Chapter 43: Isn’t This Situation Getting a Bit Off?
“So annoying.”
Yi Ning looked at the skirt she was wearing, feeling as though ants were crawling all over her—completely uncomfortable.
She rarely wore shorts, and wasn’t used to having her thighs exposed.
Add to that the occasional cool breeze brushing against her lower half—
It constantly gave her the illusion that she wasn’t wearing anything down there.
She was starting to feel a little regretful.
She had gone a bit too hard when beating Ji Ping and Xia An earlier.
It didn’t matter much for those two bastards, but the blood they splattered had soaked her previous clothes, leaving them drenched and uncomfortable to wear.
“Sigh—”
Yi Ning let out a breath, placed a hand behind her, and tugged her skirt down again.
The skirt was too short, always making her feel like it couldn’t cover her butt.
So annoying.
Why the hell did Xia An buy such a short skirt?
Didn’t she have even a shred of shame?
Yi Ning felt a little melancholic.
“Uh… hey…”
Lu Zheng finally couldn’t help but speak.
After witnessing Yi Ning’s brutal rampage inside the television, he had frozen on the sofa, not daring to move, worried he’d trigger her and be torn to shreds in the process.
Not that he couldn’t fight back, but since Yi Ning was a friend—and now a girl—it felt awkward to counter her outside of work.
Seeing Lu Zheng’s gaze drift repeatedly toward her skirt, Yi Ning put one hand on her hip, straightened her flat chest, and used the other to pat some non-existent dust off her clothes.
She began to boast:
“What do you think? This outfit isn't bad, huh?”
She had looted it from Xia An—it still had the tag on, clearly brand new and unworn.
When Xia An saw that Yi Ning was interested in the outfit, she had even tried to use it to barter for a lighter beating.
What a naïve fool.
Just beat her to death, and the outfit would be Yi Ning’s by default!
And now that she had a change of clothes, Yi Ning could really go all out—she dyed the entire headquarters red in a true act of cathartic violence.
Though Xia An was shorter than her, the outfit still didn’t quite fit properly.
Yi Ning raised her arms and spun in place. The pale gray skirt flared out like a flower, revealing the blue-and-white core beneath.
She had to admit, Xia An’s taste was actually pretty good—far better than Yi Ning’s own, by miles.
Lu Zheng’s gaze instinctively followed the flash of blue and white within the skirt until it was once again hidden by the gray petals, snapping him out of his daze.
“What are you looking at?”
Yi Ning tilted her head curiously as she stared at Lu Zheng staring straight at her. She lowered her head, intending to follow his line of sight.
Luckily, Lu Zheng reacted quickly and diverted her attention.
“Where’d you get that outfit you’re wearing now?”
“You mean this one?”
Yi Ning tilted her head.
She turned to Lu Zheng, but a cold draft up her back shifted her focus back to the skirt.
Yi Ning again reached behind her to tug it upward a bit.
So annoying.
If she pulled it too far down, her lower back would be exposed and feel chilly.
But keeping it at its “normal” position made it feel like it didn’t cover her butt at all, causing an inexplicable sense of shame.
She really couldn’t believe Xia An had the gall to buy something this lewd.
That was perhaps the one thing about Xia An that Yi Ning truly admired.
Yi Ning sighed and turned her attention back to Lu Zheng.
She tugged at her skirt.
“My previous outfit was ruined. This one’s borrowed from Xia An.”
Borrowed?
Lu Zheng recalled the sheer agony in the screams that had echoed from the TV earlier.
If he hadn’t known the full story, he would’ve classified the incident as a major violent crime the moment he heard it.
Then it would be: “Hero Association—OPEN THE DOOR!”
“What? You don’t believe me?”
Seeing Lu Zheng’s exasperated expression, Yi Ning got a little miffed.
Does using fists to borrow something not count as borrowing?
But her irritation quickly dissipated.
She soon found herself again entangled in the tug-of-war that was her skirt dilemma.
“So annoying. I’m never wearing this kind of thing again.”
Yi Ning grumbled.
Watching Yi Ning struggle nonstop with her skirt, Lu Zheng took a deep breath to calm his restless heart, mustering every ounce of willpower to shift his gaze.
There were no socks among Xia An’s clothes, so Yi Ning’s long, slender, evenly-toned legs were completely exposed—smooth and pale like fine porcelain—making it hard for Lu Zheng to look away.
“I think it’s about time I head home.”
He rose from the sofa and started toward the door.
Perhaps because he had stood firmly by Yi Ning when Ji Ping and Xia An had mocked her with the fake firing, her impression of him had improved significantly.
And given her still-recent transformation, Yi Ning was completely unaware of how to behave as a girl.
In this short time, her sense of distance from Lu Zheng had vanished.
He was still a normal guy, and staying here any longer filled him with a growing sense of guilt—like he was taking advantage of Yi Ning.
Even though, objectively, he had indeed “enjoyed” quite a few unintended benefits.
“Hold it.”
Yi Ning called out to Lu Zheng.
“Stay for dinner tonight. Consider me repaying a debt.”
She wasn’t the ungrateful type.
“That’s not necessary, really. It wasn’t a big deal—and besides, you’ve helped me before too.”
Lu Zheng tried to decline.
He wasn’t leaving because of time.
He was worried that if he stayed any longer, he might lose control.
Unfortunately, Yi Ning wasn’t the kind of person who gave up easily.
She strode up to him, placed both hands on his shoulders, and forcibly pushed him back down onto the sofa.
“You don’t think favors from yours truly are that easy to repay, do you? I fully intend to use this favor to boss you around.”
“Now sit there and behave!”
Once she had pushed Lu Zheng back onto the sofa, Yi Ning withdrew her hands and once more adjusted her outfit.
She picked up the remote from the sofa and handed it to him.
“Just watch some TV for now. The PS5 is over there, the Switch is on the other side. Controllers are in the drawer—dig around if you want to play something.”
With that, she didn’t wait for a reply and jogged off toward the bathroom.
“I only did a quick rinse back at HQ. I’ve still got blood from those two all over me. Don’t worry—I’ll make you dinner after I wash up.”
Then came the click of a door closing—Yi Ning had entered the bathroom.
A short while later, the sound of running water could be heard.
Lu Zheng sat alone on the sofa, holding the TV remote in a daze.
He couldn’t help but wonder—
Was it just him, or was this whole situation starting to feel a little… off?