Wu Shen, eighteen years old and in his second year of high school, had been single for… well, forever. His popularity with women wasn't just low—it was in negative growth. If nothing unexpected happened, he was on track to graduate alone, live alone, and die alone.
Truly, a tragic backstory.
But that was the least of his worries right now.
He had just been woken by his alarm and was about to get ready for school when he pulled back his covers… and found a black-haired loli lying right next to him.
She was curled up, breathing softly in sleep, her delicate doll-like face framed by long, silky black hair that spilled over her shoulders. She wore a frilly little dress, paired with black tights—an oddly mature touch for such a small girl, giving her an unusual mix of innocence and allure.
"Three years earned, death penalty not a loss."
That was Wu Shen's very first thought—evidence that years of internet poisoning had eroded his brain. He quickly shook his head to drive away such dangerous max-level thoughts.
As a model youth of the new era, how could he think such things?!
Suppressing his curiosity, he gently reached out and shook the loli's shoulder.
Dreamy or not, this was reality. His windows and doors had been locked last night. So how did she get in?
If a little girl could sneak in, what about a thief? Or worse—a robber? A shiver ran down his spine. He had to find out where his home security had failed.
"Wake up. Why are you here?" Wu Shen asked, keeping his voice gentle so as not to scare her.
For some reason, even though they'd never met, he felt a strange sense of familiarity toward her.
"Mm…?" The girl let out a tiny yawn, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and slowly sat up like someone hungover.
"Why did you come to my room? Where are your parents?"
"Parents?" She blinked, and in the next second, her eyes lit up. Like an excited puppy, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly.
"Dad!"
And with surprising strength, she shoved Wu Shen backward onto the bed.
"Wait! Words can be thrown around, but you can't just randomly recognize fathers! When did I become your dad?!" Wu Shen spluttered, "righteously" pushing her away—though a small part of him was… not entirely displeased.
No matter how cute she was, basic facts had to be established first. How did he suddenly become someone's father overnight? Could this be some kind of cult recruitment tactic?
Recently there'd been rumors about an "LL cult" online. He didn't want anything to do with that.
"Your name is Wu Shen, right?" the girl asked.
"…Yeah."
She nodded to herself, then looked him up and down. "Name matches. Appearance matches. You're definitely the young Dad!"
"Young what? I'm only eighteen! I don't even have a girlfriend! Where would I get a daughter from?!" Wu Shen groaned—only to feel a stab of pain in his chest. Why did saying that out loud hurt so much?
Besides, he was sure—100% sure—that he had never done anything that could result in a child.
"That's exactly the problem!" The girl's expression turned serious. "Dad, if you don't win Mom's heart soon, I'll disappear because history will change!"
…What?
After several rounds of back-and-forth with her, Wu Shen finally pieced the story together.
She claimed to be his daughter—from the future. Lately, she had started "fading" because, in her timeline, her parents hadn't even met yet. If they never dated, never married, and never had her… she would vanish completely.
"So you used a time machine to travel back and save your parents' romance?" Wu Shen asked.
"Exactly! As expected of Dad, you're so smart!" she said, snuggling into his arms. Wu Shen let out a helpless sigh and awkwardly patted her head—not because he was a lolicon, of course. Definitely not.
"…You've been watching too much anime," he deadpanned.
"Don't give me that 'poor deluded child' look!" she puffed her cheeks. "Everything I said is true! If you weren't so useless at romance, I wouldn't have had to come here and help you!"
Critical hit. Wu Shen almost spat blood.
Was he seriously being roasted by a six- or seven-year-old loli about his nonexistent love life?
"…What's your name, anyway?" he asked weakly.
"Wu Shishi. In Japan, I'm called Kasumigaoka Wuyi."
"Huh? Why two names?"
"Because I'm half Chinese, half Japanese. Dad gave me my Chinese name, Mom gave me my Japanese name. In China, I use Dad's surname first; in Japan, Mom's."
"Since we're in Japan right now, I'll call you Kasumigaoka Wuyi."
That surname—Kasumigaoka. Wu Shen's eyes narrowed. There was someone at school with that name.
Kasumigaoka Utaha. The "high mountain flower" of their year—beautiful, elegant, and far out of his reach. They were in the same class, but they'd never spoken.
She had long black hair down to her waist, refined features, and an effortless grace in every gesture. Her figure was… dangerously distracting, especially when paired with black stockings that drew far too much attention to her legs. In class, she was always half-asleep; out of class, she was buried in books. Oh, and she was also a top student.
And now this little girl was telling him that she was her mother?
Wu Shen swallowed hard.
Things… were about to get complicated.