Before today, Mo Zhiyuan had worked for over half a year at the company where he’d interned during college. His internship was now over, and with his skills, he could definitely have become a full-time employee and earned at least 7K a month.

But all of that went up in smoke because of the change she went through today.

Maybe... transforming wasn’t such a good thing for her life after all.

The course of her life had changed along with everything else.

By the way, the money Mo Zhiyuan had in her account was just last month’s paycheck plus what she’d saved before. Today was July 1, the start of a new month, and the number of days she’d worked was...

—Zero.

In other words, she could no longer get an advance on her pay.

It was all... over.

She’d lost her job. She’d lost everything. How was she supposed to survive in this high-pressure city now?

All that novelty that came with transforming... was bullshit! After experiencing the pressures of life, Mo Zhiyuan had no interest at all in trying out life as a girl.

She was like a fish dying of thirst, with no energy left to flop around. She couldn’t find the motivation to do anything.

For someone used to having a stable foundation in life, starting over from scratch was impossible to accept—maybe even impossible to bear.

—What should I do first? What can I even do? Which direction should I go in? Is there anything I can use as a guide...?

One question after another rose in her mind.

Take the clearest example: someone determined to supplement their income by writing worked at it for a week and managed to squeeze out five words.

It was this very difficulty of starting from scratch that led so many people to give up thinking from the outset, settle for things as they were, stop striving, and drift through the rest of their lives.

Mo Zhiyuan was trapped in that same mire now.

Maybe she should just take things one step at a time and muddle through?

“Mm...”

The sun shifted in the sky, its light falling across Mo Zhiyuan’s eyes.

She instinctively raised a hand to shield them. Through the gaps between her fingers, she saw her daughter, Mo Xiaoxiao, looking at her.

Her gaze was innocent, filled with absolute trust in Mo Zhiyuan.

There wasn’t a trace of impurity in it. Reflected in her eyes, Mo Zhiyuan was her whole world.

For a moment, Mo Zhiyuan felt unworthy of that gaze and looked away.

Maybe... she should try a little harder? Even if it was just for her...

“Smack! Smack!”

Mo Zhiyuan slapped both cheeks hard, leaving them a little red, then stood up.

Sitting there doing nothing wasn’t going to help. Mo Zhiyuan thought she should at least try to fight her way through this.

After all, no matter how desperate life got, there was always some way forward, wasn’t there?

She’d do everything she could to fight her way through!

“Xiaoxiao, stay home and be good. I’m going out to look for work.”

Mo Zhiyuan was all fired up and ready to head out, but Xiaoxiao hurriedly grabbed her hem and stopped her.

“Big brother, your clothes!”

Huh?

Mo Zhiyuan instinctively glanced at the full-length mirror nearby and immediately blushed.

The girl in the mirror wore only an oversized men's white shirt, far too large to cover her petite frame. Several buttons were left undone, and the loose collar had slipped off her right shoulder, revealing a smooth, delicate expanse of skin. With Xiaoxiao tugging at the hem, the fabric had ridden up so much that the faint pink contours beneath were nearly visible.

Her pants, having been too loose, had slipped completely off onto the bed while she slept. Her thighs were hidden beneath the dangling hem of her shirt, while her two fair calves were left bare, making it impossible to tell at a glance whether she was wearing anything underneath.

If she went out looking like this, people would definitely take her for a pervert.

Mo Zhiyuan hurried to her wardrobe to find something she could wear, but every single thing was too big for her. The shirts could pass for nightgowns.

Uh...

She’d hit a snag before she’d even taken the first step toward finding a job.

Pitter-patter-pitter-patter.

Xiaoxiao dashed back to her room. When she returned, she was carrying one of her own three-piece outfits: a skirt, tights, and underwear.

No, no, no! How could this be? You want me to dress like a girl?! No way! Absolutely not!

Mo Zhiyuan backed away, looking thoroughly unwilling, and quickly picked up a piece of cardboard nearby to write:

“I’m going to look for work! I need proper clothes!”

“There aren’t any.”

Mo Xiaoxiao wrote, her face perfectly innocent.

How would she have proper clothes? All she had were the little skirts, tights, and underwear her big brother usually bought for her. There was nothing else—not even a pair of pants.

“Mm...”

Zhiyuan let out a mournful cry.

Was she really going to have to wear a skirt and never find her way back from dressing like a girl?

“Big brother, put it on.”

Mo Xiaoxiao stepped right up to Zhiyuan and held the clothes in front of her face. Her bright eyes only made Zhiyuan feel more awkward.

Maybe... she could try it on?

Her daughter was so insistent that Zhiyuan didn’t want to disappoint her. She’d just have to let her male pride give way for a little while.

Seeing that her brother was wavering, Xiaoxiao simply cut off any chance of retreat by swiftly unbuttoning the white shirt draped over Zhiyuan. She moved so fast that Zhiyuan had no time to react before being stripped completely bare.

“Aaaah—!!!”

She let out a shriek, pressing both hands tightly against her chest. Realizing that she was also bare between her legs, she freed one hand to cover herself below. Her pretty face flushed crimson, and she squeezed her thighs together, squirming uneasily. Inside, she was overwhelmed by shyness and nervousness, tears already welling in her beautiful eyes.

What should I do if my daughter forcibly stripped me? Online, waiting—this is urgent!

She didn’t know why, but although she’d been used to walking around the house bare-chested, after turning into a girl she suddenly felt uncomfortable in her own skin.

A powerful sense of shame crashed against the defenses in her mind like towering waves, leaving her head spinning.

Mo Xiaoxiao, meanwhile, was sizing up Zhiyuan’s figure. Though she wasn’t particularly tall, she was well-developed, about the same as herself—both around a C cup.

Her milky-white skin was as if coated with a layer of cream; just by looking at it, one could tell how silky smooth it would feel to the touch.

But her big brother was so nervous. What was Xiaoxiao supposed to do?

Xiaoxiao looked worriedly at Mo Zhiyuan, curled up in a ball. In the end, she had no choice but to gently stroke her cheek and try to calm her down.

“Big brother, you can get dressed by yourself now.”

With that, Mo Xiaoxiao left the room and thoughtfully closed the door behind her, giving Mo Zhiyuan some privacy.

With no one else in the room, her embarrassment eased at once. Mo Zhiyuan looked like she’d survived a disaster and let out a deep breath.

Once she’d calmed down, she picked up the dress from the bed, feeling conflicted, and held it open by one corner.

It was a simple, white-and-blue one-piece dress. Held against her figure in front of the full-length mirror, it gave her a sweet, charming look.

Looking at it, Mo Zhiyuan remembered that she’d given Xiaoxiao this dress for her birthday last year.

And those pale blue knee-high socks...

Back when Xiaoxiao first appeared in front of her wearing this outfit, Mo Zhiyuan had been completely dazzled.

She’d just have to put it on...

Mo Zhiyuan had a feeling that once she put on this outfit, she’d have to say goodbye for good to the way she used to dress.

After all, when it came to dressing like a girl, there was no such thing as doing it just once.