Oh No, I've Become a Male Mom

Jiang Wu was utterly bewildered.

Completely bewildered.

He looked down at Wang Dong'er, who was in his arms, hugging him and calling him Mom. Only one thought echoed over and over in his head.

Male.

I'm male.

I'm a man!

Wang Dong'er nuzzled against him again and sleepily opened her eyes, meeting Jiang Wu's utterly despondent gaze.

She blinked, seemingly not fully awake yet, then blinked again, and...

"Mom?"

Jiang Wu: "..."

Jiang Wu took a deep breath and put on a disarmingly kind smile. "Wang Dong'er, take a good look. Who am I?"

Wang Dong'er stared at him for three seconds before finally waking up.

Her face flushed red in an instant, from the tips of her ears to the base of her neck. She sprang out of Jiang Wu's arms like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Y-y-y-you-I-I-I-I-"

Jiang Wu sat up expressionlessly and rubbed the arm she had made numb by lying on it. "Awake? Then get up. We still have class today."

Wang Dong'er clutched the quilt and huddled in the corner of the bed, burying her entire face in it with only her eyes showing. She glared at him, both embarrassed and annoyed.

"Y-you didn't hear anything just now!"

"I did."

"No, you didn't!"

"You said it twice."

"Jiang Wu!" Wang Dong'er's embarrassment turned to anger, and she jumped off the bed to hit him.

Jiang Wu nimbly sidestepped her and folded the quilt as he did so. "Let's go," he said evenly. "If we dawdle any longer, the cafeteria will be out of food."

Wang Dong'er stamped her foot and followed him, her face red.

As they went out, Jiang Wu instinctively glanced out the window.

He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him from the shadows, and that their gaze was very, very hostile.

In the shadows, tears were streaming down Tai Tan's face.

"Big brother, Dong'er... she called that brat Mom..."

Niu Tian silently patted him on the shoulder, at a loss for words.

The morning class was on basic Martial Soul theory. The teacher was a graying old man who gave a perfectly conventional lecture, while the students below struggled to stay awake.

Jiang Wu, on the other hand, listened attentively.

Although he had read Douluo Continent in his previous life, he didn't know these theories. Now that he had the chance to learn, he naturally intended to study them well.

Wang Dong'er sat beside him. At first, she made a show of leafing through her book, but before long her mind began to wander. One moment she was poking Jiang Wu's arm with her pen, the next she was drawing little figures in the blank spaces of her textbook. When she finished, she pushed it over for Jiang Wu to see.

Jiang Wu looked down. There were two stick figures on the page, one tall and one short. The tall one had a pair of rabbit ears on its head, while the short one had a ponytail. Beside them, she had written "Mom" in crooked letters.

Jiang Wu closed the textbook expressionlessly and continued listening to the lecture.

Wang Dong'er covered her mouth and snickered, her shoulders shaking.

After they had finally endured until the bell rang and the old man had just left the classroom, Wang Dong'er slumped over her desk, buried her face in her arms, and said in a muffled voice, "Xiao Wu, are you angry?"

Jiang Wu gathered his textbooks and glanced at her. "Angry about what?"

"About... this morning." Wang Dong'er's voice grew quieter and quieter, and the tips of her ears began to turn red again. "I didn't mean to. I get muddled when I'm asleep, and at home I'm used to Big Dad and the others coaxing me to sleep, so..."

The more she spoke, the less confident she sounded, and she buried her head even lower.

Jiang Wu felt somewhat helpless. He understood what was going on with Wang Dong'er.

"It's all right," Jiang Wu said.

Wang Dong'er didn't raise her head. "You must think I'm really strange."

"No."

"Liar. You must think I'm completely baffling, acting like that with you when we've only known each other for a day." Wang Dong'er's voice was muffled and slightly nasal. "I know I'm annoying. Big Dad and the others say I'm too clingy too, but I just can't help it..."

Looking at her curled up in a ball, Jiang Wu suddenly remembered that his older sister had been the same way as a child.

Whenever Su Yuehua came home late from work, Jiang Nannan would huddle on the doorstep and wait. Even when she was sleepy and muddle-headed, she refused to go inside to bed. She wouldn't settle until Mom came home and held her.

He reached out and gently placed a hand on Wang Dong'er's head.

Wang Dong'er went rigid for a moment.

Jiang Wu rubbed her head, his voice softening. "I said it's all right, so it's all right. You didn't do it on purpose. Why would I hold it against you?"

Wang Dong'er slowly raised her head. Her eyes were a little red, but she wasn't crying. She stared at Jiang Wu for quite a while, as if checking whether he was telling the truth.

Jiang Wu withdrew his hand and stood up. "Let's go. We still have cleaning to do this afternoon."

Wang Dong'er froze for two seconds, then abruptly jumped out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Jiang Wu's arm.

"Xiao Wu!"

Jiang Wu stumbled as she tugged him, nearly hitting the corner of the desk. "What are you doing?"

"I knew you were the best!" Wang Dong'er pressed her face against his arm and nuzzled it hard, her eyes curving with her smile. "Mom!"

Jiang Wu: "..."

He took a deep breath and tried to pull his arm free.

It wouldn't budge.

Wang Dong'er was holding on for dear life, practically hanging off him. She tilted her face up and smiled at him, her pink-and-blue eyes sparkling with delight.

"Wang Dong'er, let go."

"No."

"This is the classroom."

"So what?"

"Lots of people are watching."

Wang Dong'er turned her head and looked around.

The few students left in the classroom all lowered their heads at once under her gaze, pretending to pack their things. They moved as fast as if a Soul Beast were chasing them.

Wang Dong'er turned back, satisfied. "Nobody's watching."

Jiang Wu sighed helplessly and gave up struggling. He walked out of the classroom, dragging Wang Dong'er along as she hung from his arm.

People came and went in the corridor, and quite a few students cast them surprised looks when they saw the scene.

Jiang Wu walked on without a change in expression. Wang Dong'er hung from his arm, her steps light, humming a tuneless little song.

Wang Dong'er nuzzled Jiang Wu's arm again. "Xiao Wu, you're so warm, just like Mom."

Jiang Wu paused and looked down at her. "Wang Dong'er, I'm a man."

"I know." Wang Dong'er blinked, as if it were only natural. "But you can be Mom."

Jiang Wu opened his mouth, but for a moment he had no idea how to argue back.

Oh no, I've become a male mom.

In the shadows, Tai Tan was close to grinding his teeth to pieces.

"Big brother, look at her! Just look at her!" Tai Tan lowered his voice and pointed at the two people clinging together in the corridor, his beard trembling with anger. "It's only been one day, one day! And Dong'er has already become that brat's little pendant!"

Niu Tian held his forehead, a complicated expression on his face. "I can see that."

"Do something about her!"

"What can I do? You know what Dong'er is like. The more you try to rein her in, the more determined she gets."

Tai Tan stewed for a long while before squeezing out, "If that brat dares to bully Dong'er-"

"He can't beat Dong'er," Niu Tian said.

Tai Tan was stunned.

"I mean, Dong'er can't beat that brat." Niu Tian corrected himself, his expression growing even more complicated. "You saw it yesterday too. With that brat's mastery of Soft Skill, Dong'er wouldn't last two moves against him."

Tai Tan fell silent.

After a long while, Tai Tan said in a muffled voice, "What's that brat's background, anyway? A Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul, he knows Soft Skill, and he looks like Sister Xiao Wu..."