317. Family Position
“Ning Chu, help your little sister with her homework and check her assignments.”
“Okay~”
After dinner, Black Bean dragged over a little stool and sat by the coffee table, pencil in hand, looking like a little distressed kitten staring at her practice booklet in despair.
How is she supposed to do homework when she’s just a naive little cat who knows nothing about the world?
Black Bean’s learning ability is quite impressive. Back when she was still a cat, she could mimic her roommate jumping to open the door—only she was too short to reach the doorknob. Now as a catgirl, she had mastered second-grade subjects within just a few months and was already dabbling in third-grade concepts like calculating perimeters.
Ning Chu initially thought that teaching her to do homework would raise her bl**d pressure, but aside from her handwriting looking like a demon’s scrawl, everything else was actually quite good.
“Maybe I should get you a calligraphy book to practice?” Ning Chu whispered from behind Black Bean.
“I’ve already started practicing calligraphy!”
She affectionately patted Black Bean on the head. “After you finish your homework, I’ll treat you to milk tea!”
“Yay!”
As she dealt with Black Bean, her gaze drifted towards the dining table.
Their mother rested her chin on her hand, her eyes fixated on Uncle, a gentle smile gracing her lips as Uncle sipped his white wine, complaining about work woes while munching on leftovers.
With the siblings out of the picture, Uncle seemed to relax a lot, raising his voice slightly as he vented about not having enough money to pay wages.
Ning Chu listened for a moment; it appeared that the client was delaying payment, and with the new year approaching, Uncle was frantically searching for money to pay his workers.
Their mother didn’t comfort him but simply listened with a smile, pouring him another glass of wine now and then.
The scene at the dining table was quite harmonious.
“Sis! I’m done! Help me check it!”
Black Bean suddenly tugged at Ning Chu’s sleeve, pulling her attention back from the dining table.
She picked up a red pen and glanced at Black Bean’s practice booklet. “Pretty impressive!”
“Of course!” Black Bean puffed out her little chest with pride.
“Not just a professional eater, huh? Any other homework?”
“I need to memorize some passages, but Dad is too noisy.”
Ning Chu didn’t mind Black Bean calling Uncle “Dad”; as long as she didn’t call her “Mom,” things would remain in order: “Why don’t you go to Mom’s room to read, and once you’ve memorized it, come find me?”
“Okay~”
Watching Black Bean sway her tail as she dashed into the main bedroom, Ning Chu stretched, got up, and headed for the secondary bedroom.
She glanced at Ning Yuan lying on the bed, playing on his mobile phone, casually closed the door, and sat at the computer. “Bro, why do you always look sleepy? Kidney deficiency?”
“You get up at 7:30 every day and come home at 9:00; you’re not exactly bursting with energy either,” Ning Yuan sighed. “When it’s time to relax, I can’t even get out of bed. I’m exhausted; I bought a bunch of games but don’t have the heart to play.”
“Well… how about you lend me your account? I can play for you?”
“….”
Ning Yuan rolled over, ignoring her, and continued playing on his phone.
“Stingy~”
She muttered as she opened her computer, propping her chin up to find something to watch.
Meanwhile, she wasn’t sure what Wen Yang had for lunch, as he hadn’t started looking for a job yet… She didn’t want to message him just yet; after all, it had only been an hour since they parted. She didn’t want to come off as a clingy mess who couldn’t live without a man.
“Ning Chu, you…” Ning Yuan’s voice suddenly came from behind her.
“Huh?”
His tone was a bit hesitant. After a slight pause, he awkwardly turned his head away. “Even though you’re already an adult, this is your first relationship… Don’t be foolish and give everything away; you’ll regret it otherwise.”
Ning Chu immediately understood what he meant.
He was warning her not to give herself away for free, afraid Wen Yang might trick her into giving up her heart and body.
Sure, her brother knew she was a succubus, but he still saw her as his little sister, or even possibly a younger brother in his mind.
“I know; I’m not stupid.”
“Yeah, not stupid.”
“I used to be a man, okay? I know how guys are!”
Ning Chu shot him a glare over her shoulder, but the moment her words left her mouth, her expression suddenly changed to something odd, and her eyes turned watchful towards Ning Yuan.
But he’s a man too…
“What do you mean by that look?!”
“I remember back in high school, after you watched Oreimo, you kept saying you were a sister complex…”
“I can tell the difference between reality and anime, d*mn it!”
Ning Yuan sat up abruptly, feeling cornered and swearing.
Indeed, many people claim to be “bro-con” verbally, but if they actually had a younger sister while growing up, they’d often be annoyed by her presence, feeling like, ugh, can we just skip this?
But the thing is, Ning Chu, for Ning Yuan, felt like a “magical arrival” little sister…
Plus, based on Wen Yang’s personal experience, being in a closed space with a succubus meant men could easily have physiological reactions due to the pheromones she unconsciously released, sparking all sorts of dirty thoughts.
With all the doors and windows shut tightly, her seductive qualities could really reach their peak.
She really didn’t want anything tumultuous to happen like some episode out of an adult anime!
“Get out!” She pointed at the door emphatically, her face serious, “From now on, you’re not allowed in this room.”
Ning Yuan’s face flushed with anger. “This was my room to begin with!”
“It hasn’t been since yesterday.” Ning Chu shot him a glare. “I’m just trying to save you from thinking improper thoughts; a bit of distance is good for both of us.”
“Crazy!”
Fuming, Ning Yuan stormed out of the room, and just as he left, a loud “click” of the lock echoed from inside the bedroom.
This only made him angrier.
While he understood her, seeing her defensive gaze was infuriating.
“What’s going on? Did you two argue?”
Their mother, having heard the commotion from the secondary bedroom, diverted her gaze from Uncle and turned to her eldest son. “Aren’t you too old to still be arguing? Can’t you give your little sister a break?”
Any anger he held quickly dissipated. Ning Yuan flopped onto the sofa, exasperated. “Mom, does this mean I don’t even have a room anymore? Am I just going to sleep on the floor?”
“There are more people at home~ You don’t come back often, so put up with it for a bit,” Their mother smiled reassuringly. “Once your sister starts school, that room will be yours again; it’s just for this month.”
“Feels like I’m the one who’s been adopted.”
Their mother gasped in mock surprise, covering her mouth. “Oh my! How did you know?”
“Give me a break.”
In the secondary bedroom, Ning Chu felt fortunate that she had just kicked Ning Yuan out.
Curled up on her bed, biting her lip to stifle any sound, her eyes lost focus, glimmering with a hint of moisture.
Her skin had taken on a lovely blush, her breaths growing heavy, and she was feeling quite hot all over.
After enduring for a long while, she finally sighed deeply.
But even after all that restraint, the heat still coursed through her, and her mind was buzzing with all sorts of inappropriate thoughts.
“Wen Yang, stop looking for a job and come back to the rental apartment; I have an emergency.”
Ning Chu sent the message, suddenly sitting up straight, tidying her rumpled clothes, head lowered, rushing out the door.
“Mom, I need to step out for a bit. I’ll be back tonight.”
“Where are you going? There’s still some seafood left for you,” her mother called out.
“Save it for dinner; I’ll make seafood noodles.”
As she pushed open the front door, the cold wind in the hallway rushed past her, waking her up a bit, and she sighed helplessly inside.
She was really going downhill fast~
Once, she could manage three times; now, she couldn’t even hold out once.
