03. Split the Seven-Thirty
“Wen Yang! Wen Yang!”
Ning Chu glared at the cheerleading squad led by Lin Li on the other side of the court, her teeth grinding together involuntarily.
These vixens! It’s just a basketball class! If you didn’t know any better, you’d think this was a championship game or something! Why is everyone so hyped up?
What really ticked her off, though, was that the guys on the court, including Wen Yang, were playing like they were on steroids, each one puffing out their chests to showcase their manly hormones.
What started as a casual game of basketball had turned into a fierce competition, with everyone desperate to show off in front of the girls.
“Should we cheer too? We can’t let them show us up!”
“Give it a rest, that’s childish.”
Ning Chu leaned back in her seat, calm on the surface.
Just then, Wen Yang landed a super long shot and the cheers erupted, with him happily waving at the girls, flashing a handsome smile.
The screams intensified.
Ning Chu’s lip twitched; her nails digging into her arm.
Oh great! So Mr. Protagonist has stopped pretending to be all obedient and lovey-dovey with me and is now all about the pretty girls!
Not surprised, though. Little Emperor Wen’s male lead definitely has a restless heart hidden away.
“They’re about to steal him away…” Yan Xinya murmured, “Aren’t we going to do something?”
Ning Chu frowned, looking down at her phone: “Why do I care if he gets stolen away?”
Cheering like some lovesick fangirl for a guy? Might as well end me right now.
She thought about dragging Wen Yang off the court but with half the class present, wouldn’t that just cement the rumor that she was trying to monopolize him?
Plus, it’d be too embarrassing; she knew it was for Wen Yang’s virginity, but it’d look like she was just jealous of some girls fighting over a guy.
Not that Wen Yang would make it easy.
Ning Chu squinted and looked over at Wen Wen, who was mingling with the cheerleaders.
What was Wen Wen’s storyline in the books? Is she the proactive type or the passive one? If it’s the latter, then there’s nothing to worry about.
Yan Xinya was also eyeing her, a playful smile spreading across her face.
Look at her acting all calm while being anxious!
“Ning Chu~ Hasn’t Wen Yang confessed to you yet?”
“??? What?”
“Want me to help?”
“Don’t! No need!” Ning Chu quickly shook her head, “How many times do I have to explain? We’re just roommates!”
Yan Xinya nodded knowingly: “Oh~”
“…” Ning Chu shot her a glare, her eyes darting toward the court, only to jump up in shock.
Wen Yang, looking a bit tired, passed the basketball to a classmate and headed off the court to rest, but the cheerleaders with their towels and water bottles swooped in on him.
He stood there frozen, and Ning Chu was hopping mad.
“Xinya! Go! Block those perverts!”
This was not the time to care about what others thought!
If Wen Yang got surrounded by those vixens, who knows what would happen!
Especially with a subplot character mixed in!
Yan Xinya’s eyes lit up with excitement as she nodded vigorously: “Got it!”
No sooner had she said that, than the Wolf Girl darted out, moving like lightning! By the time Ning Chu had only run halfway, Yan Xinya was already by Wen Yang’s side, grabbing his arm and pulling him along.
Ning Chu blinked, realizing that just the two of them couldn’t possibly stop seven or eight vixens; running away was clearly the way to go.
But wait, why is Yan Xinya getting physical?
Could it be that the Wolf Girl isn’t just pretending to be innocent but really has her eyes on Wen Yang?
Frantically, Ning Chu tried to catch up, but the pain in her abdomen slowed her down until she had to crouch on the ground, clutching her belly.
“Ning Chu!”
She turned around and saw Lin Li striding toward her with an intense expression.
Campus bully?!
That word popped into Ning Chu’s mind, and her heart raced a little.
In Little Emperor Wen, you don’t even want to think about how rough campus bullies can be.
But this was real life; she was a target in this scenario.
Feeling uneasy, she searched for Wen Yang, but he had already been dragged away by Yan Xinya.
Lin Li approached her, frowning at her pale face. She squatted down, sniffing the air like a cunning little fox, “Ah, Aunt Flo arrived, huh? Smells pretty strong.”
“???”
So Yan Xinya has a dog’s nose, and you have a fox’s, huh?!
Ning Chu suddenly realized Lin Li must have figured out her biological gender the first time they met at the food stall.
“What do you want?” Despite internally panicking, Ning Chu put on a brave face.
“Got something to discuss~”
“Not a chance!”
“A candid shot of Wen Yang, ten bucks. A scandalous one, twenty!”
“…”
Lin Li distractedly glanced back at the cheerleaders, leaning closer to whisper, “Let’s make some money together! I think this project could fly! I’ll sell the photos and give you a split—how’s that?”
“I’m the captain of Team Wen Yang! I can help you secure your spot as the main girl! How about I make you a danger list?”
“If you’re willing to share Wen Yang with me, even better~”
This was where Ning Chu lost her grasp on reality. What these side characters would do was beyond what she could anticipate.
Lin Li was supposed to be a side character too, but her storyline had completely derailed, making her the sort of jealous yandere you could expect to act out of character…
Ning Chu stared blankly at her: “Can anyone even buy that?”
“Of course they can! Let’s sort it out and make a photo book! I’d buy a ton!”
So it’s all about what you want, isn’t it?
Even though easy money was tempting for Ning Chu, she wasn’t in dire need of cash, so Lin Li’s little scheme wasn’t enough to make her betray Wen Yang.
“Support squad?”
With Lin Li’s help, she stood up.
“It’s more like a club! I’m the president.” Lin Li proudly puffed out her chest, “It’s only been a month, and we already have over ten members!”
“…” Ning Chu clutched her belly, pursing her lips to avoid getting too close, “I have things to do.”
“Let’s add each other as friends~ We can coordinate!”
“Sure…”
Everything felt so surreal…
With a heavy sigh, Ning Chu sauntered out of the basketball court, only to bump into Wen Yang, who was rushing in.
“Are you okay?” Wen Yang hurried to her side, scanning her for injuries and sighing in relief when he saw she was fine. “I thought you got bullied, you scared me!”
Yan Xinya poked her head out from behind him, playfully flashing a V-sign at Ning Chu.
Ning Chu rolled her eyes at the two: “I’m not that easy to bully.”
“What about you? That three-pointer was pretty impressive! So cool~”
Hearing that teasing tone, Wen Yang’s face stiffened, and he awkwardly turned his head, mumbling, “It’s normal to get excited with the crowd cheering me on…”
“Is it?”
“Yeah!”
——————
At least two updates guaranteed; I’ll take a break and see if I can write more!
