“You want me to vouch for that girl so she can work here?”

To the old manager, senior Changpu’s heartfelt promises didn’t carry as much weight as her work history. But if someone already working at the café were to personally recommend her, it’d boost her chances significantly.

“That’s right,” I said. “In exchange for keeping your secret, it shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

“…I’ve only been here two weeks myself. Not sure my word means much more than that regular over there.”
She’s definitely referring to Zhao Zhao.

She crossed her legs again, then leaned in with one arm braced on the table, eyeing me suspiciously.

“And how exactly do I know you won’t try to blackmail me again?”

As expected from an elite member of the girls campus’s security squad—even just the way she leaned forward carried the weight of an interrogation. But I had the upper hand this time, so I wasn’t the least bit shaken.

I glanced over at the bar. The manager and Zhao Zhao were arguing, while senior stood awkwardly in the background. Not a great sign.

“First off, I have no reason to go after you. Second, your brother and I are friends—if you lost this part-time job because of me, how would I even face him?”

The moment I dropped her brother’s name, she sank back into her seat. Time to press the advantage.

“And that girl you’re hesitating about? She’s very close to your brother.”
As close as it gets, actually—they’re the same person.

I kept it vague on purpose, but the effect was immediate. Qiuluo’s eyes widened, caught off guard.

“You mean that pretty girl is close with my brother? How close? Like same-hair-color close?”

To be fair, senior’s vertical streaked black-and-white hair did somewhat resemble Li Jianlian’s usual black-and-white tuft. But it’d take a serious leap to guess they were literally the same person.

“Why not ask her yourself after she gets the job?” I offered innocently.

Qiuluo squinted toward senior for a few seconds, then finally seemed to reach a decision.

“…Fine. I’ll help you just this once.”

“This isn’t helping me, it’s helping your brother.”

“Spare me the lip service. If you’re lying to me, I can record a demerit on you, even if you’re from the boys' campus.”

With that, she stood up and walked out ahead. I couldn’t move yet, so I had to wait for Xiao Lei to push my wheelchair over.

“You’re gonna recommend Miss Changpu here?” the owner asked as Qiuluo returned. “You know her?”

“She…” Qiuluo scratched her cheek, clearly unsure how much to say. Meanwhile, senior stared at her sister, eyes full of complicated emotions—probably wondering how much we’d already spilled.

“It’s… complicated.”

“No need to explain if you don’t want to.” The cafe owner waved it off. “But if she quits after a few days or screws up badly, you’ll be held responsible. Fair?”

“Held responsible?”

“You’ll be fired too.”

“Wha—?!”

“What, that’s part of being a reference. Gotta be ready to take on that risk.”

Qiuluo stared at senior for a while, then finally sighed. “…Fine. I accept the condition.”

Gotta hand it to the owner—he’s shrewd. At first glance, punishing two people for one mistake seems like bad business. But by tying the two sisters together, he actually made it harder for either of them to quit.

This part-time gig paid well for a café that high schoolers would be able to work in. It wouldn’t be so easy for senior to jump ship now—she wouldn’t want to screw over her sister.

“Xiao Jiu, show her around and walk her through the work procedures. And measure her for the uniform while you’re at it—I’ll need her size for the order.”

“Wait, the uniforms are custom-made?” Senior blurted, genuinely surprised.

Even I was a little taken aback. But now that I looked closely, Xiao Jiu’s maid outfit was clearly high-quality and tailored to fit perfectly.

“Of course. A maid uniform only looks good when it fits properly.”

Which explained why the manager was so picky—custom uniforms weren’t cheap. No wonder he didn’t want to hire anyone with a history of job-hopping.

Things had been bumpy, but we’d achieved our goal. Senior followed her sister to start training. Since I wasn’t a customer, I felt awkward staying any longer, so Xiao Lei and I decided to head home. Zhao Zhao stayed behind to accompany senior.

Before leaving, I leaned in and whispered to her, “Xiao Lei and I are heading off. Zhao Zhao will stay with you today. I didn’t tell your sister your real identity—whether or not you want to tell her is up to you.”

“Wait, Chang Kai, you’re leaving already? Then how long am I supposed to stay in this transformation?”

“Until the job ends. Call me once you find a place to change clothes.”

“A-Are we doing the hourly hotel thing again? I still don’t have an ID…”

“A stall in the men’s restroom works, if you’re okay with that.”

“You want a girl to change in a men’s restroom?!” Xiao Lei crossed her arms, clearly objecting. Surprisingly, her suggestion this time was actually reasonable.

“There’s always that place near the commercial district—Sis Fei’s place.”

She was referring to the two buildings which were originally for bridge maintenance. Not the best place to live, but perfectly serviceable as a temporary changing space.

Fei wasn’t using it right now. If we explained the situation, borrowing the key shouldn’t be hard.

With Senior’s problem solved, Xiao Lei and I were just about to leave when the ‘Master Roshi’ bald owner called out to me.

“Hey, kid. You interested in working here?”

“…Don’t you only hire female maids, old sir?”

“With a face like yours, I could maybe make an exception—if you’re willing to crossdress, that is.”

Excuse me, what? Pretty-boy maid?

Wait… that wouldn’t be a maid anymore—it’d be a trap-butler? A maid-in-drag?

No wonder he gets along so well with Zhao Zhao. Even at his age, he’s still this much of a perv.

“No thanks! I’m out!”

I dragged Xiao Lei with me and fled from the Kamehameha café like it was on fire.

We grabbed dinner in the Tianping commercial district—on my tab, of course. Xiao Lei was flat broke, while I was still riding high on that thousand-yuan bonus from earlier.

By the time we got home, it was already past 8. Dad grumbled at me for being late again. I hobbled upstairs on my crutch, only to find little Qianxia and Xiao Lei sprawled on the rug, playing with the PS4 and watching TV.

“Hit his weak spot—his crotch! Dive under him!” Xiao Lei was barking out boss battle commands like a seasoned general. Was she seriously teaching that to a little kid?

“When did little Qianxia get here?”

“Oh, so she’s called Qianxia? She was already in your room playing games when I climbed through the window. Scared me half to death.”

The little girl in the white dress nodded along like it was normal. Honestly, Xiao Lei sure had a talent for bonding with random kids—even ones she didn’t know the name of.

This wasn’t even the first time. Qianxia had picked up the bad habit of climbing in through windows, and often came over while I wasn’t even home. Good thing I wasn’t the kind of guy who hid those kinds of magazines under the bed.

Still, I really needed to put a stop to this.

Also, kids shouldn’t be this addicted to games. I waited until she died to the greatsword-wielding white wolf boss, then shut off the PS4 and took the controller.

She didn’t even pout. Instead, she dove straight into my arms. Dang, this kid was way too clingy.

As I sat on the bed, patting her head, I noticed Xiao Lei on the rug staring at my hand with unblinking eyes. She even scooted forward a little, subtly edging her head closer…

She might as well have had “I want a headpat too” tattooed across her forehead. I coughed twice and pretended not to notice.

“She’s from the new neighbors next door. Probably saw you climb in and copied you.”

Xiao Lei gaped. “She’s that young and she can already climb windows?!”

“Yeah, and do you think my dad has the guts to answer the door?”

That’s when Qianxia finally spoke: “I missed you, big sis~”

“She calls you sister?”

“She saw me in girl mode once. No matter how many times I correct her, she won’t stop.”

I pointed at myself. “Say ‘big brother.’”

“Sister!”

“See?”

Xiao Lei smirked. “Wanna show her proof of your masculinity?”

“Are you insane? I’d get arrested for public indecency!”

“Masquleenity?” Qianxia tilted her head.

“Never mind! You’re too young for that word!”

Then Xiao Lei pointed to herself. “Say ‘big sis.’”

Qianxia looked down at her flat chest. “…Big bro?”

Critical hit! Xiao Lei sinks!

Wow. This girl really is pure… and savagely honest.

Around 9 PM, I got a call from Zhao Zhao—they’d left the café too. Normal shifts went until 10:30 PM, but today was just a trial run. No uniform yet, so they got off early.

Once everything was confirmed, I erased “Li Jianlian” from the notebook. They ended up changing in a men’s restroom still. Xiao Lei was, of course, very against it. Zhaozhao, not so much.

Speaking of him—he still didn’t show up to pick up Xiao Lei. She’d be staying the night at my place again.

“I wanna sleep with big sis too!”

“No way. Your dad wouldn’t allow that.”

“But this big bro’s dad said yes?”

“Yeah, well…”

Technically speaking, Xiao Lei was like an orphan who popped out of a rock. Let’s just say Zhao Zhao was her honorary dad.

After my own dad went to bed, I got ready to walk Qianxia back to the house next door.

No matter how much Brother Zhu Beihai trusted me, he wouldn’t actually leave his daughter here overnight… right?

But when I brought her back, he gave me his signature warm smile.

“Overnight? Sure, go ahead!”

Wait, seriously?!

“Don’t worry—she may be hyper during the day, but she sleeps quietly. And she’s long past the bedwetting stage. You’ll be fine.”

What is wrong with this mafia heir?! What’s his angle?
Is he… aiming for my DNA?
I’m freaking out here!

(Note: In the end, I still sent Qianxia home.)