Volume 1 Chapter 194: A New Day

Ning Chu's father abandoned their family and disappeared when she was very young.

She had no recollection of him at all.

She and her older brother were raised by their mother, but during middle school, their mother also passed away due to unforeseen circumstances.

Fortunately, their grandfather came from a wealthy family, and their aunts and uncles took good care of them, so they never lacked financial support. However, Ning Yuan was deeply affected by their mother's death, lost interest in studying, and dropped out of high school to enter society, becoming somewhat of a street wanderer.

At the time, Ning Chu was just a young child, clueless about the world. She followed the expected path, finishing college step by step. However, not long after, she found herself transmigrated into this world.

She returned to her university days, but as a girl. She had become a succubus, fallen in love with the world male protagonist, and embarked on an irreversible path of femininity. She once thought it was a complete tragedy...

Now, she couldn't wait to go home, to see her still-healthy mother and her college-graduate older brother with her own eyes.

When she woke up, her pillow was already wet with tears.

Wiping away the tears, Ning Chu sat up. Her eyes were still slightly red, but her spirits were unusually high.

"Good morning, Wen Yang!"

"???"

Sitting at the bedside playing on his phone, Wen Yang turned to look at her, his eyes full of confusion as he took in the energetic girl before him.

Why did Ning Chu seem... different?

More positive and upbeat?

"Morning."

Wen Yang nodded at Ning Chu. "Why are you in such a good mood today?"

"My birthday is coming up~" Ning Chu climbed to the foot of the bed, her face lit up with joy. "I'm going home this weekend!"

"I thought we were celebrating in the dorm?"

"If it's in the dorm, we'll do it two days early! I don't mind celebrating twice."

She had already planned everything. "Thursday night, okay? We'll invite Xinya and Lily, and go eat at the street food stalls outside campus."

"Sure, that works."

"But let's split the bill!"

It was fine with two or three people, but inviting five people would be a bit too much for Ning Chu's budget.

She quickly jumped off the bed, her footsteps noticeably lighter, and as she walked towards the balcony, she bumped into Zhang Shaoqing.

"Whoa~ Someone's in a good mood so early in the morning?"

"Am I?"

"Did you find money or something? You haven't stopped smiling."

Ning Chu didn't mind Zhang Shaoqing's teasing and rolled her eyes. "It's settled. Thursday night at the food stalls. You're treating us."

"Bullshit! I just heard you telling Wen Yang it's split!"

She pretended not to hear him and rushed to the balcony to wash up.

Since she was still on her period, she needed to quickly head to the public restroom to swap her night-use pad for a tampon, which was more convenient for moving around.

Ning Chu had a lot to do during this trip home.

First, she wanted to see her mother and brother in person—there were so many things she wanted to tell her mother after all these years...

Next was the issue of her gender change. Her mother would need to handle updating her identity and school records to reflect her new gender. After that, she could move into the girls' dormitory or even find an off-campus apartment.

This part was tricky. She vaguely remembered her mother being quite traditional, but if her mother turned out to be a succubus, things would be much easier.

Finally, there was the birthday itself—but that didn't matter much. She just wanted to use it as an excuse to have a meal with her family.

Ning Chu paused, spitting out the toothpaste foam, and hesitated as she looked at Wen Yang.

The real problem was...

What if her mother couldn't accept her?

Feeling a bit uneasy, she considered bringing Wen Yang along to boost her confidence.

"Wen Yang, how about coming with me this weekend?"

"So soon?"

Wen Yang's expression changed.

"No, I just mean... taking you to my hometown for a visit."

"I don't mind, but what does Auntie like? I should prepare something in advance."

"Clothes, bags, health supplements? I might not have enough money for that... Should I find a part-time job these days?"

Seeing Wen Yang deep in thought, Ning Chu helplessly lowered her head and rinsed her mouth.

She couldn't explain it at all!

^She hadn't even told Wen Yang about her situation, and he was already misunderstanding it as meeting his in-laws…

Frowning in frustration, she spat out the water and wiped her mouth with a towel. "Forget it, we'll see when the time comes."

"I'm going downstairs for breakfast."

"Wait two minutes, I'll come with you."

Back in the dorm, Ning Chu moved carefully, wary of any leakage from her sanitary pad.

She put on her shoes and, after a cautious glance at Zhang Shaoqing's bed, tiptoed over and quickly grabbed a few tampons from under her pillow, stuffing them into her jacket pocket.

Wen Yang had also finished freshening up. He casually smoothed his hair in front of the mirror, pressing down the unruly strands with wet hands to tidy up his appearance.

"Alright, let's go."

"Yeah."

The two of them left the dorm one after the other, but Zhang Shaoqing eagerly followed behind. "Wait for me! I'm coming too!"

Wen Yang exchanged a helpless glance with Ning Chu and shook his head.

"Since when did you start having breakfast?" Ning Chu rolled her eyes at Zhang Shaoqing with a look of despair. "You're ditching Wang Jie just like that?"

"He's too slow; I couldn't be bothered to wait."

Ning Chu sighed in frustration. If Zhang Shaoqing tagged along, it would be tricky for her to slip away to the public restroom and change her tampon...

But she had to change it—the sanitary pad had been used all night.

Zhang Shaoqing, seemingly unaware of how unwelcome he was, continued to follow them cheerfully.

As they approached the cafeteria, Ning Chu suddenly put on a distressed expression. "I need to use the restroom, my stomach suddenly hurts."

She bowed her head and hurried toward the nearby public restroom.

Zhang Shaoqing immediately tried to follow, but Wen Yang casually hooked an arm around his shoulder and steered him towards the cafeteria. "Let's go check out what's for breakfast first."

Even without any prior communication, Wen Yang instantly understood Ning Chu's intentions.

"But—"

"Come on, your stomach doesn't hurt too, does it?"

"Actually, yeah, it does!"

Wen Yang's expression froze for a second, but he ignored it and firmly dragged Zhang Shaoqing toward the cafeteria.

Ning Chu needed to change her sanitary pad—what was this guy trying to follow for?

If he caught a whiff of anything, Ning Chu's secret would definitely be exposed.

Zhang Shaoqing watched Ning Chu disappear into the restroom and twitched the corner of his mouth, turning to Wen Yang with a suspicious look.

"Are you covering for Ning Chu?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Is Ning Chu actually a girl?"

Without hesitation, Wen Yang shook his head and replied confidently, "I've seen him in the dorm bathroom, he's bigger than you."

"You think I'm stupid?"

Damn, he's getting harder to fool...

Zhang Shaoqing scrutinized Wen Yang's expression and asked with a frown, "Is he on her period? The dorm bathroom has had a weird smell these past two days."

"How could a guy have a period?"

"She went to the public restroom to change her pad, right?"

Wen Yang calmly countered, "Didn't he say he had a stomachache?"

"Are you two together?"

"No. I don't like men."

Zhang Shaoqing had no comeback. He was more convinced than ever that Ning Chu was a girl and that there might be something going on between her and Wen Yang. But Wen Yang's poker face left no room for doubt.

However, Wen Yang posed a question that left Zhang Shaoqing speechless:

"If Ning Chu really is a girl, why would she stay in the boys' dorm? To mooch off your money?"

Even Wen Yang himself didn't have an answer to this question.

"..."

Zhang Shaoqing fell silent.