Volume 1 Chapter 23: The Understanding Big Sister

In the quiet dorm room, Wang Jie’s loud snores filled the air, and the creak of the bunk frame told Ning Chu that Wen Yang was tossing and turning on the bed above.

Flat on his back, Ning Chu stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling utterly lifeless. His mind was a tangled mess.

“A bunch of flirty vixens are still trying to hook up with Wen Yang. If I can’t fix this, he might just throw himself at them any day now.”

“Then there’s Zhang Shaoqing, going off to confess on his own, getting rejected, and who knows—maybe turning dark and villainous. If that happens, peace will be gone for good.”

He muttered under his breath, then rolled onto his side, resting his forearm under his head as he glanced toward Zhang Shaoqing, who was sitting at his computer playing games.

The Wen Yang situation was manageable—at worst, the guy would just keep having endless “battles” with girls. As long as the story didn’t push things to the point where he had to become one of the conquerable girls, all Wen Yang really added to the dorm was another scumbag.

Zhang Shaoqing, though… if this guy really did turn into a villain, girls would probably end up getting messed with every week, each time in some twisted way. And as his roommate, Ning Chu doubted he’d escape the fallout.

That was terrifying.

Calling the police? Yeah right, the main characters of a hentai stories were basically untouchable.

The more Ning Chu thought about it, the less he could sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, scenes from the novel popped into his head—always ones where he was stuck in awkward “male or female” situations. His drowsiness faded, replaced by restless energy, though his eyelids kept growing heavier, threatening to shut.

Finally, he sat up abruptly, staring ahead in a daze before ruffling his hair in frustration.

“Still not sleeping?” came Zhang Shaoqing’s voice from below.

Ning Chu looked down to see him lounging in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, scrolling on his phone.

“Can’t sleep. I’m annoyed.”

With Wang Jie’s snores and Wen Yang’s heavy breathing filling the room, there was no way he’d get any rest now.

“Wanna come down and play games with me?”

“…Sure, why not.”

As Ning Chu climbed down, Zhang Shaoqing watched him with mild curiosity. It had only been a week, but something about his roommate felt… different.

That boyish, delicate face now carried an odd, hard-to-describe air. The faint flush at the corners of his eyes from lack of sleep added a careless, almost lazy allure.

When he hopped down from the bunk, his short pajama shorts tightened over the curve of his now fuller hips and thighs, showing their shape. His slender, pale calves swayed lightly as he moved.

Once, Ning Chu’s flat “washboard” figure had been memorable in its own way. Now, Zhang Shaoqing could see any change immediately.

“Did you put on a few pounds?”

“Huh?”

Ning Chu froze halfway down, glanced at his shorts, and muttered with mild irritation, “Yeah, a little. Even my shorts are getting tight.”

He made a mental note to buy a new set of pajamas online.

After splashing his face with a damp towel, he sat at his computer and turned to ask, “So, what game? Just so you know, I can’t play anything.”

“…What can you play then?”

“Basically… nothing.”

Since arriving in this world, Ning Chu had barely touched video games. 

Zhang Shaoqing assumed it meant he’d never played much before college.

“I’ll find something easy for you, then.”

Zhang Shaoqing turned back to his monitor, chin resting on one hand. But within two minutes, Ning Chu, unable to sit still, picked up his chair and plopped it down right next to him.

A faint whiff of a light fragrance drifted over, and without looking back, Zhang Shaoqing shifted his chair slightly to give him space.

Catching the look on Ning Chu’s face—hesitant, like he wanted to say something—Zhang Shaoqing prompted, “What is it?”

“Uh… promise you won’t get mad if I ask?”

“Mm.”

“Well… since Ling Ling’s not into you, is there any other girl you like? Or maybe, what type of girl are you into?” Ning Chu asked cautiously, worried his words might set him off.

“…Don’t know.”

“Wen Yang’s really popular with girls—what kind of…”

Ning Chu suddenly trailed off, seeing Zhang Shaoqing’s face darken.

“…I like action games,” he blurted instead, trying to play it off.

Why did these two suddenly seem to have beef? They’d been getting along fine not too long ago.

Could it be that because of Ling Ling, Zhang Shaoqing now thinks any girl he likes would just be Wen Yang’s leftovers?

Putting himself in that mindset, Ning Chu tried to guess what was going on in Zhang Shaoqing’s head.

“Here, I think this game’s pretty good,” Zhang Shaoqing said.

“I’ll give it a try.”

Ning Chu quickly looked at the screen—only to see a pastel-pink-themed game that looked nothing like an action game. If anything, it screamed “dating sim.”

Still, he hesitated only a moment before clicking Start, curiosity getting the better of him.

But within ten minutes, his face was burning bright red. The screen was now showing an uncensored “action” scene, and he froze, completely flustered.

Sure, he was absolutely a shameless perv—otherwise he wouldn’t be able to write those hentai webnovel chapters—but this was the first time he’d ever played an H-game in front of someone else!

“This… this…”

He stiffly turned his head toward Zhang Shaoqing, at a complete loss for words.

Seeing his face red enough to steam, Zhang Shaoqing chuckled quietly. “Well, you said you wanted an action game.”

“That’s not what I—”

What I wanted was Monster Hunter-style action combat, not a game where I have to do all the… moving!

“Man, why are you so easy to embarrass? It’s the same as last time when we watched that porn.”

Excuse me? This is how a normal person reacts!

Was this world really that open about sex?! Last time, the “movie” he was shown had production quality on par with a cinema release, and now this H-game looked like it could almost pass as AAA-level! Both times had caught him completely off guard!

This world is a paradise for degenerates.

If he weren’t stuck inside this story and unable to escape, Ning Chu might’ve actually been happy about it.

But tonight, his original goal was to chill out, chat, and maybe keep Zhang Shaoqing—who seemed to be on the path toward going dark—from sliding further. Now, after being toyed with like this, all he felt was irritation.

Slamming the game shut, he glanced at its title before heading back to his own desk.

“Want some milk tea?” Zhang Shaoqing called after him shamelessly. “It’s free delivery if the order hits twenty yuan. Wanna order a cup?”

“Get lost!”

Leaning against the wardrobe with a grin, Zhang Shaoqing tapped his own face. “Do I look like the type to get all depressed for days or months just because a girl rejected me? You really think I need you to comfort me?”

“No. I’m worried you’ll turn into a psycho.”

That made Zhang Shaoqing blink, utterly baffled. “How does that make me a psycho?”

Ning Chu just rolled his eyes and ignored him.

In the novel, the stuff this guy did went way beyond “psycho” territory.

“Alright, quit messing around.”

And what was with that patronizing, “humoring the sulking girl” tone?!

Zhang Shaoqing shoved his phone toward him. “Pick something. My treat.”

“Seriously?”

“You think I can’t spare a few yuans for milk tea?”

Ning Chu’s eyes lit up, but he still put on a grumpy act, taking the phone with an “unwilling” expression.

“Next time something happens to you, maybe just talk to me about it,” Ning Chu said as he scrolled for a drink he wanted, his tone soft and testing. “Bottling things up isn’t good—you should vent a little.”

“...?”

Zhang Shaoqing’s expression turned strange.

“Why do you sound so awkward? What are you, some ‘understanding big sister’ type?”

“Sure enough, you're definitely the type of man who would take a trip to Thailand.”