Chapter 25 – Isn’t This Just Asking for Trouble!
“Ning Chu, are you going to apply for the school subsidy? The poverty subsidy.”
Later, Wen Yang came up behind Ning Chu, hands resting on the back of his chair, leaning over to gaze at his computer screen, asking, “If you need it, you have to fill out an application. It needs to be submitted this weekend.”
Wen Yang had already become the class monitor, which meant he occasionally had to complete tasks assigned from above.
Ning Chu paused, left his video, and turned to look back: “What about you?”
“My family isn’t poor to that extent. Forget it.” Wen Yang shook his head, “Besides, the school has already reduced my tuition; getting a subsidy would be awkward.”
You might as well get the subsidy. I’m just worried you’ll run out of money and end up working part-time jobs, playing around outside.
Ning Chu secretly complained but shook his head in refusal.
“Alright.”
“Wait, you haven’t asked me.” Zhang Shaoqing cheekily leaned over, “Do you think I can get a subsidy?”
The two of them turned their heads, squinted their eyes, and simultaneously cast him a disdainful look, denying in unison: “No!”
Ning Chu scrunched his lips in disdain: “Can you have some pride, you rich second-generation? This subsidy is for students who can barely afford meals, and you? You spend thirty to forty bucks a meal, and every now and then, you blow a hundred!”
Wen Yang nodded in agreement: “Those shoes you’re wearing could cover a year’s worth of subsidy!”
“I was just joking.” Zhang Shaoqing smiled widely.
Who knows if he’s actually joking?
Even though they had gradually become familiar, Ning Chu couldn’t shake off the villainous image from the novel that still lingered in his mind.
And he hasn’t even darkened yet; he’s already showing qualities that make others want to avoid him.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Seeing Wen Yang walking toward the door, Ning Chu instantly stood up, eagerly following right behind him, “I just happen to have something to do outside too!”
“Just going to other dorms to ask around and swing by the cafeteria for a meal.”
“Perfect, I’m hungry too!”
Wen Yang paused, glanced back at Ning Chu who was like a little shadow, and said nothing more as he walked outside.
After passing through a few dorms next door, the two left the dormitory area, crossed the large square, and arrived at the nearest cafeteria.
The cafeteria was a three-story building; the first floor had various fast food options and a small supermarket, while the second and third floors housed various dining establishments. The cafeteria’s food was decent, and compared to takeout, it was quite economical.
“Someone said on the forum that there was a bug found in the cafeteria food yesterday.” Wen Yang snagged a food tray and casually shared the news with Ning Chu, adding, “Half a worm.”
“Don’t mention that while eating…!”
Ning Chu’s face turned sour as his appetite, awakened by the delicious smell of food, diminished significantly.
“Didn’t you just say you had something to do?”
“Yeah, I saw a little cat earlier, and I plan to buy something after we eat to feed it.” His mood lifted instantly as he excitedly talked about the little black cat, “That cat was so cute! I wanted to take it back to the dorm, but I was worried you all would hate cats!”
“I don’t mind at all.”
“Did you know? That cat was such a scammer! I just petted it a bit, and it plopped down on my shoe and wouldn’t get up no matter what. In the end, I had to give it a piece of sausage to let me go.”
Ning Chu ordered his dinner, grabbed his tray, and took little steps to keep up with Wen Yang.
This guy was tall with long legs, each of his steps equating to two of Ning Chu’s, meaning Ning Chu had to quicken his pace just to keep up.
Sitting across from Wen Yang, he had just opened his disposable chopsticks when Wen Yang suddenly asked, “Why do I feel like, just like Shaoqing said… wherever I go, you have to follow?”
Ning Chu’s hand paused, feeling a bit flustered but pretending to eat normally: “Huh? Not at all!”
“It’s like you aren’t at ease unless I go out alone.”
“Not at all!”
Wen Yang didn’t move his chopsticks either, scrutinizing Ning Chu with a piercing gaze.
This past week, he had clearly felt that Ning Chu seemed particularly concerned about him. It felt as if… he was like a possessive girlfriend or a mother always worrying about her child.
Just like Zhang Shaoqing said, it felt entirely like Ning Chu was secretly in love with him.
A girlfriend…
Though Ning Chu had a cute face, he lacked a nice figure and couldn’t compare to the girls chasing after Wen Yang. Most importantly, he was still a guy!
“I don’t like guys.” Wen Yang suddenly declared with seriousness.
Ning Chu nearly spat out his food, his eyes widening as he stared at Wen Yang, incredulously saying, “You think that too? I don’t!”
Although he had anticipated the misunderstanding, it still bothered him to be thought of as that way.
He desperately tried to shake off any suspicions about himself. Due to excitement, his face felt flushed. He recounted his preferences: “I like girls! Preferably with big chests and long legs, plus they need to be pretty…”
“If it’s a cat girl, that’d be even better!”
If this keeps up, before the plot turns him into a woman for the males, he might just end up needing a visit to the proctology department!
God forbid he liked men!
But Wen Yang looked skeptical: “Then why is it that every time I go on a date, you always don’t let me go?”
“Isn’t that for your own good? I’m giving you advice!”
“Look, the first time you chose a game over a date. The second time at the bar, you were already there yet ran back because you chickened out! How is that my fault?”
Hiss~ Ning Chu had a point there.
Wen Yang began to wonder if it was because too many girls were chasing him that he’d grown overly confident.
After a heated rebuttal, Wen Yang awkwardly scratched his head: “Maybe I was overthinking it.”
He said that, yet he still regarded Ning Chu’s flushed face with suspicion, feeling that Ning Chu’s explanation didn’t quite add up.
“Isn’t it~ You were overthinking it all along.”
Indeed, after repeatedly suggesting that Wen Yang shouldn’t go out on dates, he’d begun to question things wildly.
The root of the problem still lay with those shameless girls!
After returning home today, he would compile a list with all the girls in the novel who were close to Wen Yang to avoid being caught off guard in the future.
The atmosphere turned a bit awkward as Wen Yang took a few bites of food, then decided to share some gossip he’d heard: “I heard there’s a haunting in that teaching building. The school is planning to hire someone for exorcism.”
“A haunting?”
Ning Chu’s mind was suddenly shattered by Wen Yang’s words.
“Do you… know how exorcism works?”
“Huh? Isn’t that just feudal superstition, like some shaman rituals?”
Well, it should be feudal superstition, but in the world of Small Royal Text, exorcism probably involves making ghosts submit until they comply…
He’d written such a chapter, and the male lead was Wen Yang.
Don’t ask why the school in the novel would hire Wen Yang for exorcism—because Small Royal Text lacks logic.
“The school leadership heard my uncle used to be an exorcist and asked me to check it out… The problem is, I don’t know anything about it, sigh.”
Wen Yang rubbed his temples in frustration.
Wow, so this is how it is! Guess your uncle isn’t exactly a serious person!
“Maybe you shouldn’t go?”
“I can’t refuse tasks assigned by the school leadership.” Wen Yang laughed helplessly, “This is just feudal superstition anyway. If there are real ghosts, I could just ask my uncle for advice, and I might even make some money.”
Ning Chu’s face darkened.
Making a virgin use “blood essence” for exorcism—what is this, a set-up to make life difficult for people?
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