Trapped in Paradise (In a Hentai World, as a Trap)-Chapter 356
“It’s New Year’s~”
Early in the morning, Ning Chu leaned against the windowsill, arms resting on the railing as she gazed through the glass at the neighborhood below.
At some point, festive red New Year banners had been hung up. Fairy lights wrapped around the trees, and red lanterns lined the main road through the complex.
No firecrackers, no fireworks—only the occasional pop of firecrackers echoing faintly from afar.
It was already New Year’s Eve, yet compared to her childhood, the holiday atmosphere felt much weaker.
After tonight, by the traditional count, she would be another year older.
Outside in the corridor, Black Bean was happily running around with a sparkler in hand, the faint smell of gunpowder drifting into the apartment.
Ning Juan wrinkled her nose and promptly shut the door.
“Mom! I haven’t gone inside yet!”
“Knock when you’re done. Don’t bring that smoky smell into the house.”
Turning back, Ning Juan looked toward Ning Chu by the window and asked, “When is your brother coming back?”
“He said this morning.”
“And Wen Yang?”
“He’s on the night shift today, but he’ll get off early… probably around ten tonight?”
After all, in the food business, even New Year’s Eve didn’t count as a real holiday. The best they could do was close a bit earlier.
By now, most shops outside had already shut their doors. The streets looked deserted, and though some children were still playing noisily in the neighborhood, it all felt strangely quiet.
Wasn’t the New Year supposed to be lively?
Ning Chu yawned. Ning Juan caught it and immediately fired a jab, tone dripping with sarcasm: “You spend every night at someone else’s place, even during the holidays.”
“I don’t!”
“Oh right, except for last night.”
Ning Chu rolled her eyes. She couldn’t tell whether her mother was being jealous or just stubbornly insisting that New Year’s should be spent at home.
So she shot back with a counterattack: “Is Uncle coming tonight?”
“Mm, in the afternoon.”
“Doesn’t Uncle have a daughter? Isn’t he going to spend time with her?”
“His daughter didn’t come back for winter break. She’s staying at school.”
“Oh~ Probably didn’t want to interrupt your little two-person world, huh?”
That earned her a flick to the forehead.
“Ow!” Ning Chu clutched her head and glared in protest. “That hurts!”
“I’m going to start cooking.”
“Tch~”
She followed her mother into the kitchen, helping sort the ingredients for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
If all went as usual, tonight’s dinner would be set for six people, plus extra dishes for the ancestral offerings. Which meant her mother would practically spend the whole day in the kitchen.
In the past, Ning Chu had never stepped foot in the kitchen, but after helping out these days, she had at least gotten quick at washing and trimming vegetables.
“Mom, are there fireworks anywhere?”
“Fireworks? They’ve been banned the past few years. If you really want to see them, you’ll have to go down to the county.”
“Aw…”
Then Ning Juan suddenly remembered something she’d seen in her friends’ circle: “Actually, I heard there’ll be a fireworks show at Huahai Park this year. It’s kind of far out, but we might be able to catch a glimpse from here.”
“Huahai Park, huh…”
She immediately saw through her daughter’s thoughts. “What? Planning to ditch us on New Year’s Eve to run off with Wen Yang?”
Ning Chu tried to bluff her way through: “Of course not~ Why would I?”
But Ning Juan shot her daughter with a sharp look. “On normal days, fine. But New Year’s Eve? You still want to sneak off? Aren’t you afraid the neighbors will talk?”
“What’s there to be afraid of… plenty of people eat their New Year’s dinner outside~”
“Sis! Open the door! Open the door!”
Black Bean’s voice and frantic knocking came from outside. Ning Chu quickly fled the kitchen and went to open up.
But instead of the hyper, giddy little cat from earlier, Black Bean now stood at the door clutching the hem of her down jacket, head lowered with a pitiful expression, not daring to step inside.
“What’s wrong?” Ning Chu looked her over but didn’t see anything unusual.
“Sis…” Black Bean drooped her ears, her tail dragging lifelessly on the floor. She let go of the jacket hem and revealed a scorched hole, her voice thick with a sob: “I just bought this a few days ago… what do I do~”
Ning Chu gave her a blank look. “You were playing in the corridor all by yourself. How’d you even manage that?”
“I was curious.”
Of course—Black Bean had burned it herself with a sparkler.
Their mother had warned her repeatedly about safety before she went to play, but warnings only ever seemed to fuel this little cat’s destructive curiosity.
Curiosity killed the cat. If she didn’t cause trouble, she just wasn’t comfortable.
“Go tell Mom yourself.” Ning Chu tugged her inside. “A down jacket worth several hundred yuan, and you wrecked it in two days.”
“Nooo Don’t tell Mom”
“One good scolding and you won’t dare again.”
As the sisters wrestled at the door, the elevator outside dinged.
Ning Chu froze, looking up just in time to see Ning Yuan step out with a big bag in hand.
“What are you two doing at the door?”
“Sis’s bullying me!” Black Bean immediately wriggled free and threw herself into her brother’s arms. “What did you buy?”
“A Big Woof gift pack. Picked it up at the supermarket on my way back.”
“No Meow-Meow gift pack?”
Ning Yuan carried the bag in and plopped the half-man-tall bundle onto the coffee table. Black Bean instantly forgot her burnt jacket and circled the pack, tail swishing excitedly.
“Guess I’m sleeping on the floor again,” Ning Yuan muttered, rubbing his shoulder and setting down his luggage. Then he glanced back at Ning Chu, frowning slightly as his eyes ran over her.
Ning Chu’s smile stiffened. She quickly grabbed Black Bean and dragged her into the kitchen to tattle: “Mom! Black Bean burned a hole in her down jacket!”
“How’d that happen?”
“She poked it with a sparkler.”
“That stupid cat!”
Ning Juan stormed out of the kitchen, making Black Bean cower to the ground and cling pitifully to Ning Chu’s leg, small and helpless.
“Mom, it’s New Year’s. Just say a few words and let it go.”
Ning Chu, soft-hearted, spoke up for her sister. But the heavy gaze behind her still made her uneasy.
Unlike their mother, her brother wasn’t sharp-eyed, nor was he as keen-nosed as Black Bean. So why was he staring at her so intently…?
Her mother scolded Black Bean thoroughly and banned her from snacks that morning. Black Bean wilted instantly, ears drooping as she admitted fault.
Ning Yuan had only just gotten home, but he kept stealing glances at his sister.
It had only been a week or so since they’d last seen each other—so why did it feel like Ning Chu had changed so much? She looked more… womanly somehow.
The youthful innocence on her face had faded, replaced by a richer, unmistakable allure.
Scratching his head, Ning Yuan was about to start imagining things when Ning Chu swooped in with a preemptive strike:
“Bro, why’d you block the rich woman I introduced to you?”
“Rich woman? You mean that account with a one-star alt that added me?”
“Alt account…”
Ning Chu’s eyelid twitched. She knew Lily had used the small account to stay anonymous and chat freely.
“I’ll give you her main account then.”
“Forget it. With my salary, what’s the point of dating?” Ning Yuan turned his head aside, awkward and bashful like a textbook virgin.
Ning Chu pulled up a photo on her phone from their last visit to Lily’s house.
“Here! Pick one! Just not the one in the middle—she’s already taken~”
“Not interested. I’m not really interested in dating.”
Ning Yuan’s mouth was firm, but his eyes betrayed him, sneaking glances at the screen.
The girl on the left, with fair skin and animal ears, was super cute… and she has such a slim waist!
The one on the right looked a bit aloof, but she was even prettier… and her breast is huge.
As for the goofy one in the middle—yeah, no thanks.
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Volume 2 Chapter 112 / Chapter 393: P.E. Class
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Chapter 356
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