Ning Chu pushed open the bathroom door, her head hanging low, cheeks already flushed with embarrassment.
Hesitating, she met her mother’s gaze, stepping slowly and stiffly into the bedroom. She stood there, rigid, not daring to make eye contact.
The two points on her chest were far too conspicuous, making her instinctively hunch her shoulders, giving her a slightly slouched posture.
Her legs were tightly pressed together. After switching from boxer shorts to a snug-fitting pair of briefs, she felt an unsettling coolness under her skirt, as if it could expose her at any moment.
At this moment, she was standing in front of her mother, wearing a short skirt—without anything underneath...
Yet, despite the overwhelming shame, the remnants of her past male mindset brought a strange thrill, making her feel even more uneasy.
"So pretty~" Her mother looked her up and down, admiring her appearance in the skirt. She waved her over, "Come, sit down."
"Keep your back straight. We’ll go out and buy you some proper underwear when we have time."
"Mm..."
"For now, just use nipple covers, okay?"Ning Chu froze for a moment before quickly shaking her head in refusal. "I’ll just wear boy’s clothes. This skirt... I’ll wear it after I get some underwear."
Even if nipple covers could hide the obvious points, the small mounds on her chest would still be noticeable, especially with how thin this skirt was.
She definitely didn’t want her brother looking at her with weird eyes.
"I get cold easily." She added another excuse.
Her mother sighed, both helpless and affectionate, as she gently stroked the back of Ning Chu’s head. "It’s my fault. I should have told you earlier."
No worries, even if you did, I wouldn’t have known what to do...
"Your hairstyle needs some work too—it's a mess."
"Mm..."
"How’s your development coming along?"
Just as Ning Chu was about to answer, her mother shook her head and said, "Still just starting, huh? So small."
Why does that sound like she’s disappointed...
To be fair, yeah, they’re small. Which is pretty much a disgrace for a succubus.
Awkwardly, she forced a smile and stiffly sat down beside her mother, only to have her mother gently take her arm.
"Have you found a boyfriend yet?"
"No!" Ning Chu answered decisively, hiding any trace of Wen Yang’s existence.
She had just gotten her mother to accept her as a girl—if she turned around and admitted to having a boyfriend, no matter how open-minded her mother was, that would probably be too much to handle!
Her mother sighed worriedly, "Then you need to find one soon~"
"..."
Aside from her initial shock, her mother’s level of acceptance was beyond Ning Chu’s expectations.
Before coming home, she had mentally prepared for the worst, even considering the possibility of being kicked out. She had thought about working part-time with Wen Yang if she had nowhere else to go.
But now, she felt more flustered than anything.
"You might have already experienced that feeling—it’s not great."
Lowering her head, Ning Chu nodded lightly.
Yeah... It really wasn’t great. She had even lost control once because she had held back too long—her mind had been completely filled with thoughts of men.
That experience had been terrifying. If she wasn’t careful, she could fall into an uncontrollable spiral...
That’s way more serious than just falling to female instincts!
"Don't be shy!" Her mother wrapped an arm around her shoulder, comforting her. "You’re already a girl now, what else can you do? Have surgery to change back?"
"Hurry up and find a boyfriend to bring home. Before that..." She hesitated for a moment, her own cheeks showing a rare flush. "Figure something out yourself."
Come on! Even you can’t let go of your dignity as a mother!
So isn’t it normal that I struggle to let go of the mindset I had as a man?
Though, to be fair, that mindset has already been twisted beyond recognition...
Ning Chu sighed lightly and stood up. "I’m going to change back into my old clothes. I’m hungry."
"Alright."
"And about my brother..."
Her mother stiffened for a second, then turned and walked away. "You explain it to him."
"!!!"
Wait, what?! You’re leaving me alone at a time like this?!
Ning Chu quickly grabbed her mother’s arm, clinging to it to stop her from leaving. She pleaded, "Mom! I can’t explain this to my brother! I can’t exactly strip in front of him to prove I’m a girl now!"
But her mother focused on a completely different point. "Oh~ you’re even acting spoiled now."
"..."
"Looks like you’re adjusting well. That puts me at ease."
As she spoke, she opened the bedroom door.
Ning Chu shuddered and immediately dodged to the side, terrified that her brother might see her standing there in a skimpy camisole and a short skirt with nothing underneath.
If this turned into Yosuga no Sora... No way! She hadn’t forgotten that this parallel world was inspired by a certain kind of questionable literature.
Even in her past life, she’d occasionally heard about Yosuga no Sora's infamous plot. There were even crazier stories out there.
She had to dress modestly in front of her brother!
She rushed to change back into her boy’s clothes, only exhaling in relief once she was covered up again. Then she finally opened the door.
The moment she looked up, she was met with Ning Yuan’s utterly confused stare.
"..."
Suppressing her embarrassment, Ning Chu sniffed the air—something was burning! Alarmed, she quickly hurried to the kitchen.
"Mom!"
"I forgot to turn off the stove." Her mother was fumbling around in the kitchen, trying to salvage the situation. "It’s fine. Just order takeout."
Of course, in regard to kitchen skill, there’s no change at all. She’d thought maybe her mother’s cooking skills had improved, but nope.
Ning Chu sighed, rubbing her stomach, which was cramping from hunger. She hadn’t even eaten dinner before rushing to catch the train.
But right now, there was something even more pressing.
"Mom, where am I sleeping tonight?"
The apartment only had two bedrooms and a living room. The seventy-square-meter space wasn’t cramped, but there was definitely no spare bedroom.
"You can sleep with me."
Hearing this, Ning Yuan, who had just come into the kitchen, folded his arms and asked, "What’s the problem? Didn’t we always sleep together when we were kids?"
Ning Chu turned to her mother with a desperate look.
Come on! Hurry up and explain my situation to him! Otherwise, am I supposed to keep hiding this forever?!
Her mother gave her a reassuring glance. "You’ll share a room with me."
"Huh?"
Ning Yuan looked even more confused. Ever since he picked up his sibling, everything had felt weird.
Their younger brother was practically a sister now, crying miserably in their mother’s arms the moment they got home. Their mother, who had always disliked long hair and anything feminine, hadn’t protested at all. Instead, she had taken Ning Chu to the bedroom for a private conversation.
Something was definitely up.
Ning Chu leaned closer to her mother, helping clean up the kitchen as she whispered, "What do we do?"
"Let’s explain it to him step by step."
After all, she had already expected to have a daughter at some point. But Ning Yuan? Not at all.
Watching the little brother he raised turn into a succubus of all things... Unless he was into that kind of thing, he was bound to have an existential crisis.
Her mother quietly explained, "You’re sleeping in my room. Later on, you’ll start wearing girl’s clothes. You’ll even have to change your ID. Even if we don’t tell him, he’ll figure it out soon enough."
"It’ll be much easier to explain when he’s already halfway there."
Ning Chu thought that was a pretty solid plan.
She had spent almost all her energy today dealing with her mother and didn’t have the mental capacity to explain things to her brother just yet.
A couple of days wouldn’t make much difference anyway.
"I’m ordering takeout. I’m starving."
"All you ever do is eat takeout. It’s unhealthy."
"Well, whose fault is it that the dinner is burned?"