"Feels like the opening just isn’t working..."
Ning Chu rested her chin in one hand, muttering as she stared at her novel draft.
Ever since Black Bean came into her life, her writing productivity had skyrocketed. In just a single day, she’d managed to crank out a ten-thousand-word introduction to a new story.
So this is the pressure of raising a child, huh?!
Frowning deeply, she pondered for a while before finally deleting the first chapter.
Might as well rewrite it from scratch.
Besides, the website editors didn’t work on weekends anyway—she still had time to refine it.
Black Bean wasn’t being noisy either. Ever since turning into a cat girl, her personality seemed to have mellowed out a lot. It had already been over an hour without a peep from her.
But just as Ning Chu thought this, she turned around—and her blood pressure immediately spiked.
"Black Bean!""Huh?"
"You’re digging through the trash again!"
Black Bean froze for a second, then quickly pulled her hands out of the trash bin and hid them behind her back, guiltily turning her head to the side.
Ning Chu didn’t even know whether to feel angry or just heartbroken.
This cat had grown up on the streets—dumpster diving was practically hardwired into her instincts.
Ning Chu stormed over, and Black Bean’s ears instantly stood up in alarm. She darted under the bed, trying to escape into a corner—
And smacked her head on the bed frame.
Ning Chu couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. She grabbed Black Bean by the arm and dragged her to the bathroom.
"Go wash your hands. How many times do I have to tell you not to dig through the trash?"
"Okay~"
"If you knew, then why’d you try to run? Did it hurt?"
"Nope!"
Ning Chu sighed and gently rubbed Black Bean’s forehead. Then she pressed her little paws into the sink and started scrubbing with soap.
Muttering under her breath, Ning Chu said, "You need a full bath tonight, too..."
Black Bean’s eyes flew wide open, and she began struggling twice as hard.
"I’m not taking a bath!"
"Be good~"
"Not happening!"
"Ugh..." Ning Chu suddenly realized this cat girl might be even more troublesome than a bratty child.
If she had to take care of Black Bean for an entire month, it wouldn’t be Black Bean who broke—it’d be her, hospitalized from high blood pressure.
Suddenly, someone started knocking loudly at the door.
Startled, Ning Chu let go of Black Bean’s hands and poked her head out of the bathroom to look at the front door.
It couldn’t be Wen Yang. He had a spare key, and even if he didn’t, he always knocked gently with his knuckles—not pounding like this.
So who could it be?
With growing unease, Ning Chu felt her nerves tighten.
Black Bean’s ears and tail stood straight up in alert. She peeked out from the bathroom just like Ning Chu. One tall, one short—two heads poking out like something straight out of an anime.
BANG BANG BANG!
The door was knocked on again. Ning Chu frowned and called out loudly,
"Who is it?!"
"It’s me, Zhang Shaoqing!"
What the hell is he doing here?!
Ning Chu glanced down at her outfit—a long nightgown—and then at Black Bean, who was only wearing an oversized T-shirt and underwear.
Both mother and daughter's clothing were totally indecent—wait no, "sisters"—both sisters' clothing were totally indecent.
No way they could open the door like this. Especially not for Zhang Shaoqing.
"Wen Yang’s not home! He’s out delivering food!"
Ning Chu rushed to change into her usual menswear disguise but suddenly froze.
Zhang Shaoqing knew Wen Yang’s girlfriend was supposed to be “Wen Wen.”
Question is... does he know that she is Wen Wen now?
She stood stiffly in front of the wardrobe, thinking for a moment, then decided to play it safe and test the waters first.
"When will he be back then?"
"Probably not till eight or nine tonight? How about you come back tomorrow?"
She purposely pinched her voice to sound more feminine. The fake tone was so cringey even she felt uncomfortable hearing it.
"Mom~ It’s the uncle!"
Black Bean tugged on Ning Chu’s sleeve and whispered.
"I’m your sister."
Ning Chu corrected her again, annoyed, and then shouted back at the door,
"It’s not a good time right now, so I won’t open the door."
"Alright, alright~" came Zhang Shaoqing’s voice from outside.
Outside, Zhang Shaoqing let out a disappointed sigh. Just as he turned to leave, he spotted Wen Yang walking up the stairs—right on cue, the two bumped into each other.
"Shaoqing?"
"Holy crap! Finally, you’re back!"
Zhang Shaoqing hurried up with a big grin on his face.
"I was bored outta my mind at the dorm, so I figured I’d come hang out with you."
"???"
"C’mon~ Let’s go get barbecue!"
He said it without the slightest shame, all smiles.
"Didn’t you and your girl say you’d treat me sometime? Let’s go tonight, yeah?"
"Uh... it’s still raining outside."
"No biggie. I wandered around just now—there’s a barbecue place open 200 meters from here."
Wen Yang had no idea how to respond.
He rubbed his temples and headed to the door, hesitating over whether to open it.
Just as the door swung open from the inside, Ning Chu had already changed into women’s clothing and was now wearing a white face mask, looking completely dead inside.
"You’re back?"
"Yeah."
Zhang Shaoqing immediately leaned in, eyeing her up and down.
"Why’s your girlfriend wearing a mask indoors?"
"..."
Ning Chu instantly recognized the teasing tone in his voice.
He knows. He totally knows.
"Let’s go, let’s get barbecue. Your treat."
"Hi Uncle~"
Black Bean suddenly poked her head out from behind the doorframe, grinning as she called out sweetly, her eyes twinkling with hope as she looked at Zhang Shaoqing.
Back when they all lived in the dorms, this guy used to bring her treats—cat cans, meat sticks, you name it.
"Holy crap! Whose kid is this?"
"My cousin’s. Younger cousin."
Ning Chu replied flatly, quickly pressing down on Black Bean’s head, terrified she’d suddenly blurt out “Mom” again.
"Oh~ She coming with us too?"
"Yup!" Black Bean chirped excitedly.
Zhang Shaoqing shot a mischievous glance at Ning Chu
"You’re not gonna wear that mask while eating barbecue, right?"
"She’s not eating. I’ll treat you."
Wen Yang stepped in to defuse the situation, throwing an arm around Zhang Shaoqing’s shoulders.
"Let’s go. I made decent tips today from deliveries."
"Whatever..."
Ning Chu realized the jig was up.
Most likely, the moment he figured out she was a woman, he had already guessed her relationship with Wen Yang.
With a resigned sigh, she pulled off the mask and rolled her eyes at Zhang Shaoqing.
"Barbecue my ass. Get lost!"
"Oho~ Can’t hide it anymore, huh?"
Zhang Shaoqing jabbed his elbow into Wen Yang’s ribs with a grin.
"Even rabbits don’t eat the grass around their burrow, and here you are, moving fast!"
"Just making sure the goods stay in the family," Wen Yang shot back smoothly.
"When did you two get together? I didn’t notice anything!"
Ning Chu silently turned around and walked back into the apartment.
This guy was obviously just bored and came over to mess with her for fun.
Face flushed from all the teasing, she walked to the wardrobe, planning to change back into her usual menswear disguise.
"Don’t bother changing—girl clothes suit you," Zhang Shaoqing called from outside.
"C’mon, I’ll treat you to barbecue."
"You got money?"
"Pfft~ Do you even know who I am?"
He straightened up proudly.
"I apologized to my mom, and she transferred me 20K. That’s plenty to last till break."
So even spoiled rich kids bow down for the sake of money, huh~
"Told her I’d go home tomorrow. Like hell I will! No way I’m going back!"
Not only did he bow—he lied too!
And what’s with the smug face?!
Ning Chu stared at him, utterly baffled.
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