“People these days... not one of them is honest.”

Ning Chu walked out of the convenience store with a bag of snacks, grumbling under his breath.

“He was clearly in a bad mood, and I even asked him about it, but he still wouldn’t tell me... Too proud for his own good.”

But when it came down to it, he’d only known Zhang Shaoqing for a few weeks. It was hard to become true confidants in such a short time.

He’d have to keep trying and earn his roommates’ trust. If he could really become the understanding big sister Zhang Shaoqing had talked about—no, big brother—then everything would be easy to solve.

“I’m just worried he’ll keep bottling it up until he turns into some kind of perverted villain...”

When he reached the basketball court between the dorm buildings, Ning Chu found a bench in a quiet corner and sat down in the shade of a tree. He tore open the bag of chips and set it on his lap, munching away as he watched students burn off their energy on the court nearby.

How nice...

They say playing basketball makes you taller. Wonder if that’s really true.

Wen Yang was taking a nap, and Ning Chu had finally found some free time that afternoon to explore the campus. On an ordinary day, he wouldn’t dare let Wen Yang out of his sight.

Ning Chu ate chips with his Coke, leaning back against the bench. At last, he didn’t have to think about how to deal with the plot. He kept his eyes fixed on the court, getting excited whenever someone made a great shot.

“Meow~”

A frail, kittenish meow caught his attention. He looked down and saw a little black kitten wobbling out from the bushes behind him, its tiny head turning this way and that.

“A cat?”

Ning Chu muttered, bending down and cautiously reaching out a fingertip to gently stroke the kitten’s head.

Its fur was filthy. It clearly wasn’t some irresponsible student’s abandoned or neglected pet; most likely, it was one of the stray cats commonly found on campus.

Though the kitten stumbled as it moved, its eyes were unusually bright and clever. Sensing the kindness he was showing it, it tipped over and sprawled right on top of his shoe. Its white-tipped paws even began batting at his shoelace, treating it like a toy.

Ning Chu’s expression froze for a moment. “Are you trying to scam me?”

“Meow~”

“Want some chips? It’s not like I can take you home and keep you, right?”

The guys in his dorm hadn’t shown any particular fondness for cats. Zhang Shaoqing did like catgirls, though.

Hmm, catgirls?

Something suddenly occurred to him. He crouched down, gently lifted one of the kitten’s hind legs with a finger, and lowered his head to look carefully for the little guy’s...

“That guy’s such a creep...”

“Hurry up.”

Two passersby hurried past, leaving only their verdict that he was a creep behind.

“...” Ning Chu silently sat back down on the bench and rolled his eyes at the two passersby.

What the hell—getting called a pervert by characters in a perverted smut novel! What’s wrong with checking if a cat has a dick?

But since he’d written this smut novel himself... he really couldn’t argue.

“You’re a girl. If you were a boy, I’d take you in.”

“Meow!”

“Nope. What if you turn into a catgirl one day and try to seduce Wen Yang?” Ning Chu pretended he understood the kitten’s meow, shaking his head and explaining with a straight face.

But if he adopted the cat, what if she turned into a catgirl and repaid him for it?

His expression shifted a little. He was actually looking forward to that day.

It wasn’t just wishful thinking. In the novel, Wen Yang’s cat really did turn into a catgirl and repay him.

“Meow~”

“Forget it. I really can’t keep you.”

The kitten rubbed its head against Ning Chu’s ankle, shamelessly acting like it was trying to scam him.

Ning Chu liked little animals, and his face was full of reluctance. After looking around, all he could do was get up and head back to the convenience store to buy the kitten a chicken sausage.

Keeping a pet in the dorm was a serious matter. As tempted as he was, he could at most keep coming back to this area and bringing the kitten food and water until he’d gotten his roommates’ permission.

After scamming him out of a chicken sausage, the kitten was finally satisfied and let Ning Chu go, burying its head in the food and eating happily.

“I came out for a bit and nearly went back with a cat...”

The campus was huge, made up of several large campuses. Supposedly, there were three cafeterias, but so far he’d only been around the dorm, the cafeteria, the teaching buildings, and the sports field.

The dorm area had dozens of buildings, with a few basketball courts and exercise machines scattered between them. At its center was a little garden built around an artificial lake.

After parting ways with the kitten, Ning Chu headed to the garden.

The shade of the trees and the breeze coming toward him eased the afternoon heat. He strolled along the garden’s pebble paths, breathing in the fragrance of flowers in bloom. At last, his usually tense mood began to ease.

“The book had weird stuff like hypnosis and tentacle monsters in it, but you never see anything like that in real life.”

Ning Chu sighed. “People here really are pretty decent...”

But before he could finish, he heard a coquettish panting sound.

His expression froze, and he stopped in his tracks.

Hey, hey, hey! In broad daylight! Couldn’t they go find a hotel instead of hooking up out in the open?

This is ridiculous!

With his neck stiff, he turned toward the sound. The panting seemed to be coming from behind a nearby clump of bushes.

He’d never experienced anything like this before, and he could feel his cheeks heating up. His virgin’s embarrassment left him awkward and nervous. Yet the students passing by didn’t seem to react at all.

This world was even more sexually open than he’d imagined.

Though curiosity urged Ning Chu to sneak a peek, he still chose to go back the way he’d come.

Get out of here! This really was a dangerous world!

He spun around and ran in a panic, not daring to stop until he made it into the cool dorm. Only then did he finally have a chance to catch his breath.

“What’s up? Why the big fuss?”

Hearing the door open with a bit of a bang, Zhang Shaoqing glanced over from his computer and asked curiously, “Did a guy confess to you while you were out? Why’s your face so red?”

“Way scarier than that...” Ning Chu took a few quick breaths. Once he’d caught his breath, he awkwardly explained, “I heard someone in the garden just now, uh... hooking up outdoors.”

Zhang Shaoqing blinked. “Where? Take me there. I wanna see.”

“No! Is that really okay?”

Wen Yang’s voice suddenly came from the bed. “If the school catches them, they’ll at least get a demerit, right? If it’s serious, they’ll be expelled.”

Ning Chu looked up. Wen Yang was sitting at the head of the bed, yawning again and again. “You made too much noise opening the door and woke me up.”

“Sorry...”

Hearing Wen Yang say that calmed him down a little.

Good. Even though he’d seen people’s more open side today, the school’s willingness to hand out demerits or expel students suggested society was still pretty normal.

Maybe that couple hooking up outdoors were characters in the plot, which was why they were so outrageous?

“You blush like a monkey’s butt just from hearing a little noise,” Zhang Shaoqing said with a snicker. “You’ve gotta be a virgin.”

“Mind your own business! Isn’t Wen Yang a virgin too?”

“Him? There’s a whole line of girls waiting for him. He’s in no hurry. What about you?”

“Get lost!”