354. Social d*ath
“Let’s have dinner before we leave, shall we? Are you in such a hurry?”
Auntie’s face had a somewhat stern look, but her voice was unexpectedly gentle as she cheerfully prepared dinner in the kitchen.
“No thanks, we’ve got our tickets already.”
Yan Xinya was itching to leave. She glanced at her uncle standing by the liquor cabinet, his expression full of sympathy, and felt an extra bit of tension in her heart.
The liquor cabinet had been half-empty, and two of those bottles were thanks to her efforts, while the rest had been drained by Lily.
I wonder if she’ll ask me to pay for those…
“With a five o’clock train, we need to leave shortly after four,” Ning Chu noted as she checked the time. They had about ten minutes before they needed to head out; otherwise, they might miss the train.
Their luggage was already packed, sitting ready by the elevator entrance, any moment they could grab their bags and bolt.
“Well, that’s fine. Just be careful on the way,” Auntie waved them off.
However, before she could finish her sentence, Lily sprinted out from her bedroom, her expression completely blank as she quickly caught up to the two and yanked them towards her room.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
“If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss our train!”
The two stumbled into her room, and Lily shut the door with a serious face, stepping sideways to block it.
Her expression cold, she looked at her two friends, “In such a hurry to leave?”
“Isn’t it because your parents are coming back? It’ll be pretty awkward living with them,” Yan Xinya randomly made up an excuse.
Ning Chu added her two cents: “Wen Yang wants me back; he said he misses me.”
“…”
Lily’s eyes narrowed as she scrutinized them, her cold expression finally cracking.
She lowered her head, her face drooping, and muttered, “It’s all your fault for getting into trouble and leaving me to run.”
It was Yan Xinya who suggested drinking; Lily was just tasked with grilling the meat, but she ended up being coaxed into downing more than a few shots. Now, the obedient daughter in the eyes of her parents had completely ruined her image by getting utterly wasted.
The toy was Ning Chu’s, but it ended up on the bedside table where her mother discovered it, leading her mom to mistakenly think it was Lily’s… Though Lily had her own naughty side, at least she had once hidden it well.
“Relax~ You’ve secretly drunk quite a bit yourself; Uncle will find out sooner or later when he gets back~” Yan Xinya consoled.
Ning Chu quickly added, “Don’t worry, you’re a succubus! Last semester there was a succubus organization at our school that got detained; you were just having fun on the side, without even a boyfriend… You’re already pretty pure, right?”
Lily couldn’t tell if they were comforting her or dissing her.
“I can’t even face them anymore…” she murmured, sounding small and pitiful.
Ning Chu suggested, “It’s not even New Year yet~ Why don’t you hide out at Xinya’s place for a couple of days? Things will cool off by then.”
“My house is super far away~”
“Then how about you come to my house?” she said with a frown, “My room might be small, but the bed’s big enough for three.”
“Three?”
“With my little sister, the catgirl who went to class with me before.”
“Oh~ that little cutie~”
Even though escaping was tempting, Lily shook her head. “Forget it, it’s almost New Year.”
Mainly because her parents would never let her go out at this time.
Having just been caught in the act of letting loose, there was no way they’d let her out of their sight.
“Are you going to be okay?” Ning Chu asked worriedly, “What if when we leave, you get punished…”
“That won’t happen, my parents spoil me a lot.”
“Oh~ so it’s just social d*ath.” She sighed in relief. “I know this one—just endure it and it will pass.”
Since coming to this world, her sense of shame had been run over by the wheels of life countless times, and she was almost accustomed to it—though her threshold for embarrassment kept lowering.
“…” Lily shot a glare at her.
“Lily doesn’t have skin as thick as yours~”
“Since when do I have thick skin?”
People’s joys and sorrows don’t connect; while Lily fretted over how to face her parents, Yan Xinya and Ning Chu bickered and joked.
After a bit of noise, Yan Xinya finally proposed a reasonable solution: “How about we just clear things up with Auntie?”
“I was the one who suggested drinking; it was actually Lily that I coaxed into getting drunk~ It’s something we could clear up in a sentence.”
Lily nodded eagerly then glanced at the wolf girl, both of them turning their gaze to Ning Chu.
Ning Chu froze for a moment, instinctively taking a couple of steps back while the pink creeping across her face quickly reached her ears.
No! You can definitely explain! But how am I supposed to say this?!
To Lily’s mom: “That toy was one I bought when I was being… curious, it’s got nothing to do with Lily?”
Absolutely not! Even if I never see Auntie again afterward, I can’t bring myself to say something like that!
Her eyes widened as she stammered, “I—I was a victim too! Lily forced it onto me…”
If it weren’t for Lily rushing to introduce it to her, she wouldn’t have been caught!
Seeing her face flush crimson, Lily turned her head to stifle her laughter, but then quickly realized her situation was just as bad, and her amusement faded.
“Our train might really leave without us,” Yan Xinya reminded.
Lily waved her hand, reluctantly stepping away from the door.
Even if her parents discovered her wild side, she could only hope their emotional intelligence was enough to let it slide, pretending nothing had happened.
As she watched her friends leave, Lily turned her gaze to the big box on her bedside. Swiftly, she sanitized it, cleaned it, and hid it away.
She’d bring it back for Ning Chu when school started again.
By that time, Ning Chu would undoubtedly have that mixed look of embarrassment and excitement, wanting to welcome but also push away~
A gentle knock came at the door.
“Your friends are gone; aren’t you going to see them off?”
Lily immediately sat up on her bed, “Nope, I’m good.”
The door swung open, and her mother walked in, casually closing the door behind her.
“Mom, what’s up?”
In front of family, Lily didn’t act all quiet; she could manage a smile or two.
But her hands unconsciously clutched her long dress, and her heart raced uncontrollably.
“Why did you buy that kind of stuff?”
I’m a succubus!
Lily instinctively replied in her mind, but her upbringing made her feel especially embarrassed about anything s*xual. Aside from online and with her friends, she always put on a reserved, introverted facade.
Her face flushed a deep red, and her toes curled tightly against the floor. Breathing hastily, she almost whispered, “I… I saw it online and got curious, so I bought one…”
That was true; during her first purchase, it was borne out of pure curiosity.
Though, she currently had about twenty-some toys of various shapes and sizes, all locked away in a cabinet.
“…”
A faint sigh was heard, and when Lily looked up again, there was no one else in the bedroom.
Did I get away with it?
