523. Like a Dream
On a stage made of blooming flowers, Wen Yang was on one knee, holding a rose delicately as he gently lifted Ning Chu’s hand.
She lowered her head, trying shyly to turn away, but her gaze kept falling on the sincere and affectionate face before her.
“I…”
Below the stage, the cheers and jeers of friends and family rang out, especially Zhang Shaoqing, whose shout of “Kiss her!” echoed particularly loudly.
She bit her lower lip, a surge of excitement brewing in her chest, an uncontrollable urge to let it all out.
Just as she nodded and was about to say something, she suddenly froze, reaching up to touch her own rough face.
Why am I a man!
Oh right, I’ve always been a man…
She blinked, and when she looked up again, she saw Wen Yang standing up in panic, a chorus of boos erupting from the audience.
…
The noisy commotion abruptly disrupted the dream, and Ning Chu suddenly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling, still shaken.
How could I have such a strange dream…
Instinctively, she raised her hand, glancing at her slender, fair palm, as beautiful as white jade, complete with tips decorated in rosy nail polish.
The initial panic began to dissipate, and Ning Chu wearily placed her hand on her forehead, tiredly closing her eyes again. But the scenes from her dream flashed back in her mind like slides.
No sleep for me now.
She managed a bitter smile and turned to look at the little Black Bean beside her.
This cat lay sprawled out, taking up two-thirds of the bed, with its tail draped across Ning Chu’s waist, the fluffy feeling tickling her a bit.
Black Bean was deep in slumber, breathing steadily with soft snores escaping, those cat ears on its head covered in fur seemed to shut out all outside noise.
Outside, her mother was making breakfast and cleaning, creating quite a ruckus. No wonder Black Bean had covered its ears.
The sweet little catgirl didn’t draw Ning Chu’s attention; she simply stared blankly at its innocent face, still reminiscing about the dream.
Perhaps it was the remnants of a male identity or maybe it was how everything she had now felt like an easy, undeserved gift…
A bizarre reincarnation, a strange return to a younger middle school appearance, going to a university in a fairy-tale world, and inexplicably turning into a girl.
Ning Chu always felt uneasy about her current life, fearing that one day she would suddenly wake up and find herself still that man sitting in a rental apartment, alone, without a mother or friends, clenching a few hundred bucks and begrudgingly heading off to an internship.
Even after years, it still felt oddly dreamlike.
It was like having a high-paying, unstable job when she herself was utterly mediocre, always anxious that any day it could all vanish.
When Wen Yang left her side, the gnawing anxiety within her intensified.
Ning Chu lowered her gaze, grabbed her phone from the pillow, opened her chat with Wen Yang, and typed a line attempting to describe her dream, wanting to confide in Wen Yang. But after a moment of hesitation, she deleted all the words.
“Good morning.”
She sent a good morning sticker, placed her phone aside, and let out a long sigh.
Tiptoeing out of bed, she was careful not to wake the sleeping Black Bean, though the movement still disturbed its gentle snoring.
“Sis?”
Black Bean looked at her, sleepily blinking.
“Time to get up.”
“Hmm~ You seem a bit down?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Black Bean softly tugged at the drooping heart-shaped tail: “But your tail isn’t wagging at all…”
“I’m not a dog! Why would I wag my tail?”
Ning Chu frowned, unwrapping her tail from Black Bean’s grasp.
“You normally wag it when you’re happy.”
She felt like Black Bean was treating her like a dog, rolling her eyes silently as she stood up and walked towards the door.
That tail was usually coiled around her thigh, tucked beneath her skirt, only coming out strongly during private moments; other times it was easily forgotten.
She hadn’t realized Black Bean was sharp enough to sense her feelings through her tail.
Outside the bedroom, her mother was busy cleaning the floors. The house was spotless, with cleaning happening every two days at least. Compared to her rental apartment, Ning Chu’s place could only be called a pigsty.
“Breakfast is on the table.”
Seeing her daughter come out, her mother casually reminded her.
“Got it, what’s for breakfast?”
“Oyster pancakes, burnt edges.”
Ning Chu’s eyes lit up, and her drooping tail perked right up, the heart-shaped tip swaying back and forth as she eagerly dashed to the dining table, whining to her mother, “The oyster pancakes at my school are impossible to buy! Wen Yang brought me two once, and they were terrible!”
“Brush your teeth and wash your hands! Aren’t you grown up enough to do that on your own?”
“Oh~”
That dream was already forgotten at the back of Ning Chu’s mind, the bad mood replaced with excitement.
Back in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, she turned to her mother and asked, “Mom, when are you going to get the marriage certificate with Uncle?”
“Why do I feel like you’re more eager than I am?”
“I’ve got things to do, I can’t just wait around forever, right?”
Her mother stood by the bathroom door with the mop, teasingly observing her daughter as she brushed her teeth, “You’re not thinking about rushing off to find Wen Yang before even a day has passed since you got home, are you? Cheeky little thing.”
“Of course not! I could live here every day!” Ning Chu denied her mother’s accusation, pressing for details, “So when is it then? I need to look for internship work over the summer.”
“Next month.”
She instinctively shook her head: “That won’t do!”
“I don’t need your approval to get married, you know?”
Looking up at the mirror, Ning Chu caught a glimpse of her mother’s teasing smile reflected back at her.
She knew she’d been played, and so turned around with a cute pout to try to win her way out: “Mom~”
That girly voice made her cringe even a bit.
But her mother soaked it up like sunshine, her smile growing wider: “On my birthday next week.”
As expected…
But that was still over ten days away.
Ning Chu cautiously asked, “Mom, can we do it a few days earlier?”
Her mother hesitated for a moment, then realized her intention, letting out a wistful sigh: “And you say you’re not eager to find Wen Yang?”
“I really’m not! I just have an interview scheduled…” She tried to defend herself, but under her mother’s sarcastic gaze, her sturdy defenses crumbled. She lowered her eyes, peeking, “Alright, fine! I want to see Wen Yang.”
Her mother shot her a sidelong glance: “Go if you really want to. What does my marriage have to do with you?”
“Really? Then today…”
The change to her mother’s expression was almost palpable; her face darkened visibly.
Ning Chu suddenly remembered where her stubborn mouth came from—her mother…
“I at least have to accompany you to get your certificate first, right?” To avoid repercussions, she hastily retracted her words, “Mom~ Getting the certificate a few days earlier wouldn’t hurt, why does it have to be on your birthday?”
Only then did her mother’s expression lighten, huffing as she turned to leave: “You just got home and want to leave already! You never think about spending time with your sister!”
“When Uncle comes back from his business trip, it won’t be long until then. Uncle will take you out to eat at a restaurant.”
“Honestly, all you think about these days is men!”
Ning Chu could only grin, shamelessly: “No way~”
