Volume 1 Chapter 8: Punishment

“Zhang Shaoqing!”

Honestly, Ning Chu’s voice—light, youthful, and androgynous—lacked any real authority. Even when angry, those big, dewy eyes of his looked more like he was pouting than actually furious.

Seeing that aggrieved look, Zhang Shaoqing instinctively felt a little guilty. He glanced at the phone on the ground, the screen now an ominous shade of green—definitely broken—and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. But he still tried to act tough.

“Just get it repaired... No big deal, why are you so mad over this?”

“I don’t have the money!” Ning Chu glared at him again. “Would it kill you to open the door quietly?!”

Sighing, he bent down and gently picked up the phone. Most of the screen was green, and the touch screen was completely unresponsive. The internal screen had obviously been wrecked.

There was no use complaining now—it had already happened.

“I’ll pay to get it fixed,” Zhang Shaoqing said with arms crossed, leaning lazily against the wardrobe like it was no big deal.

“What am I supposed to use until then?” Ning Chu frowned.

Without another word, Zhang Shaoqing dug into his pocket and slapped his own phone down on Ning Chu’s desk.

“Use mine.”

“Huh?”

“Huh what? Just don’t delete anything. I’ve got my smartwatch for calls anyway.” He picked up Ning Chu’s broken phone and stuffed it into his pocket. “We’ll take it in to get fixed tonight. Use mine for now.”

“…Fine.”

Zhang Shaoqing’s straightforward handling left Ning Chu with nothing to argue about.

He might look like a slacker with that dyed yellow hair and cocky attitude, but when it came time to take responsibility, he stepped up like a real man.

The earlier tension made things a bit awkward. Ning Chu kept a cold face and opened a mobile game. But not even two minutes passed before Zhang Shaoqing came grinning again.

“Hey, Ning Chu, good news—Wen Yang agreed to break up with Ling Ling.”

“Oh.”

“There’s no shortage of girls chasing him anyway. He’s not that into her—plus, they’ve only been together a few days.”

“Mm.”

Though his response was indifferent, Ning Chu couldn’t help but smile.

Finally! The first key plot of the novel is completely dead!

And if messing with the plot caused a butterfly effect, maybe later plot events would disappear too.

That means his chances of turning into a girl were getting lower.

But just as he had that hopeful thought, a sudden wave of intense abdominal pain hit him like a punch.

He gasped sharply, curling up instinctively, both hands gripping his stomach.

“Ah—!”

“What’s wrong?!” Zhang Shaoqing panicked. Wang Jie, who’d been playing games, jumped up and rushed over.

“I-it’s fine…”

Ning Chu curled up in his chair, tears streaming down his face from the sheer pain. He trembled and bit his lip, trying to stop himself from crying out.

“I’ll look for painkillers—hang on!”

“Is this food poisoning? Should we call an ambulance?” Wang Jie asked, already pulling out his phone.

The two roommates rushed about, one digging through the medicine box, the other ready to dial emergency.

Thankfully, the pain subsided just as quickly as it came. Ning Chu was left sweating and gasping, forehead resting weakly on his desk.

But something clicked in his mind.

This… might be punishment.

He’d suspected since earlier this morning—ever since the first minor cramps—that the pain was linked to him interfering with the story.

Stopping Wen Yang from hooking up with Ling Ling?

Now forcing them to break up?

Each time he broke the plot, the pain hit harder.

But pain alone wouldn’t make him give up.

After a few minutes, he slowly raised his head, still weak.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” he said to Zhang Shaoqing, eyes still glistening from tears.

“When my food delivery gets here, help me grab it.”

Zhang Shaoqing blinked, a bit stunned as he looked at Ning Chu’s red eyes, still glistening with tears from the pain. He quickly turned his head away, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

“You good now?” he mumbled.

“I’m fine. It just hurt real bad for a second.”

Ning Chu spoke like it was no big deal, his tone casual and light—so much so that Zhang Shaoqing started to wonder if this guy was secretly a masochist or something.

“Shouldn’t you still go to the hospital?” Wang Jie chimed in, concern evident in his voice.

“No need!”

Seriously? He was in agony just a minute ago, and now he was acting like nothing happened—and even seemed happy about it?

Zhang Shaoqing watched as Ning Chu walked over to his wardrobe, casually started undressing—first the training uniform top, then his pants—revealing pale, long legs and a small, firm butt that stretched his boxer briefs tight.

They saw this every night during shower time, but for some reason... it felt different this time.

Was his butt... perkier? Rounder?

Zhang Shaoqing quickly shook his head and turned to sit down at his desk. He wasn’t into guys—he had a girl he liked, thank you very much.

Still, one random thought popped into his head.

Did Ning Chu... not have leg hair?

It wasn’t like he wanted to check out his roommate’s legs or anything—he was just curious!

He glanced over again, only to lock eyes with Ning Chu, who was now holding his change of clothes.

“…What?” Ning Chu asked flatly.

“Nothing—just, uh, hurry up with your shower. I need to go next,” Zhang Shaoqing blurted, fishing for an excuse.

But his gaze had already dropped—to Ning Chu’s chest.

“Got it,” Ning Chu replied.

He caught where Zhang Shaoqing was looking and instinctively glanced down himself, eyes landing on the two very visible, sensitive bumps on his chest. His face darkened slightly. He immediately lifted the clothes in his arms to block them from view.

Technically, it wasn’t a big deal. Guys could have prominent nipples too. Still, something about it made him really self-conscious—like he was afraid of being teased.

Changing into his slippers, Ning Chu quickly scurried out to the balcony and into the bathroom.

Once the door clicked shut behind him, Wang Jie finally broke the silence.

“What’s with him? Don’t tell me he really got food poisoning last night. If so, doesn’t that make it your fault?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Zhang Shaoqing snapped. “All three of us ate the same stuff and we’re fine. If anything, the guy looks like he has his period or something.”

“Period? Bro, chill.”

Just then, the dorm door opened and Wen Yang walked in, blinking at the noisy room.

“What’s going on? Sounds lively in here.”

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Ning Chu stood under the warm shower, humming a completely off-key tune, head tilted back and eyes closed as he basked in the soothing heat of the water.

The moment he started rewriting the novel’s original plot, some invisible force started punishing him for it.

He didn’t know what it was or where it came from, but he was sure it had to do with the one who brought him to this world—someone who clearly didn’t like what he was doing.

“Too bad for them!” Ning Chu muttered cheerfully under the shower. “If I keep screwing with the plot, maybe I won’t have to turn into a girl after all!”

And maybe he wouldn’t have to suffer through this body acting up either.

Living a peaceful life as a guy in a world full of gorgeous girls, cat-eared babes, and elves?

Sounds like a win.

“Mission accomplished—for now!”

Grinning, he lathered up with body wash, enjoying his little victory. But as he rubbed it over his chest, his hands suddenly froze.

“...Huh?”

Why did it feel like there were two soft lumps on his chest now?