087. Painkiller
When Wen Yang returned to the dorm, Wang Jie was already sprawled on his bed, getting ready for a midday nap, engrossed in scrolling through Douyin on his phone.
Wen Yang headed to the balcony with a towel to wipe off the sweat, but his gaze kept drifting through the window to Ning Chu inside the room. He noticed her hands clutching her belly, looking utterly miserable and lethargic.
If earlier Wen Yang had only a 60% suspicion that Ning Chu was a girl, it had now skyrocketed to 80%.
Such a coincidence! Two months straight, with only three days apart, experiencing stomach pain at the same time… If Ning Chu was still in pain tomorrow and the day after, it would practically confirm that she was a girl!
All he needed was one piece of evidence to nail it!
Wen Yang took off his shirt and glanced down at his six-pack abs, feeling reasonably satisfied with his physique.
Ning Chu pushed open the door to the balcony, stole a glance at his impressive figure, a flicker of jealousy flashing in her eyes. To protect her poor little heart, she hastily averted her gaze and padded towards the bathroom.
“You might as well just hop in the shower,” Wen Yang chuckled.
Ning Chu must have been feeling shy! She only dared to glance at him before scuttling away!
Suddenly, Wen Yang realized this was an opportunity. He shot a quick look at the firmly closed bathroom door and dashed into their dorm room.
He quickly scanned Ning Chu’s desk…
A laptop, flanked by shelves packed with cheap little toys and trinkets collected from various ring toss games at the amusement park.
All souvenirs from him.
In one corner of the desk, a neat stack of books was piled, and underneath, two pairs of shoes were crammed in. Though it was cluttered, it looked pretty organized overall.
But Wen Yang didn’t find what he was looking for.
Feeling a bit guilty, he glanced at Wang Jie on the upper bunk and then toward the balcony.
Hesitating, he thought about opening Ning Chu’s drawer, but the guilt of invading her privacy made him uncomfortable.
Fortunately, before he could make up his mind, Ning Chu returned to the room, flopping onto her desk with a defeated sigh, her hands still clutching her belly, emitting faint groans of pain.
Wen Yang promptly marched to the bathroom, returning just two minutes later, looking dejected.
No clues in there…
Way too well-hidden! Did she not use sanitary napkins but cotton balls?!
“Wen Yang~”
“What’s up?”
“Can you go to the pharmacy and buy me some painkillers?” Ning Chu said, tilting her head against the desk, her voice weak, “I can’t take it anymore, it hurts so much.”
This was worse than chronic gastritis!
In the scorching heat, all Ning Chu drank was ice water and cold drinks. Wen Yang figured that must be what they call menstrual cramps.
Could it be? The little guy’s still there… just shrunk into a little bean.
“Painkillers?” Wen Yang observed her pale face, “Shouldn’t we check the hospital?”
“No! I hate hospitals!”
“So I’m just going alone to buy medicine?”
Ning Chu shot him a look: “Do I look like I have the energy to accompany you right now?”
“Oh~”
That drawn-out response made Ning Chu assume Wen Yang was up to no good, and she panicked: “Don’t talk to girls! Don’t agree to dates! No more…”
Suddenly she stopped, stood up decisively, and said, “Let’s go together!”
Turns out she couldn’t bear to let Wen Yang go alone!
But her controlling nature was so blatant—she kept saying no to this and that. Why was Wen Yang’s smile getting even softer?
Shouldn’t she be mad?
If Wen Yang were in her shoes, having to deal with such unreasonable dormmates would surely infuriate him.
“I can go myself; you just stay here and boil some water.”
“Together.”
“Don’t worry, I swear I won’t talk to any girls, alright?” Wen Yang let out a resigned sigh, “Why do you act like I’ll definitely flirt with girls just because I go out? Am I that much of a scumbag?”
Oh, the protagonist in books is definitely that scumbag!
Ning Chu pressed her lips together, skeptically sizing up Wen Yang. He seemed rather sincere.
But after standing for a while, she clutched her belly and plopped back down.
She felt pale, her limbs curling up together as she took gentle breaths to ease the pain.
No more cold water, no more iced drinks…
But wait, if her bellyache was due to her period, then where did all the Aunt Flo juice go? Surely it’s not all stuck in her belly now?
Ning Chu suddenly realized a crucial point, her face turning even whiter.
Oh no! Wouldn’t that mean she’s hoarding too much? Would she d*e from it?!
“Are we still going?”
Ning Chu raised her hand in a dismissive gesture: “No, no…”
They say the worst menstrual cramps can knock someone out cold and then wake them up in agony.
That sounded terrifying…
She no longer had the energy to worry about Wen Yang flirting with girls or whatever plot twists might occur. All she could feel was a kn*fe stabbing her belly, raking through her insides.
With a wry smile, Wen Yang picked up the kettle: “I’ll boil some water. Should I buy you some brown sugar to make sweet water?”
Ning Chu grunted in agreement, curling up tightly, hugging her belly, her feet tucked under her chair, resting her forehead against her knees, silently enduring the agony.
Being transported to another world without being the male lead was one thing, but not having any special cheat abilities was fine too. However, becoming part of the male lead’s love harem—was that really necessary? And why did it have to be this torturous?
“I’m heading out; the water’s boiling.”
“……”
Hearing no response from Ning Chu, Wen Yang frowned and leaned closer to inspect her ghostly pale face, noticing the sheen of sweat forming on her forehead. Her tightly shut eyes trembled slightly, which made his heart ache even more.
Not saying another word, he spun around and dashed out the door.
It felt like just a few minutes passed before the door swung open again.
Ning Chu opened her eyes, full of hope, only to feel her heart sink in disappointment.
“Oh no! Am I just so ugly that my appearance disgusts you? Do you have to grimace when you see me?” Zhang Shaoqing strolled in with a small bag, noticing Ning Chu’s reaction and immediately began to grumble, “I even specially brought you milk tea, but now you don’t get any!”
“……”
He plopped the four cups of milk tea he brought on Wen Yang’s desk, noticing Ning Chu hadn’t spoken, and emphasized his displeasure, “Did you hear? No milk tea for you!”
“Where’s Wen Yang? Not following him around today?”
So annoying…
Ning Chu swiftly covered her ears.
“Feeling antisocial again? What’s wrong? Did Wen Yang get snatched away by another girl?” Zhang Shaoqing sat down in a chair next to her, completely oblivious to the situation, “Tell me about it! This is my chance to be your understanding older brother!!”
“Here, have some milk tea! Sweet stuff helps with hormone secretion!”
“That’s dopamine…”
Ning Chu weakly lifted her head to correct him.
How on earth did this guy even get into university?
Only then did Zhang Shaoqing notice her pale, paper-like complexion and the layer of sweat on her forehead: “What’s wrong? You look like you’re on the brink of d*ath.”
“Stomach trouble.”
“Oh, I remember the last time you had stomach pain after eating at that Sichuan restaurant, Wen Yang went out and bought you some Montmorillonite powder,” Zhang Shaoqing mumbled, “I’ll check his drawer.”
“Hmm?”
