"Wake up."
"We’re going to be late for class."
At the crack of dawn, with only a hint of light in the sky, Wen Yang yawned as he stood by the bed, urging her to get up.
"Sun's up, lazybones." He lifted his hand and gave a light smack to the small succubus's raised bottom.
But Ning Chu, still fast asleep, only made a small sound from her nose, wriggling a bit before settling into an even more comfortable position to continue sleeping.
Just as Wen Yang was about to pull off her blanket, he noticed her pink heart-shaped tail sticking out, and a mischievous grin crossed his face.
He reached out and held her tail, rubbing the heart tip gently with his fingertips as he continued to tease, "Come on, get up, or I'll keep tugging on your tail."
"Mmm~"
The sensitive tail being grabbed made Ning Chu more awake. She could feel a tingle spreading from her tailbone, making it hard for her to stifle a soft, sultry moan.
After a moment, her long eyelashes fluttered open, and she looked up with pure, watery eyes full of innocence, gazing at Wen Yang without a word.
Wen Yang felt his heart melt and quickly released her tail. "Breakfast, wash up, and get ready to leave."
"Oh~" The little succubus's tone was full of disappointment.
"Stop messing around!"
He gave her another light slap on the bottom through the blanket, but her behind just stuck up a bit higher.
"......"
Realizing her own antics, Ning Chu felt her cheeks flush even more. Embarrassed, she quickly settled herself down, avoiding Wen Yang's slightly bemused gaze. She mumbled in protest, "You're the one who tugged my tail..."
Ah, period cramps—the enemy of all lovebirds~
She stretched her arm out from under the covers, shivering from the cold, just as Wen Yang tossed over a set of pajamas. She quickly grabbed them and started putting them on.
"What classes do we have today?"
"Two major classes in the morning and an English class in the afternoon."
"Ugh, English again~" Ning Chu sighed in frustration. "Good thing I scraped by with a 60 last semester, or I'd have to retake it in a few weeks."
Toward the end of last semester, her original English teacher went on maternity leave and was replaced by an intern, the catgirl Qianqian.
Clearly, Qianqian had given Ning Chu some extra help; otherwise, she’d probably have flunked.
Finally dressed, Ning Chu escaped the lure of her warm bed and hurried to the bathroom to wash up.
Ugh, after a night, still barely any flow from her period...
It used to be much heavier.
Must be a hormonal imbalance.
She checked her sanitary pad, thought it over, and decided to switch to a larger one.
Without enough absorption, the smaller ones could /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ be uncomfortable.
"Ning Chu, hurry up!"
"I know! Check when the next bus arrives!"
"Five minutes."
"Argh!"
Ning Chu hurried to her feet, quickly pulling on her pants. She glanced at herself in the mirror, seeing her cowlick sticking up, and tried to flatten it with a bit of water.
No luck...
But she had no time to fuss with her appearance. She swung open the bathroom door, grabbed a set of clothes from her wardrobe, and went back inside.
In less than two minutes, she was ready to go, fully dressed and washed up.
"Let's go, hurry!"
Wen Yang handed her the breakfast he’d left on the coffee table. "I got you breakfast."
"Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?"
Ning Chu stuffed the breakfast into her small shoulder bag, eager to get out the door. The cold of the hallway jolted her remaining sleepiness away.
"I did; you didn’t wake up."
"Probably because you didn’t try hard enough~"
She glanced at the time, urging him, "Come on, come on! The bus is about to arrive!"
Wen Yang shut the door and ran with her toward the bus stop.
On the second day of the new semester, they hadn’t yet figured out their teachers’ temperaments—arriving late could spell trouble.
If they had a strict one, a single tardy could mean a failing grade...
And Wen Yang was no longer class president, so he couldn’t easily make up an excuse for absence.
Ning Chu definitely didn’t want her boyfriend interacting with any of the clingy girls in the class.
As they reached the village entrance, they spotted the bus already waiting at the stop.
Wen Yang instinctively sped up, pulling ahead of Ning Chu by several strides, prompting her to run faster with her short legs. "Wen Yang! Slow down! My legs are short!"
Breathless, she watched the bus doors close and pull away, and she had to stop, bending over, hands on her knees, gasping for air.
Puffs of white fog escaped her lips. The sudden burst of a few hundred meters had left her out of breath.
Wen Yang casually walked back to Ning Chu. "If your legs weren't so short, we'd already be on the bus."
"It’s only because my mom pampered me all break; my legs aren’t short!" Ning Chu shot him a glare. "When’s the next one?"
"Fifteen minutes, I think."
Fifteen minutes waiting plus a half-hour ride meant they’d definitely be late.
Her gaze shifted to the shared electric scooters by the street.
"Let’s ride! You drive me!"
Strictly speaking, the scooters weren’t meant for two riders.
But the road to school was open, with little traffic and no police in sight.
After scanning to unlock it, Ning Chu wrapped her arms tightly around Wen Yang’s waist, slightly concerned. "You sure you can drive this?"
"Why wouldn’t I?"
"Just don’t get us both hurt."
"You don’t even know how to ride a scooter, do you?"
"..."
She paused, quickly crafting an excuse. "I do know, just got a bit rusty from not riding for so long."
"Let’s go! Stop stalling, or we’ll really be late!" She shifted topics, urging him, "Keep it steady! I’m scared!"
Clutching Wen Yang’s waist, Ning Chu’s body pressed against his back. But bundled up in thick winter clothes, there was nothing suggestive on her mind.
Cold wind whistled past her ears, so she tucked her face against Wen Yang’s back, shielded from the wind by his body warmth.
Wen Yang was always like a shelter, shielding her from the elements.
When she first arrived in this world, Wen Yang had taken care of her in subtle ways. When she transformed, he had burst into the bathroom, taken her to the hospital when she fainted. Whenever she felt lost, Wen Yang was always by her side... Somehow, he’d turned her, an otherwise independent person, into someone who’d developed a bit of reliance.
Except at night, he could be so rough! If she weren’t a succubus, she’d never be able to keep up!
Ning Chu squinted her eyes, savoring the warmth radiating from Wen Yang, watching the scenery blur past.
"Ning Chu."
"Hmm?"
Through the wind, she faintly heard Wen Yang calling her.
"What do you want for lunch?"
"Are you a pig? Just woke up and already thinking about lunch?" She tucked her hands under his coat for warmth, mumbling, "Lately, I’ve been craving something sour... Sweet and sour pork, maybe?"
"Alright."
