339. Social Circle
Ning Chu’s shame was on the verge of explosion!
Clearly, she had tried her best to keep her voice down last night, yet it still disturbed the peace, and now her mother knew about it!
But wait, there’s worse stuff out there~
She read a post online where someone was in the living room during New Year’s, wearing women’s clothes and playing with a big toy, and then the door swung open — a whole bunch of relatives walked in cheering and laughing…
Compared to that, her little incident wasn’t anything at all.
Despite her efforts to convince herself and get her flushed face to cool off, Ning Chu still wailed as she buried herself in the bed, rolling around in embarrassment.
“Ahhh~ I’m gonna d*e, gonna d*e, gonna d*e!”
Now, every time she encountered her mother, she felt her gaze dripping with teasing and weirdness, as if saying, “How did I end up with a child like you?”
No! It’s all her mother’s fault for being a succubus!
With a sorrowful sigh, she collapsed onto her blanket, not moving for a long while.
“Sis?”
Black Bean woke up from Ning Chu’s continuous rolling around, tilting his head in confusion at his sister’s strange behavior: “What’s wrong? Rolling around so early in the morning.”
“Nothing.”
She wrinkled her nose, and then Ning Chu covered it up with a sensitive hand: “What are you sniffing!”
“Oh~”
Black Bean, feeling a bit wronged, turned over and stretched with a big yawn.
“Black Bean! Wash up and eat breakfast, get ready for class!”
“Okay!”
Hearing their mother’s voice from outside, Black Bean jumped out of bed, bouncing out, leaving Ning Chu still sprawled on the bed.
She couldn’t let this continue!
Clearly, she had to suppress a succubus’s instincts, or her shame would shatter into pieces before long.
In just two days, she was going to Lily’s house, so at least she wouldn’t pull a random impulse like last night and sneak out in the middle of the night to climb into Wen Yang’s bed.
“Getting more depraved, huh~”
It was only the second day, but something deep inside her seemed ignited, making her addicted to the thrill of the experiences she’d had, like a junkie chasing a high.
She might be a succubus now, but just a few months ago, she was still a guy!
After another sigh of despair, Ning Chu suddenly heard Black Bean’s cheers from outside.
“Dad! What tasty treats did you bring me this time!”
Dad?
Ning Chu froze for a moment, then remembered her mother’s little boyfriend, the uncle, had arrived.
Her mother still had the nerve to lecture her~ Tonight she would probably sneak out too.
She pondered whether she should retaliate against her mother, but the whole loving-daughter act would only get her slapped, so she buried those thoughts deep inside.
“Ning Chu.” The door swung open, and her mother came in with a cute little white handbag, her smile warm and gentle, “The uncle got this for you.”
“Ah?” Ning Chu looked up in surprise.
When the uncle was around, her mother clearly became much more feminine, moving with a graceful charm. She sat at her daughter’s bedside, smiling as she handed Ning Chu the handbag: “It looks great! The uncle saw you leave without a bag and thought it wouldn’t be convenient.”
“I actually have one, just didn’t bring it back.”
Ning Chu mumbled as she sat up, taking the handbag and examining it: “I shouldn’t be accepting his gifts… But it does look nice…”
It felt like leather, and the small white handbag wasn’t much bigger than a regular wallet, probably only enough to hold some odds and ends.
“It’s fine, just take it.” Her mother laughed as she ruffled Ning Chu’s hair, “The uncle’s daughter picked it out!”
“Ah?”
Turns out the uncle had a daughter too?
Ning Chu was puzzled and curiously asked, “Have you met her?”
“Nope.” Her mother shook her head, “She’s supposed to be in her junior year, prepping for grad school, doesn’t come out of the house much.”
“Oh~ Mom, when are you planning to marry the uncle?”
Her mother paused, and looking at Ning Chu’s curious yet slightly teasing expression, she casually tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and said, “Why get married? At our age, it doesn’t make a difference.”
Must be shy!
Ning Chu caught a hint of pink on her mother’s face and pressed on, “Then when will you divorce him?”
Her mother still hadn’t divorced the runaway father.
“That guy doesn’t come back, how can we divorce?”
“File for divorce! He’s been gone for so long, the court would definitely grant it.”
Her mother nodded thoughtfully: “Let’s see, it’s almost New Year, no time for all that.”
“I’m taking Ning Xin to class now!”
A loud voice startled Ning Chu, making her jump. Her mother stood up and calmly walked out of the bedroom: “Drive safely.”
“Mm.”
“What do you want for lunch? I’m taking Ning Chu to buy vegetables.”
“???”
Ning Chu, who had just peeked out from the bedroom, was completely confused. When did she say she wanted to go grocery shopping with her mom?
Her mother stood on the carpet by the door, looking up as the uncle and Ning Xin stepped into the elevator in the hallway. When she turned her head, she noticed Ning Chu peeking from the back bedroom.
“Mom, I didn’t say I wanted to go buy vegetables! I still want to catch some more sleep~”
“You really think you’ll fall back asleep?” Her mother looked at her skeptically. “What’s wrong with helping me carry some things? Isn’t your boyfriend coming over for dinner tonight? We should get some stuff he likes.”
Now that gave Ning Chu some motivation to head out.
Even though Wen Yang didn’t really need to regain his strength, milking her mother for some yummy food for him sounded great!
“Just wait for me! I’ll put on some socks!”
The nearest vegetable market to the residential community was a thirty-minute walk away.
Once downstairs, Ning Chu found herself being linked arm-in-arm with her mother, her expression a bit stiff as they walked through the community.
When she was alone, everything was fine, but now, being with her mother meant all the neighbors were staring…
“Ah Juan! Who is this?”
To make matters worse, her mother stopped in front of a familiar neighbor lady.
“My daughter~ Isn’t she pretty?”
“When did you suddenly get such a big daughter? Hey, what about that boy of yours? Isn’t he supposed to be on break now?”
Her mother smiled as she glanced at Ning Chu, who could only roll her eyes in helplessness.
“He’s out working hard, won’t be back for the New Year.”
At least her mother had the sense to give her a bit of face.
Ning Chu sighed with relief but quickly tensed up again, stealing glances at a guy walking into the community. She instinctively clung to her mother’s arm, quickly lowering her head.
“Isn’t that the boy you grew up with?” Her mother asked curiously, “Didn’t he say he was going to the military? He’s back already, huh?”
“Um… He mentioned wanting to come see me, but I made excuses to avoid it.”
Ning Chu kept her head down, holding her breath as they brushed past each other.
Fortunately, she wasn’t recognized.
“You can’t keep doing this! Have you just forgotten your old friends?”
“Let them be unrecognized for now; things are pretty good now too…”
After entering university, she had largely lost contact with her old friends and classmates, with maybe a few casual chats happening online.
But sacrificing friendships from the past gave Ning Chu a touch of sadness.
The faces from when she was still a guy were increasingly becoming blurry, the details fading.
Her former life felt like a distant world, completely disconnected from her current life, making everything seem like a dream drenched in fog and unreality.
——————
Caught by the traffic police for several days.
No updates today; need to revise the text.
