Note: This chapter is Redone on 7 / 27 / 2025
Link for character illustration:
https://ko-fi.com/hannibal52661/gallery
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Volume 1 Chapter 24: The People Here Are All Very Normal
"People these days—none of them are honest anymore."
Carrying a bag of snacks, Ning Chu walked out of the campus convenience store, muttering to himself.
"He's obviously in a bad mood, I even took the initiative to ask, but he still wouldn't tell me… acting tough for no reason."
Then again, he and Zhang Shaoqing had only known each other for a few weeks. It was hard to truly become close friends in such a short time.
He'd have to keep working at it, build more trust with his roommates. If he could really become what Zhang Shaoqing jokingly called a "understanding big sister," no—better yet, a "understanding big brother"—then everything would be much easier to deal with.
"I just hope he doesn't keep bottling things up until he actually turns into some twisted villain…"
Walking to the basketball courts between the dorm buildings, Ning Chu found a bench tucked away in the shade. He tore open a bag of chips, set it on his lap, and munched as he watched the students on the court burn off their energy.
Must be nice…
They say playing basketball makes you grow taller—no idea if that's actually true.
Wen Yang was napping right now, so Ning Chu finally had a free afternoon to wander around campus. On normal days, he wouldn't even dare let Wen Yang out of his sight.
Sipping cola and snacking on chips, Ning Chu leaned back against the bench. For once, his brain didn't have to run through "how to handle the plot" scenarios. He just watched the game, occasionally cheering when someone made a clean, beautiful shot.
"Meow~"
A soft kitten cry pulled his attention downward. From the bushes behind him, a tiny black kitten stumbled out, its little head swiveling as it looked around.
"A cat?"
Ning Chu bent down and reached out a cautious hand, lightly brushing his fingers over the kitten's head.
Its fur was dirty—clearly not a neglected pet from some irresponsible student, but more likely one of the stray cats commonly seen on campus.
Though it moved unsteadily, its eyes were bright and clever. Sensing his friendly intent, it flopped onto his shoe and lay there, its white-tipped paws batting playfully at his shoelaces as if they were toys.
Ning Chu's expression froze for a second. "Are you trying to scam me?"
"Meow~"
"You want chips? I can't take you back to raise you…"
None of his roommates seemed particularly fond of cats—well, except maybe Zhang Shaoqing, who did seem to like cat girls.
…Cat girls?
A sudden thought struck him. He crouched down and carefully lifted one of the kitten's hind legs, peering underneath.
"This guy's such a pervert…"
"Come on, keep walking."
Two passersby hurried past, leaving only a whispered judgment behind.
"…"
Ning Chu sat back down in silence, rolling his eyes at them.
Seriously? Getting called a pervert for something like this? What's wrong with checking if a cat's male or female?
"A female, huh? If you were a male cat, I'd keep you."
"Meow!"
"No way. What if you turn into a cat girl one day and try to seduce Wen Yang?" Ning Chu said with a straight face, as if he could understand the kitten's protest.
Then again… if he raised the cat himself, and it transformed into a cat girl and try to repay him…
His expression shifted subtly—there was a bit of expectation there.
And it wasn't pure fantasy either; there really was a scene in the novel where Wen Yang's cat turned into a cat girl and bounced up and down to his thing every single day to repay his kindness.
"Meow~"
"…Forget it. I really can't keep you."
The kitten rubbed its head against his ankle, clearly trying to cling to him.
Ning Chu was already a sucker for small animals, and his face was full of hesitation. After glancing around, he stood up, went back to the convenience store, and bought a chicken sausage for it.
Keeping pets in the dorms was a serious matter. Even though the idea tempted him, without his roommates' approval, the most he could do was visit this area often and bring the kitten food and water.
The little black kitten, having scored a chicken sausage through its shameless pestering, finally let Ning Chu go and buried its head happily in the food.
"Went out for a bit and almost came back with a cat…"
This school was huge, made up of several large campuses. Rumor had it each campus had three cafeterias. Until now, Ning Chu had only been to four places: the dorm, the cafeteria, the teaching building, and the sports field.
Within the dormitory zone—made up of more than a dozen buildings—there were scattered basketball courts and exercise equipment. In the center sat a small garden surrounding an artificial lake.
After parting with the kitten, Ning Chu wandered into this garden.
The afternoon heat was tempered by shade and the soft breeze blowing toward him. Following the pebble path through the garden, he could smell the fragrance of flowers in bloom. The constant tightness in his chest finally loosened a little.
"Even though the story had bizarre things like hypnosis and tentacle monsters, in real life you never see any of that," Ning Chu sighed. "Turns out, people here are actually pret—"
But before he could finish that thought, a soft, seductive moaning sound reached his ears.
His expression froze, and so did his feet.
Hey, hey, hey! In broad daylight? Couldn't they find a hotel for that instead of doing it outside?
Unbelievable!
With stiff neck and head, he turned toward the source.
The sounds were coming from behind a clump of bushes.
Never having experienced anything like this before, he could already feel his face heating up. The awkwardness and tension of a shy virgin made his body stiff. Strangely, the passing students around him showed no reaction at all.
The openness of this world's sexual attitudes was beyond what he had imagined.
Though curiosity tugged at him to sneak a glance, he decided to turn back the way he came.
He spun around and hurried off, not stopping until he'd dashed into the cool dormitory building. Only then did he have a chance to catch his breath.
"What's with you? Jumping around like that?"
Hearing the rough sound of the door slamming, Zhang Shaoqing turned from his computer and asked curiously, "Did some guy confess to you? Why's your face so red?"
"It's way scarier than that…" Ning Chu panted a few times, then, after regaining his breath, explained awkwardly, "I was just in the garden, and I heard someone, um… doing it outside."
Zhang Shaoqing blinked. "Where? Take me there!"
"No! Is… is stuff like that really okay here?"
From the bed came Wen Yang's voice: "If the school catches them, they'll at least get a demerit. Worst case, they'll be expelled."
Ning Chu looked up to see Wen Yang sitting on the bed, yawning. "You made such a loud noise when you came in, you scared me awake."
"Sorry…"
Hearing Wen Yang's words, Ning Chu felt a little calmer inside.
Thankfully, while he'd just witnessed a more "open" side of people today, the fact that the school punished such behavior showed that, socially speaking, things were still relatively normal.
Maybe that outdoor couple had been plot characters, which was why they were so outrageous?
"Blushing like a tomato just from hearing a little noise," Zhang Shaoqing snorted. "You must be a virgin."
"None of your business! Wen Yang's one too, isn't he?"
"Him? There's a line of women waiting for him. He's just not in a hurry. You, though—"
"Get lost!"