The second week of the semester marked the beginning of March.
Temperatures were slowly warming up, thick down coats were stashed away, and lighter clothes were back in rotation. Ning Chu no longer needed to bundle up like a plump penguin.
But with the warmth came the damp, drizzly weather, along with condensation covering windows and tiles—the notorious “backflow” season.
“It’s raining...”
On the messy bed, the little succubus was just waking up, and the sound of light rain came drifting in from outside the window.
She opened her eyes, poking her head out of the cozy bed, her big, dark eyes staring toward the window.
She used to love spring.
The temperature was comfortable, not cold enough for chilblains nor warm enough to feel stifling. Sometimes, there was a bit of rain, and the gentle patter at night made for the perfect lullaby.
But now, she wasn’t quite as thrilled.
She glanced down at the rumpled sheets, which were dotted with evidence from the night before, dark and light stains reminding her of their evening’s indulgence.
How would they manage to wash the sheets if it rained all week?
Stretching her arms, Ning Chu pushed herself up with a bit of effort, her waist and hips lifting off the bed, tail straight and her whole body arched.
“Mm~”
After a languid stretch, she sat up and looked down at Wen Yang, who was lying beside her.
“Did you remember to bring in the laundry? The bedding was still on the rooftop, right?”
Wen Yang had only just woken up, still groggy and slightly drained from last night’s “energy transfer.” His dazed eyes blinked up at Ning Chu’s face, clearly still processing.
“Wake up! We need to get the clothes!”
Ning Chu, wide awake, shook his shoulder vigorously.
“Clothes?” He looked blank for a moment, then suddenly sat up, in nothing but his shorts, and rushed over to the window in a panic.
The window of their rented room had an outward-facing security grille with a small rain cover, but even so, the clothes hung below it were already soaked.
“Should we just leave them? They’re already wet.”
“Let’s bring them in and wash them again when the sun’s out; otherwise, they’ll start to smell.”
Ning Chu climbed ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) out of bed, wearing gray Stitch pajamas and shuffling in her fluffy slippers over to the window to help.
“I checked the weather forecast. It’s supposed to rain all week.” She sighed, taking the damp clothes and hanging them on the hooks along the wall. “We don’t have a dryer, so even if I rotate my underwear every two days, I won’t have enough to last.”
“We’ve only got two sets of sheets, and one’s getting drenched upstairs while we ruined the other one last night... This is all your fault! Messing up everything!”
Wen Yang replied casually, “Why blame me? You were the one who made most of the mess, right?”
Though he had a point, Ning Chu still gave him a huffy kick.
“Do we have an umbrella? I’ll go to the store to buy one if not.”
With the clothes sorted, Wen Yang turned to Ning Chu.
“We have one! I snagged it from the dorm when we moved!” Ning Chu ran over to the closet and pulled out a small, folded umbrella from the corner. “Not sure whose it was. Mine got lost somewhere, so I just grabbed one.”
Her old umbrella was likely still in the dorm, though who knew who had packed it away.
“It’ll do. The rain’s not that heavy anyway.”
Muttering, Ning Chu placed the umbrella on the table, grabbed her phone, and headed to the bathroom.
Wen Yang joined her, sliding past her to stand facing away as he used the toilet.
After half a year of living together, Ning Chu, having once been a guy herself, was unfazed by this.
But! She absolutely couldn’t handle it when Wen Yang barged in while she was on the toilet!
No matter how many times she’d been flustered in his presence, her sense of shame couldn’t handle that.
Bathing was off-limits too—she’d likely faint if he intruded then.
Sneaking a glance over her shoulder, Ning Chu’s mouth twitched as she rinsed her mouth, still finding it hard to believe she could “devour” Wen Yang and come out unscathed.
“Hurry up. We need to head out soon.”
“Mm, what do you want for breakfast?”
“Anything’s fine... We’re up early, so let’s eat at the school cafeteria.”
After freshening up and tidying the messy bed, Ning Chu took her clothes and retreated to the bathroom to get dressed.
She chose a dark gray pleated high-waisted skirt with thick tights to keep warm, and a loose-knit sweater layered over a warmer inner shirt.
Emerging from the bathroom, she tugged at her sweater and bounced over to Wen Yang. “What do you think? Don’t I look extra sweet in this outfit?”
Her tail peeked out from under her skirt, wagging with excitement. She twirled in front of Wen Yang, asking again, “Does it look good? My mom bought it for me over the New Year!”
“It looks great.”
“You barely looked!”
“Seriously, you’re a natural model—you make anything look good.”
“Right?” She grinned, pushing open the door. But as soon as she stepped outside, she paused and retracted her foot.
In the doorway sat a black cat. Ning Chu turned back to Wen Yang. “Did Black Bean turn back into a cat and come back?”
“Doubt it. I sent her some late-night snacks just yesterday.”
Wen Yang peered over her shoulder, looking at the cat. “It’s not Black Bean. This one has a white spot on its forehead.”
“Oh... here to beg for food?”
The black cat didn’t look like a stray; its fur was sleek and shiny, and it showed no signs of being afraid, sitting in the doorway as if it had something to say.
“Move aside. We don’t have cat food or treats here.” Ning Chu nudged it gently with her foot, but the cat only stumbled back a step before returning to its spot, staring at her with large, unblinking eyes.
“It’s a bit creepy...”
“Sorry, that’s my cat.”
The door across the hall suddenly opened, and a slender girl in a JK uniform hurried out, blushing as she scooped the cat up.
“!!!”
Ning Chu immediately went on high alert, her gaze sweeping over the girl and noticing a few telltale signs.
She leaned up on her toes, whispering into Wen Yang’s ear, “It’s a side character!”
“How do you know?”
“Just look at her aura! It’s obvious!”
One glance told her this girl was on par with Lily in looks, with striking red hair and a decidedly “flat” figure—classic characteristics of a character in her own novel!
If she wasn’t, then Ning Chu had seriously misjudged this one.
“When did she move in? I didn’t hear a thing.”
“Maybe over the weekend? I was in Yan Xinya’s dorm all day on Sunday.”
The two whispered back and forth for a few minutes, watching the door across the hall remain closed before finally heading out, making their way to the bus stop.
Despite the arrival of a side character, Ning Chu wasn’t the least bit worried.
If she was the type to make advances, it would just mean Ning Chu would have to step in as a substitute and play out the storyline... As long as she could manage it from her place, she could handle it.
After all, back when she wrote this novel, she hadn’t included any particularly intense fetishes.
And Wen Yang? He was just thrilled for the chance to see the little succubus blush and “unlock” new interactions.
