Chapter 48: Preparing for Wen Yang’s Departure
For some reason, Wen Yang felt that Ning Chu’s attitude toward him had softened a little.
It seemed... gentler?
He was supposed to be paying attention in class, taking notes and focusing on the lecture, but he couldn’t help glancing at Ning Chu from time to time.
Ning Chu, as usual, was slouched over her desk, looking utterly unmotivated about the class. She occasionally yawned, but when she noticed his gaze, her cheeks flushed noticeably, and she quickly avoided eye contact, looking timid, almost like a shy kitten who had just arrived in a new home.
But then she leaned over, asking in a small voice, “When are you taking time off?”
“Thursday and Friday. I’ll be gone for four days.”
“Four days?!” Her voice rose in surprise.
“Hm?”
“N-nothing.”
Ning Chu slumped back over her desk, her heart tightening painfully at the thought of Wen Yang being gone for four whole days.
He was going to visit his uncle, who was having surgery. It was a perfectly reasonable excuse, so she couldn’t argue against it.
But she’d never been apart from Wen Yang for that long...
What if some bad woman seduced him while he was away and led him astray?
What if she ran into a pervert while Wen Yang was gone and couldn’t defend herself?
What if...?
Her jumbled thoughts suddenly stopped, and Yan Xinya’s words from the weekend echoed in her mind.
Stop lying to yourself~
Maybe she simply didn’t want Wen Yang to leave her side. It wasn’t that complicated.
Ning Chu lowered her eyes, feeling anxious, and stole a glance at Wen Yang.
Their eyes met, and the possessiveness in Wen Yang’s gentle gaze startled her, causing her to quickly shift her attention to her phone.
“Who are you chatting with?” Wen Yang asked, noticing the app on her screen.
“No one important.”
“Hm?”
“Just some weirdo who added me and said they liked me.” Ning Chu paused, glancing at Wen Yang’s expression, which was starting to crack. “I was just messing with him, talking for fun.”
She wanted to ask the weirdo what exactly there was to like about her—maybe she could change it.
“Delete him,” Wen Yang said, his tone not harsh but firm enough.
Ning Chu obediently deleted the contact. “Okay.”
Unable to hold back, she leaned closer to Wen Yang and quietly asked, “How about I come with you?”
Normally, if a guy brought a girl to visit a relative in the hospital, people would assume they were a couple. Even if that wasn’t the case, the relatives would certainly think so.
Afraid of being misunderstood, Ning Chu hurriedly explained, “I could help you out while you’re there. You could visit your uncle, and I’d treat it like a vacation.”
Seeing Wen Yang didn’t respond right away, Ning Chu mumbled, “Is that not okay?”
“The problem is, what would you use as an excuse to take time off? That new advisor is a nightmare.”
“True...”
Ning Chu sighed, trying to think of a reasonable excuse for taking time off.
The new advisor was notoriously strict about approving leave, much to the students’ frustration, and had earned the nickname “Old Witch.”
Wen Yang, on the other hand, had managed to get two days off thanks to his protagonist aura—and his good looks.
Sighing in frustration, Ning Chu couldn’t hide her feelings as well as Lily could. Despite trying not to appear clingy, she found herself staring at Wen Yang.
“How about... you don’t go?”
Wen Yang looked down at her, her face full of hope, her eyes pleading like a kitten about to be abandoned.
He almost agreed on the spot.
But he shook his head. “I can’t skip my uncle’s surgery. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve dropped out of middle school and started working after my parents passed away. Most of my living expenses still come from him.”
“...”
Seeing the light fade from Ning Chu’s eyes as she lowered her head in disappointment, Wen Yang had to steel himself. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be back in just four days.”
“Okay...”
It felt like he was comforting a heartbroken girlfriend.
Wen Yang sighed helplessly, suddenly realizing that Ning Chu was being much more straightforward today than usual.
“What’s wrong?” His curiosity piqued, Wen Yang leaned closer, lowering his voice. “You don’t want me to leave, do you?”
The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.
“Of course not!” Ning Chu jerked in surprise, shaking her head vigorously in denial. Then she mumbled quietly, “I’m just... worried some bad woman might trick you if I’m not around.”
She had used this excuse last time, too.
But this time, she hesitated, fumbling for a reason again.
As Wen Yang’s departure approached, a deep sense of unease and fear seemed to confirm that she had become habitually dependent on him—that she couldn’t be without him.
“Alright,” Wen Yang said, letting it slide. “You’re just as stubborn as ever.”
“You’re leaving on Thursday?”
“I’m taking a bus Wednesday night.” Wen Yang glanced at the time. “I’ll bring my luggage to class on Wednesday, and I’ll leave right after.”
“I see...”
Ning Chu rested her chin in her hand, gazing absentmindedly at the teacher on the podium.
Maybe this could be an opportunity for her to regain her independence.
Whether or not she had accidentally developed feelings for Wen Yang, or if the dangerous world of the smutty webnovel had made her subconsciously rely on Wen Yang’s protagonist aura, she was still an adult. She couldn’t act like a baby needing constant care.
Besides, with the hypnosis spray she had for self-defense, she didn’t have to be as paranoid about perverts as she used to be.
The only issue was, without Wen Yang around, she might suddenly experience those unpredictable moments of succubus punishment if Wen Yang unintentionally disrupted the plot.
Ning Chu turned to Yan Xinya and asked, “Xin Ya, I remember your dorm has a spare bed?”
“Yeah, Ling Ling’s bed. She moved out to live with her boyfriend.”
“Then could I...?”
“Of course!”
Staying in the boys’ dorm without Wen Yang’s protection was too risky. Ning Chu couldn’t fully trust Zhang Shaoqing and Wang Jie. Wen Yang had gone through several rounds of trials before earning her complete trust.
Living in the girls’ dorm would be safer. Even if she experienced a succubus surge in front of Yan Xinya and Lily, one wouldn’t be surprised, and the other—being a succubus herself—wouldn’t have room to judge.
“Oh, by the way, did they catch that pervert stealing underwear yet?”
Ning Chu suddenly remembered the issue, worried she might be walking into a trap.
“Not yet.” Yan Xinya sighed. “I was planning to check with security later. Even if the footage is long, they should’ve sped it up and gone through it by now.”
“Alright, I’ll go with you later.”
Hopefully, they’d catch that pervert before Thursday.