Early in the morning, Ning Chu sprang out of bed with excitement, dashing to the wardrobe to pick out her outfit for the day—her very first appearance in women's clothing in front of her classmates.
Short skirts and shorts were quickly ruled out. They wouldn’t work unless she coiled her tail tightly around her upper thighs, leaving her stiff and unable to move all day.
Not to mention, the weather had turned chilly, and those kinds of clothes would just freeze her into a popsicle and land her with a cold.
"You’re up already? It’s barely six..."
Wen Yang rubbed his eyes, groaning as he sat up against the wall. He yawned again while watching Ning Chu—tail raised and butt stuck out—nearly burying her entire head inside the wardrobe.
"Just pick anything. No need to fuss so much."
"I’m not a fan of long skirts... but pants make it hard to move my tail," Ning Chu muttered.
Wen Yang yawned again and complained with a sleepy grumble, "If you’ve got energy to worry about that, how about helping me out first?"
A faint blush crept up Ning Chu’s ears, but she pretended not to hear him. Instead, she picked out a white, long one-piece dress and grabbed the underwear set she bought during yesterday's shopping trip. Turning on her heel, she said, "I’m going to take a shower!" and disappeared into the bathroom.
Last night had been unusually... tame. After their shopping trip, it was already past 8 p.m. She spent the rest of the evening writing her novel until midnight. By the time she crawled into bed—completely ignoring Wen Yang's expectant puppy-dog eyes—she fell asleep in an instant.Sure, her typing speed was fast, but writing a novel drained more than just time—it took serious brainpower. Even if it was a thinly disguised autobiographical story.
“Wen Yang!!”
Barely a minute into her shower, Ning Chu's voice rang out from the bathroom like a gunshot.
Wen Yang jumped, heart skipping a beat. He scrambled out of bed, instantly thinking some cockroach or rat had invaded their home.
But Ning Chu’s tone was anything but fearful—it was ecstatic.
She dashed out of the bathroom, dripping wet, phone in hand, and shoved the screen right in his face. “Wen Yang! Look! LOOK!”
“Oh my god! Someone just tipped me a hundred yuan! A whole hundred!!”
“Who is it? A guy or a girl?” Wen Yang asked, oddly fixated on that detail.
“Who cares what they are? It’s a hundred yuan!!”
Ning Chu was practically glowing with excitement. She gleefully checked her author dashboard again, but her joy quickly deflated.
“Only forty-seven made it into my account...”
“Hey, still better than nothing.”
“True... at least it’ll cover our meals for the day.”
With that, she hummed her way back into the bathroom, muttering, “Would’ve been better if they’d just wired me the money directly~”
After her shower, she slipped into the white dress and stood in front of the mirror, examining herself.
Not bad. Not as country-girl-ish as she feared.
The white dress added a gentle, innocent charm to her already youthful face, making her look even more delicate.
Still, Ning Chu scratched her head with slight annoyance. “Ugh, when will my hair finally grow longer...?”
She dreamed of that long, silky black anime-style hair—perfectly straight and flowing like a waterfall.
“Hair doesn’t grow in days. We’re talking years,” Wen Yang said as he appeared behind her, gently running a comb through her hair. “But I like long hair too.”
“Right? But it’s a pain. And it sheds like crazy.”
She took the comb from him and pointed like a queen issuing a royal command. “Now go clean out the bathroom drain. It’s clogged with my hair.”
Her current hair only reached the base of her neck. It was just long enough to cover her ears, and her bangs—recently trimmed—barely grazed her eyebrows.
Not exactly long, but still... every time she washed it, she'd end up pulling out a small handful, enough to spook anyone.
Of course, when she actually counted the strands, it turned out to be only a few. But since each one was long, it looked like a ton.
By the time they finished getting ready and headed out, it was already 7 a.m.
A full half hour earlier than usual.
Ning Chu had made plans in advance—Lily was going to help her apply a light, natural-looking makeup. Something even the most oblivious straight guy wouldn’t notice was there.
Since she’s going to be making her debut in front of classmates dressed as a girl—and as Wen Yang’s girlfriend at that—there was no way she could afford to slack on her looks!
Truth be told, even compared to those high-level beauty queen female supporting characters, Ning Chu appearance didn’t fall short. She had that kind of beauty where once you reached a certain level, it all came down to personal taste or specific "preferences" to tell who was prettier.
But still... even someone as pretty as Lily—that scheming fox of a girl—ends up putting on makeup.
This was the same Lily who used to be a makeup-free purist!
Back when they lived in the girls' dorm together, Ning Chu had never seen her take off makeup at night—because there wasn’t any to begin with!
"I'm heading to the girls' dorm."
"Mhm, I’ll stop by my dorm too. Shaoqing is probably still dead asleep."
"That guy and Wang Jie have been late like every day lately."
After parting with Wen Yang, Ning Chu stood in front of the girls’ dorm building, a little anxious.
Last time she went in, someone reported her for sneaking into the girls' dorm, and she got a scolding from their counselor.
But this time she’s wearing a dress, so it should be fine, right?
“Scandal! Man Cross-Dresses to Infiltrate Girls’ Dorm—Exclusive Report!”
God forbid that headline shows up on the campus forum tomorrow… and she becomes the unfortunate protagonist.
"Ning Chu~!"
Behind the dorm’s glass doors, Yan Xinya appeared holding her student ID. She waved cheerfully while swiping the card to unlock the door.
"Quick! Get in!"
Ning Chu scurried inside like a guilty thief. "No one’s gonna report me again, right?"
"Relax~ You’re so cute today, who would even think to report you~"
"C-Cute…" she mumbled, unsure if she should be flattered or mortified.
It was 7:30 a.m.—class was still over half an hour away. The dorm corridors were practically empty.
Ning Chu stepped into the ground floor dorm room and was instantly greeted by a large pair of pale... basketball-sized flesh orbs wobbling in front of her eyes.
Lin Li gave her a sideways glance, then proudly puffed out her chest, showing zero signs of embarrassment.
This damned vixen!!!
. . . . . .
The weather had cooled, so Lily had ditched her usual spaghetti strap mini dresses for cozy cotton long-sleeves and pants. Her tail poked lazily out of the custom tail-hole in her bottoms, swaying like it had nothing better to do.
Ning Chu crept up behind her, sneaky as a cat, and reached out to grab Lily’s tail—
Smack!
The heart-shaped tip of the tail slapped her square in the face.
Only then did Lily turn around. Her expression was cold as always, but the smug little snort she gave betrayed her amusement.
"Sit. Time for makeup."
Lily wasn’t much of a talker in everyday life, but when she did speak, it was with that quiet confidence.
"Mhm."
Ning Chu sat down obediently, letting Lily pin back her bangs and side strands with clips and a headband, revealing her smooth forehead and delicate temples.
"Light makeup?" Lily asked, already prepping.
"The usual—you know, the kind no straight guy would even notice."
With her eyes closed and posture still, Ning Chu trusted Lily completely. Yeah, Lily might look scandalously flirty, but when it came to actually doing things, she was reliable.
At least, she’s definitely more dependable than Zhang Shaoqing.
"When you’ve got time, can you teach me how to do makeup myself? I can’t always rely on you."
"Let’s do it this weekend."
Yan Xinya chimed in helpfully, "Lily’s going home to pick up her winter clothes and bedding this weekend. Want to come too? It’s not that far."
The wolf girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement. "Let’s stay at Lily’s villa for the night! I’ve never slept in a villa before~"
"Villa?!" Ning Chu stared at them in shock.
Holy crap, are Wen Yang and I the only broke ones in this friend group?!
Lily, face stiff, gave a slight shake of her head. "No villa."
"Whaaat~? It’s gotta be one of those fancy European-style mansions, right? The kind where you have to drive from the gate just to get to the front door!"
"I said no.”
"The bedroom’s probably 200 square meters! You wake up with servants standing by! Even the bathroom’s bigger than my entire apartment~"
Lily: "...Seriously. No."
Ning Chu threw an unimpressed side-eye at the wolf girl.
This girl’s imagination is dangerously Mary Sue-tier...