Trapped in Paradise

Chapter 008: Punishment?

“Zhang Shaoqing!”

I must say, when Ning Chu’s crisp, neutral, and tender voice roared, it lacked any sense of authority. Those big watery eyes, even when glaring in anger, looked more like they were pouting in grievance.

What a waste not to be a woman!

Seeing her upset and angry, Zhang Shaoqing reflexively felt guilty inside and sheepishly glanced at the broken phone on the floor, still managing to be stubborn as he said, “Just take it to get fixed… Why get so angry over something so minor?”

“I have no money! Is it going to kill you to come in quietly?”

Ning Chu shot him another glare and then, heartbroken, bent down to pick up the phone. Half of the screen was covered in green, and the touchscreen was completely unresponsive—a clear sign that the internal screen was totally destroyed.

The damage was done; all Ning Chu could do was let out a soft sigh.

“It’s fine, I’ll pay to get it fixed for you,” Zhang Shaoqing folded his arms, leaning casually against the wardrobe door.

“What am I supposed to use these days…”

Frowning, he rummaged through his pockets and slapped his own phone down on Ning Chu’s desk: “Use mine!”

“Ah?”

“Yeah, don’t delete my stuff, alright? Anyway, I can call with my watch,” Zhang Shaoqing said with a disgruntled look, picking up the broken phone and stuffing it in his pocket. “We’ll go get it fixed tonight; for now, use my phone.”

“Alright…”

This way of handling things left Ning Chu without a decent rebuttal.

Look at that blonde hair, always acting like a carefree delinquent, but when it comes to taking responsibility, he’s surprisingly manly.

After a minor dispute, the atmosphere between the two turned a bit awkward. Ning Chu stiffened her face and expressionlessly opened a mini game, but within two minutes, Zhang Shaoqing came over with a cheeky grin.

“Ning Chu, Wen Yang agreed to break up with Ling Ling.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, he has tons of girls chasing him, so he doesn’t care about this one; it’s only been a few days.”

“Hmm.”

Responding coldly, Ning Chu couldn’t help but smile secretly.

Now the first act of the novel’s plot was completely off the rails!

If there’s any truth to the butterfly effect in plots, then this might just prevent any subsequent plot developments.

So, the chance of him turning into a girl just got lower!

Just as this thought crossed his mind, an intense cramping pain suddenly seized Ning Chu’s lower abdomen. He couldn’t help but gasp coldly, instinctively curling up and covering his stomach with both hands.

Hiss~ Ha~

“What’s wrong?”

Zhang Shaoqing was caught off guard by the sudden situation, while Wang Jie, who was busy gaming, hurriedly got up and walked over quickly.

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

Ning Chu curled up in the chair, tears streaming down as his body trembled; he bit his lip, trying hard to suppress any cries of pain.

“I’ll see if I have any painkillers; you take one first!”

“What was that? Acute gastroenteritis? We should take you to the hospital!”

The two roommates were in a frenzy, with Wang Jie preparing to call an ambulance while Zhang Shaoqing searched through the dormitory for the first aid kit.

A wave of painful cramps soon subsided, and a cold sweat formed on Ning Chu’s forehead as he weakly rested it on the desk, exhaling a long breath.

The sudden pain made him recall the broken plot from earlier.

From his guess, today’s pain was a punishment for his alteration of the novel’s narrative.

The mild cramping pain that started this morning was a consequence of him preventing Wen Yang’s date last night; the intense pain just now, however, was the punishment for Wen Yang breaking up with Ling Ling, effectively shattering the first act of the plot.

But a little pain wasn’t going to crush him!

After a moment’s breather, Ning Chu weakly lifted his head.

“I’m going to take a shower.” He looked back at Zhang Shaoqing with his tear-stained eyes. “When my takeout arrives, can you get it for me?”

Seeing her pained, red-rimmed eyes, Zhang Shaoqing paused for a moment, feeling a bit awkward as he averted his gaze: “Is everything okay now?”

“I’m fine, it just hurt for a second.”

He sensed the lightness and indifference in Ning Chu’s tone and suspected his roommate might have some masochistic tendencies.

“Don’t you need to go to the hospital?” Wang Jie chimed in with more concern.

“No need!”

After being in such pain, Ning Chu was now carefree and had no intention of checking into a hospital; he seemed quite cheerful!

Zhang Shaoqing watched Ning Chu go to the wardrobe, noting as Ning Chu stripped off the training jacket and long pants, revealing tight-fitting boxers and long, fair legs.

While he’d seen this scene every night, this time felt a bit different for Zhang Shaoqing.

That backside seemed perkier and rounder than before?

Good thing he had no issues with his sexuality and was already interested in another girl.

Casting a quick glance, he turned back to sit at his desk, but a sudden confusion popped into his mind.

Does Ning Chu have completely hairless legs?

Not that he was interested in a guy’s legs, just curious if Ning Chu had leg hair.

Zhang Shaoqing turned back again, only to find Ning Chu had grabbed a change of clothes and was perfectly aligned with his line of sight.

“What’s up?”

“Wash faster; I want to wash too.”

Finding an excuse, Zhang Shaoqing accidentally let his gaze linger on Ning Chu’s chest.

“I know.”

Ning Chu noticed where his eyes had landed and frowned as he looked down at the two conspicuous red spots on his chest, instinctively raising his arm to cover them with the clothes in his hands.

While male protrusions were quite normal, he felt inexplicably guilty and worried about being teased.

He switched into a pair of slippers and hurriedly walked toward the balcony.

“What’s his deal?” As soon as the sound of the bathroom door closing drifted from the balcony, Wang Jie curiously speculated. “Could it truly be from eating something bad last night? Then you’d be the culprit!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! What did I have to do with it?”

Zhang Shaoqing grumbled, throwing the blame: “None of us got sick, so why would he eat something bad? I’d even believe he’s about to give birth if you said that!”

“Giving birth would be something!”

The dormitory door swung open, and Wen Yang walked in, looking bewildered at the noise. “What’s going on? Sounds lively. What happened?”

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Ning Chu hummed a little off-key tune, standing under the shower, eyes closed, enjoying the warm water washing over him like a soothing therapy.

After completely wrecking the original plot, an unknown punishment seemed to have fallen upon him.

Perhaps the current situation was something that some divine entity didn’t care to see.

“If I keep disrupting the plot like this, then I won’t have to be a woman anymore~”

Also, I won’t have to suffer through this!

Living as a man in a place teeming with beautiful women and potential partners sounds like a splendid option for a peaceful life!

“A momentary victory!”

Delighted, Ning Chu started applying body wash, but his hands suddenly froze at his chest.

“Hmm… Why do I feel like I have two extra soft lumps on my chest?”

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