The wine actually tasted pretty good.
It wasn’t bitter at all—in fact, it was smooth, rich with a fruity aroma, and the alcohol was so faint it almost felt like she was drinking juice.
Ning Chu had tried wine before, but clearly, none of it had been as high-quality as this bottle.
‘This one must cost at least a few hundred, maybe even a thousand... right?’
Before she knew it, her cheeks were flushed red. As she ate the takeout dinner they had ordered, she glanced over worriedly.
“Lily, this wine... it’s really expensive, isn’t it? Is it okay for us to just open it like this?”
Lily shook her head. “It’s fine.”
“Oh... okay, then.”
Relieved, Ning Chu downed the rest of her glass. She turned toward Yan Xinya and found the wolf girl leaning against the armrest of the couch, her body slouched and her expression dazed, as if she was seconds away from dozing off.
“Looks like Xinya’s drunk,” she muttered.“I am not~!”
Ning Chu leaned over and gave her a gentle push. “Come on, go take a shower before you crash.”
“Nooo~”
The wolf girl squirmed her hips, her fluffy tail flicking high into the air as she let out a soft whine. “Don’t wanna bathe~”
“Then you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”
Rolling her eyes, Ning Chu turned to Lily. “The guest room isn’t ready yet, is it?”
“We’ll share a bed.”
“......”
It wasn’t that she minded sleeping with another cute girl—it was more that the idea made her nervous.
Back when she first shared a bed with Wen Yang, she’d been worried about whether he’d try something. But with Lily... well, she wasn’t worried about being taken advantage of. If anything, she was more shy about herself.
She’d never slept in the same bed with another girl her age before...
“I’m gonna go shower,” she mumbled, voice a little high-pitched.
“Mhm.”
Once Lily had left the room, Ning Chu poured herself another glass and leaned back into the couch, elegantly crossing her legs.
She stared at the massive projector screen on the wall, then at the full-length windows that opened out to the glittering night skyline. With a subtle swirl of her glass, she struck a pose, trying to mimic the aloof elegance of those overbearing female CEOs in novels.
‘Ah... this is the life.’
‘I’m so jealous of this kind of lifestyle…’
After a minute or two of silently pretending, she gave up on the fantasy and resumed her meal, casually sipping wine like it was soda.
“Maybe Wen Yang will strike it rich one day,” she murmured under her breath, “and we’ll be able to afford a place like this too…”
Just as she said that, she noticed Yan Xinya crawling over with surprising speed—on all fours—right up to her side.
Startled, she looked down.
The wolf girl was kneeling at her feet, staring up at her with big, glassy eyes.
“Men always turn bad once they have money~”
“Huh…?”
“It’s true! My cousin’s husband did that. Once his company took off, he got himself a mistress, and then boom—divorced!”
‘Can we not talk about that right now...?’
Ning Chu sighed dramatically and replied with feigned confidence, “Wen Yang’s not like that.”
“They’re all the same~”
“No, he’s not!”
She glared at Yan Xinya, not backing down.
Wen Yang was her protagonist, handpicked and trained to perfection!
‘He’s mine and mine alone!’
“Oh no~ yelling at your bestie over a man…” Yan Xinya collapsed back onto the couch with a teasing grin, wriggling around like some lazy little caterpillar. “Ugh, I’m shipping you guys again~”
“Seriously, you’re nuts…”
This girl had long since lost any sense of normalcy. All she ever thought about was shipping people together.
“Real-life couples are just so fun to ship~” Xinya sighed dreamily. “There was this one pro gamer and his actor girlfriend. I shipped them so hard for half a year. Then they broke up. Ugh. They were so sweet…”
“Maybe focus on fixing your own single status?”
“Woooo~”
She barely had time to tease before she collapsed again, this time actually dozing off on the couch.
Ning Chu got no reply after that. She reached over and gently pulled a blanket over the wolf girl, then finished the last sip of wine left in her glass.
Her head was starting to spin too…
Her vision blurred, her limbs heavy. Half-lidded eyes staring off into space, Ning Chu just sat there on the couch, completely zoned out.
Lily returned to the living room after her shower, dressed in a camisole nightgown. She reached out and clicked the remote, drawing the heavy curtains over the floor-to-ceiling windows.
She gave the snoring Yan Xinya a quick glance, then looked up at Ning Chu. “You gonna shower?”
“Yeah,” Ning Chu replied, stretching lazily—until something suddenly caught her attention.
“You didn’t wash your hair?”
“Once every three days.”
“Isn’t that gross?!”
“……” Lily fell silent, clearly unamused, and turned to walk toward the bedroom.
“What about Xinya?” Ning Chu called after her.
“Leave her,” Lily said flatly.
The couch was big enough to work as a makeshift bed for the wolf girl—though there was a decent chance she’d roll off if she moved too much in her sleep. But she was fully dressed and tucked under a blanket, and with the temperature hovering around ten degrees, she probably wouldn’t catch a cold.
Still feeling woozy, Ning Chu cradled her spinning head and staggered into the bedroom after Lily. “I didn’t bring any pajamas…”
“Wear mine,” Lily said casually, tossing a sleep dress from her closet.
“Thanks…”
The bathroom in Lily’s house was huge—dry and wet areas separated, and even a giant bathtub sat gleaming in the corner. Ning Chu eyed it with a bit of longing but ultimately passed. In her tipsy state, she was honestly worried she’d fall asleep and drown if she tried soaking.
She opened the cabinet above the sink, looking for a toothbrush and towel—
—and froze.
‘Every time I open a random cabinet in this house, I get a new surprise…’
That... that was a very realistic-looking toy.
‘Her parents aren't home, so this is how she plays, huh?’
‘As expected of a succubus!’
Expression blank, Ning Chu calmly closed the cabinet. It had been a little scary, sure, but compared to Wen Yang, it was still on the smaller side.
She didn’t dare keep looking. Who knew what other surprises she'd find?
“Lily! Do you have a toothbrush and towel?!” she called toward the bedroom.
“Yeah!” came the answer.
A moment later, Lily came hurrying over, her steps unusually quick and awkward. She snuck a guilty glance at the cabinet Ning Chu had opened earlier, then crouched down and pulled out a fresh toothbrush and towel from a lower drawer.
Still a little flustered, she reminded, “Wash up and go to bed right after. I’m tired.”
“Got it…”
Sure, Lily’s collection was pretty bold, but compared to the wilder members of the succubus crowd—who are one inch away from being naked and group “activities”—she was practically a saint.
After showering, Ning Chu changed into the sleep dress. And only then did she realize something was wrong.
She looked down, tugging at the hem of the camisole dress. Her face began to heat up—fast.
‘This thing is so short it barely covers my butt!’
Even though they were all girls, Ning Chu still felt insanely self-conscious. After pacing back and forth in the bathroom for a minute, she gave up and poked her head out the door.
“Lily! Lily! Do you have any other pajamas?”
“Nope~”
‘You did this on purpose, didn’t you?!’
“Even winter pajamas are fine! I get cold!”
After a moment, Lily finally came back with a thick robe in her arms, handing it over reluctantly.
“Winter set.”
“Thanks…” Ning Chu muttered, pulling it on quickly. Then, out of sheer curiosity, she asked, “When your parents are home, do you still wear sleepwear this short?”
“I throw on a jacket.”
Ning Chu had no words for that. She quickly wrapped herself in the robe, and her overwhelming shame finally began to fade.
Leaving the bathroom, she could still hear the soft snores of Yan Xinya coming from the living room. She followed Lily into the bedroom and cautiously sat on the edge of the bed.
A round, princess-style bed.
She turned her head, only to see that Lily had already claimed one side and settled in. The bed was wide enough that even with two people, it didn’t feel cramped. There was even enough space in the middle to squeeze Xinya in if they wanted to.
Drowsiness hit her like a wave. Tipsy and tired, Ning Chu no longer felt nervous about sharing a bed with another girl for the first time. She simply flopped onto the mattress and let out a huge yawn.
“Lights off?” she mumbled.
“Mhm.”
Lily raised her hand and clicked off the lights. The room was suddenly bathed in darkness, broken only by the glow of city lights peeking through the curtain edges.
Lying on her side, eyes wide open, Lily stared quietly at the figure on the other end of the bed.
Then out of nowhere, she asked—
“Are men more fun than toys?”
“...Huh?”
Ning Chu’s sleepiness vanished in an instant.