The good news was that, as expected, she only got a verbal warning and a scolding.
The bad news? She had to write a 3,000-word self-reflection...
If calculated using Lin Li's pricing—ten bucks per hundred words—this reflection would be worth 300 bucks!
Ning Chu hung her head, enduring the reprimand in silence with a pitiful expression, though her mind wandered to more important matters:
What should she eat for lunch?
The counselor sighed, taking a sip of tea. "If this happens again, it won't just be a warning and a reflection essay!"
"Oh... I won't do it again."
"You kids these days..." The counselor shook her head. "Such a pretty face, and yet you go and do something so foolish."
"..."
With a dismissive wave, the counselor added impatiently, "Alright, go back to class! I want that reflection essay on my desk by Monday."
Relieved, Ning Chu quickly responded and bolted out of the office.
Half an hour of standing still during the scolding had left her legs sore.
This counselor, though strict and stern, didn't seem all that bad. She hadn't really raised her voice much during the whole ordeal.
This thought startled Ning Chu.
Oh no! Last time I thought the same thing, and Han Jingye ended up being sent away. I wonder how long he's been in prison...
Lost in her gloomy thoughts, Ning Chu trudged back to the classroom.
She realized she'd have to start planning to inform her parents about her situation soon.
Changing her official gender in school records wasn't something she could decide on her own. Not only would her parents have to step in, but there'd likely be a mountain of paperwork involved too...
With college spanning four years, she couldn't possibly keep living in the boys' dorm the entire time.
It had only been a couple of months, and already Wen Yang was showing interest in her, Zhang Shaoqing was constantly suspicious of her gender, and Wang Jie—though a straightforward and somewhat oblivious person—was intelligent enough to figure it out eventually.
For now, the colder weather and her flat figure were working in her favor since she could wear a jacket to hide her build. But come next summer, with thinner clothing like T-shirts, who knew how her figure might develop? She couldn't keep binding her chest every day just to stay in the boys' dorm.
"Such a headache," Ning Chu muttered, glancing at the public restrooms as she passed by. With a sigh, she turned and walked in.
Time to use the restroom.
Out of habit, she headed into the men's restroom. But as soon as she stepped one foot inside, a strange noise made her freeze in place.
Standing stock-still, she craned her neck to peek inside. The restroom was empty.
"What was that noise?"
The odd sound reignited her unease. Instinctively, she reached for the can of sleep-inducing spray tucked in her jacket pocket, swallowing nervously as she began to back away cautiously.
Then, she heard a muffled moan.
"Ah~"
Good grief...
Someone was... fooling around in the restroom during class, huh?
Her previously tense nerves relaxed instantly, and she let out an exasperated sigh, turning to head for the women's restroom instead.
The first time she'd encountered someone fooling around in public, she'd been so flustered her face turned beet red. But after running into it a few times, she'd gotten used to it.
People here really were a bit perverted—and apparently too broke to afford a motel.
Even the male protagonist had his wild sides... but that was her own fault for writing him that way.
Ning Chu had lost count of how many times she cursed herself.
"Why on earth did I write such a dirty story?!"
<+>
By the time she returned to the classroom, the first period had just ended.
She plopped down in her seat, propped her head up with one hand, and started searching online for examples of reflection essays.
"How did it go?" Zhang Shaoqing leaned over curiously, his face full of interest. "What punishment? They didn't put it on your record, did they?"
"Verbal warning, but I have to write a 3,000-word reflection essay."
Lin Li, ever the opportunist, chimed in, "A hundred bucks, and I'll write it for you!"
"No need."
If she had a hundred bucks, she'd rather treat Wen Yang to a good meal to nourish him.
"So, what's your plan for the next few days?" Yan Xinya poked her head over, asking, "Are you going back to the boys' dorm?"
Without hesitation, Ning Chu shook her head. "It's fine. I'll just sneak into the girls' dorm at night."
"What the heck! Is there something wrong with our dorm? You'd rather risk punishment to stay over there?" Zhang Shaoqing clutched his chest in mock agony. "What did we ever do to you?"
"You're not a girl."
He froze, then leaned closer with a knowing smirk and lowered his voice. "Wait... are you, uh, 'driving' in the girls' dorm at night?"
"???"
"No wonder you always look so sleepy."
"Shut up!"
The memory of that night in the girls' dorm—when she almost lost control and turned it into a chaotic scene straight out of hentai doujin—made Ning Chu glare at him in embarrassment.
The ringing of the class bell interrupted their conversation. The teacher at the front banged a large triangle ruler on the desk a few times, silencing the noisy classroom.
Ignoring Zhang Shaoqing's endless teasing, Ning Chu focused on searching for reflection essays online.
A 3,000-word essay was impossible for her to write from scratch.
She couldn't just copy one verbatim either, in case the counselor noticed. So, her plan was to piece together seven or eight different examples—easy and efficient.
There were still three full days until Wen Yang's return...
Unintentionally, Ning Chu's thoughts drifted to Wen Yang again.
He had left at around 6 PM the previous evening, and now it was almost 10 AM—a full 20 hours!
She had never been apart from Wen Yang for this long.
Her mood sank a little, and she rested her head on her arms, staring blankly at the back of the student in front of her.
If Wen Yang were here, she wouldn't have been scolded by the counselor.
She wouldn't have had to endure Zhang Shaoqing mocking with no one to comfort her afterward.
Wen Yang would help her write the reflection essay, share the burden of tricky situations, listen to her complain about the weird incident in the restroom, and even decide what to eat for lunch.
Ning Chu pursed her lips unhappily.
Why did being apart from him make her think about him so much?
Why was she so eager for him to come back? She hadn't even felt this impatient when waiting for her paycheck.
It was almost like... she really had fallen for Wen Yang...
"Ning Chu, are you heading back at noon?" Zhang Shaoqing suddenly asked.
"Yeah, where else would I go~"
"And then sneak back into the girls' dorm at night?"
"...Yeah."
Looking at her defeated expression, Zhang Shaoqing muttered, "Why does it feel like... you're really guarded around us?"
"Ask Wang Jie. It's just your imagination."
Turning to Wang Jie, Zhang Shaoqing didn't even bother asking before dismissing him. "Wang Jie's just a blockhead; what would he know?"
The straightforward Wang Jie could only give him a silent side-eye.
Zhang Shaoqing leaned closer again, lowering his voice to whisper to Ning Chu. But before he could say anything, she shifted her chair slightly to put more distance between them, her wariness evident.
"You're really a girl, aren't you?" Zhang Shaoqing looked genuinely hurt. "Do you have to be so distant with a brother?"
"..."
As a girl, Ning Chu knew she had to maintain boundaries with men.
But that only made Zhang Shaoqing even more suspicious of things beyond her appearance.
She figured it wouldn't be long before he confirmed her true gender.
Honestly, if that guy ever decided to rummage through her wardrobe, he'd probably find the stash of sanitary pads she had left in a jacket pocket from last month.
That thick-skinned guy would definitely do something like that!
Though the hentai antagonist wasn't exactly the same as the current Zhang Shaoqing, compared to Wen Yang—who had already "passed the test"—this guy just couldn't earn her trust.
When the time came, she would definitely have to move out.