“Wow, a costume ball? That sounds great. Just hearing it, you know there’ll be tons of pretty girls—probably really extravagant too. Too bad ‘I’ still have to work tomorrow.”

“Huh? What’s with that tone—like if you weren’t working, I’d definitely bring you along?”

Zhao Zhao, back in his original form, sat cross-legged on the carpet, a thin wooden stick clamped between his lips. It came from one of those frozen treats that had been so atrociously unpalatable it had survived in the freezer all the way until the end of summer.

Since it wasn’t the season for frozen desserts anymore, I’d simply taken it out and fed it to him.

“Don’t be so cold! Bringing one person or two makes no real difference, right?”

“Get it straight—this is a team-building event for my dad’s company. Family members only.”

“Family members, huh? Well, sooner or later Xiao Lei’s going to be his daughter-in-law anyway, right?”

What nonsense was this idiot spouting now?!

I flicked my finger and sent the popsicle stick snapping out of his mouth, then shot back,
“You’re moving way too fast! And besides, you’re Zhao Zhao right now—doesn’t saying something like that gross you out?”

“Wow, ‘gross’? Toying with the feelings of a pure young maiden like that—Commander, you’re really the worst.”

This one-point-nine-meter-tall brute crossed his arms and started twisting his body back and forth…

Yes. This is exactly what’s gross about you.

If his leg weren’t broken, I would’ve kicked him square in the face.

After wriggling for a bit and seeing no reaction from me, he finally stopped.

“First finding out Wu Qinglan is a woman was shocking enough. And now she actually likes your dad… that’s really rough, huh?”

I’d already told Xiao Lei about Wu Qinglan being female back at the manga café. At this point, I might as well have told Zhao Zhao everything about her too. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t optimistic about the situation either.

“It is rough. To be honest, I don’t have high hopes for tomorrow’s plan. Not only has my old man shown no signs of improvement lately—it feels like he’s gotten worse…”

As for why it had worsened… it was probably because he’d run into me (my avatar) before and mistaken me for my mother.

Zhao Zhao propped his chin on his hand and thought for a moment before asking,
“Then why don’t you use the Notebook on your dad? If he turned into a woman, maybe it’d cure his fear of women?”

“That’s the final option. The final option!”

But if Wu Qinglan’s last-ditch plan failed, I’d have to prepare myself as well… Once I acted, it would mean revealing everything to my dad completely. That wasn’t something I could take lightly.

“By the way, it’s almost ten. Aren’t you heading home? Won’t your mom skin you alive?”

“Relax. She already knows I’m working part-time outside. I even handed over part of my wages—coming back a little late is fine. Oh, right—didn’t Xiao Qianxia come by today?”

“She came in the morning. Probably already played enough during the day and didn’t come back at night.”

“Oh. What a shame.”

Xiao Qianxia had gotten completely absorbed in video games, playing all the way until three in the afternoon before leaving—she didn’t even eat lunch during that time. Brother Zhu Beihai probably assumed I’d feed her, so he didn’t come to urge her home either…

I really needed to start limiting her gaming time. Otherwise, if she turned into a hopeless gaming addict, that gentle and refined Brother Zhu might very well turn me into knife-cut noodles.

As for how I knew exactly when Xiao Qianxia left… didn’t I install a network camera facing the window?

With that thought, I nudged Zhao Zhao twice with my left foot, shooing him toward the door.

“Alright, stop fixating on other people’s kids. Today was way too much—I’m exhausted and going to sleep. Go home already.”

“Fine, then. See you in the morning.”

……

The Next Day — Tuesday, October 7

……

“Morning, Commander!”

When I opened my eyes, Zhao Zhao was once again sitting cross-legged by my bed, greeting me cheerfully.

“…That cut was way too fast. It feels like you never left.”

“No, I only just got here.”

“You don’t even make noise climbing through the window anymore?”

I glanced at the digital clock by my bed. Eight o’clock.

He was here to transform before going to work.

“Business at the manga café’s been pretty good lately, right? Isn’t the owner planning to hire more people? After all, the four of you are all part-timers—there can’t always be someone on duty.”

Sharo would be leaving sooner or later anyway. Back then, we’d agreed she’d work as a maid for three months. Time really flew—before long, she’d probably run off to Lin Ziye’s shop.

Thinking about it that way, Manager Shen Yang’s manga café was practically a maid training school.

The shop had become popular for no apparent reason. Its official account’s follower count was skyrocketing, and that Turtle-Hermit-esque manager posted maid photos every single day—ninety percent of them featuring Senior Changpu.

That’s right. As the undisputed No.1 in the shop, today’s “Saki-chan” had already become a minor internet celebrity, especially popular among otaku circles.

“Yeah. The owner’s planning to hire two more full-time staff.”

“Full-time maids?”

Their part-time pay was already generous—full-time benefits would likely be even better.

I threw on a jacket and sat at my desk. Zhao Zhao took Xiao Lei’s clothes from my wardrobe and headed into the bathroom without a word. After that, I simply wrote his name into the Notebook.

At this point, that level of coordination didn’t even require conversation.

“I’m in a hurry, so I’ll head out first. Hope everything goes smoothly for you today!”

With that, Xiao Lei slipped out through the window in a smooth, practiced motion—quick and nimble, like a cat.

It wasn’t long before hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell outside. The door flew open, and Wu Qinglan burst in, shouting,
“Hey, hey—did I just see Xiao Lei-chan climbing out of your window?!”

Tch. That idiot really was careless—climbing out a window in broad daylight without even checking first.

“She’s from the same village. Just dropped by before work to check in on me. As for the window… with my dad at home, were you expecting her to use the front door?”

“You scared me half to death. I thought things had progressed so fast she’d stayed over.”

…While nothing had progressed, she really had slept here several times before.

Naturally, I had no intention of telling Wu Qinglan that, and quickly changed the subject.

“You’re here pretty early too. Isn’t the costume ball at eleven?”

“I brought breakfast for you. Go wash up and come downstairs to eat.”

Downstairs.

Wu Qinglan’s breakfast was plain rice porridge, scrambled eggs, and flatbread—surprisingly simple, considering it was her treat.

Seeing my dad start eating first, Wu Qinglan asked,
“How is it?”

My dad took a sip of porridge and replied,
“It’s edible. You made this yourself?”

Wu Qinglan admitted it immediately.
“Hehe, you caught me? I even bought takeout containers to disguise it.”

Dad said bluntly,
“If any breakfast stall sold food like this, it wouldn’t last a week.”

Yawning, I sat down and poured myself a bowl of porridge. It was still warm.

The porridge hadn’t simmered long enough—too thin.
The scrambled eggs had too much salt—overpowering.
The flatbread hadn’t been hydrated properly—tough on the teeth.

Still, none of it was disastrous. Just as my dad had honestly concluded—edible.

“You know, you could’ve just bought breakfast.”

“Don’t say that. I woke up at six to prepare all this.”

She was clearly trying to win over both my dad’s stomach and mine—but eating this didn’t exactly make my stomach happy.

“If it doesn’t work out,” I said, “I’ll make breakfast next time.”

“Oh, that’d be troubling you too much!”

She said that, but her face showed zero embarrassment. Then she snapped her fingers as if recalling something.

“Oh, right! The disguise masks you wanted—I brought several from the club. Pick whichever you like.”

She lifted a large bag from beside her feet and dumped a pile of masks onto the dining table.

One of them was a black hood exposing only the eyes and nose.

Was I supposed to rob a bank?

There was a Guy Fawkes mask, a Japanese nō mask, African tribal masks.

The horse-head mask was amusing—I actually liked it—but wearing that to a costume ball would’ve been unbearingly awkward. More importantly, it’d make eating impossible.

Fortunately, there were standard masquerade masks as well: a black eye mask trimmed with intricate gold filigree, a fluffy black feather tucked into the right side.

Putting it on made me feel like a phantom thief. Kind of cool.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Huh? That’s pretty plain.”

“The others stand out too much. I don’t want to draw attention.”

I was just accompanying my dad anyway. At a costume ball full of adults, the best outcome was for no one to notice me—so I could quietly eat and drink my fill.

I asked Wu Qinglan,

“You’ve got your own outfit ready too, right?”

She gave both my dad and me a thumbs-up.

“Relax. I guarantee it’ll shock you!”

I thought to myself—just don’t scare my dad to death.