Became a vicious male mother

25, the neighbor's house

"I haven't seen you for the past few days, I thought you had moved."

Lin Chengan took out his glasses from his pocket and put them on.

The bangs were pressed into the eyes by the glasses, but the other person didn't seem to notice.

Gu Xinglan looked at the person in front of her strangely and smiled, "I was on a business trip for the company and haven't come back yet."

"If you had told me beforehand, I could have even helped you clean up," Lin Chengan said, walking briskly closer with a bag in his left hand.

A clean scent of soap wafted around Gu Xinglan.

"What are you doing?"

"I just came back from the supermarket." Lin Chengan waved the bag in his hand.

Several red fruits huddled together, looking limp and soft.

"Special offer tomatoes." Lin Cheng'an didn't hide it from Gu Xinglan.

Only when I got closer did I see a child wearing a coat inside the house.

Lin Cheng'an's smile faded slightly: "There's so much dust in the house, do you want me to help you clean it?"

"No need, I'll stay somewhere else." Gu Xinglan shook her head, raising her eyebrows as she said, "Thank you."

Lin Chengan pointed to the door behind him with his right hand: "It's too expensive to stay outside. Why don't you stay here for the night?"

We all live in urban villages, so whose situation isn't the same? We're all poor.

The hallway was empty and dark, and the night made it seem eerie. In particular, there was a constant, rhythmic tapping sound coming from somewhere upstairs. The only thing that could be seen was the faint yellow light from Gu Xinglan's rented room.

"……it is good."

Gu Xinglan hesitated for a long time before answering.

It'll take a while to get here tomorrow, so it's better to avoid the hassle.

The house next door was much cleaner; every piece of furniture had its own little note, and English words were everywhere.

Shoes and countertops on the entryway counter; refrigerator and food...

This was the first time Gu Xinglan had ever seen such a scene, and it reminded him of his exam preparation days, making him feel awkward and uncomfortable.

It's hard to find a job as a psychologist without a degree, and English happens to be his weakest subject. He went from struggling to utter a single word to being able to chat fluently with foreign friends, which is no small feat without studying late into the night every day.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Lin Cheng'an's face gradually became hot from being stared at, and his gaze drifted away to other places.

The person in front of him seemed to be looking at someone through him; the expression of longing and relief, combined with those eyes, made his heart clench.

Lin Chengan couldn't take his eyes off him.

"Are you still preparing for the exam?"

When the topic of exam preparation came up, Lin Chengan calmed down a bit and nodded.

"Keep it up, bro." Gu Xinglan said with a smile.

Once you pass the exam, you're free, but then you realize there's a whole bunch of other exams to take, and the road ahead is long and arduous.

System: [Task completed, duration extended to a total of 59 hours.]

What?

Gu Xinglan looked at Li Hetai.

He hasn't done anything yet.

System: [You have successfully triggered a special form of stepmotherly emotional abuse; very few people can trigger this.]

Because the degree is difficult to control, what most hosts perceive as passive-aggressive behavior is actually more of a state of "annoying" things finally leaving the target.

The system seemed to already see the day the task was completed and it successfully earned the title of excellent system.

The system's joy lasted only a few seconds before it saw Gu Xinglan squatting on the ground, holding the child.

System: [Host, what are you doing?! You should be thoroughly humiliating the mission target!]

Gu Xinglan ignored the system.

He least wanted to use passive-aggressive tactics, as they completely violated his professional ethics. He would rather Li Hetai be prickly than see him become internally destructive.

As for Bao Li and Tai... Gu Xinglan raised her right hand and touched Li and Tai's forehead.

An abnormal temperature was floating beneath my palm.

He must have caught a fever from being caught in the rain.

Who is this child?

Under the dim light, a huge shadow enveloped Gu Xinglan.

With her eyes backlit, Gu Xinglan couldn't see her expression clearly. Her neck was sore from looking up, so she lifted the child in her arms and said, "It's a relative's child. He's temporarily staying with me."

"You can't even take care of yourself, how can you take care of your relatives' children?"

Gu Xinglan was known in this building for being "exquisitely poor." She was decked out in designer brands but would even be half a month late in paying her rent. If it weren't for the fact that no one wanted the apartment Gu Xinglan rented, the landlord would have kicked her out long ago.

Lin Chengan paused for a few seconds: "I have fever reducers for adults."

“They need a child.” Gu Xinglan frowned.

What if failing the mission injures Li Hetai and drives him insane?

System: [Special cases require special handling. If the target dies, your mission will be considered a failure.] Although the target cannot die.

"I'll try a traditional method first." Gu Xinglan unbuttoned the child's coat. "Do you have a spare bed here?"

With her back to the person behind her, Gu Xinglan naturally couldn't see the slightly excited body.

"Yes, there is. It's fine if you don't mind that it's small." Lin Cheng'an slowly walked past Gu Xinglan to a slightly dilapidated wooden door.

"I cleaned it just two days ago, it's clean inside."

"Creak" sound.

The dim light could only illuminate the living room; when it reached the bedroom, it only left a halo on the door frame. As for the inside, it was as dark as an abandoned well.

Lin Chengan pressed the light button, and the room lit up instantly, the white light almost blinding.

The walls were covered with sticky notes.

An iron bed was the only piece of furniture in the room.

Gu Xinglan stared intently inside.

He would believe it if you said it was cleaned just seconds ago, not days ago.

The flooring was even made of marble-coated ceramic, so clean it could be used as a mirror.

This room is an oddity; it doesn't fit in at all with the rest of the house, and it doesn't fit in at all with the entire urban village.