Volume 1 Chapter 28: Early Morning

When Ning Chu woke up, his mind was still a bit groggy.

He half-opened his eyes weakly, wanting to get up and go to the bathroom, but his limbs wouldn’t obey. His body felt as if it had been pressed down by a massive stone slab.

A wave of panic instantly flooded his brain, and he desperately tried to slap the bedboard to make some noise and wake up his roommates for help.

But even lifting his hand was impossible.

Sleep paralysis?

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

He could also hear the air conditioner humming, the occasional chirping of insects from outside the window, and Wen Yang’s heavy breathing as he slept…

But no matter what, he couldn’t move an inch.

Time felt unbearably slow.

He tried turning over, opening his eyes wider, even making a sound, but his body seemed “offline”—it simply wasn’t receiving any commands from his brain.

At some point, he heard Wang Jie climb into bed, and soon came the sound of his snoring and teeth grinding.

Zhang Shaoqing was jolted awake, cursed under his breath, and rolled over.

The mismatch between a conscious mind and an immobile body was absolute torture, keeping Ning Chu’s nerves wound to their limit until exhaustion set in again, and he drifted back into a drowsy sleep.

The next time he woke, the sky outside was already growing light.

Ning Chu suddenly sat up, breathing hard in confusion and fear. His wide pupils scanned the cramped dorm room before his pounding heart gradually calmed down.

‘Sleep paralysis… I used to get that a lot back in high school.’

‘Guess the stress lately has been too much…’

He rubbed his hair like his soul had left him, wiped away the light sweat on his forehead, and slowly climbed out of bed to sit at his desk.

A glance at the time told him it was nearly 7 a.m.

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

It was already Monday. Military training would start at 8, which meant he had to eat something for breakfast to avoid fainting again and embarrassing himself.

By the time the video ended, his stomach was full—but instead of going to wash up, he lowered his head and looked at his chest.

Through his thin pajamas, he could faintly make out a slight curve, and the small “red beans” were just as noticeable as always.

“It didn’t grow bigger…”

He didn’t know whether to feel disappointed that last night hadn’t completely ruined the exorcism “plotline,” or relieved that his body hadn’t become any more feminized from the punishment.

“No wonder I got sleep paralysis—it’s nothing but stressful crap every day.”

Right now, the pressure he felt was worse than before the college entrance exams.

Failing the gaokao only meant going to a vocational school, maybe straight to factory work—he’d still survive.

But now, if he made any mistake, his “ending” could be gangbang, male-on-male wrestling, or even landing in the obstetrics ward due to being unable to move his lower half anymore.

He definitely didn’t want to someday hear someone say, “Ma’am, you wouldn’t want your child to be bullied at school, would you?”

Just thinking about it drained the blood from his face.

“You’re up early?”

The voice came from above. 

Ning Chu looked up to see Wen Yang climbing down from his bed.

“Mm.”

“What’s wrong? Sulking again?” Wen Yang stretched. “How about I tell you some gossip to cheer you up?”

Ning Chu silently shook his head.

Gossip didn’t interest him.

But Wen Yang, holding his toiletries, paused behind him with an odd, slightly regretful expression, and said to himself, “I reported the teaching building thing yesterday. Turns out, last night while patrolling, the security guards caught a girl there.”

“Caught? A female ghost?”

“Not exactly. Have you heard of a fetish called… um…” Wen Yang glanced at Ning Chu’s curious, expectant look—that innocent baby face—and suddenly didn’t know how to continue.

“Anyway, it was just a girl doing a perverted thing in the teaching building, and she got caught.”

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

Ning Chu rolled his eyes and slumped onto the desk.

Maybe he’d seen too much—even hearing this kind of scandal didn’t stir any excitement in him.

As expected, there weren’t many normal people here. Just thinking about having to live in such a world for the rest of his life made him feel like it was only a matter of time before his crush or lover got screwed while on the phone with him.

Anyone who wasn’t broad-minded enough would probably die of anger if they married here—except for cuckold enthusiasts.

“Didn’t sleep well?”

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

“You just overthink things and brood too much,” Wen Yang said as he headed to the balcony to wash up.

Ning Chu kept his head down on the desk, trying to rest up before military training.

About ten minutes later, his other roommates started getting up one after another, and the once-quiet room quickly filled with sweet talk.

“Gotta train again… I can’t get up, I wanna call in sick.”

“Damn it, it’s not even eight o’clock and the sun’s already this strong! Do they want us dead?”

“What kind of dumbass principal schedules military training during the hottest hours?! What if our little princess gets heatstroke?”

Ning Chu grabbed the empty bottle on his desk and hurled it at Zhang Shaoqing’s head.

This guy was getting more and more outrageous!

Zhang Shaoqing dodged with a grin, like a puppy trying to please its owner, and eagerly leaned in close. “Ning Chu, did you hear? Last night in the teaching building—”

“Heard it! Shut up!”

“Geez, people really play wild these days~”

The noise was giving Ning Chu a headache. He covered his ears, half-closing his eyes, and glared at Zhang Shaoqing with contempt.

You played even wilder in the book.

I know it all!

Shame the novel isn’t finished yet, or I’d give you a death scene—like filling you with cement and sinking you in the river!

“What’s with that scummy look? Like you’re looking at a pervert!”

“Ning Chu, are you heading down for breakfast?” Wen Yang was already dressed in his training uniform, shoes on, ready to go.

One glance at the empty bread wrapper on his desk, and Ning Chu stood up without hesitation. “Let’s go!”

Even though he’d already eaten breakfast, staying in the dorm meant facing Zhang Shaoqing’s harassment. Better to go out with Wen Yang, and he could also keep an eye on him—make sure no flirty girls tried to seduce the protagonist.

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

“The homeroom teacher?” Wen Yang was the first to speak, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Han Jingye’s face carried a gentle, easy smile. Behind him were a few students from the next dorm over, watching the fun. “I came to check on the cleanliness. Am I not welcome?”

From behind Wen Yang, Ning Chu shook his head quickly, then glanced back into the dorm.

As for the cleanliness of their room… “tidy and orderly” wasn’t exactly how you’d describe it—it was more like a complete disaster.

“I’m here mainly just to see if you’re all getting used to living here,” Han Jingye said, smiling as he stepped inside, sweeping his gaze over the room. “You should do some cleaning. There’ll be leadership inspections next week.”

“Huh? Which idiot leader has so much free time?” Zhang Shaoqing cursed as he came in from the balcony. 

His arrogant expression vanished in an instant, he grabbed the broom from the corner and muttered, “Even without a leader checking, we’d still clean!”

Wow, you sure chicken out fast~