“Uh… um… so… this…”

Monday morning.

Up on the podium, Zhang Shaoqing scratched his head, stumbling over every word of the group presentation.

Down below, Ning Chu sat with her cheek propped in one hand, barely holding back a laugh as she watched him flounder.

Yesterday had been packed: hanging out with Yan Xinya and Lily all afternoon, rushing home to catch up on her novel writing… and just when she thought she’d get a full night’s sleep, Wen Yang and those toys happened. Again.

She was so exhausted, she literally got stuffed full—in every sense.

The toys had only arrived two nights ago! And Wen Yang was already pushing the limits. He was getting more and more shameless.

She’d only gotten five hours of sleep, tops. Normally that would’ve had her nodding off in class, but today?

She felt great.

Energized.

She even felt like going for a jog.

Who knew what kind of weird buff she had going on.

“Didn’t we give him a script?”

Ning Chu grumbled, tapping her cheek with one finger. “He wasn’t around when we were actually doing the project, and now he’s the one messing up the presentation too.”

“I don’t think he even read the damn thing,” Wen Yang said casually. “His family dragged him home all weekend for matchmaking. Heard he met over a dozen girls in two days.”

“Pffft—no wonder you guys ghosted on the murder mystery game night. Damn, that’s brutal.”

Ning Chu laughed outright, only to earn a deeply resentful glance from Zhang Shaoqing up on stage.

That look—good lord.

It was practically the gaze of a frustrated housewife who hadn’t been satisfied in months.

Despite being up there butchering the presentation, stuttering and fumbling even with a script in hand, Zhang Shaoqing still managed to keep a grin on his face.

He didn’t look like someone being publicly humiliated.

He looked like someone accepting an award.

To be fair, the group project—helmed mostly by Wen Yang—was top-tier.

Content, visuals, structure—the presentation had everything.

The only thing holding it back… was Zhang Shaoqing’s terrible delivery.

Eventually, the professor couldn’t take it anymore and cut him off with a sigh.

“Someone else from your group, please come up and finish this.”

“I’ll go.”

Wen Yang stood up without hesitation and headed for the stage.

Zhang Shaoqing shuffled back to his seat, defeated, muttering curses under his breath as he sat down.

Ning Chu leaned over, eyeing him curiously. “What’s wrong with you now?”

“You’d be in a mood too if you met ten girls in two days.”

“No cat girls among them?”

“Not a single one! God, I wanna run away from home!”

Zhang Shaoqing groaned, rubbing his temples. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes—then paused and reluctantly put them back.

“Fuck, I can’t even smoke in class.”

Yeah, he was definitely in a terrible mood.

Ning Chu had known him long enough to realize that he didn’t even have a real nicotine addiction.

He smoked occasionally, mostly to kill time.

Two sticks a day was already a lot for him.

But when he was really down, he’d go through whole packs.

Back when his childhood sweetheart got snatched away, the dorm balcony had been covered in his cigarette butts.

“My mom even brought home a new stepdad,” he muttered darkly. “Just looking at the guy makes me wanna puke.”

Ning Chu sighed.

Why was it always this guy having problems?

Look at Wen Yang and Wang Jie—chill, easygoing, low maintenance. Never caused a scene.

She wasn’t his mom, so why did she keep having to worry about his life?

“You don’t even live at home most of the time,” she said, trying to comfort him. “Tonight, let Wen Yang drink with you in the dorm?”

“Drink again?”

“Then… maybe—”

“Let’s hit the club tonight!”

“…That’s still drinking, isn’t it?”

A club, huh…

Last time she went with them to a lounge-style bar, it had been fairly tame.

No crazy performances. Nothing weird happened.

But if it was a club they were going to now, that’d be a whole different vibe.

Ning Chu frowned. “Wen Yang and I aren’t going.”

“What’s the point of going if it’s just me and Wang Jie?” Zhang Shaoqing grumbled, glancing at his other friend. “What’s up with you? You look half-dead.”

Wang Jie did look off—face pale, lips almost white, slumped over his desk like a puppet with its strings cut.

Class had been going for a while, and he hadn’t said a word. He hadn’t even touched his mobile game.

“I’m fine… just tired,” he muttered.

“Spent the weekend with your girlfriend, huh?”

“Yeah. I can’t go to the club either. Gonna sleep early and rest up.”

“I told you to drink goji berry tea and get more exercise,” Zhang Shaoqing scolded. “Getting drained by a woman—how fucking embarrassing!” Discover more novels at Nove1Fire.net

Ning Chu glanced at Wang Jie’s lifeless state and felt a chill run down her spine.

Was that her future too?

Drained dry by a man…

After that kind of onslaught, it was impossible for a guy to stay upright the next day—there had to be some cooldown time, some semblance of "sage mode." There were limits to the male body.

But her? She was built different…

With the sheer intensity Wen Yang demonstrated in the hentai doujin, any normal girl would’ve been hospitalized the next day—let alone walking straight. Forget post-orgasmic glow; she’d be lucky if she didn’t pass out on the spot.

Ahegao? That’d be the minimum.

“I wanna go to a club and no one will go with me,” Zhang Shaoqing complained.

“You wanna drink? Do it in the dorm, or at some random BBQ joint, whatever. But Wen Yang and I are definitely not going clubbing.”

“Tch, forget it. Might as well stay in and play games.”

Ning Chu let out a helpless sigh. “Not my problem anymore.”

Honestly, the current Zhang Shaoqing was unlikely to suddenly turn into some villain corrupting innocent girls.

She hadn’t written any weird dark backstory for his character in the story or anything—but in real life, his crappy family background is a mess.

Totally not her fault.

“What are you guys talking about?” Wen Yang returned to his seat, settling next to Ning Chu.

“Shaoqing wants to go drinking at a club. I don’t want you going with him.”

“Wen Yang!” Zhang Shaoqing suddenly slung an arm around his neck. “If you’re a real man, don’t be some whipped househusband. Come drink with me tonight!”

He leaned in conspiratorially, voice gleeful. “Let’s hit up a real club—one with sexy dancers and live shows~”

Wen Yang’s ears twitched. As a man, the thought did

stir a bit of curiosity.

Seeing his eyes light up slightly, Zhang Shaoqing quickly pressed the advantage:

“A couple drinks, some dancing~ That place is full of gorgeous women. Dude, with your looks? You’re walking out of there with at least three girls hanging off you.”

“…Yeah, no thanks.”

Wen Yang was tempted by the idea of watching a show. But picking up random women?

Nah.

Who could compare to his own adorable little succubus?

Those other girls were all high-maintenance drama bombs, every one of them.

Meanwhile, his gender-swapped succubus?

She had a chill, low-maintenance vibe thanks to her underlying “male” temperament—wasn’t clingy, wasn’t shy about stuff, and when she had something to say, she just said it.

Didn’t throw tantrums, didn’t play games.

Only downside?

Way too easily embarrassed.

Honestly, not seductive enough for a succubus.

“You serious?! Are you even a man?” Zhang Shaoqing groaned in exasperation.

Ning Chu finally chimed in, arms crossed: “Wen Yang is being respectful, okay? Not like you, you walking disaster.”

“Ohhh~ now you’re even defending him.”

She rolled her eyes hard enough to sprain something, then nudged Wen Yang’s waist with her elbow and leaned in to whisper, “Be honest. You were tempted, weren’t you?”

“Nope.”

“Liar! Even I wanted to go watch pretty girls dance!”

Wen Yang answered solemnly, “I’d rather watch you dance.”

“Eh—?!”

Ning Chu panicked and immediately changed the subject:

“Finals are in like, what—two months? Lend me your notes. I’m gonna start reviewing.”

“Sure. But you gotta pay up if you want tutoring.”

“…You’ve gotten so shameless lately.”

He used to be a sweet, blushing virgin who’d get flustered just being near a girl.

Now he flirted like it was second nature—endless teasing, double entendres, always a sly smirk on his face.

When did he become such a monster?!

This wasn’t her doing, was it?!