"Ning Chu, Hei Dou, wake up."
Their mother gently knocked on the locked bedroom door. Ning Chu, who was busy playing a game on her computer, was startled to realize it was already eight in the morning.
Pausing her single-player game, she stretched and realized she didn’t feel much fatigue.
"Got it!"
"Ning Yuan’s leaving. Aren’t you going to see him off?"
"He’s leaving this early?"
Ning Chu quickly slipped on her shoes, hurriedly opened the door, and peeked into the living room.
Her brother was already packed up, with his luggage and computer ready, wearing his outerwear and wrapping a scarf around his neck as he stood by the door to put on his shoes.
"Big bro! Can I check out your place?"
"What’s there to see?"
"It’s not that far, anyway."
Their mother, arms crossed, entered the room, pulling up a sleepy Hei Dou by the ears. "It’d be better if he just stayed here. I could cook for him every day, instead of him relying on takeout—it’s unhealthy."
"Exactly!"
Ning Yuan nodded with a slightly pained expression, though his words were firm. "Living outside is more convenient; it's closer to the office."
Or rather, living on his own offered him more freedom.
He could sleep as late as he wanted, skip meals if he didn’t feel like eating, indulge in midnight snacks, drink, smoke, and even have a little party in his rental place without anyone to stop him.
Not that he’d go that far; he hadn’t even dated anyone. In fact, the only women he’d ever held hands with were his mother, Hei Dou, and Ning Chu.
Ning Chu only half-counted since she was still her “brother” back then.
"Wait for me!"
"What’s there to see in a rental..."
Ning Yuan sighed, finished putting on his shoes, and stood on the doormat, waiting.
If it were their mother asking, he’d refuse outright. But Ning Chu was different—she was his sister now, but they’d grown up together, and he had no secrets from her... whatever he had, she probably knew all about it anyway.
Within ten minutes, Ning Chu appeared, bundled up in a thick white coat that made her look like a chubby penguin as she darted out of the room.
"Mom! Big bro and I are eating out for lunch!"
"Brush your hair first!"
"It’s fine! I’ll fix it in the car!"
She grabbed a small crossbody bag from the shoe cabinet—a gift from an older man she knew, which she liked and used often.
"Let’s go!"
She walked out with her bag, looking up at Ning Yuan, who was already waiting by the elevator, and teasingly asked, "You’re not hiding anything shady in your rental, are you?"
"There’s nothing like that."
"Good~"
Assuming she didn’t dig through everything...
Ning Yuan pondered if there were any things he’d rather keep hidden from Ning Chu, but he figured there wasn’t much left she didn’t already know.
"Get in."
Ning Chu hopped excitedly into the passenger seat, looking around.
The car was quite old, a second-hand vehicle handed down from their grandfather, worth maybe a few thousand bucks if they sold it now.
But for her brother, it was already a pretty decent means of getting around.
With the Spring Festival holiday nearing its end, the streets were busier than usual with more cars and pedestrians.
By now, Zhang Shaoqing should be on his way via train. That rich kid really couldn’t handle a regular job, especially with his extravagant spending habits. Last night, he even tricked Wen Yang into buying him dinner.
And Ning Chu had paid for it! Over two hundred!
He must’ve had a fair amount of alcohol, since even street food wouldn’t usually cost that much.
Thinking back, though, Zhang Shaoqing had treated them to plenty of meals at the school dorm. With that thought, Ning Chu’s annoyance balanced out a bit.
Ning Yuan drove steadily, but the faint smell of gasoline in the car made her nauseous. She swallowed repeatedly, trying to keep herself from throwing up, and leaned her head down to catch a whiff of her scarf for comfort.
"We’re here."
The car came to a stop in the underground parking lot. Hearing her brother’s voice, Ning Chu quickly got out, making a face. "I’ll take the subway back later; that gas smell made me feel sick."
"Car sick?"
"That gasoline smell is too strong!"
Ning Yuan had grown used to it and only nodded as he walked toward the elevator.
"Your place is pretty fancy~" Ning Chu remarked, glancing around as the nausea subsided. "How much is the rent?"
"Thirteen hundred a month."
"Not bad..."
"Suburbs."
This was the most remote part of the city; even with smooth traffic, it’d still take over an hour to reach the city center by car. Apartment prices here were just one or two thousand per square meter, much cheaper than the city center, which started at around four thousand.
Ning Chu followed her brother up to the tenth floor of the apartment building.
Each floor housed dozens of units, with only six elevators in total. The corridors felt a bit cramped and gloomy, but overall, the environment was still clean and tidy.
"We’re here."
Ning Yuan unlocked the door, but before he could step inside, Ning Chu had already darted in excitedly.
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"Should I take my shoes off?"
"No need, though you’re already inside before asking."
Ning Chu looked around the place, letting out little gasps of admiration. "It’s two stories! I want to live in a place like this someday!"
"There’s no bathroom upstairs. Going downstairs at night is a pain."
Her big eyes darted around, taking in every corner. "No wonder you don’t like coming home; this is a nice place!"
On either side of the entryway were the kitchen and bathroom. Moving further in, there was a small living room of about ten square meters. The second floor was just a bedroom with a bed and a bedside table.
Though the apartment was a bit cramped, it was a proper one-bedroom unit with a living room, bathroom, and kitchen—much better than the place Wen Yang was currently renting.
Ning Chu sat at the computer desk. "You even got a new computer?"
"I bought it a while ago. Didn’t I mention it?"
"Oh~"
She casually moved the mouse, and the screen lit up in response.
On the desktop was an anime girl with her backside arched in a provocative 18+ pose...
Uh, wow! That’s pretty explicit!
She froze, staring blankly at the desktop wallpaper.
The slideshow changed to an even racier image.
Ning Yuan suddenly rushed over, grabbing the mouse and swiftly changing the wallpaper to a landscape photo. He glanced down at Ning Chu’s innocent eyes, his face flushed red.
“Hey, you sent me some of those wallpapers yourself! Don’t act innocent!”
Still, having her see these kinds of wallpapers was anything but relaxing!
If Ning Chu were still his brother, they’d be sharing resources and wallpapers, but now that his brother had become his sister...
Even though he knew Ning Chu was likely even more risqué than he was, seeing this kind of wallpaper in front of his pretty, innocent-looking little sister was unsettling, and a bit of sweat started to form.
“How was I supposed to know you left your computer on...”
Ning Chu, slightly embarrassed, looked away, tempted to ask for the wallpaper collection but unsure how to bring it up.
Better keep some of that girl’s dignity intact.