Chapter 57: The Emotional Torture of Best Friends
2/40
Induction cookers, air fryers, mini microwaves, little rice cookers…
One by one, kitchenware and condiments were laid out on the folding table outside the balcony. It clearly looked like a girls’ dormitory, yet it felt more like a fully-functioning kitchen.
Lily still wore her usual unimpressed face, her back turned to the others, busy frying chicken wings with a wooden spatula.
“Seriously, your dorm is way over the top…”
Ning Chu peeked at the scene outside the balcony and tugged at the corner of her mouth, “Are you sure this is okay?”
“Of course! Just hide everything when there’s a check!”
No, she clearly wasn’t talking about checks and balances.
She was pulled to sit in a chair by Yan Xinya, casting a worried glance outside.
“You always wear his clothes when Wen Yang isn’t around~” Yan Xinya chuckled, giving her coat a light tug.
Ning Chu didn’t look at the excited expression on Wolf Girl’s face, her cheeks flushed slightly as she stiffly explained, “My coat is in the wash, so what’s wrong with borrowing his?”
She sneaked a glance at Chen Xue, who was looking utterly confused, staring blankly at the two of them.
After all, since she’s not a werewolf, she couldn’t sniff out the female hormones radiating off her.
“Eh~”
Ning Chu decided to change the subject and asked anxiously, “I heard some of your underwear got stolen from the dorm?”
“Yeah!” Yan Xinya exclaimed indignantly, “It’s only been a few days! A bunch of it got stolen, and I was being super careful!”
After all, being on the first floor, while there were anti-theft windows, it wasn’t much of a challenge for a pervert.
“I suspect it’s Lin Li! That girl is totally capable of doing something like that!”
“Why’s that?”
“She said before she’d sell her ‘original scent’… um… anyway, pretty pervy.”
Ning Chu paused, recalling that Lin Li had once asked her for Wen Yang’s personal photos for a 70-30 split after selling them.
That girl was definitely money-driven, but she was not short on cash—a rich second-generation whose family owned cars and villas.
“That is a bit pervy…”
But Ning Chu didn’t buy Yan Xinya’s theory; if Lin Li was really out to sell original-scent underwear, she wouldn’t need to go around stealing her dorm mate’s stuff.
Plus, from what she understood, unwashed stuff was worth more…
Most likely, it was just Lin Li’s casual bragging taken too seriously by Yan Xinya.
She cast a nervous glance around, feeling a bit on edge.
There’s no way she’d actually run into a pervert, right?
She had never felt so close to danger before, anxiously zipping her coat up and occasionally glancing at the corners of the dorm.
Even though Yan Xinya had decent fighting skills, what if the pervert was stronger?
She had rushed out without her hypnosis spray…
“Don’t worry~” Yan Xinya, seeing her look so tense, cheerfully reassured, “The school’s security is checking the surveillance! We should find the culprit in a couple of days.”
“Okay…”
Ning Chu murmured, as if there was always a rumor about some pervert stealing underwear in every dorm.
She had once read about a particularly absurd news story where a pervert was caught stealing boys’ underwear from a sports school… if the police hadn’t arrived quickly, he might’ve ended up getting beaten to a pulp.
“Food’s ready.”
Lily’s cold voice came from the balcony, and Yan Xinya immediately bounced up.
“I’m starving, starving! Ning Chu and Chen Xue, you both have to try Lily’s cooking!”
Stir-fried Shanghai greens, scrambled eggs, fried chicken wings… After Yan Xinya brought in three plates of food, Lily also carried two bowls of rice inside.
It looked surprisingly hearty.
Ning Chu had already eaten lunch, but out of curiosity, she took a few bites, her eyes lighting up: “Not bad! This is pretty good!”
Maybe not quite hotel chef level, but definitely better than most small eateries outside.
“Of course, that’s my Lily!” Yan Xinya flaunted with a proud tilt of her tail, “Chen Xue, you should try too.”
Chen Xue wasn’t too familiar with the group and felt a bit shy trying to fit in. After taking a bite under Wolf Girl’s enthusiastic gaze, she stood up, “It’s quite tasty… but I have some things to do…”
“Go on, go on! Come visit us whenever you can!”
Yan Xinya waved her off cheerfully, and then she dove into her food.
Lily didn’t have a big appetite, using a tiny bowl to serve half a portion of rice, elegantly eating it like a proper lady. But Wolf Girl… she used a basin and a spoon, scooping food like there was no bottom to her small mouth.
Ning Chu had already gotten used to this after having a few meals with them in the cafeteria.
“Xinya, that Chen Xue seems alright, huh?”
“Yeah, she’s really nice, but it seems like she likes Wen Yang~ Every break, she’s always staring at him.” With a proud puff of her chest, Yan Xinya declared, “Don’t worry! I’ll keep an eye on her for you!”
But Ning Chu looked down, playing with her fingers, her tone unintentionally a bit heavy: “What if I introduced a girlfriend to Wen Yang… would he stop bugging me then?”
“Chen Xue seems pretty suitable…”
“!!!”
Both Lily and Yan Xinya turned to stare at her simultaneously.
“You really have no interest in Wen Yang at all?” Yan Xinya’s ears had pressed back against her hair, standing up almost like airplane wings. “No way?! Then why are you so desperate to live in the boys’ dorm?”
“…”
That one was hard to explain.
Ning Chu hung her head, answering in a rather uncertain tone, “I guess… I’m not really interested?”
“Guess?” Yan Xinya stopped eating, scooting her chair closer to Ning Chu. “It can’t just be a guess! Like is like!”
“I… don’t like him!”
“Then what are you hesitating for?”
That girl didn’t even have a boyfriend herself, but she became surprisingly proactive concerning Ning Chu’s issues: “What’s the situation? What are you worried about? What are you afraid of?”
Lily, with her bright eyes, chimed in softly, “Too big?”
“…”
Ning Chu couldn’t deny that.
She flushed slightly and nodded: “That’s not the main reason!”
Now that they were on the subject, Ning Chu didn’t want to hide anything, hoping these two could give her some advice.
After all, she had never been in a relationship, let alone liked someone as a woman…
Yan Xinya and Lily were well aware of her secrets and embarrassing experiences; a little more wouldn’t hurt.
“How to say… maybe I like him a little?”
Ning Chu mumbled, staring at her hands, “I always feel happy when I’m with him.”
“But I’ve always treated him like a friend, a bro, and maybe a bit like… a paternal bond?”
As a professional shipper, Yan Xinya made a decisive judgment: “Stop lying to yourself! You totally like Wen Yang!”
“But…”
Wolf Girl crossed her legs, preparing for the emotional interrogation: “So tell me, when Wen Yang isn’t by your side, do you feel unsafe? Is he the only one who calms you down?”
Ning Chu glanced at the coat belonging to Wen Yang, hesitantly nodded, but then shook her head, denying, “That’s just because he’s tall and built.”
“Then when you’re with Wen Yang, do you often feel shy? Does your heart race?”
“I’m a succubus! It’s totally normal to have reactions like that with guys!”
“Such a hard shell~” Yan Xinya grumbled, “When you’re in trouble, do you think of him first?”
“Seems like…”
Wolf Girl’s pressure was making Ning Chu feel suffocated: “Do you get jealous when he gets hit on by other girls?”
Ning Chu shook her head furiously. Was that jealousy? No, that was just concern he’d be led astray!
“Be honest~ When you imagine Wen Yang kissing another woman, don’t you feel angry?”
She froze, her mind instinctively conjuring the image of Wen Yang kissing Chen Xue.
Suddenly, a wave of unnamed anger washed over her, and she gritted her teeth, “Fox spirit!”
