A new week began.
When Ning Chu arrived at the classroom ten minutes early, only about half the seats were filled.
As soon as she sat down, Ning Chu eagerly pulled a meat bun and soy milk out of her pocket.
While eating, her eyes vigilantly scanned the classroom door, afraid the counselor would catch her red-handed.
The new counselor was particularly strict, like she was going through menopause. She had already blown up in the class group chat several times.
Wen Yang opened his textbook and used the ten minutes to preview today's lesson. Meanwhile, Wang Jie and Zhang Shaoqing huddled together, discussing their mobile game's new gacha pool for drawing characters.
"Wen Yang~"
"Hmm?"
"What do you plan to do after graduation?" Ning Chu asked, sipping her soy milk with one hand supporting her chin.
Wen Yang paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Make money, of course. My family isn't well off."
"Oh, I see~"
"Why ask all of a sudden?"
It's because her future always seemed shrouded in fog, impossible to discern.
Even when it came to romantic relationships, she still didn't know whether to choose a woman, a man, or simply stay single for life.
Work, family, marriage...
Everything seemed so far away to her.
"We're only freshmen. Why think about all that now?" Wen Yang noticed her confusion and reassured her. "Find some hobbies. Use these two years to try out everything you're interested in."
"Yeah, you're right."
Elsewhere in the room, despite still being only Monday, Zhang Shaoqing was already discussing weekend plans with Wang Jie:
"Wang Jie, are we hitting up a bar again this weekend?"
"Another bar...?"
"My friend said there's a bar with super attractive servers—all dressed as catgirls!"
"Really?!"
Wen Yang's attention was immediately drawn, his ears perking up, and his head unconsciously leaning toward their direction.
Ning Chu couldn't sit still anymore. She slapped the desk and accused Zhang Shaoqing in frustration, "Zhang Shaoqing! Why is it you always drag him to these shady places?"
Upon learning that Wang Jie had a girlfriend, her reasons for scolding multiplied.
"And he has a girlfriend! What if he gets influenced badly because of you?"
But Zhang Shaoqing was unfazed. "Why can't someone with a girlfriend go to a bar? My dad still goes all the time, and he's married!"
"..."
Is this what they mean by "a bad example at the top leads to bad behavior below"?
Her rebuttal was temporarily stuck in her throat out of sheer shock. Ning Chu instead turned to Wang Jie. "If your girlfriend knew her long-distance boyfriend was out looking for girls every weekend..."
Wang Jie guiltily lowered his head. "It's Shaoqing who keeps dragging me along. I'd rather just stay in the dorm and play games."
"Zhang Shaoqing!"
Zhang Shaoqing dismissed her criticism. "You call that looking for girls? He doesn't even dare touch one."
This guy seemed determined to corrupt Wang Jie!
"Well, whenever I invite you guys to go out for something proper, you don't come anyway! I'm not a homebody. I'd go crazy being cooped up in the dorm on weekends, okay?" he sighed in exasperation. "Bungee jumping, skydiving, roller coasters... want to try?"
The three of them shook their heads almost in unison, with Ning Chu shaking hers so hard it left an afterimage.
"What about a murder mystery game?"
"That... might work."
This doesn't sound like a bad idea after all. While Ning Chu didn't quite understand the murder mystery game concept, at least it was a proper activity.
"Ning~ Chu~"
An excited call interrupted their discussion. When Ning Chu turned her head, she saw what felt like a big dog wagging its tail and pouncing on her, scaring her so much that her face turned pale.
"Move over a bit!" Yan Xinya wrapped her arm around Ning Chu's shoulder, her ears standing straight up.
Wen Yang, noticing Yan Xinya's overly affectionate actions toward Ning Chu, felt a twinge of dissatisfaction but said nothing. With a sigh, he got up and moved further inside the row.
"One more seat over," Yan Xinya insisted.
Ning Chu was momentarily stunned. Tilting her head, she glanced at the figure partially obscured behind Yan Xinya.
Lily the Succubus!
The usually silent succubus stood delicately behind the wolf girl, offering Ning Chu a friendly smile.
Why was this girl joining the fun too?!
She stared at Lily in shock, then turned abruptly to look at Wen Yang.
No way! Was Yan Xinya deliberately trying to throw her into the plot?
Originally, Lily and Wen Yang had no connection at all—at most, they'd run into each other a couple of times at the library. But now, they were sitting in the same row, attending the same class!
"Quick, they're about to start a roll call," Yan Xinya urged, pulling Lily to sit down. Noticing Ning Chu's bewildered expression, she leaned toward Lily and explained in a low voice, "She's just the jealous type. Whenever Wen Yang gets close to a pretty girl, she acts like this. Don't worry—spend some time with her, and you'll find she's actually pretty nice."
"Mm," Lily nodded slightly, then asked curiously, "Are they already..."
"Of course!"
"Of course not!"
Ning Chu glared angrily at the wolf girl, but when her gaze turned to Lily, it carried a wary edge.
Even though Lily, as a character, was mostly passive, she was still incredibly beautiful. What if Wen Yang really started liking her?
Right now, there were only two seats between Wen Yang and Lily—less than a meter!
As much as Ning Chu wanted to chase Lily away, their interactions over the past two days had been quite pleasant. Lily had even generously shared some resource websites with her. Turning on her now would be way too ungrateful.
"Don't worry~ Lily isn't going to compete with you," Yan Xinya teased.
Lily obediently nodded, looking sweet and innocent.
"..."
Ning Chu's blood pressure shot up. She glanced sideways at Wen Yang and noticed his gaze sneaking over to Lily every so often. Fury bubbled up inside her, and she stomped on his toe under the desk.
If she couldn't deal with Lily, she'd deal with him!
Wen Yang winced in pain, quickly ducking his head to focus on his textbook again.
He was just curious about how this cold and silent girl could possibly be chatting with Ning Chu about that sort of topic online...
It didn't show at all! She looked like the epitome of an ice queen—probably wouldn't even change expression over the course of a whole class. Yet in private, she was apparently that kind of person.
Though, considering her identity as a succubus, it wasn't all that surprising.
"Ning Chu!"
"Here!"
With roll call complete, the teacher began the lecture. Wen Yang quickly got into study mode, as did Lily, diligently taking notes.
Everyone else busied themselves with their own things, but Ning Chu kept sneaking glances at Lily and Wen Yang, worried something might happen between them.
These two honor students... Why did they look so compatible?!
"Relax. Lily says she has zero interest in Wen Yang," Yan Xinya said with a laugh, noticing Ning Chu's restless state. "She said men are no better than toys~"
Before she could finish, Lily pinched the wolf girl's waist, making her tail straighten in pain.
Ning Chu sighed in frustration.
There was no use worrying about it now. Judging by Wen Yang's curious glances at Lily earlier, the plot had already been triggered.
After all the effort she'd spent being wary of Lily since the library…
If the story progressed as written, the protagonist would gradually become more and more curious about Lily. Then one day, through some instigation, he would discover her hidden side.
To sabotage this storyline, she'd have to start with Wen Yang and completely eliminate his curiosity about Lily.
Ning Chu furrowed her brows.
Forget about the consequences for now—how was she supposed to make Wen Yang lose interest in the silent succubus?
Should she give him a crash course on succubus knowledge? Curiosity often stemmed from the unknown, after all.
But if she gave him that knowledge, Wen Yang might put two and two together and realize she was also a succubus!