"Hey! Slow down, slow down! It really hurts~"
Just as Hei Dou returned from her tutoring session, her keen ears perked up. Her hat was slightly pushed up by her cat ears as she turned toward the door and called out, “Mom! Sister’s back!”
Their mother, who had been helping the uncle in the kitchen, wiped her wet hands with a look of displeasure as she came out. “She’s been out fooling around with Wen Yang for days!”
Her daughter hadn’t slept at home for several nights!
They already had a cat girl in the house. In ten months, they might end up with another baby, and it would be her responsibility to take care of it!
Some people were just born to work hard~
As soon as she reached the living room, she saw the front door open. Ning Chu limped inside, supported by Wen Yang.
Oh boy, just how wild had things gotten last night?
Even a succubus couldn’t handle it?
Noticing her mother’s peculiar gaze, Ning Chu’s face quickly turned bright red. “I twisted my ankle on the way back!”
She could already guess what her mother was thinking!
“Oh~” Her mother didn’t bother correcting the misunderstanding, folding her arms with a dissatisfied glance at Ning Chu. “How could you be so careless walking?”
“It’s all Wen Yang’s fault!”
“???”
Wen Yang was utterly confused, then nodded, playing along, “Yep, it’s my fault.”
“Is it serious?”
“I took her to the community hospital to check it out. Nothing major,” he reassured his future mother-in-law, “She should be fine in half a day.”
Their mother nodded slightly. “Clean up and get ready for lunch.”
“Sis! You promised to bring me food~”
Limping toward the bathroom, Ning Chu was closely followed by Hei Dou, who helped support her arm.
“We’re about to eat anyway. Besides, it was Wen Yang who said he’d bring you food, not me.”
Grimacing as she reached the sink, Ning Chu washed her hands and wiped her face with a towel. When she looked up, she noticed Hei Dou hadn’t gone off to pester Wen Yang for snacks. Instead, the cat girl stayed by her side, watching her anxiously.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried you’ll fall~” Hei Dou stared down at Ning Chu’s ankle. “Does it hurt?”
“It’s fine as long as I don’t put weight on it.”
After raising this silly cat for so long, she was finally getting some return on her investment~
Ning Chu patted Hei Dou’s head with a smile. “Come on, let’s eat.”
Turning toward the kitchen, she had barely taken a few steps when she sensed something odd. Glancing back, she saw Hei Dou mimicking her limp, hobbling after her with an exaggeratedly twisted leg.
Her blood pressure shot up!
Fuming, she raised her hand, pretending she was about to smack the cat. Hei Dou darted away, scurrying off into the kitchen in a panic.
“Unbelievable~”
They had left Wen Yang’s place just after nine, but after several delays, they didn’t get home until around 11:30, right at lunchtime.
The uncle’s cooking was, as always, excellent. Whenever he was around, the quality of meals at home improved considerably.
It wasn’t that her mother was stingy; the uncle often brought his own ingredients when he visited.
Today, there were two garlic-butter lobsters on the table. Though each weighed less than half a pound, the two combined cost only around 150 yuan—not too expensive. After all, Ning Chu had wasted about that much buying an entirely useless cup a few days ago.
And yet, over the past few days, she herself had turned into a "cup"...
“Have you packed your things yet? Weren’t you going to your friend’s place this afternoon?”
“I’ll pack after lunch.”
Ning Chu was busy dealing with her lobster and didn’t even bother looking up as she answered.
“Be polite when you’re at your friend’s place. Don’t act like a lazy old man, like you do at home,” her mother scolded.
“Don’t worry. My friend lives alone. Her parents are out of town, and I heard they won’t be back until the New Year.”
“That’s pretty sad.”
Ning Chu’s mouth twitched. “She lives in a huge luxury apartment, several hundred square meters, with a sea view...”
Even Lili’s toys cost hundreds or thousands each. How could that possibly be called “sad?”
Don’t ask her how she knew that...
“Oh, Mom, I was thinking of introducing my brother to my friend!” She looked up with a playful grin. “Her family is loaded! If he marries into that family, he’ll be set for life!”
Her mother shot her a glance. “Who would want your brother?”
“Well, you never know~”
Too bad Lili was also a succubus. Even if she liked her brother, his frail body probably wouldn’t survive. Based on what she and Wen Yang could handle, her brother’s fate would likely be even worse than that of poor Wang Jie. He wouldn’t last two weeks before being completely drained dry.
Her mother casually placed a piece of pork rib onto Wen Yang’s plate and asked, “How’s work going?”
“Pretty relaxed.”
“You should still focus on your studies. Don’t always think about making money at your age. You’ll have plenty of time for that after graduation.”
Wen Yang recalled that Ning Chu had told him something similar. He nodded. “I know. I’ve borrowed a few books from the library. I read them after work when I have time.”
“That’s good.” Their mother glanced at Ning Chu. “You should learn from Wen Yang.”
“Hey, I’ve never seen Wen Yang read any books... He just says nice things in front of you.” Ning Chu rolled her eyes.
She had stayed at Wen Yang’s place for the past few days. Aside from reading her harem novel last night, she hadn’t seen him crack open any other books.
Wen Yang felt a bit embarrassed and wasn’t sure how to explain.
In a battle between knowledge and a little succubus, who wouldn’t know which to choose?
Especially since he was young and strong, and having recently experienced the pleasures of being with a succubus, it was only natural for him to be hooked.
“I’m done eating! Time to pack!”
Ning Chu pushed herself up from the table. “Hei Dou, help me clear the dishes later.”
“Okay~”
Her mother asked, “What time is your train?”
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“One o’clock. Once I finish packing, I’ll need to head out.”
“You might be cutting it close. Should I ask your uncle to drive you?”
“That’d be great.”
There wasn’t much to pack: just a few sets of pajamas, underwear, some pants, and a winter coat. Her suitcase was barely half-full.
When she came back into the living room, she saw that Wen Yang had taken it upon himself to wash the dishes. Meanwhile, her mother was leisurely sitting at the dining table, nibbling on lobster legs and chatting with the uncle.
“Mom, you’re really going to let a guest wash the dishes?” Ning Chu grumbled as she walked over to her mother.
“Guest? Where?” Her mother looked around theatrically.
“......”
Ning Chu was speechless.
“Let’s go,” the uncle said, standing up and grabbing the car keys from the table.
“Wen Yang! I’m heading out!”
“Take care.”
Following her uncle out the door, Ning Chu started looking forward to riding in his luxury sedan.
However, when they arrived at the parking lot, she found that he was driving a pickup truck with a convertible cargo bed, covered in dust and looking like it had been in use for ages.
Well, it made sense—he worked in construction, after all... A pickup was more practical.
The uncle opened the passenger door for her and, after she got in, circled around to the driver’s side.
He stole a quick glance at her as he got in, trying to make small talk. “Do you like the bag?”
“Yeah, I like it. Thanks.”
“No need to thank me... I just noticed you didn’t have one and figured it would be convenient.”
And then, silence.
Ning Chu realized that both she and her uncle didn’t quite know how to act around each other.