Caught in the Act: A Transformative Morning

The summer morning sun, impolitely piercing through the curtains’ gap, seemed to pummel Li Longkang’s eyelids, jarring him awake from a dream fraught with embarrassing memories—a predicament, he mused, entirely Mo Linyu’s doing.

Indeed, the myriad events of the previous day had etched far too many indelible, mortifying moments into Li Longkang’s memory.

Rubbing his eyes, he slowly peeled back the blanket and sat up, unhurriedly.

“Hmm? Why do I feel so…”

He ran a hand through his hair, only to discover that his once waist-length golden tresses had, at some unknown point, dwindled to barely ear-length.

His gaze then dropped to his own body, noting how the chest of his pajamas now hung loosely, a testament to the absence of what had been there; only his well-defined pectoral muscles still offered a hint of their former presence.

“Ah?”

The answer to what had transpired was glaringly obvious.

‘I… I’ve changed back?’

A jolt of realization snapped Li Longkang fully awake, and he instantly sprang from the bed, rushing to the guest room’s full-length mirror.

Reflected there was undeniably a tall, lean man.

However…

“Damn, no clothes.”

Li Longkang was still clad in light pink polka-dot pajamas, a garment that had been comfortably loose when Mo Linyu wore it last night—for Mo Linyu, after all, possessed a physique far more substantial than Li Yue’s.

Now, however, the fabric strained noticeably against his body, so taut he could almost hear its mournful cry under the immense pressure.

This was quickly becoming disastrous.

Worse still, his gaze drifted downwards to his lower half.

The underwear gifted by Xia Xi, combined with the punctual appearance of ‘Old Man Chen’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘Chén Èr Dàyé,’ referring to a morning erection), caused a particular region of his body to be painfully constricted, a sensation akin to torture.

With utmost urgency, Li Longkang swiftly shed the offending underwear.

The sole explanation for this sudden transformation was that Mo Linyu must no longer be within a one-kilometer radius of him.

Had she gone out?

‘Could that Demon Lord have done this on purpose?!’

He possessed no men’s clothing at all; even retrieving his original attire would be futile, as they were tailored to Li Yue’s dimensions, utterly unwearable for his current form.

‘Damn it, this won’t do…’

After considerable deliberation, Li Longkang resolved to slip out of the manor before anyone else could discover his predicament.

Yet, prior to his escape, he needed to retrieve his own clothes from the laundry room.

Li Longkang cautiously pulled the guest room door open a sliver, peering out into the corridor.

‘There shouldn’t be anyone out there, right?’

Mo Linyu had likely gone out with Xia Xi and Dong Lu, or at least with one of them.

The guest room was situated on the east side of the second floor, while the laundry room lay next to the bathroom on the west side of the first floor.

The distance was considerable, and Li Longkang’s heart pounded furiously.

Taking a deep breath and confirming the second-floor corridor was empty, he stealthily crept out.

However, just as he descended to the first floor, he collided head-on with another towering figure.

“Damn it!”

It was a middle-aged man in a suit, his grave, square-jawed face framed by slicked-back hair and a meticulously trimmed beard.

An aura of formidable power and authority emanated from his entire being.

He.

He was practically a Demon Lord himself.

“Who are you? And why are you wearing my daughter’s clothes?” The voice was a deep, resonant challenge.

This man was Mo Linyu’s father?!

Naturally, Li Longkang, caught in such a compromising and ‘thievish’ state, was hardly poised to make a favorable impression…

No, even if he hadn’t been skulking about, the mere presence of an unfamiliar man within this manor—a place housing only his daughter and two maids, where even male bodyguards were expressly forbidden—would have been enough to ignite Mo Changhong’s fury.

Li Longkang subconsciously glanced at the dialogue box hovering above the man’s chest.

[Kill kill kill kill kill!]

‘Tsk, the contents of that dialogue box are a little too reminiscent of the Great Western King (TL Note: ‘Dà Xī Wáng’ refers to Zhang Xianzhong, a notorious historical figure known for extreme brutality).’

He lunged towards the stairs, snatching a decorative rapier from its wall mount.

“Wait! You—please, calm down! I can truly explain!”

Though Li Longkang uttered these words, he genuinely had no explanation to offer.

“You cur! Prepare to die!”

Mo Changhong brandished the rapier and advanced swiftly towards Li Longkang.

Though merely a decorative piece, the blade nonetheless glinted with a sharp, chilling light.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on!!”

What choice did Li Longkang have?

He spun on his heel and fled.

Behind him, Mo Changhong clearly had no intention of hearing any explanation, pursuing him with the rapier, his pace measured yet relentless.

Clad in ill-fitting attire, Li Longkang naturally couldn’t run at full speed, yet he was compelled to sprint, for Mo Changhong’s sword tip was practically grazing his backside.

Li Longkang thus fled outside the building, with the two of them circling the main manor in a frantic chase.

“Wait! Uncle, I’m your daughter’s friend!”

“Shameless cur! How dare you spout such nonsense!”

While he wasn’t sure if their relationship could be called intimate, they had, after all, shared a hot spring bath just last night.

Li Longkang merely dared to harbor such thoughts internally.

Mo Changhong, however, seemed to be provoked into a wrathful chuckle, letting out a cold snort as his rapier’s tip pointed directly at Li Longkang’s back, ready to thrust.

Abruptly, Li Longkang whirled around, bringing his hands together to deftly trap the rapier held by Mo Changhong.

“Hm?!”

[A practitioner?!]

This bare-handed disarm momentarily stunned even Mo Changhong.

Yet, with another forceful twist, Li Longkang astonishingly wrested the rapier directly from Mo Changhong’s grasp.

Clearly, Li Longkang had no intention of using the sword to strike anyone.

Instead, seizing the opportunity, he forcefully yanked Mo Changhong’s wrist, then drove his shoulder into the man’s chest, unleashing a powerful over-the-shoulder throw that sent Mo Changhong sprawling to the ground.

Being a middle-aged man, Mo Changhong was momentarily dazed by the fall.

Before Mo Changhong could recover, Li Longkang took off, circling the manor until he found the laundry room’s back door, the very entrance the maids used for hanging clothes and quilts to dry.

Li Longkang slipped inside before Mo Changhong could react, locking the door behind him.

“Phew—”

Leaning against the door, he pounded his chest, attempting to calm his racing heart.

Just then, however, a sudden golden light flared around him, and he transformed once more, shifting from Li Longkang back into Li Yue.

“Eh?”

It seemed Mo Linyu had returned from outside.

Yet, more pressing matters demanded her attention.

Li Yue quickly located the clothes she had changed out of yesterday and swiftly shed the now misshapen pajamas.

No sooner had Li Yue pulled her T-shirt down over her head, before she even had a chance to straighten it, than a distinct “click” echoed from behind her.

‘Damn it, I only locked the back door of the laundry room; the door leading to the corridor is still…’

“Wait! Don’t come in yet!”

Li Yue hastily fumbled for her denim shorts, but the door was already being pushed open.

Mo Changhong stood grim-faced in the doorway.

[Who is this girl now? Where is that lecherous thief from before?]

Just then, a familiar voice drifted in from beyond the doorway.

“Huh? Dad! What are you doing here?”

It was Mo Linyu.

She strode quickly to the doorway, her face instantly turning ashen as she spotted Li Yue, who was still fumbling with her clothes.

She cast a sidelong glance at her father, a look tinged with slight disdain…

It was certainly not the way a daughter usually looked at her father.

“…You were actually peeking at my friend changing?”

At this, Mo Changhong found himself utterly speechless, unable to offer a single word in his defense.

“No, I’m not…”

He looked at his daughter, his mouth opening and closing, yet no coherent words managed to escape.

But Li Yue, observing the dialogue box above his chest, perceived the true sentiments of a father.

[How truly unfamiliar.]

[Have I… have I grown too distant from my own daughter?]