When Ning Chu woke up, his head was still a little foggy.

He weakly half-opened his eyes, wanting to get up and use the bathroom, but his limbs wouldn’t obey. His body felt heavy, as if a massive stone slab had him pinned down.

Panic flooded his mind. Terrified, he tried to slap the bed and make enough noise to wake his roommates and ask for help.

But he couldn’t even lift a hand to slap the bed.

Sleep paralysis?

Ning Chu could hear Wang Jie’s keyboard clattering away. He had no idea what time it was, but that shut-in was still gaming.

He could hear the air conditioner running, the occasional insects chirping outside, and Wen Yang’s heavy breathing as he slept... But he still couldn’t move a single inch.

Time dragged on unbearably. He tried to roll over, open his eyes, and even make a sound, but his body seemed to have gone offline. It just wouldn’t receive any of the commands his brain sent.

He heard Wang Jie climb into bed. Before long, Wang Jie was snoring and grinding his teeth.

Zhang Shaoqing was startled awake and grumbled as he rolled over.

The mismatch between his mind and body was agonizing. Ning Chu’s nerves stayed wound as tight as they could go until they were completely worn out, and he drifted back into a groggy sleep.

When he woke up again, the sky outside was already beginning to brighten.

Ning Chu suddenly sat up, breathing in short, uncertain gasps. His dilated pupils swept fearfully around the cramped dorm room, and only then did his racing heart gradually settle.

“Sleep paralysis... I used to get that all the time in high school.”

“I guess I’ve been under too much pressure lately...”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking utterly defeated, and wiped the sheen of sweat from his forehead. Then he climbed down from bed at a sluggish pace and sat down at the computer.

Ning Chu glanced at the time and realized it was almost seven.

He picked up the bread and milk on his desk, turned on the computer, put on his headphones, and found a food video to watch while he ate.

It was already Monday. Military training started at eight, so he had to eat breakfast and avoid fainting again and making a fool of himself.

When the video ended and his stomach was full, Ning Chu still didn’t go wash up. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at his chest.

His snug pajamas faintly outlined the curve of his chest, and the little red bumps stood out as clearly as ever.

“It hasn’t gotten any bigger...”

He didn’t know whether he should feel disappointed or relieved.

Disappointed that last night hadn’t completely wrecked the exorcism plot—or relieved that the punishment hadn’t made his body any more feminine.

“No wonder I got sleep paralysis. Every day’s one lousy thing after another.”

The pressure he was under now felt far heavier than the pressure of the college entrance exams. If he failed those, he could still go to junior college or get a job in a factory. At least he wouldn’t starve.

But if he made even one mistake now, he’d be surrounded by men on all sides, with men piled on top of men. He might even end up in obstetrics and gynecology—and could really become part of some smutty webnovel.

He didn’t want anyone saying to him in the future, “Ma’am, you wouldn’t want your child getting bullied at school, would you?”

That was terrifying!

Just thinking about it made the color drain from his face.

“You’re up this early?”

Wen Yang’s voice came from above. Ning Chu looked up just in time to see him turn over and climb down from his bed.

“Yeah.”

“What, shutting yourself away again?” Wen Yang stretched. “Want me to tell you some gossip to cheer you up?”

Ning Chu shook his head without a word. He wasn’t interested in gossip.

But Wen Yang stopped behind him with his toiletries in hand. His expression turned strange, with a hint of disappointment, as he said to himself, “I reported the teaching building incident yesterday. Then last night, while the security guard was patrolling the building, he caught a girl.”

“Caught? Was it a female ghost?”

“Not exactly. Have you heard of that particular kink called exhibitionism... uh...” Wen Yang looked at Ning Chu’s curious, expectant gaze and his innocent boyish face, then suddenly found himself at a loss for words. “Anyway, a girl got caught doing something lewd in the teaching building.”

“Tch. I thought they’d caught a ghost.”

Ning Chu rolled his eyes and slumped onto the desk, looking thoroughly dispirited.

Maybe he’d seen too much by now. Even hearing such explosive gossip left him completely unmoved.

Figures. There’s hardly anyone normal in this place. Just thinking about having to live in a world like this for the rest of his life made him feel like sooner or later, he’d end up a cuckold.

Unless you’re exceptionally broad-minded, marrying someone here would probably drive you insane.

NTR fans excluded.

“Didn’t sleep well?”

“Yeah. I woke up in the middle of the night and got sleep paralysis.”

“You just think too much all the time. You’ve got too much on your mind.” Wen Yang said as he headed to the balcony to wash up.

Yeah. If he didn’t care about anything, he’d be your ‘comrade-in-arms.’ Maybe you wouldn’t mind—in fact, you might even be pretty happy about it.

Ning Chu stayed slumped over the desk, trying to get some rest before military training.

About ten minutes later, the rest of the roommates gradually got up too. The room, which had been so quiet before, quickly filled with everyone’s “sweet nothings.”

“Military training again... I can’t even get up. I want to call in sick.”

“Damn, it’s not even eight and the sun’s already blazing! How’s anyone supposed to live like this?”

“What kind of idiot principal schedules military training for the hottest time of day? What if my precious Princess Ning Chu gets heatstroke?”

Ning Chu picked up the empty bottle from his desk and turned to throw it at Zhang Shaoqing’s head.

That guy was getting way out of line!

Zhang Shaoqing dodged with a cheeky grin, then hurried over to Ning Chu like a puppy trying to please its owner. “Ning Chu, did you hear? Last night in the teaching building...”

“I heard! Shut up!”

“Tsk, tsk. People these days are into some wild stuff~”

Ning Chu’s head hurt from listening to him. He covered his ears and stared at Zhang Shaoqing through half-lidded eyes, full of contempt.

You got up to way wilder stuff in the book.

I wrote all of it!

Too bad that smutty webnovel isn’t finished yet. Otherwise, I’d have made sure you got drowned in the river in a barrel of concrete!

“Hey, that look on your face is so smug! You’re staring at me like I’m some kind of pervert!”

“Ning Chu, want to go downstairs for breakfast?” Wen Yang had already changed into his training uniform and put on his shoes. He was all set to go.

Ning Chu glanced at the bread wrapper on his desk and got up without hesitation. “Let’s go!”

He’d already had breakfast, but staying in the dorm meant putting up with Zhang Shaoqing. He’d rather go out with Wen Yang—and keep an eye on him, just in case some temptress tried to seduce the protagonist!

But the moment they opened the dorm door, both of them stopped in their tracks.

“Counselor?” Wen Yang spoke first, asking in surprise, “What brings you here?”

Han Jingye wore a refined, easygoing smile. A few students from the neighboring dorm were trailing behind him, clearly there to watch the show. “I’m here to inspect the dorms. Am I not welcome?”

Behind Wen Yang, Ning Chu nodded so fast his head nearly blurred, then glanced back into the dorm.

As for the dorm’s cleanliness... well, you couldn’t exactly call it clean and tidy. It was a complete mess.

“Mostly, I just wanted to see how you’re settling in.” Han Jingye smiled as he walked into the dorm and looked around. “You should clean up. Some of the school administrators are coming to inspect next week.”

“Huh? What kind of idiot administrator has that much free time?” Zhang Shaoqing cursed as he walked in from the balcony. His swagger vanished in an instant. He grabbed the broom from the corner and muttered, “We’d clean up even if the administrators weren’t coming to inspect!”

You sure changed your tune fast~