A portable induction cooker, air fryer, mini microwave, small rice cooker…
One by one, these kitchen appliances, utensils, and condiments were neatly laid out on the folding table outside the balcony. While this was supposedly a girls' dormitory, it looked more like a fully equipped kitchen.
Lily, with her usual stoic expression, stood with her back to them, holding a wooden spatula as she fried chicken wings.
"You girls are pushing it..."
Peeking out at the scene on the balcony, Ning Chu tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Is this really okay?"
"Totally fine! We just hide everything when inspections happen!"
No, obviously, that wasn't what she was concerned about.
Ning Chu was dragged back to a chair by Yan Xinya. She glanced uneasily toward the balcony.
"You're always wearing Wen Yang's clothes when he's not around~" Yan Xinya teased, tugging lightly at Ning Chu's jacket with a mischievous grin.
Ning Chu avoided looking at the wolf girl's sugar-induced excitement, her cheeks tinged with a hint of pink as she awkwardly explained, "All my jackets are in the laundry. What's wrong with borrowing his clothes?"
She snuck a glance at Chen Xue, who looked utterly confused, staring blankly at the two of them.
After all, Chen Xue wasn't a beastkin and couldn't smell the pheromones radiating from her.
"Oooh~"
Ning Chu decided to change the topic, anxiously asking, "I heard your dorm has been targeted by an underwear thief?"
"Exactly!" Yan Xinya huffed indignantly. "It's only been a few days, and we've already lost several pieces! I've been so careful too!"
Since their dorm was on the first floor, even with the security bars on the balcony, they weren't much of a deterrent for a determined pervert.
"I suspect Lin Li! She'd totally do something like this!"
"Huh? Why do you think it's her?"
"She's mentioned selling used... uh... Anyway, she's a total perv."
Ning Chu blinked, suddenly recalling Lin Li once asking her for casual photos of Wen Yang to sell, promising a 70-30 profit split.
That girl was really money-driven. But Lin Li wasn't exactly poor—she was a rich second-gen kid with a car and a villa.
"That's definitely creepy…"
But Ning Chu didn't buy Yan Xinya's theory. If Lin Li were truly intent on selling used underwear, she wouldn't need to steal her roommates'.
Besides, Ning Chu had heard that unwashed ones were more valuable...
It was probably just Lin Li mouthing off, and Yan Xinya had taken her seriously.
She nervously glanced around the room, her expression tense.
She couldn't believe she might run into a pervert like this. It felt like walking into a trap!
For the first time, Ning Chu felt the proximity of perversion and zipped up her jacket, her eyes darting to the corners of the dorm room every so often.
Though Yan Xinya had high combat skills, what if the pervert was stronger?
She had left in such a rush that she'd forgotten to bring her hypnosis spray…
"Don't worry~" Yan Xinya, noticing her tense expression, grinned and tried to reassure her. "The school security is checking surveillance. They'll catch the guy in a couple of days!"
"Okay."
Ning Chu muttered. It seemed like every residential school had its fair share of stories about underwear thieves.
She had once read an absurd news story about a pervert caught red-handed stealing men's underwear from a sports academy. If the police hadn't arrived quickly, the guy might have been beaten to death.
"Lunch is ready."
Lily's cool voice drifted from the balcony, and Yan Xinya immediately sprang to her feet.
"Finally! I'm starving~ Ning Chu, Chen Xue, you have to try Lily's cooking!"
Stir-fried bok choy, scrambled eggs, and pan-fried chicken wings… Yan Xinya carried the three dishes into the room. Shortly after, Lily brought in two bowls of rice.
The spread looked fairly impressive.
Although Ning Chu had already eaten lunch, curiosity led her to taste a couple of bites, her eyes lighting up. "Not bad! Your cooking is really good!"
It might not rival a professional chef's, but it was definitely better than most small stir-fry joints outside.
"Of course, this is my Lily!" Yan Xinya wagged her tail proudly. "Chen Xue, you should try it too."
Chen Xue, who wasn't particularly close to them, seemed a little reserved and out of place. Under Yan Xinya's enthusiastic gaze, she tried a bite before standing up. "It's good… but I have something to do…"
"Alright, alright! Come hang out again when you're free!"
Yan Xinya waved her off cheerfully before digging into her meal.
Lily's portions were modest—she had a small bowl of rice no bigger than the size of her palm and ate in a demure, elegant manner. The wolf girl, however… she ate straight out of a bowl the size of a basin, shoveling food with a spoon. Her small mouth seemed like a bottomless pit.
After having meals with them in the cafeteria a few times before, Ning Chu was no longer surprised by the wolf girl's appetite.
"Xinya, that Chen Xue girl seems nice, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, she's alright. But I think she likes Wen Yang~ Every break between classes, she's always staring at him." Yan Xinya straightened her back with pride, grinning. "Don't worry! I'm keeping an eye on her for you!"
Ning Chu lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers, her tone unconsciously heavy. "Do you think... if I introduced Wen Yang to a girlfriend, he'd stop clinging to me?"
"Chen Xue seems like a pretty good fit..."
"!!!"
Lily and Yan Xinya both whipped their heads around to look at her.
"You really have no interest in Wen Yang?" Yan Xinya's pointed ears flattened against her hair, making her look like she had airplane wings. "No way! Then why are you so insistent on living in a boys' dorm?"
"..."
There was no good way to explain that.
Ning Chu kept her head down and replied uncertainly, "I probably don't like him?"
"Probably?" Yan Xinya pushed aside her meal and scooted her chair closer to Ning Chu. "That's not how it works! Either you like someone, or you don't!"
"I... I don't like him!"
"Then why are you hesitating?"
Even though Yan Xinya didn't have a boyfriend herself, she was particularly enthusiastic about Ning Chu's situation. "What's the problem here? What's holding you back? What are you afraid of?"
Lily, her bright eyes wide, chimed in softly, "Too big?"
"..."
Ning Chu couldn't deny that.
Her face flushed bright red, and she gave a tiny nod. "But that's not the main reason!"
Since the topic had gone this far, Ning Chu didn't feel like hiding anything. She hoped the two girls might have some advice for her.
She'd never been in a relationship before, let alone liked someone as a woman.
Yan Xinya and Lily already knew plenty of her secrets and embarrassing stories—one more wouldn't make much of a difference.
"How do I put it..." Ning Chu murmured, her gaze fixed on her hands. "Maybe I like him... a little?"
"When I'm with him, I'm usually pretty happy."
"But I've always thought of him as a friend, a buddy. Maybe even..." She hesitated, then muttered, "a bit like a father-son bond?"
As a dedicated shipper, Yan Xinya made a decisive judgment. "Stop lying to yourself—you like Wen Yang!"
"But..."
The wolf girl crossed her legs, settling in for an interrogation. "Let me ask you this: when Wen Yang isn't around, do you feel insecure? Like he's the only one who can make you feel at ease?"
Ning Chu glanced down at the jacket she was wearing—it belonged to Wen Yang. She hesitated, then nodded, but quickly shook her head. "That's just because he's tall and strong."
"And when you're with Wen Yang, do you often feel shy or get a racing heartbeat?"
"I'm a succubus! That kind of reaction is normal when I'm around men!"
"Stubborn, huh~" Yan Xinya muttered. "Alright, when you run into trouble, is he the first person you think of?"
"Seems like it..."
Yan Xinya's relentless questioning was leaving Ning Chu breathless. "Do you get jealous when other girls hit on him?"
Ning Chu shook her head furiously. Jealous? More like she was worried Wen Yang would be corrupted into some kind of harem novel protagonist!
"Be honest with yourself~ If you picture Wen Yang kissing another woman, doesn't it make you mad?"
She froze, her mind involuntarily conjuring an image of Wen Yang kissing Chen Xue.
Suddenly, an inexplicable anger surged through her. She gritted her teeth and growled, "Unacceptable!"