341. Dinner Time
As five o’clock approached, Ning Chu, who had been glued to the computer in her bedroom, made her way to the living room to wait.
She curled up her legs on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, and distractedly played on her mobile phone.
The weather was getting colder.
Without heating, even hiding at home meant her cheeks were reddened by the chill; her feet, despite being snug in cotton socks, remained perpetually icy.
Her ears and toes were already flushed and frostbitten, so swollen they resembled carrots.
Just then, Uncle entered the living room, carrying a slightly old electric heater. He plugged it in and set the heater down on the coffee table.
As the electric heater gradually glowed red, radiating warmth, Uncle sat beside it, placing a small kettle on top, and pulled out tea leaves and small teacups from beneath the table.
“Want some tea?” he asked.
Ning Chu, who had barely exchanged a word with Uncle before, suddenly felt a bit awkward.
“No, thanks.”
“Why not crawl back under the covers to warm up?” Uncle gazed at the heater, waiting for the kettle to boil.
“I can’t lie down.”
Ning Chu’s gaze drifted to the front door. Yesterday, Wen Yang had arrived at this time, but today he might be delayed for some reason.
She then looked at her mother in the kitchen, who was happily humming a tune while wiping down the countertop, her phone blasting a Douyin live stream.
Whenever Uncle was home, her mother’s mood visibly brightened.
And Black Bean… that cat, after finishing tutoring homework, was now fully focused on the workbooks Wen Yang bought. By now, Ning Chu owed her nearly ten meals.
Thank goodness Black Bean only had one mouth.
She vaguely heard the sound of the elevator door opening in the hallway.
Ning Chu couldn’t wait; she jumped up and dashed to the door just in time to hear a knock.
She slowed her movements a bit, her eager expression waning as she paused for a second behind the door, then nonchalantly opened it.
“Wen Yang~” her voice climbed a little higher at the end.
Upon seeing Little Succubus, Wen Yang’s face lit up with a gentle smile.
“I saw a roujiamo by the roadside and bought you one.” He took off his shoes while pulling the roujiamo from his coat pocket and handed it over, “The meat looked plentiful, and there were a bunch of people in line, so it should taste pretty good.”
“What about Black Bean’s?”
“She… forgot.”
As Ning Chu stepped aside, Wen Yang noticed Uncle sitting at the coffee table.
His smile momentarily faltered as he leaned into Ning Chu’s ear and asked quietly, “Who’s that?”
“My mom’s boyfriend.”
“Figures…”
Just when he got a nod of approval from his future mother-in-law, another future father-in-law popped up?
“It’s fine, he doesn’t really control me. It’s similar to your situation~ I’ve only seen him twice too.”
Wen Yang and Uncle both needed to try to fit into Ning Chu’s family, aiming not to be disliked or shunned.
Maybe they’d even have something in common?
“Is that so…”
Uncle turned to look and nodded at Wen Yang with a smile.
Though his face appeared imposing—kind of like a stern principal—he actually had a pretty friendly demeanor.
“Wen Yang’s here too?” her mother announced as she exited the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Go sit by the heater. Dinner will be ready in an hour.”
“Eh, you come help in the kitchen, don’t brew tea anymore,” Uncle said reluctantly, glancing back at the coffee table with longing as he shuffled into the kitchen.
“Uncle is totally under my mom’s thumb~” Ning Chu pulled Wen Yang down to sit on the sofa and leaned in to spill some gossip about her mom and Uncle: “I heard they started flirting back in middle school and have kept it under wraps all this time! My brother and I just met him a few days ago.”
“I also heard it was an online romance! Back in middle school, she wouldn’t let me on the computer, but look at her now, tangled up in a web romance!”
“Black Bean met him before I did; that little traitor already calls him ‘Dad’ just for a snack!”
“By the way, I owe Black Bean almost ten meals now, you need to fend for yourself! That cat is about to finish a whole workbook!”
Little Succubus was unusually talkative, flapping her lips like a sparrow, her eyes sparkling with mischief, leaving Wen Yang no room to interject.
Sitting on the sofa, Wen Yang watched as Ning Chu excitedly rambled, unconsciously inching closer. In a matter of moments, her soft form was practically pressed against his arm, almost in his lap.
He could feel his body stirring slightly, quickly adopting a serious expression to create some distance: “Not good if Aunt sees.”
“Ah? Oh~”
Ning Chu paused, taking a bite of the roujiamo, emitting a cute, satisfied sound. Then, she devoured the sandwich as if her life depended on it, leaving no trace behind.
“You didn’t leave any for me.”
“There are some meat scraps left in the bag~” Ning Chu cheerfully handed over the bag. “Tomorrow I’m going to Lily’s house to hang out, and I’ll be back in two or three days.”
“Make sure to come over for dinner these next couple of days. My mom will leave you some utensils and help Black Bean with her homework~”
“By the way, remember to come over for New Year’s Eve! We should have a break that night, right?”
Wen Yang nodded: “Yeah, I should have the early shift; it won’t affect anything.”
“Great~”
Ning Chu leaned back on the sofa, stretched lazily, then glanced around and complained, “My underwear feels a bit small again; it’s all your fault.”
It’s said a good, enjoyable intimate life promotes estrogen production, and considering she’s a succubus, her development had never been quite on point…
Two times already, and she was showing signs of moving toward a C cup!
In a few years, wouldn’t she turn into one of those exaggerated anime characters with super-sized DEF cups?!
“Bigger is better; it’s no big deal.”
“Of course, it’s no big deal for you~ You’re probably all giddy about it, you pervert!”
Wen Yang didn’t get why men who liked bigger br*asts were considered perverts, but he couldn’t risk being overheard by his future mother-in-law, so he quickly changed the subject instead.
He turned back to Ning Chu and shared a funny incident from work today: “I ran into a food blogger today, and while I was by the booth door, I heard him complain about how terrible the food was, which freaked out the manager so much he immediately offered a discount…”
“Who was it? How many followers?”
“I searched, a few thousand small-time followers.”
“Will they film you? What’s their name? I’ll follow them!”
Wen Yang actually wanted to ask Ning Chu how she always seemed to know about unexpected situations beforehand, like it was written in one of her stories…
But every time the subject of her novels or Little Emperor Wen came up, Ning Chu always blushes and tried to dodge the topic.
Wen Yang thought to himself, if discussing those topics made her embarrassed, then maybe bringing it up in an even more embarrassing context would work better…
“Dinner’s ready!”
Her mother’s voice called out from the dining area. She quickly glanced at the two on the sofa and, seeing them not engaged in any overly intimate activity, let out a sigh of relief: “I’ll go call Ning Xin.”
“Got it!”
