Chapter 18: Social Anxiety
Why did Wen Yang suddenly get the idea to give her a gift?
And women's clothing, no less...
Ning Chu stared at the outfit resting on her lap and let out a deep sigh.
Although she knew that avoiding women's clothing in the future would be impossible—she had even tried on a maid outfit once—she had always envisioned herself as a cool and dashing tomboy, not a soft girl in a short skirt.
“Here.” She shoved the clothes and accessories into Yan Xinya’s arms all at once. “They’re yours. No need to thank me.”
“Just let me know when you want to wear them~” Yan Xinya said with a mischievous grin, hugging the clothes. “Aren’t you going to try them on first? What if they don’t fit?”
“No need.”
Why can’t this wolf-girl be more like Lily? After all, she’s the vice class president! Why is she always stirring up trouble? Look at Lily—quietly reading her book, shy and introverted, behaving so well...
Feeling utterly helpless, Ning Chu leaned back on the bench, her gaze drifting to Wen Yang, who was jogging on the track.
The sports meet was on Wednesday, and some students who had signed up were doing last-minute training.
She was thinking about telling Wen Yang to take it easy during the meet. He shouldn’t stand out too much and attract attention from all the girls on campus.
If the school’s female characters started swarming around him, it wouldn’t be long before they turned her completely into a succubus.
“By the way, Xinya, didn’t you sign up for the 100-meter dash? Aren’t you going to practice?”
“I’m just about to!”
The wolf-girl tossed her empty milk tea cup into the trash can, then tiptoed lightly toward the track.
With one person gone, the bench felt much more spacious. Ning Chu yawned, but her eyes couldn’t help drifting back to the outfit on the bench.
She was a little curious about how she would look in it.
Would she look... pretty?
“Wanna try it on?”
Startled, Ning Chu looked up to meet Lily’s pale red eyes and quickly shook her head.
Lily tilted her head in confusion, sensing Ning Chu’s resistance to the idea of wearing women’s clothing.
After a slight pause, Lily subtly scooted closer to Ning Chu, then lowered her head and pulled out her phone.
A moment later, Ning Chu’s phone vibrated, and she glanced at it, slightly puzzled.
She opened the messaging app and saw a text from Lily.
"We’re sitting right next to each other; can’t we just talk? Are you really that socially anxious?" Ning Chu thought, smiling wryly.
"......"
Seeing that Lily remained silent, Ning Chu decided to open the message.
"Did you choose the toy you want yet?"
"I think you should start with something small, like this."
Ning Chu was left speechless.
She bit her lip, glancing at Lily's expressionless face, then back at the bold suggestion in the message.
Lily, you secret pervert!
"It’s less intense and more discreet. You can use it in bed without anyone noticing."
Is she giving me advice from personal experience?
Although Ning Chu was a bit of a pervert herself, she had never discussed such topics face-to-face. Her face quickly flushed with embarrassment as she nervously checked her surroundings to make sure no one could see her phone screen.
"I think I’ll pass..." she replied, attaching a "cat facepalm" emoji to lighten the mood.
She had to admit, chatting online did lower the embarrassment factor significantly.
"If you’re using your hands, make sure to trim your nails smoothly, so you don’t hurt yourself."
Ning Chu’s already rosy complexion deepened into a bright red, and she started to squirm uncomfortably in her seat. “......”
"Don’t be shy~ Look at you blushing~ This is basic succubus training!"
You’ve got some nerve saying that!
If you weren’t so shy yourself, you wouldn’t be using your phone to chat while sitting right next to me!
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Ning Chu shot a frustrated glare at Lily’s stoic face.
"Why did you only start developing after coming to college? And your chest is still so small and cute."
"I’d like to know that too."
"Let me see how much you’ve developed!"
Is she just a pervert, or is she possessed?
Ning Chu sighed deeply, feeling utterly defeated. “It’s about halfway through the heart.”
Previously, it had only been a half-moon shape, but after disrupting the plot again at noon, the pattern on her lower abdomen had clearly formed into half of a heart shape.
"That’s just the beginning. It might take another year or two? No wonder it’s still so small. I was better developed than you when I was thirteen!"
For Ning Chu, it might only take a few more instances of disrupting the plot.
Lily’s online persona was overwhelming, and Ning Chu could barely keep up. What made it worse was that Lily seemed to completely separate her online and offline personas.
Online, she was all about naughty talk, but in real life, she wore conservative sweaters and long pants, maintaining the icy goddess image she was known for.
Ning Chu, on the other hand, couldn’t keep up that kind of duality.
Frustrated, she quickly typed back, "If you love toys so much, why don’t you just find a guy?"
"Men are dirty and smelly."
"Then don’t tell me you’re planning to lose your virginity to a toy?"
"Exactly!"
Her confidence in this declaration was almost too much to handle...
Ning Chu decided to put her phone down and turned to face Lily. “I’m tired of typing. Let’s just talk.”
“Come on, keep chatting~” She leaned in closer, teasingly. “I saw that site you mentioned. Got any recommendations for novels?”
“No.”
Lily lowered her head, and Ning Chu noticed the quick blush spreading across her otherwise expressionless face.
“Aren’t you chatty online?”
Seeing that Lily remained silent, Ning Chu rolled her eyes. “Are you really this socially anxious?”
Online, she was a social butterfly, but in real life, she was a social hermit.
"Ning Chu! Time to line up! Class is about to end!"
From across the field, Wen Yang called out, waving to her.
“Coming!” Ning Chu quickly shoved the women’s clothing into Lily’s arms. “Give this to Xinya for me.”
“Mm.”
The two of them jogged over to the field where the P.E. teacher had already started roll call.
This was to make sure no students had snuck back to the dorms during free time.
"Ning Chu."
"Here!"
Ning Chu hurriedly caught up with Wen Yang. "Are we going to the cafeteria or taking food back to the dorm?"
"I think I’ll practice some more. I don’t want to embarrass myself at the sports meet."
True, standing out too much or embarrassing yourself were both bad options for the sports meet—either could significantly raise Wen Yang’s profile.
Ning Chu stood on tiptoe and whispered to Wen Yang, "During the sports meet, don’t aim for the top three. Just do well enough not to stand out."
"Why?" Wen Yang was puzzled. "The counselor said there’s a hundred-yuan prize for first place."
"Don’t just think about the money!"
"But winning for the class would be great too."
"......"
Ning Chu tried to explain, "It’s not about the honor or the money. If you place in the top three, a lot of people at school will start noticing you."
"There’ll be announcements, maybe even a ceremony, and then all those bad women will start targeting you."
Wen Yang shrugged nonchalantly. "Let them. I don’t have much money on me anyway."
Most of his weekend tutoring earnings had gone to buying Ning Chu’s clothes, leaving him just enough for food until next month.
"......"
"Or are you just jealous?" Wen Yang suddenly turned the tables, looking down at Ning Chu.
Ning Chu rolled her eyes. "Why would I be jealous of you?"
"Then it doesn’t matter."
Why doesn’t this guy listen to reason!