Chapter 32: The Protagonist
Although Wen Yang’s confession had failed, it felt like a dream. When the next day arrived, everything was back to how it used to be.
The little jealous pot, Ning Chu, was still circling around him, keeping a close eye on any girl who dared approach. She even made sure to order him extra meat at meals and reminded him early in the morning to reapply the medicine on his wounds.
Wen Yang sat on the edge of a flower bed near the sports field, watching the bustling activity of the ongoing sports event. His eyes, however, kept drifting back to Ning Chu.
Ning Chu stood not too far away, her hands on her hips, scanning the pretty girls around her with suspicion. She looked just like a vigilant meerkat standing on its hind legs, on guard against danger.
"This is boring. I want to head back to the dorm," Ning Chu said as she turned to Wen Yang, running over to him as usual. “Wanna duo back at the dorm?”
"..."
“Tsk, you’re so distant now.”
Wen Yang snapped out of his thoughts. “I’m going to the library to study.”
“The library again? I hate reading... books give me headaches.”
“You can head back first,” he suggested calmly. “Don’t worry, I won’t talk to any girls.”
Ning Chu hesitated. “Are you sure your foot is okay? Can you manage on your own?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Well, okay then...”
After all, they had already been to the library several times, and nothing bad had ever happened there. Plus, Zhang Shaoqing and Wang Jie were back at the dorm, so it wasn’t like anything dangerous would happen without her.
Given Wen Yang’s current mood, it was probably best to let him be alone for a while.
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Although Ning Chu convinced herself of this, she couldn’t help but glance back at Wen Yang’s retreating figure every few steps, feeling uneasy. It wasn’t until he completely disappeared from her sight that she hurried toward the dormitory.
Back at the dorm, she pushed the door open and glanced inside.
“Shaoqing!”
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be watching the sports event? Why are you back already?”
Zhang Shaoqing turned around, only to see Ning Chu alone. “Wow, it’s rare to see you two apart!”
“He went to the library.”
“Ah, that explains it.”
Ning Chu pulled a chair over and sat down next to Zhang Shaoqing. “Tell me, what did Wen Yang say to you guys last night?”
“You didn’t seem to care last night, and now you’re asking me?”
“Come on, just tell me!”
Zhang Shaoqing glanced at her and shrugged. “He just said he wasn’t good enough for the girl he liked, so it was normal to get rejected.”
“What?”
Ning Chu had never thought about it that way.
A male protagonist in a smut novel, thinking he’s not good enough? For her?
She couldn’t understand why Wen Yang would think he wasn’t good enough for her. It wasn’t that she found anything wrong with him—she simply couldn’t accept the idea of dating a guy. Her feelings for Wen Yang were more like an author’s protective care for a character than any romantic affection.
“Wen Yang’s family is poor. It’s normal for him to feel insecure.” Zhang Shaoqing clicked away at his mouse as he explained. “You know his parents are both gone, and he barely gets 400 or 500 yuan a month to live on. Who wouldn’t feel inferior in that situation?”
“But...”
Ning Chu had never seen Wen Yang that way. To her, he just seemed a bit shy, that’s all.
“He’s so handsome, how could he be insecure?”
“What does being handsome have to do with anything?” Zhang Shaoqing finally took the chance to poke fun at Wen Yang’s good looks. “Sure, he’s handsome, and he’s got a bunch of fangirls lining up from the dorm to the school gate. But what good is that if the girl he likes doesn’t like him back? It’s like me—yeah, I’m a rich second generation, but—”
He suddenly stopped, realizing something, and cursed under his breath, “Why am I talking about myself? Damn it!”
Ning Chu propped her chin up with her hands, resting on her thighs. It wasn’t that she was slow to catch on, but Wen Yang had rarely shown signs of insecurity around her.
In fact, he was always warm, gentle, and enthusiastic. Sure, he got a little shy around girls, but in every other way, he seemed like the kind of male lead who hadn’t yet become the arrogant jerk typical of such novels.
So was yesterday’s Wen Yang his true self?
She bit her lip, deep in thought, and stood up to leave.
This was how it should be, right? After all, this was the world of a smut novel—her novel. But in reality, people aren’t as one-dimensional as characters in books.
She had long since started to see this as a real world and all her friends as living, breathing people.
But she couldn’t help herself from still viewing them through the lens of the stereotypes she had written.
Ning Chu turned to look at the wardrobe. The more difficult a problem seemed, the more she wanted to run away.
Pack up her suitcase, leave this place, and end everything.
But Wen Yang...
She just couldn’t let go of her protagonist, especially now that she knew about his deep-seated insecurities.
As his friend, his roommate, and his creator, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon him.
“Stop pacing around like that,” Zhang Shaoqing said, turning to look at Ning Chu, who had been wandering back and forth in the dorm room. He rolled his eyes. “You’re getting in my way.”
“Oh.”
Ning Chu obediently sat down, propping her chin on her hands again, staring at the computer screen.
“Ning Chu! Who’s the girl Wen Yang confessed to? Shouldn’t we, as his roommates, help him out? Maybe play wingmen?”
“Yeah, what does she look like? Which class is she in? Is it really the class vice president?” Wang Jie turned around, curious.
Ning Chu glanced at the two, both of them brimming with curiosity. “Don’t... don’t get involved.”
“What? It’s perfectly reasonable for us to help Wen Yang out!”
“You’re just bored and looking for something to do!”
Irritated, she waved them off. “Don’t bother me.”
She slumped over the desk, her mind once again filled with worries about Wen Yang.
What if some girl took advantage of his vulnerable state? Wen Yang must be feeling really down after getting rejected, but there’s no way she could accept...
“Don’t worry too much. Guys are used to a few breakups.” Zhang Shaoqing leaned against the wardrobe, looking at the worried expression on Ning Chu’s face. “You didn’t seem to care yesterday, and now you’re overthinking it.”
Wen Yang had said something similar to her.
Ning Chu pressed her lips together and nodded. “True, but he’s not like you.”
After all, if Wen Yang crumbled after just one rejection, he wouldn’t be much of a protagonist!
“What the hell does that mean, ‘not like me’?!”
Though, deep down, Zhang Shaoqing was the type to spiral into darkness after one setback... No, wait, this was real life, not a novel.
Ning Chu suddenly realized what she was thinking and shook her head hard, trying to shake off the stereotypes she’d placed on Zhang Shaoqing. “Sorry.”
Zhang Shaoqing was even more offended now, as if he’d been insulted. “Sorry for what?!”
"..."
In a huff, he stormed off, grumbling under his breath, “Damn it, I bet Ning Chu doesn’t even consider me a friend!”
Jeez, this guy’s so hard to deal with!
Ning Chu watched Zhang Shaoqing leave, her expression conflicted. She let out a sigh, then quickly got up to leave too.
“Where are you going?”
“To the library to study!”
And maybe give Wen Yang some encouragement and confidence while she’s at it!
That insecure side of him was too heartbreaking to bear...
After all, Wen Yang was her protagonist! Even if he occasionally faltered, he had to stand back up and keep moving forward!
But then Ning Chu realized... this kind of thinking might just be encouraging Wen Yang to confess to her again...