Chapter 59: Everyone Looks Suspicious
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It was Ning Chu’s first time in a KTV, at least in this world.
Curious, she glanced around the small private room, sitting stiffly in the corner, her eyes constantly darting to the door. She kept an anxious watch on the hallway, noting the other guests and staff passing by.
Even though most KTVs were legitimate, and there weren’t many shady scenes involving them in romance novels, this was still a place where people drank and partied. The chances of encountering a drunk or a creep were much higher.
"Relax~" Yan Xinya leaned over with a grin. "What song do you want to sing?"
"I... don’t know how to sing."
"Then we can do a duet later!"
"......"
It was Yan Xinya’s birthday, so Ning Chu couldn’t really refuse her.
Otherwise, Ning Chu would have insisted on heading home after dinner rather than coming to the KTV to sing.
She was terrible at music, with no singing skills to speak of—just raw emotion. No room for improvement. Even though her voice was now clear and sweet, singing would probably sound more like a funeral dirge.
After thinking for a moment, she replied, "How about we sing ‘The Temptation of Love’?"
“Huh? Never heard of it..."
"It’s by Phoenix Legend. I’ll sing the male part."
"..."
Yan Xinya blinked, then ran over to the karaoke machine to find the song. When the music started playing, she finally realized what Ning Chu meant.
It was one of those songs that had been popular all over the place years ago, but she’d never known the title.
As the song played, though, Yan Xinya quickly realized something was off. She turned and gave Ning Chu a pointed look. "Wait, you only sing, like, a few lines!"
"It still counts as singing~"
Before long, Lin Li returned to the room with a server, bringing in a cart full of snacks and a few crates of beer.
Ning Chu grimaced at the sight of the bottles.
This was a romance novel world. Without Wen Yang’s protagonist aura and now being a girl—and a succubus no less—Ning Chu wanted nothing to do with alcohol.
If she got drunk, who knew what could happen? The best-case scenario was probably just waking up somewhere, but it could easily be much worse.
"Maybe we shouldn’t drink," Ning Chu suggested. "It’ll be a hassle if anyone gets drunk."
Lily shared her concern, nodding in agreement.
“What do you think, Xinya?" Lin Li turned to Yan Xinya.
Yan Xinya hesitated, frowning in thought. After a moment, she made a decision. "Okay, you two don’t drink. Lin Li and I will have a little."
"Deal!" Lin Li happily grabbed two crates of beer and set them on the table.
"..."
Ning Chu sighed and leaned back on the couch.
At least the girls in this room had nothing to do with the novel's plot. As a minor character in the story, she was much more likely to attract trouble.
It’s a dangerous world out there...
Neither Ning Chu nor Lily was particularly comfortable in the KTV. The two sat together, quietly munching on chips and scrolling through their phones, while Lin Li belted out songs like a professional karaoke queen.
No surprise there. Fox-girls excelled at dancing, singing, and seducing men.
While browsing her phone, Ning Chu suddenly received a message from Lily.
"Did you get aroused while we were eating barbecue earlier?"
Ning Chu froze for a moment and glanced at Lily’s emotionless face beside her before quickly typing a response: "No."
Even though this kind of thing had been discovered countless times before, Ning Chu still felt embarrassed.
"Hmm~ You looked really flushed."
"It was just hot from the grill."
She brushed it off with a vague excuse, but just as she sent the message, another one came in.
It was from Wen Yang.
"I’m here."
Along with the text, he sent a picture of the bus station and added: "Some girl on the bus kept trying to flirt with me."
Don’t say it—I already know.
Ning Chu sighed deeply, picturing the scene of Wen Yang getting hit on, and felt a wave of irritation wash over her. She furrowed her brow in annoyance.
"I’m heading to the hospital now. Talk later."
She had no idea how long “later” would be, but just seeing those words made her oddly excited.
She pushed Lily’s nosy head away and stood up, asking, "Want to come to the bathroom with me?"
Lily shook her head.
"Xinya? Bathroom?"
"Sure!"
Wolf-girl to the rescue!
Ning Chu turned to look at Yan Xinya, only to see her swaying unsteadily as she tried to stand. She wobbled and plopped back down onto the couch, letting out a yelp of pain as she jumped up again.
She had sat on her tail.
Yan Xinya grimaced in pain, her tipsy head clearing a little from the shock.
This girl can’t handle her alcohol at all!
She’s already like this after just a few beers?
Totally unreliable!
Ning Chu sighed and patted the pocket where her pepper spray was tucked, bracing herself as she headed for the door.
"Wait for me!" Yan Xinya called, stumbling after her. "Let’s go to the bathroom together~"
"......"
Ning Chu had hoped that bringing Yan Xinya along would give her some backup in case they ran into trouble.
But now she was pretty sure the wolf-girl would only slow her down. She wouldn’t even be able to run if they had to.
Opening the heavy door of the private room, Ning Chu cautiously peeked into the dim hallway.
There were only a few staff members lingering about, no sign of other guests. A couple of claw machines were set up at the corner of the corridor.
Ning Chu’s heart raced as she swallowed nervously, her eyes scanning every corner of the hallway.
Meanwhile, Yan Xinya casually strolled out of the room, completely unbothered.
"Come on, I gotta pee!"
Ning Chu hurried to follow her, gripping the pepper spray in her pocket tightly.
The bathroom wasn’t far—just around the corner.
But standing at the entrance was a tall, muscular man with a cigarette dangling from his lips. His narrow, beady eyes scanned them briefly before he returned to idly playing with his phone.
Oh no...
This guy... He definitely looks like trouble!
Of course, without Wen Yang’s protagonist aura, it was only natural that all sorts of shady characters would show up!
Feeling uneasy under the man’s gaze, Ning Chu quickly grabbed Yan Xinya’s arm and whispered in her ear, "Maybe we should use a different bathroom?"
"I’m about to pee my pants!"
"No, I mean, look at that guy..."
"It’s fine!"
Ning Chu couldn’t just let Yan Xinya walk into trouble alone, so she lowered her head, forcing herself to walk past the guy with stiff steps, clutching the pepper spray in her pocket like a lifeline.
This is bad, this is really bad!
That guy’s gotta be at least six feet tall, and those biceps... He’s gotta weigh over two hundred pounds.
Even if Yan Xinya’s got some fight in her, they’re not even close to being in the same weight class.
The closer they got to the bathroom, the faster Ning Chu’s heart pounded. She kept her head down, praying the pepper spray would be enough.
"Excuse me."
Her heart nearly stopped as Yan Xinya casually walked past the man, who stepped aside without a word.
Ning Chu hurriedly followed, rushing into the bathroom right behind her.
Once they were both inside, Yan Xinya disappeared into one of the stalls and called out, "You’re too jumpy~ You’re always scaring yourself. Ever since Wen Yang left, you’ve been on edge."
"He didn’t look like a good guy..."
"Without Wen Yang around, nobody looks like a good guy to you."