Zhang Shaoqing strolled into the classroom with his hands in his pockets, a casual and carefree attitude in his every step.
His eyes immediately landed on Ning Chu, seated in the front row, surrounded by a group of beautiful girls.
A fox girl, a wolf girl, and even a succubus~
All top-tier beauties!
Ning Chu blended right in with the group without any sense of awkwardness. Even though he was still dressed in simple men's clothing, his soft, delicate, and youthful face was no less attractive than the succubus by his side. Paired with his petite frame and slender build, he was nearly indistinguishable from a girl.
Except... he was flat.
Zhang Shaoqing couldn't help but think that Ning Chu should just become a girl.
"Tsk~ It pays to look girly. Even that fox girl has become his bestie now?" he joked to Wang Jie, who was walking beside him. "What do you think? Should we sit next to Ning Chu or find our own seats?"
"Either works, I guess."
"Of course we sit near Ning Chu! What if one of the girls takes a liking to us?"
"I already have a girlfriend."
"I don't!"
Zhang Shaoqing eagerly made his way to Ning Chu's side and plopped down next to him with a flattering smile. "Here so early? Did you have breakfast yet?"
Ning Chu, resting her head on the desk, lifted her gaze lazily to glance at Zhang Shaoqing and Wang Jie.
One look and she knew these two weren't up to anything good.
Otherwise, Zhang Shaoqing, who normally greeted her with sharp jabs and taunts, wouldn't suddenly act so warm and friendly.
Too lazy to bother with him, Ning Chu shifted into a more comfortable position and rested her head back on the desk.
"Oh, come on, ignoring me now?" Zhang Shaoqing grumbled as he sat down. "I even brought you breakfast, you ungrateful wolf!"
"That's mine…" Wang Jie muttered, sliding a bag of breakfast over to Ning Chu's desk. "Wen Yang said you have low blood sugar and are too lazy, so he asked me to bring you breakfast this morning."
Ning Chu hadn't eaten yet, but mostly because she didn't have much of an appetite.
Still, since someone had gone out of their way to bring her breakfast, she felt obliged to eat at least a little.
"Thanks," she mumbled, yawning as she sat up slightly, her lethargy still evident as she started eating.
"Didn't sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, not used to it."
"Then go back to your dorm! Why are you hanging out with women all the time?" Zhang Shaoqing's words were as sharp as ever. "You already look girly enough, and now you're sticking to a group of girls like glue. What's next? Preparing to head to Thailand for surgery?"
Ning Chu's lips twitched as she was about to retort, but Zhang Shaoqing kept rambling, "Oh yeah, someone in class saw you hanging around the girls' dorm. Even the counselor knows about it now."
"What?!"
Her drowsiness vanished instantly as panic set in. "How does the counselor know?"
"Someone took pictures and posted them in a group chat, saying they saw a guy hanging around the girls' dorm multiple times and felt really unsafe."
What the—?! Who did that?!
Ning Chu immediately turned to look at Lin Li, suspicion written all over her face. Could it have been this troublemaker?
"Why are you looking at me? What's it got to do with me?" Lin Li rolled her eyes. "We were all out last night, remember? I was drinking! How would I have had time to report you in the chat?"
Yan Xinya leaned over, her wolf ears twitching nervously as guilt practically radiated from her. "Um, I think if you get caught letting someone of the opposite sex stay over, the minimum punishment is a warning…"
"!!!"
Ning Chu's face stiffened. What was with these double standards?!
She'd seen plenty of girls wandering around the boys' dorms. There were even occasional rumors about girls spending the night in some rooms, but no one ever seemed to face consequences.
Why was it different for her?!
Zhang Shaoqing, ever the carefree one, waved it off nonchalantly. "No big deal. It's just a warning, right? What's there to be scared of?"
Of course, if he were the one facing disciplinary action, he wouldn't be nearly as bold.
Ning Chu felt utterly wronged. She was a girl—what was wrong with living in the girls' dormitory?
But her school records still listed her as "male," and only a few people who interacted closely with her, like the beast-eared girls and Wen Yang, were aware of the truth.
Fortunately, Wang Jie offered a reassuring explanation: "I just looked it up. A verbal warning is basically just a scolding and having to write a self-reflection essay."
Ning Chu exhaled in relief. Getting scolded wasn't too bad. Back when she was younger and mischievous, she'd been reprimanded by teachers countless times, and writing reflection essays was practically second nature to her.
"But if you get caught again, they might issue a demerit, which would go on your permanent record..."
"..."
Now came the real problem. With Wen Yang still away, if she really got a warning and had to avoid the girls' dorm for a few days, would she have to stay in the boys' dorm?
Faced with a choice between disciplinary action and her chastity, Ning Chu didn't hesitate to choose the latter.
This world didn't come with any protagonist plot armor, and staying in the boys' dorm posed risks far beyond her chastity—things could escalate into far worse scenarios.
"Ugh, my head hurts..."
Ever since Wen Yang left, it felt like all kinds of trouble had been piling up.
She only managed a few bites of breakfast before slumping back onto her desk. Unlocking her phone, she glanced at the message Wen Yang had sent her.
"Good morning."
What was this about? If he had something to say, why not just say it outright? Why send such a vague, romantic-sounding message? Did he have too much free time or something?
Ning Chu muttered her complaints internally but still happily typed a reply: "Good morning."
She eagerly waited for a response, but after a moment of silence, her phone remained quiet. Disappointed, she rested her head back on the desk.
Wen Yang's uncle was undergoing surgery today, so he was probably busy.
Having had a poor night's sleep, she decided to catch up on rest that morning.
She wasn't particularly worried about perverts anymore. After her outing last night, she realized that the hentai world wasn't as terrifying as she'd initially imagined.
At least, it wasn't to the extent she'd feared, where the absence of protagonist protection would lead to perverts randomly "spawning" around her.
There were no sudden kidnappings on the street, no predatory ride-hailing drivers, and no intruders breaking into her dorm at night.
Public spaces were still relatively safe.
This newfound sense of security helped her relax somewhat, but for some reason, it only made her wish Wen Yang were back sooner...
"Ning Chu!"
At first, she thought it was the teacher taking attendance, but when she looked up, she saw almost the entire class staring at her.
She froze, sensing something was off, and turned her head toward the hallway.
Sure enough, it was her—that old witch...
"The old witch is looking for you," Zhang Shaoqing said as he stood up, suppressing a laugh. "Looks like your time has come!"
"Want me to write your reflection essay? Ten bucks per hundred words," Lin Li seized the chance to make some business.
Ning Chu let out a weary sigh.
Should she just explain the situation to the counselor?
But doing so would undoubtedly lead to a call to her parents.
And she wasn't ready to face them yet...
Her mind a whirlwind of thoughts, Ning Chu listlessly followed the counselor into the hallway, shivering under the woman's harsh gaze.
"Well, well, well. Bold of you, strolling in and out of the girls' dorm like it's no big deal. Spent the night there too, huh? What were you doing?"
"You could've at least snuck in! Climbed over a wall, anything! Even if no one had seen you, that would've been better."
"..."
"You're nothing but trouble!" The counselor glared at Ning Chu. "To my office!"
Head hanging low, Ning Chu trailed behind the counselor.
Why did this feel so serious? She'd never been disciplined before—she had no idea what to expect!