With Wen Yang's income from his winter job and Ning Chu's allowance and manuscript fees from her family, the two of them weren't really struggling financially. Even if they went a few months without any income, they had enough to live on for quite a while.
But Wen Yang couldn’t sit still. Having been poor for so long, he was busier than ever.
He spent his nights running a stall and his days doing part-time jobs. He’d even packed his Sunday schedule solid.
Ning Chu was long past the stage of panicking whenever Wen Yang was out of her sight, fearing this male lead would end up stumbling into multiple storylines and wooing half a dozen saucy foxes whenever he left the house, or getting nervous because they were living in a romantic novel setting.
But, staying home alone was really boring...
After calculating the profits from the stall they’d worked together last night and summarizing the items sold in a spreadsheet for Wen Yang, Ning Chu stretched, yawning out of boredom. "Guess I'll go hang out in Lily's dorm~"
"Stall work is so dull. Just a few bucks for a whole evening; I might as well just stay home and write a new chapter for my novel. Not doing that again."
She muttered her complaints. If it weren’t for her and Wen Yang standing there, their looks alone naturally drawing attention, they probably wouldn’t have sold much at all.
Writing novels was much more interesting; public work didn’t suit her at all.
With her current looks and body, she could probably start a livestream, do some dancing, and earn a nice amount by pushing some boundaries.
In fact, the current top streamer in the dance section was a succubus, with beauty filters and makeup that didn’t hold a candle to her looks.
Imagining herself in an alternate timeline as a little male succubus going viral on dance livestreams, Ning Chu dressed up, donned a hat, scarf, and gloves, and dashed out the door.
But as she got off the bus near the school entrance, her pace slowed, becoming a little hesitant.
She glanced nervously at the people around her, feeling like everyone’s eyes were glued to her head, like someone must have noticed her horns and figured out her succubus identity.
Scenes from a recent dream resurfaced abruptly, clouding her mind.
The mental strain quickened her steps, as she lowered her head, stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, and pulled up her hood. Looking every bit the guilty intruder, she headed quickly toward the girls' dorm.
She cracked open the door and peeked inside.
"Who is it? You could knock, you know."
Yan Xinya immediately turned, spotting a small head peeking into the room.
"Ning Chu! You could’ve told us you were coming."
"Lily's not here?"
"She’s busy, practicing her dance routine every day. The May Festival is coming up soon, after all."
Not seeing that irritating saucy fox cheered Ning Chu up immensely. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, only for Wolf-girl to hurry over, practically impatient.
Yan Xinya dashed over, peeking into the tote bag Ning Chu carried. "Oh, you didn’t need to bring anything!"
"Just a few things Wen Yang couldn’t sell at the stall. Toothbrushes, mugs, that sort of thing."
"Perfect to keep in the dorm! Saves us from buying later~ It’s free, right?"
"Of course, it's yours!"
Ning Chu handed the bag over to Yan Xinya and then looked over at Lily.
Lily was sitting at her computer, completely absorbed, not noticing Ning Chu's arrival.
Ning Chu tiptoed over to sneak a peek at the screen.
Whoa, she’s playing an eroge!
What the heck! So risqué! There’s even an animated scene!
This girl practically played nothing but eroge and rarely touched other games.
It wasn’t until then that Lily noticed Ning Chu, lifting her head in surprise, her face still faintly flushed with excitement and embarrassment.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now."
Ning Chu pulled over a chair and sat down, complaining, "That yoga outfit you picked out for me is way too revealing! Did you do it on purpose?"
"Huh?" Lily looked briefly startled.
"I don’t believe you’d actually wear something that tight to a yoga class."
Lily paused her game, turned to examine Ning Chu’s face with a curious look, and then opened her wardrobe, pulling out her own yoga outfit.
It was the exact same model as Ning Chu’s that arrived yesterday.
Just one look, and Ning Chu could already picture how provocative Lily would look wearing such a skintight outfit.
Her figure was no worse than Ning Chu’s.
"Are you seriously planning to wear that to class?!"
"Of course."
"Wearing something like that for yoga or working out is totally normal, right? Like how dancers wear leotards when practicing." Yan Xinya chimed in from behind, "Only people with dirty minds would think of it that way."
"......"
Seeing Ning Chu’s dazed expression, Wolf-girl tried to comfort her, "Well, it’s normal for you, since you’re a succubus!"
Not really comforting at all...
"Besides, showing off a little isn’t a bad thing either~"
With that, Yan Xinya suddenly pulled off Ning Chu’s hat, gasping in surprise, "Your horns have grown this long already! No wonder you keep wearing that hat!"
Ning Chu instinctively covered her horns with both hands, "Don’t touch them!"
"Such cute little horns~"
"Touch my tail, and see what happens!"
Bending down in a defensive squat, she glared warily at Lily and Yan Xinya, who were eyeing her with mischief. At the same time, she kept glancing at their tails, ready to retaliate.
Sensing her strong resistance, Yan Xinya finally backed off, crossing her arms and pouting, "Fine, if you don’t want us to touch, we won’t!"
"Exactly."
Lily huffed, pulling a pair of decorative horns from her drawer and placing them on her head.
With an aloof expression but chest puffed out and chin slightly raised, she occasionally adjusted her horns, silently exuding an air of pride.
Ning Chu could practically hear Lily saying, "You have them? So do I."
The rivalry among girls was so strange...
She couldn’t help but laugh internally.
"If anyone asks, you can just say you’re matching with Lily," Yan Xinya added, “Too bad I already have my own ears up top~”
Both girls knew Ning Chu didn’t want to reveal her succubus identity, and Lily, in particular, understood how much trouble that could bring.
Too bad she’d already been outed as a succubus at the start of term and had to spend the entire semester overturning her classmates’ stereotypes.
“Aww, you guys are too nice~”
Ning Chu felt a little touched.
Yan Xinya nodded enthusiastically. "Of course we are! So can I touch your horns now?"
"No way! What’s there to touch?"
That slight feeling of gratitude immediately evaporated.
"They feel nice! And watching you get embarrassed is adorable~"
Lily nodded in agreement, "Teasing you is so much fun."
"Perverts!"
Ning Chu shot back angrily.
