When other female characters launched fierce advances on Wen Yang, Chen Xue would only occasionally bring him homemade sour plum soup to show her affection. She never dared to confess her feelings outright.
She always watched the boy she liked quietly from the shadows.
This innocent and naïve crush was a breath of fresh air in the over-the-top hentai world, like a lotus blooming unstained from the mud. It left a good impression on Ning Chu.
But!
When the image of Chen Xue kissing Wen Yang flashed through her mind, that little bit of goodwill disappeared completely.
She's just another vixen!
Her heartbeat quickened, her blood pressure soared, and she instinctively clenched her fists, gritting her teeth and cursing:
"Unacceptable!"
The next moment, Ning Chu suddenly realized how absurd her outburst was. She froze, and a blush of embarrassment crept up her cheeks.
What am I even saying?!
Facing Yan Xinya's gleeful "I-just-witnessed-sweet-drama" expression, she couldn't lift her head. Her face burned red as she stammered, unable to explain herself.
Could it be... I really like Wen Yang?!
This is just possessiveness! He's the protagonist of my story! It's normal for an author to feel possessive about their creation, right?
Like a parent's feelings toward their children...
Yes! That reaction was exactly like a father meeting his son-in-law when his daughter gets married!
"Stop lying to yourself~"
Yan Xinya seemed to see through her inner struggle and delivered another teasing blow with a playful smile.
Ning Chu's breath hitched. She shook her head frantically, as if trying to deny it to herself. "N-no way!"
How long has it even been since I turned into a girl? How could I possibly have fallen for a man already?
Lily nodded in agreement, softly chiming in, "Sure looks like you like him."
"Don't worry," the succubus added with a deadpan expression, though her eyes darted nervously, "we're succubi. We can handle it... right?"
It was the first time Ning Chu had heard Lily say so much in real life, and her words were just as bold as her online remarks.
But Ning Chu couldn't focus on such trivial matters now. She felt a sharp ache in her heart, as if the part of her that used to be a man was slowly crumbling.
She sat there in silence, overwhelmed by a desire to escape reality, retreating into ostrich-like denial once more.
"I—I have something to do," she blurted, suddenly standing up and rushing toward the door in a panic.
"I'll head back first!"
Yan Xinya tilted her head, watching her flee in confusion. "Why is she so resistant? Isn't Wen Yang pretty handsome?"
"Too big," Lily replied with absolute certainty, nodding.
"Is that all you ever think about?"
<+>
The heavy rain from last night had brought cooler temperatures, and the sun was no longer as scorching as the previous month.
Distracted and unsettled, Ning Chu drifted out of the girls' dormitory. She walked with her head down, staring at her feet, her mind in complete chaos.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
She accidentally bumped shoulders with a student entering the dormitory. But all she did was shrink her neck, pressing her lips tightly together, completely unaware as she descended the stairs.
This doesn't make sense...
Could I really be falling for a man?
Even though her body had fully transformed into a woman's, she had never truly seen herself as one. The occasional reactions she had toward Wen Yang were just the result of hormonal chemistry, right?
Fine! She admitted it. She couldn't bear to be without Wen Yang, and yes, he made her feel safe. But wasn't it normal in this hentai world to seek shelter under the protagonist's halo?
That so-called jealousy was just an author's concern for her creation! What parent wouldn't want to keep their child from going astray?
Wandering aimlessly through the dormitory area, Ning Chu kept replaying Yan Xinya's interrogation in her mind, trying to refute it.
Do I really like Wen Yang?
Despite her attempts to deny it, Yan Xinya and Lily's words left a deep impression on her.
Maybe...
Ning Chu sighed heavily, shaking her head forcefully. "Why am I even thinking about this? Who cares about liking or not liking?"
Preventing Wen Yang from turning into a typical harem protagonist and stopping him from hosting any male-oriented debauchery parties was the real priority right now.
Her family and home were already a tangled mess. Who had time for personal feelings?
"But my heart still feels so chaotic..."
Ning Chu sighed again.
If she, once a steadfast straight man, truly fell for another man... did that mean her thoughts, orientation, and identity had been completely assimilated by this body?
Did it mean the person she used to be had been completely replaced?
In this new world, with no sense of belonging, she felt like a rootless duckweed.
"I can barely remember the past anymore," Ning Chu murmured, lost in her thoughts.
She wandered into the campus convenience store, grabbed a bottle of cola, and silently scanned to pay.
When she was out on her own, she rarely felt like talking.
Even though she was wearing Wen Yang's protagonist-aura-infused jacket, she still felt as if everyone around her harbored ill intentions. Maybe even the friendly-looking passerby was secretly a hidden pervert.
Returning to her dorm, Ning Chu opened the door.
"Back so soon?" Zhang Shaoqing immediately turned to look at her. "I asked for green tea. Why'd you get cola?"
"..."
Ning Chu set the cola on her desk, kicked off her shoes, and climbed onto her bed.
"Not talking to me, huh? Only Wen Yang can cheer you up, is that it?" Zhang Shaoqing teased in his usual cheeky tone, tapping his shoes against the wooden desk noisily. "Hey, I heard you've gotten better at gaming. Let's duo queue?"
"I just ranked up to Platinum this afternoon! I'll carry you, no problem!"
"Feeling this down? Want a drink instead?"
"Damn it! Even when Ling Ling got taken to a hotel, I wasn't as moody as you are!"
Ning Chu poked her head out from under the blanket. "You were bawling your eyes out, you are practically suicidal back then."
"Feeling better now?"
After a pause, she finally replied, "Yeah..."
The dorm quickly fell into silence. Zhang Shaoqing lowered his head to scroll through his phone, while Ning Chu curled up under the covers, hiding her face completely.
Her phone buzzed suddenly. It was a message from Wen Yang.
"What's wrong?"
Glancing at the message, Ning Chu sighed and asked, "Zhang Shaoqing, why did you tell Wen Yang I wasn't feeling well?"
"I couldn't handle you, so I figured I'd call in reinforcements."
"I'm fine, okay?" She threw off the blanket and sat up. "Log in. Let's duo queue."
"Ugh~ Is this your way of getting back at me?"
Ning Chu swiftly climbed down from her bed. Seeing Zhang Shaoqing's incredulous expression, she couldn't help but feel a bit amused. "Didn't you say you'd carry me in the game?"
"If you play terribly, I'll flame you."
"Who was it just now bragging about ranking up to Platinum? 'I'll carry you~ Even if you feed ten kills, I'll still win~.'"
"Bullshit! I never said the last part!"
As expected, nothing lifts the spirits quite like a goofy roommate.