Aside from the wallpaper, it seemed there was nothing else sensitive in her brother's rental.
As long as she didn’t open the computer folders, cloud storage, or gaming platform, that is.
Sitting on the couch in the living room, Ning Chu looked up at the high ceiling, about four or five meters above, and curiously asked, “Why is the second floor only a third of the size? Couldn’t it have been fully extended with this ceiling height?”
“Probably would feel too cramped.”
Ning Yuan’s face was still slightly flushed as he sat expressionlessly at his computer, hurriedly tidying up any inappropriate content from his desktop.
“I was expecting to see something a little more... unusual.”
Ning Chu sighed with mild disappointment.
So that explicit wallpaper wasn’t unusual enough?
Ning Yuan’s mouth twitched as he glanced over at his sister. He noticed the slight bulge near the base of her back, suddenly reminded that his sister was a succubus.
For a succubus, maybe it really wasn’t that unusual?
He tried his best to separate the stereotypical succubus traits from his view of his sister; otherwise, he’d never be able to look at his family the same way again.
Ning Chu took off her coat, and her white, fitted turtleneck sweater highlighted her curves perfectly. Before she knew it, she had developed from “little buns” to a full figure that couldn’t be hidden, even under winter clothing.
She propped her legs up on the coffee table and took a few photos of her brother’s apartment to send to their mother.
It was a task she’d been assigned.
“Big bro, what’s for lunch?”
After the hour-long drive, it was nearing noon.
“Let’s order takeout. Up to you.”
Ning Yuan finally managed to stash away his “study materials” on the computer and, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow, asked, “When are you leaving?”
“I just got here! Kicking me out already?”
“I want to take a nap this afternoon.”
“At least let me stay for lunch before I go!”
With a sigh, Ning Yuan tossed his phone onto the couch. “Order whatever you want.”
“Got it!”
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.
Ning Chu happily ordered a modest lunch and continued her exploration of her brother’s little place.
This type of duplex apartment had once been her ideal home, with two levels, a small, easy-to-clean space, perfect for one person. But now that she was actually here, she realized she might’ve idealized it a bit too much.
The bedroom on the second floor had a ceiling height of about 1.8 meters, forcing someone as tall as Wen Yang to duck. And since there was no bathroom upstairs, trips to the restroom involved going up and down. Plus, she was no longer living alone.
It was better to have a spacious place when living with someone else~
As she roamed around the apartment, there was a knock at the door.
“What’d you order that got here so fast?”
“I’ll get it!”
Ning Chu hurried down from the bedroom on the second floor, nearly twisting her ankle as she stumbled and caught herself against the wall.
She rushed to the door and opened it, only to see a young girl with a high ponytail, dressed in cozy pajamas, standing outside.
Reflexively, Ning Chu reached out as if to take the delivery, but quickly realized that the girl’s hands were empty.
“And you are...?”
Instead, the girl was the first to speak, looking at Ning Chu with a confused expression that quickly turned hostile. She took a half-step back, her face full of wariness, like a cat defending its territory.
Ning Chu froze, watching the girl’s guarded stance—it reminded her of herself.
It was the same look she’d get whenever she saw another girl trying to get close to Wen Yang...
Interesting~
Turning around, Ning Chu pretended to swallow down the word “brother” and instead said, “Looks like someone’s here for you.”
“For me?”
Ning Yuan got up from the computer and walked to the door. Standing taller than Ning Chu, he quickly spotted the girl outside and greeted her with a smile, “Xiao Xi, just got back after the New Year?”
The moment she saw him, the girl—apparently named Xiao Xi—softened her expression and smiled warmly. “Yeah, same as you.”
“I noticed two extra pairs of shoes at the door...” Xiao Xi tilted her head, looking cute yet puzzled, and asked, “Who’s this?”
Ning Chu keenly observed how tightly Xiao Xi was clutching her sleeve, her knuckles turning white.
Her veins were even popping out!
“My sister.”
The girl’s smile grew even sweeter, and all traces of tension left her eyes. “Oh, your sister~ I accidentally bought too many groceries today. How about joining me for lunch?”
“Uh... why do you always buy too many groceries? I already ordered takeout.”
Ning Yuan scratched his head, mumbling, while Ning Chu kicked him discreetly in frustration.
This girl obviously liked him! Could he be any more oblivious?
She’d practically come over to make the first move, and she’d probably done it before!
“If you don’t mind...” Ning Chu quickly filled in her brother’s oversight, smiling warmly. “We’ll just have the takeout as a side dish.”
“I live right next door! I’ll go cook and call you when it’s ready!”
Xiao Xi nodded enthusiastically, standing on tiptoe before bouncing back to her apartment next door.
As she closed the door, Ning Chu turned to her brother, who wore a pained expression, and sighed, “Big bro, you really don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
“She obviously likes you!” Ning Chu said, exasperated. “She practically threw herself at you! All you had to do was nod, and you’d have a girlfriend! And here I thought giving you Lily’s contact was enough!”
“She’s pretty decent-looking too. If she put on some makeup, she’d be really cute!”
Ning Yuan just grimaced. “No way, she’s trying to poison me.”
“???”
“You really don’t know what you’re in for if you go eat her food,” he groaned. “I’m traumatized.”
“Huh?”
Ning Yuan rubbed his stomach, plopped onto the couch, and sighed. “That girl can’t cook. It’s either burned, over-salted, or just plain awful. I tried it once, and I haven’t dared since.”
“That’s her way of showing affection!”
“Affection, my foot. She’s probably using me as a test subject.”
“Don’t be so picky! I’m not even worried about it.” Ning Yuan shot Ning Chu a side glance. “Xiao Xi was my college classmate; she used to mess with me all the time. There’s no way she likes me.”
“Mess with you?”
Despite feeling it might be inappropriate to share, Ning Yuan mumbled sheepishly, “More like bullying...”
“Well, that’s interesting.”
Ning Chu sat beside him, pondering.
But Xiao Xi’s expression just now had clearly shown strong possessiveness toward Ning Yuan. When she’d seen Ning Chu, her jealousy had been all too evident, like Hei Dou guarding her meal, or Ning Chu herself when she spotted a woman chatting up Wen Yang.
But according to Ning Yuan, Xiao Xi had been bullying him since college.
She was confused...
Ning Chu furrowed her brows in thought. Despite having been a girl for a while now, she hadn’t encountered many female friends and had never seen a girl act this awkwardly.
A straight-laced guy and a former straight-laced guy—two siblings sat silently on the couch, the air thick with awkwardness.
Finally, Ning Chu focused on the main issue at hand. “Big bro, is it really that bad?”
“If I’m lucky, at least it’s edible.”