"Damn it!"
The scene in Ning Chu's dream shocked her so much that she jolted awake, sitting up in bed.
She clutched her chest, still shaken, her eyes darting around anxiously.
Unbelievable! Completely ridiculous!
Because of yesterday’s events, she had dreamed of being surrounded by men again.
Unlike her previous dreams, this time, she actually seemed to enjoy it, happily becoming a filling in the middle.
As the dream approached its final step, a strong sense of moral transgression yanked her back to reality, her heart pounding as if it were about to leap out of her chest.
Terrifying!
Catching her breath, Ning Chu muttered to herself, “I’m not that kind of person... How could I be happy about that? Acting like a... shameless flirt...”
Why was it that the more she feared something, the more it showed up in her dreams?
If she kept indulging in these thoughts, her mind would probably reshape itself to constantly crave men, wouldn’t it?
Who knew, maybe scenes like this dream would actually play out in her life!
"Big sis?"
“It’s... it’s nothing.”
Ning Chu turned to see Hei Dou’s bright eyes staring at her through the darkness. She explained, “I just had a nightmare.”
“A burning...?”
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“Nothing like that!” She cut Hei Dou off quickly. “I was just talking in my sleep.”
“Oh~”
She leaned against the headboard, glanced at the time, and realized it was still just past midnight.
Wen Yang had messaged her half an hour earlier, saying he was out for dinner with Zhang Shaoqing. By eight in the morning, the clueless guy would be on a train, leaving with his tail between his legs.
“I knew that rich kid wouldn’t last in a job.”
Ning Chu muttered, acknowledging that some rich kids turned out exceptional due to good upbringing, though Zhang Shaoqing certainly didn’t fall into that category.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up at the same university as her.
Having eaten too much that afternoon, she found herself wide awake after the nightmare.
Yawning, Ning Chu got out of bed and walked into the living room, only to notice a light still on. Looking over, she saw Ning Yuan sitting on the sofa, playing on his laptop.
“Big bro, still up?”
“Just finished packing my luggage; heading to bed soon.”
It was then that she noticed the large suitcase placed by the door.
She strolled over to the living room and sat beside Ning Yuan, craning her neck to peek at his laptop screen.
He was playing a mahjong game, similar to those anime-styled mahjong games online.
Ning Yuan caught a whiff of her faint scent of body wash and instinctively shifted a little further away.
After spending a long time together over the holidays, he had to admit that his former little brother was now a proper young woman.
Though she hadn’t yet mastered every charming expression, her delicate features and feminine charm were more than enough to stir the imagination of most men.
The only exceptions were likely those with a particularly low interest in romance.
Ning Chu didn’t mind her brother’s small attempt to create distance. She simply curled her legs up, resting her arms on her knees, and looked sideways at his profile.
Compared to her previous life’s memory of a scruffy, irresponsible brother who barely remembered he had family, the current version, with his stable job and refined demeanor, was much more reliable and aligned with her ideal image.
Though now it seemed she was the one getting into trouble...
“Big bro, what if mom suddenly passed away...” she asked abruptly, feeling an unexpected urge to confide in him.
“She’s only in her forties; she could easily live to be eighty.”
“I mean, what if.” She lowered her head, resting her face on her arms, and mumbled, “We should save up a bit and get mom a full-body checkup.”
Ning Yuan paused, turning to look at Ning Chu beside him. She was curled up on the sofa, head lowered, her small figure exuding a touch of sadness.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just a bad dream...”
“Don’t overthink it,” Ning Yuan sighed, shaking his head. “I’ve heard that girls are more emotional, that their moods can fluctuate a lot. I think I believe it now.”
He paused, then continued, “If mom did pass away suddenly, then I’d probably have to work overtime to support the family. Wouldn’t want you and Hei Dou unable to afford school.”
“Really? You wouldn’t just fall apart and give up on everything?”
“Maybe back in middle school, that might’ve happened... You really know me, huh?” Ning Yuan chuckled, shaking his head. “But you’ve become harder to read; sometimes, it feels like you’re a different person.”
“...”
“Still, going through something as big as suddenly becoming a girl, it’s natural that you’d change a bit.”
Ning Chu lowered her head, feeling a pang of guilt as she avoided his gaze.
“Mom’s always been a bit scatterbrained. You were diagnosed when you were young, and she didn’t go through with the surgery, instead taking the doctor’s advice to wait until after puberty. And she raised you as a boy all that time without worrying about how it might affect you.”
“Back then, we were poor.”
“Well, as long as you don’t hold it against her...”
Suddenly, Ning Yuan straightened up, his attention glued to the laptop screen. He muttered excitedly, “White dragon! White dragon! It’s coming!”
“White dragon! White dragon! White dragon!”
“Damn it! Lost the yakuman!”
Frustrated, Ning Yuan tossed the laptop onto the coffee table, making Ning Chu stifle a laugh as she turned her head away.
After calming down, Ning Yuan looked at his sister. “Why the sudden serious talk? If mom heard you, she’d probably beat you into three pieces.”
“It’s not that serious...”
Seeing the worry in Ning Chu’s eyes, he checked his phone balance and said, “If it’ll ease your mind, I can pitch in two thousand, and you can take mom for a checkup.”
“I can contribute a thousand.”
“Where’d you get the money?”
At that, Ning Chu straightened up proudly, a grin on her face. “I’m making money by writing novels online! I earn two to three thousand a month!”
“Not bad.”
“Of course!”
It may have been from exploiting her own experiences, but it was still an achievement!
“What’s the title? Let me see.” Ning Yuan, already a reader of online novels, grew more curious. “What site is it on?”
“Uh... it’s on some obscure little site.”
Ning Chu’s confidence wavered, and she hunched back into a ball, her earlier pride fading quickly.
“Come on, what’s the title? If it’s good, I’ll subscribe and vote, maybe even recommend it to others.” Ning Yuan smiled. “Our grandfather likes novels too. He enjoys those small-town stories. If he spreads the word, you could easily gain a few dozen regular readers.”
Then I might as well jump off a building! There’d be no place left for me in this world!
Ning Chu cursed inwardly.
How could she let her family and friends read her autobiography?! She’d never live it down!
That’d be social death, plain and simple!
“It’s just a campus romance novel, not much to see... You probably wouldn’t enjoy it...”
“Why so shy? I have a wide range of tastes. Even if I don’t read it, I’ll send you some donations as support.”
“No way!” Ning Chu leapt up, darting off the sofa and retreating to her bedroom in a hurry. “Don’t forget about the checkup! I’m going to bed!”
Watching her slender figure dash away, Ning Yuan chuckled, shaking his head as he closed his laptop and leaned back on the sofa.
It felt like his sister was hiding quite a few secrets.