Chapter Vol. 1 Ch. 82

“This is boring, this isn’t the college life I imagined!”

Zhang Shaoqing complained as he slumped over his desk in the classroom. “All I do is attend classes and play games in the dorm. Why aren’t there any girls chasing after me? Why aren’t there any cool club activities? Why isn’t anyone inviting me to parties?”

In their dorm, Zhang Shaoqing was the only one who had joined a club, hoping it would add some excitement to his college life. But he quickly found that everyone in the club just did their own thing, with hardly any activities to speak of.

“Damn it! I heard that the club that invited Wen Yang to a party got reported! Seven or eight people were caught, and now every club event has to be approved in advance!”

“Who the hell snitched? Damn!”

Ning Chu, sitting nearby with his chin propped on his hand, shot Zhang Shaoqing a glare.

The snitch is sitting right here! Are you seriously insulting me to my face?

Zhang Shaoqing’s college life might have been dull, but Ning Chu’s was anything but. For days now, he had been nervously sticking to Wen Yang’s side, not leaving him for a moment. What had started as just being a tagalong had now turned into him being Wen Yang’s shadow. Ning Chu was wary of any girls and refused to let Wen Yang talk to them, afraid that doing so might trigger some plot event.

He was already feminine enough, with his once-proud “little bean” now reduced to almost nothing. He couldn’t risk going through that again.

If another plot event were to trigger, Ning Chu might have to reluctantly let Wen Yang take the hit just to buy some time before his complete transformation into a girl. And if Wen Yang lost his virginity? Well, Ning Chu would just have to pack up and get out of there as quickly as possible if things got out of hand.

Fortunately, the past few days had been relatively peaceful, with no plot triggers in sight.

“Good thing tomorrow’s the weekend…” Zhang Shaoqing threw his arm around Wang Jie’s shoulder, his trademark mischievous grin appearing. “Why don’t we go out tonight and see what the city has to offer? That bar last time was pretty fun, wasn’t it?”

Wang Jie seemed tempted but ultimately shook his head. “I’ve already made plans to play a game tonight. Maybe tomorrow?”@@novelbin@@

“Never mind then, I have to go home tomorrow.”

Despite being a rich kid, Zhang Shaoqing’s life wasn’t all that great, as he had to follow his family’s strict rules.

But compared to Wen Yang…

Ning Chu glanced over at Wen Yang. Wen Yang hadn’t shown any signs of resentment toward Ning Chu’s constant presence lately, but as a grown man, he couldn’t possibly tolerate being controlled forever.

All it would take was one act of rebellion from Wen Yang, and the fragile balance of their relationship, which could potentially turn romantic, would be shattered.

“Class dismissed!”

With the professor leading the way out of the classroom, the students all cheered and began packing up.

Then Han Jingye, the class counselor, entered from the front door. “Quiet down! I need to take up a bit of your time!”

“Boo~”

Ning Chu glanced at Han Jingye. Over the past few weeks, Ning Chu’s opinion of Han Jingye had softened, and he no longer held the same prejudice and dislike he had initially felt.

“First, about the school’s living stipends: most of your applications have been approved, and the funds will be directly deposited onto your meal cards.”

“The sports day will be in November, and the New Year’s Eve gala is also coming up. We’re starting to select performances, so please sign up with the class president if you’re interested. Every student must participate in at least one group activity or competition this semester.”

This last point was met with loud groans and complaints from the students, and the classroom quickly filled with chatter.

“Quiet! Quiet down!”

Han Jingye had to shout several times before finally calming the students down, ignoring their dissatisfaction as he continued to explain the details and rules of the sports day.

“You’re planning to sign up for the sprints, right?” Ning Chu leaned his cheek on his hand and looked over at Wen Yang. “What should I sign up for? Or maybe I’ll just sit this one out?”

“How about you join the cheerleading squad in a dress?” Zhang Shaoqing suggested with a smirk.

Ning Chu rolled his eyes at him. “Shouldn’t you be worried about yourself? Don’t forget you’re already on thin ice after your last stunt.”

“Wen Yang, sign me up for the sprints too!”

“Oh? Getting scared now?” Ning Chu seized the opportunity to tease him. “Weren’t you the one who led the charge to curse out the counselor? Didn’t you swear you’d never participate in any school events?”

“Who’s scared?” Zhang Shaoqing retorted, thick-skinned as ever. “I was just giving the counselor an out!”

Even with his black hair, he was still the same shameless troublemaker.

Ning Chu wasn’t too concerned about Han Jingye’s insistence that everyone had to participate. If he really didn’t join any events this semester, Han Jingye probably wouldn’t make a big deal out of it—just hold a grudge and make things difficult for him later on.

After taking up ten minutes of class time, Han Jingye finally wrapped up, and the students let out exaggerated groans of frustration.

As soon as the counselor left, Ning Chu stood up, ready to leave. But before he could take a step, he saw four or five girls swarming toward Wen Yang.

Wang Jie and Zhang Shaoqing were taken aback, quickly stepping aside, while Ning Chu froze in place, caught in the middle of the group with Wen Yang.

“Class president! Sign me up for the 800-meter run!”

“I want to do the long jump and high jump!”

“Wen Yang! What are the rules for the New Year’s Eve performances? Can you explain them to me one-on-one?”

“Add me as a friend! I’ve got some questions too!”

Unbelievable! They’re all using the pretext of signing up for events to hit on Wen Yang!

One-on-one explanations? What exactly are you planning?!

It was Wen Yang’s first time being surrounded like this. Thankfully, the classroom’s fixed desks prevented the girls from actually jumping on him.

“Don’t rush, one at a time…”

He was never good at dealing with overly enthusiastic girls and instinctively looked to Ning Chu for help.

Ning Chu glanced around, his expression darkening.

These girls! They’re all trying to ruin me!

If even one of them is linked to the plot, my little bean might disappear for good.

“Bang!”

The sudden sound of a palm slamming on the desk silenced the girls instantly.

Ignoring the burning pain in his hand, Ning Chu stood up, trying to appear imposing. “Disperse! What are you all crowding around here for? Sign up online when you get back to your dorms!”

“Who are you?”

Unfortunately, what Ning Chu thought was an imposing stance came across as anything but intimidating to the others.

“Yeah, don’t crowd around here. I haven’t even picked up the registration forms yet. Sign up online at lunchtime.” Luckily, Wen Yang quickly caught on and supported Ning Chu’s suggestion.

He shot Ning Chu a grateful look but didn’t realize that the usually mild-mannered and introverted Ning Chu could also be this assertive. Unfortunately, his face was too youthful to be truly intimidating.

He looked more like a fierce little kitten—adorable rather than scary.

Out of nowhere, Ning Chu grabbed Wen Yang’s arm and led the way out of the classroom. “Make way, make way! We’re off to get the registration forms!”

“Step aside, step aside,” Wen Yang echoed, following him out. “I’m going to pick up the forms.”

Finally out of the classroom and away from the girls, Ning Chu let out a long breath of relief.

He was glad he had acted quickly. If he had hesitated, Wen Yang might have been caught by those girls.

Hopefully, nothing triggered any plot events…

“Can’t you be a little more assertive?” Ning Chu turned around, glaring at Wen Yang as he let go of his arm. “You couldn’t resist just because they were pretty, huh?”

“It’s not that… they’re just girls. I didn’t think it was right to be harsh with them.”

“I’m a guy too! And I had no problem scolding them! Just tell them off!” Ning Chu fumed. “A bunch of flirts! They see a guy and can’t keep their legs from buckling!”

Wen Yang couldn’t shake the feeling that Ning Chu was jealous.