Volume 2 Chapter 20 / Chapter 301: Late Night Snack
"I wonder how Shaoqing's doing over there."
After finishing her writing, Ning Chu opened the backend of the web novel site to upload the latest chapter. As she clicked through, she glanced up and asked, "Can you message Shaoqing and check in on him?"
"He won't tell the truth if I ask."
Her expression froze for a moment. Then, resting her chin on her hand, she stared at the screen with puppy-dog eyes.
"There's nothing major in this chapter... what should I even title it?"
After a bit of thinking, she just typed in "Daily Life" as a lazy placeholder.
Nobody really cared about chapter titles anyway.
Wen Yang got up from the couch and came over to her, leaning against the desk as he handed over his phone.
"Here, not looking too great."
Ning Chu glanced at the chat between Wen Yang and Zhang Shaoqing, muttering, "He's getting treated like air, huh~ Honestly, not surprising."
Of course, she hoped Shaoqing's little pursuit would work out. But if it didn't… she had no problem turning into a spectator enjoying the drama.
"Poor guy. I told him he was just going there to carry bags, and he didn't believe me."
She could already imagine the awkward scene—Shaoqing quietly following behind two girls, looking all obedient while helping them carry their stuff, barely getting a word in with Qian Qian.
Online, he could at least use the excuse of asking questions to strike up a chat. But offline? They barely knew each other.
Ning Chu stretched, then grabbed a stack of books from the corner of the table.
"I'm going to review next year's material a bit, just so I don't forget everything."
She'd been studying constantly lately. This afternoon's advanced math exam was manageable—she figured she might just pass. But it was the morning English test that really had her worried.
She could only barely make sense of the words, and the short essay at the end drained every last English word from her brain—she only managed to write two shaky lines.
Failing one subject was fine. Two? That'd be a nightmare.
"I'm gonna shower first," Wen Yang said after checking the time. "Once it hits ten, you'd better get to sleep. You said you wanted an early night, remember? Don't want to be a zombie again tomorrow."
"Mm."
She didn't know why, but she always felt so awake at night. Mornings, though, were a different story—she was basically half-dead.
She had nearly fallen asleep during the English test today.
Leaning back in her chair, Ning Chu rested against the backrest and stretched her long legs out, crossing them on the desk. She set the textbook and Wen Yang's notes on her thighs and began flipping through them lazily.
"How many times have I read this already..."
She skimmed through quickly, then sighed.
"I already finished college once, and now I have to do it all over again in this world."
The worst part? Her major was different here, so all the core subjects had to be relearned from scratch.
She let out a quiet, miserable sigh. After not even ten minutes of reading, she got bored, tossed the book aside, and flopped onto her bed.
Pulling the blanket over her entire body, she curled up and hugged her phone, sending Zhang Shaoqing a message:
"So what's going on? I heard you haven't even managed to say a word to Ms. Qian Qian?"
The reply came back almost instantly:
"Bullshit! I'm having late-night snacks with her right now, got no time for you."
Ning Chu nearly laughed out loud.
If he really is with Qian Qian, there's no way he'd be texting this fast.
"Be more proactive, will you? Don't just stand there like an idiot," she decided to pass on some dating tips.
"I looked at Ms. Qian Qian's face—she probably likes the assertive type!"
"Screw off! You're just making things worse!"
She sent him a middle finger emoji.
Helping him out and getting scolded for it—he totally deserved to be single!
"I thought you were studying?"
Wen Yang walked out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but boxers. His upper body bare, he looked completely unfazed by the cold.
"I got sleepy!"
"Your bathwater was way too hot."
He sat at the edge of the bed and grumbled, "I turned it on and nearly got all my hair singed off."
"Huh? I thought it was just right."
Ning Chu didn't pay much attention to the complaint. She yawned and reminded him,
Turn off the lights. I'm going to sleep early."
"Alright."
The room went dark. Ning Chu plugged in her phone, shifted slightly to make room for Wen Yang, and turned her back to him, yawning again as she closed her eyes.
"Don't go touching me. I'm super sleepy right now."
Wen Yang didn't say anything. He quietly laid down and tugged at the blanket that was half-pinned under her.
"Share the blanket, will you?"
It has been getting cold lately. Every morning, he woke up freezing—meanwhile, Ning Chu wrapped herself up like a burrito every night.
She reluctantly let go of half the blanket and leaned into the pillow, drifting into a light doze. Outside the window, she could faintly hear the sounds of passing cars and voices. Her thoughts wandered until they blurred into static. Her breathing slowed into a steady rhythm...
Then, out of nowhere, a soft snore jolted her awake.
She'd been having a bit of a cold lately. Her nose was stuffed up, and it had started making her snore, too.
Shifting around, she reached out and pulled Wen Yang's arm under her head like a pillow, found a more comfortable position, and tried to sleep again.
But just as she was dozing off—another snore came. And once again, it startled her awake.
Frustrated and sleepy, Ning Chu realized her mind was now completely alert. Eyes wide open, any trace of drowsiness gone.
She had to sleep early tonight. She had an exam tomorrow and needed to review again in the morning—she couldn't afford to be groggy during the test.
But the more anxious she got, the harder it was to fall asleep. Her body started feeling overheated and restless.
"Wen Yang, are you asleep?"
After half an hour of tossing and turning, she whispered, "Hey, are you asleep~?"
"Mmm..."
Wen Yang groggily replied and turned over, pulling the little succubus into his arms.
"..."
"Tch. Sleeping so early."
Feeling defeated, Ning Chu picked up her phone and started reading a web novel, trying to lull herself back into sleepiness.
But by midnight, she was still wide awake—if anything, she felt even more alert.
She even had the urge to get up and write two chapters.
"Crap, I've got an exam tomorrow."
"If I mess it up again because I'm too sleepy, I'll have to retake the class next semester!"
Was it time to activate her backup plan?
Ning Chu suddenly sat up, turning to look at Wen Yang lying beside her.
But he was already fast asleep. So much for the backup plan...
Or so she thought—her movement had stirred him awake. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "You're still not asleep?"
"I can't fall asleep!"
He turned over, ready to go back to sleep—but then something soft and warm suddenly landed right on top of him.
"Wen Yang~"
He opened his eyes. In the darkness, he could just barely make out the outline of Ning Chu's face.
"Don't mess around... I'm really tired."
"Are you really tired though?"
Her voice was coy and teasing, with a hint of shyness that gave away her intent.
Wen Yang felt his body instantly snap awake, reacting instinctively to the scent of his mischievous little succubus.
"Come on," he groaned with a helpless smile, "I was already asleep."
"It's fine. You'll sleep even better afterwards."
Ning Chu's face flushed red in the dark, but emboldened by it, she let herself be unusually bold, running her hands along his body as her head slowly moved downward.
"What are you doing?" Wen Yang asked, part confused, part exasperated.
"Activating the backup plan."
"Huh?"
"I'm going to have a late-night snack."
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Link for character illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IxOucqi87ss3bmqfO9zI2gYiM1Gy8Hz2
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