Trapped in Paradise

Chapter 24: Everyone Here is Normal

“These people nowadays, not a single one of them is honest.”

Ning Chu grumbled as she walked out of the convenience store with a bag of snacks.

“Clearly in a bad mood, and I even took the initiative to ask, but they still refuse to talk to me… Too prideful for their own good.”

But to be fair, she had only known Zhang Shaoqing for a few weeks, so it was difficult to truly become close friends in such a short time.

She still had to keep trying to gain the trust of her roommates. If she could really become the ‘big sister’ Zhang Shaoqing mentioned, or rather, the ‘big brother’, everything would be easy to sort out.

“Just afraid he’ll bottle it all up and end up as a creepy villain…”

Arriving at the basketball court between the dorm buildings, Ning Chu found a bench in a corner and sat down under the shade of some trees. She tore open the bag of chips and looked at the students nearby exhausting their energy on the court.

How nice…

She heard that playing basketball could help you grow. Who knows if that’s true.

Wen Yang was taking a nap, and she rarely got such free time to explore the school. On normal days, she wouldn’t dare let Wen Yang out of her sight.

Munching on chips while sipping soda, Ning Chu leaned back on the bench. Finally, her mind didn’t have to think about the plot anymore. She stared intently at the court, occasionally feeling excited by some beautiful shots.

“Meow~”

A delicate kitten’s meow caught her attention. Looking down, she saw a small black cat stumbling out from the nearby bushes, its little head looking around.

“A cat?”

Ning Chu murmured, bending down and cautiously reaching out with her fingertip to gently stroke the kitten’s head.

Its fur was dirty, clearly not a cat abandoned by a cruel student, most likely just a stray commonly seen around campus.

Though the little cat stumbled, its eyes were particularly bright and clever. Feeling the kindness radiating from her, it tilted its body, directly laying down on her shoe, and began to play with her shoelaces like they were toys.

Ning Chu’s expression froze for a moment: “Are you trying to scam me?”

“Meow~”

“Want some chips? I can’t just take you back to raise, can I?”

Her roommates didn’t seem to have a particular fondness for cats, but Zhang Shaoqing actually liked cat girls.

Uh, cat girls?

She suddenly remembered something and squatted down, lightly lifting one of the kitten’s hind legs with her finger, bending her head down to observe the little creature closely.

“This person is so creepy…”

“Come on, hurry up.”

Two passersby hurried past, leaving behind a comment about the creepiness.

“……” Ning Chu silently returned to her bench, rolling her eyes at the two passersby.

What the hell, I’m being considered creepy by characters from my own royal text! What’s the deal with checking the cat for… you know?

But given this little royal text was written by her own hand… she really couldn’t argue.

“A female cat, huh? If it were a male cat, I’d keep it.”

“Meow!”

“No way, what if one day you turned into a cat girl to seduce Wen Yang?” Ning Chu pretended to understand the kitten’s meowing, shaking her head seriously.

But since it was her adopted cat, what if it turned into a cat girl and repaid her kindness?

Her expression showed a hint of subtle change; she was actually kinda looking forward to that moment.

This wasn’t just a simple fantasy; there was indeed a plot in her novel where Wen Yang’s family cat turned into a cat girl to express gratitude.

“Meow~”

“Forget it, I really can’t keep you.”

The little kitten rubbed its head against Ning Chu’s ankle, clearly trying to pull a fast one.

She liked小 animals and had a troubled expression. After glancing around, she had no choice but to get up and head back to the convenience store to buy the kitty a chicken sausage.

Having a pet in the dorm was actually a serious matter. Even though she was tempted, without getting her roommates’ consent, she could only come to this area frequently to bring the little cat some food and drink.

Finally getting a chicken sausage after the little kitty’s ‘scam’, it was finally satisfied and started munching happily.

“Almost came back with a cat…”

The school was quite large, consisting of several big campuses. There were said to be three cafeterias, and before this, she had only visited the dorm, cafeteria, teaching building, and the playground.

In the dormitory area, which had around a dozen buildings, there were scattered basketball courts and exercise equipment. In the center of the dorm area was a small garden built around an artificial lake.

After parting ways with the little cat, Ning Chu wandered into this garden.

The shade of the trees and the gentle breeze eased the heat of the afternoon. She strolled along the pebble path in the garden, inhaling the fragrant scent of blooming flowers, and her usually repressed mood finally relaxed a bit.

“Although there were bizarre elements like hypnosis and tentacle monsters in the books, it’s completely unseen in real life.”

Ning Chu sighed, “Turns out everyone here is pretty normal…”

However, before her contemplative remark could finish, she heard delicate gasping sounds nearby.

Her expression stiffened, and her feet stopped in their tracks.

Hey, hey, hey! Broad daylight here! Can’t you find a hotel to have some fun?

What a ridiculous situation!

She froze, turning her head toward the source of the sound, and could vaguely hear that it came from behind a bush.

Having never experienced something like this, she felt her face heating up as a blush crept onto her cheeks. The shyness of a virgin made her uneasy and anxious. The students passing by didn’t seem to react at all.

The open-mindedness of this world truly surpassed her imagination.

Though her curiosity urged Ning Chu to sneak a peek, she ultimately chose to turn back the way she came.

Time to skedaddle! This world is definitely dangerous!

In a flurry, she turned and ran, not daring to stop until she reached the coolness of the dorm, finally able to take a breather.

“What’s wrong? Are you jumpy or something?”

Hearing a rough sound of the door opening, Zhang Shaoqing curiously asked from in front of the computer, “Did you go out and get hit on by a guy? Your face is so red!”

“Way scarier than that…” Ning Chu quickly gasped for air, and after steadying her breath, she awkwardly explained, “I just heard… umm… something happening in the garden.”

Zhang Shaoqing blinked: “Where? Take me to check it out?”

“No! Is this kind of thing really okay?”

A voice suddenly came from the bed: “If the school catches you, at least there’ll be a reprimand, right? If it’s severe, you might even get expelled.”

Ning Chu looked up to see Wen Yang yawning at the head of the bed: “You made too much noise coming in, woke me up.”

“Sorry…”

Hearing Wen Yang’s words, her heart calmed down a bit.

Thank goodness, while she saw one side of people being open today, it seemed that the school’s stance on reprimanding and expelling showed that society was still fairly normal.

Perhaps the couple engaging in public was just a plot twist, hence so outrageous?

“Getting all shy just from hearing a bit of noise, you’re like a monkey’s butt.” Zhang Shaoqing chuckled, “You must be a virgin.”

“Mind your own business?! Isn’t Wen Yang a virgin too?”

“Him? He has girls lining up for him, he’s not worried. And you?”

“Go away!”

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