490. Departure
Camping
Ning Chu couldn’t quite understand why, after becoming a girl, her ability to control her emotions had plummeted compared to before.
Back in the day, if something like this happened, she would have been more inclined to bury everything deep inside rather than wear it on her face, and certainly wouldn’t complain to friends.
She was like that when she first got to this world, sulking alone in her corner, avoiding things as much as she could. If that didn’t work, she’d just grit her teeth and bear it, even if the outcome was something she didn’t want to see.
It wasn’t just the physiological differences at play…
Sitting on the sofa, her gaze wandered over the chaotic game battle scenes on the big projection screen, but her peripheral vision quietly landed on Wen Yang.
Was it because of Wen Yang?
She wasn’t the type to enjoy being alone or to shy away from having a friend to confide in; she simply hadn’t met him yet.
Suddenly, Wen Yang, who was sitting next to Zhang Shaoqing, stood up and moved to sit beside Ning Chu.
He didn’t attempt to comfort her or discuss her issues; he just quietly sat next to her, watching the chaotic game scenes.
Ning Chu lowered her gaze, pressed her lips together, and rested her head on his broad shoulder. She gently closed her eyes, feeling a never-ending stream of warm safety flowing from Wen Yang into her heart, filling her chest and dispersing the cold anxiety.
After spending so much time together, Wen Yang understood her nature.
He just needed to be there for her silently.
“I’ll go back tomorrow,” Ning Chu finally spoke up after a long silence. “My mom wants me to come back and keep her company.”
“Mm.”
“Come with me.”
Wen Yang nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “Of course.”
“You’d better behave well this time; aim to have my mom see you as her future son-in-law!”
Feeling the heavy weight on his shoulders, he nodded seriously: “Don’t worry.”
“That guy is probably some old dog—close to fifty, if I calculate right. If he causes any trouble, toss him out! I want to see what he thinks he can do when he suddenly comes back!”
But it seemed like her father had also been dealing with a succubus for years, so maybe he was quite capable… just drained after all these years.
It’s still better to have a main character like the Little Emperor at home!
“Just do as you say—if he causes trouble, break his legs and toss him out!”
Wen Yang chimed in with Ning Chu.
“Right! Break his legs!”
Ning Chu clenched her little fists, swinging them in the air enthusiastically.
Who cares what he’s come back for! As long as he makes her unhappy or upsets her mother, Wen Yang would handle it!
Standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, he might not be as massive as a bear, but in the South, no one would dare to provoke him lightly!
Ning Chu paused, lowered her head, and reached out to lift Wen Yang’s shirt.
Seeing her suddenly bringing her face close to his abdomen, her warm breath grazing his skin, Wen Yang looked a bit flustered and glanced nervously at the others nearby: “What are you doing?”
“Hmm… you’ve got a little belly there! What if you can’t handle a fight?”
“Not a chance.”
He quickly sat up straighter, took a deep breath, and tightened his stomach, making the little bit of extra flesh disappear without a trace—barely a hint of abs remained.
“Not good… Tomorrow, I’ll check properly; let’s skip it tonight.”
Ning Chu blushed and mumbled as she let go of Wen Yang’s shirt.
Wow~ Those abs are drool-worthy! Slurp~ Can’t let any other girls see them!
While some girls need to hit the gym daily to maintain a body like Wen Yang’s, he only needed her to have a bright idea back in the Little Emperor story to score a lively, well-built boyfriend!
“Seriously! d*mn, this is hard!” Zhang Shaoqing’s character died again, and he turned around cursing, “Stop showing off and come help me beat this BOSS!”
Wen Yang glanced at Ning Chu, saw her nod, and stood up: “Why are you so bad?”
“This game is toxic! How does my performance relate to your skills?!”
“It just does, don’t try to argue.”
Ning Chu chimed in with him.
“d*mn it, only Qian Qian is playing Mahjong over there!”
“Ning Chu! Want to play Mahjong? Come here and I’ll teach you!”
As soon as Qian Qian was mentioned, she lifted her head from the other end of the living room, summoning Ning Chu.
In the middle between the sofa and the open kitchen, a group of girls was nearly bringing Qian Qian to tears at the Mahjong table.
She had no idea why her luck was so terrible.
“I’m not really good at it…”
Though Ning Chu could play Japanese Mahjong online and sometimes cause a flood of bl**d, she hardly had any real-world practice.
“Come on! I’ll teach you; if you lose, it’s on me.”
“Okay…”
Seeing Wen Yang focused on the game, Ning Chu got up and walked toward the Mahjong table.
As she arrived at the table, Qian Qian enthusiastically pressed her hand on Ning Chu’s shoulder and plopped down in a chair.
“Here, I’ll teach you~ Just follow Lily and draw your tiles…”
Qian Qian eagerly explained the rules, her face taking on a strange expression as she glanced at the other three at the table and asked, “How much did Qian Qian lose this time? Wasn’t it over a hundred yesterday?”
“Seventy-something?” Yan Xinya smiled sweetly as she mocked, “She’s been so unlucky, hardly winning any rounds~”
Qian Qian sighed: “I didn’t want to beat her up; I didn’t want her to deduct points from me during finals.”
“…”
Thank goodness they were playing with small stakes; otherwise, Zhang Shaoqing’s living expenses would be in jeopardy.
While the others were excited playing Mahjong, shouting joyfully when winning, only Lily stayed calm, her eyes showing a hint of excitement.
Since she lacked practical experience, Ning Chu struggled while drawing and discarding tiles; her hands felt uncoordinated as if the CPU were overheating. With Qian Qian’s reminders, she finally managed to organize her tiles.
But the others had already played a round, making her wait for nearly a minute.
During Mahjong, they had time to chat about topics ranging from cosmetics to TV dramas, then from romance novels to handsome guys.
Ning Chu, however, didn’t participate in the discussions. Without prompts flashing on a computer screen, everything relied on her own brainpower, making her feel overwhelmed as she stared at her tiles, confused.
“Hey? I won!”
Suddenly, Qian Qian shouted excitedly, flipping Ning Chu’s tiles over.
“Ning Chu’s luck is great~”
“Uh?” Ning Chu looked up dazedly.
She stared blankly as her tiles got pushed to the center of the table, suddenly realizing things were getting a bit too cozy for her.
“By the way, when are we heading to the beach?”
“Four o’clock?”
She pointed at the digital clock on the wall of the living room: “It’s already four-thirty.”
Yan Xinya froze, turned to check the time, and leaped up suddenly: “Stop playing! We need to go camping at the beach! It’s almost dark!”
“How did time fly by so fast~”
Lily nodded in agreement: “Yeah…”
Ning Chu sighed with relief, glad to escape the nightmare of Mahjong.
“Let’s take the Mahjong set with us!” Someone casually threw out the idea.
“???”
While people were playing beach volleyball, you all want to play Mahjong on the beach?
