### 228. Love Letter
Girls…
Just like Wen Yang back in the day, Zhang Shaoqing had long begun to question Ning Chu’s gender.
After all, living under the same roof meant dealing with the rise and fall of those curves, the monthly aroma wafting from the bathroom, and Ning Chu’s face—too pretty for a guy. All the signs screamed that Ning Chu was a girl.
But he still couldn’t wrap his head around why Ning Chu was living in the boys’ dorm.
It wasn’t until he stumbled across that unknown cylindrical package at noon yesterday and then Googled the English on it later that night, that he finally, in a flash of brilliance, confirmed Ning Chu’s gender.
She was indeed a girl.
After months of sharing space with a beautiful girl, and it took him this long to notice?
This morning, he strolled into the classroom with Wang Jie and immediately spotted Ning Chu and Wen Yang sitting in the front row.
If Ning Chu was a girl, then the relationship between these two was certainly worth pondering.
Couple?
But Wen Yang already had a girlfriend named Wen Wen.
Could that girl… also be Ning Chu?
Zhang Shaoqing had never seen Ning Chu in female attire, and recalling Wen Wen’s looks, he realized he shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
He plopped down right next to Ning Chu. “Hey, this is Xinya and Lily’s spot. Go sit on Wen Yang’s side.”
Ning Chu shot him a side glance, voice dripping with exhaustion. “Sure, go ahead and be brave.”
“……”
“So does that mean you and Wen Yang are…?” Zhang Shaoqing leaned in with a mischievous grin. Ning Chu recoiled, distancing herself from him with a look of disdain.
Wen Yang reached over, firmly pressing down on Zhang Shaoqing’s shoulder. “Xinya’s here, give up the seat.”
It was clear that Zhang Shaoqing picked up on the possessiveness in Wen Yang’s tone.
He now had a hunch that this Wen Wen was most likely Ning Chu!
But then again, there was always the possibility that Wen Yang was playing both sides…
With confusion cleared, he decided not to pry further and grinned, “Alright, I’ll let it go.”
“Neurotic…”
Ning Chu mumbled as she collapsed onto her desk, feeling utterly drained.
Her hands even felt a bit sore.
It hadn’t been that long, maybe ten minutes, but it exhausted her nonetheless, and the new bed sheets were now dirty, flavored with sweetness.
Worse still, she had found herself stirred up last night, and since she couldn’t handle it herself, especially not with Wen Yang’s help, she had to suffer through it and finally dozed off after over an hour.
In her dreams, it was all Wen Yang’s face, leading her to jump out of bed for a quick shower that morning.
“Ning Chu~”
“Morning.”
“You look so drowsy, did you not sleep well last night?” Yan Xinya plopped down with Lily.
“Eh, I guess?”
Ning Chu couldn’t be bothered to engage and was too wrapped up in plotting what kind of novel she might write.
Might as well make it a biography since her life was already a collection of absurdity.
And she didn’t have to worry about passing any review boards; this parallel world was fairly liberal—as long as she didn’t touch on sensitive topics, she could write pretty much anything.
Even if her writing skills weren’t top-notch, so long as she managed to maintain perfect attendance, it could help cover living expenses and rent.
The hardest part was consistently churning out a few thousand words daily, but for her, it was pretty easy after years of practice.
On weekends, she’d go out with Wen Yang for part-time work, and after a month, they could pull together over a thousand bucks, which would seriously lighten her brother’s load.
“Wen Yang, what part-time job are you planning for the weekend? I wanna tag along.”
“You’re coming too?” Wen Yang hesitated, “I was thinking of delivering takeout, but the electric bike is just borrowed from a friend. Only one.”
“Well, let’s see what else is out there then…”
Ning Chu rested her chin on her hand, glancing over at Zhang Shaoqing.
That guy was a blabbermouth. Who knew if he’d blurt out her secrets to the world?
But whatever, let him talk. Once her new ID came through, her mom would help her update her school records.
With her mind buzzing with novel ideas, the morning classes flew by.
As she stretched and sat up, she suddenly spotted a girl rushing over from afar, throwing a pink envelope her way, which landed right on her lap.
She froze for a moment, thinking it was a love letter meant for her.
However, upon picking it up, she realized… it was for Wen Yang.
“Wen Yang.” Ning Chu’s face fell as she handed the envelope to him.
She felt a bit strange; even though she already had a boyfriend, the thought of another girl having a crush on her still made her happy.
“What’s that?”
“Love letter~”
“Huh…” Wen Yang cautiously glanced at Ning Chu, and upon seeing her nod, he opened the envelope. “Who’s it from? No name?”
“Chen Xue.”
Ning Chu remembered that girl; they had a bit of history.
But after thinking for a while, Wen Yang shook his head in confusion. “Who? I think I heard that name during roll call.”
He knew there was someone with that name in class but couldn’t connect a face to it.
“That girl who brought you sour plum soup during military training.”
“Oh, her…”
The others had no plans to leave, so Ning Chu, Yan Xinya, Zhang Shaoqing, and Wang Jie surrounded Wen Yang, all eyes filled with gossip, craning their necks to sneak peeks at the love letter.
Only Lily maintained her cool demeanor, arms crossed, standing off to the side, but her frequent glances at Wen Yang betrayed her curiosity.
“Oh wow~ Little Yang Yang~” Zhang Shaoqing, the troublemaker, stirred the pot, “How cheesy, huh? Little Yang Yang?”
“Look at the heart doodle~ Hey! There are chocolates in the envelope too!”
Wen Yang remained expressionless, flipping through the letter quickly before shoving it into his jacket pocket.
“I barely got through a few lines.”
“No need to share with you guys. Ning Chu, let’s head to the cafeteria.”
“Sure.”
He cast a nervous glance toward Ning Chu, only to realize this vinegar jar was unusually calm today.
Was it because she didn’t see Chen Xue as a rival?
The two stepped out of the classroom, and Ning Chu turned her head to Zhang Shaoqing, inching closer to ask, “What do you plan to do about it?”
“Pretend I didn’t receive it?”
“That’s one way to go…”
If Ning Chu were still a guy, he would go for the cold treatment.
But now, her thinking had shifted toward a girl’s perspective. Frowning slightly, she suggested, “Find a chance to set things straight with her.”
“She’s had a crush on you for months; if you just leave it like this, she might keep pining over you.”
Unlike those cliché side character girls who’d usually give up if the plot didn’t unfold in their favor—sure, there are exceptions, but not many—Chen Xue was just a regular girl. If left unattended, she might just moon over Wen Yang until graduation.
“Well… I guess that could work.”
Wen Yang was rather skilled at turning down girls.
But he curiously asked, “Why didn’t you get jealous this time?”
“When did I ever get jealous?”
Wen Yang nodded, a smile dancing in his eyes.
But when they kissed, Ning Chu’s lips weren’t this hard!
