighbor boy barging into her room? Unthinkable.

Tang Zhe gave up on breakfast. His own mom was still in bed—a "human-shaped entity" living the dream, getting paid to lounge all day.

Remote work perks.

"Gotta run. I’m in Grade 10—we assemble earlier."

Wang Ziheng, freshly fed and backpacked, headed out. He needed a thirty-minute head start to line up for the opening ceremony.

After he left, Tang Zhe sat alone in the living room, waiting.

Twenty minutes passed. Still no Li Mo.

"Did she fall into the toilet or something?"

Mrs. Wang was washing dishes. Not wanting to bother her, Tang Zhe did what he always did—he walked straight to Li Mo’s unlocked door and turned the handle.

A faint floral scent hit him. Then the chaos hit harder: clothes and socks strewn like a tornado’s aftermath. He’d have lingered if not for the sheer disaster.

*Holy crap. What kind of lazy gremlin lives here?!*

The mess wasn’t just random. At his feet lay a familiar camisole—the one he’d "accidentally" pulled from Li Mo’s bag last time.

And it wasn’t alone. More intimate items hid under piles of outerwear (mostly feminine cuts), books, and notebooks. At least the snack wrappers were in the trash. Barely redeeming.

This room was next-level.

Seriously—was this a NEET girl’s den? Or had Li Mo’s crossdressing habit escalated to full daily lingerie sets?

Terrifying.

*Click.*

The bathroom door opened. Li Mo stood wrapped in a towel, arms crossed tightly over her chest against the cold. The pose hid her modest curves—Tang Zhe didn’t register them at first glance.

But other problems loomed large.

Fresh out of the shower, she was a vision: damp shoulder-length hair clinging to porcelain skin, petite frame barely covered by towel and crossed arms, face flushed from steam, eyes hazy.

HOLY SHIT. Tang Zhe’s brain short-circuited.

Any guy would’ve.

"Uh—I’ll wait outside. Hurry up and change."

"…………Oh! WAIT! TANG ZHE! WHEN THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?!"

*Run. RUN.*

He barely escaped her wrath. Li Mo’s shriek jolted Mrs. Wang from the kitchen. She found Tang Zhe slumped in the living room, breathless.

"What happened?"

He panted, off-topic: "Auntie Wang… are you *sure*… you raised a son?"