The business sedan cruised smoothly along the internal roads of Jing City's top luxury villa district.
It wasn't until the car stopped in front of the Lin family villa gates that the hundred yuan in both Chu Tianqing's and Shen Xinglan's phones remained untouched.
With Lin Nanxi present, the two communicated purely through eye contact—
Chu Tianqing: It worked?!
Shen Xinglan: Looks like it worked this time. Wonder if it'll work next time.
Chu Tianqing: Woohoo! Let's celebrate properly tomorrow!
Shen Xinglan: I'm dead tired, just let me sleep…
Chu Tianqing unbuckled her seatbelt: "Nanxi, should we get out?"
"The car can pull up to the villa gates, but there's still a short walk. Just a moment, little aunt."
Lin Nanxi used a phone app to open the villa's ornate wrought-iron gates.
Chu Tianqing stared in stunned disbelief—
So all those times she'd been driving the little golf cart back and forth through wind and rain for nothing?!
Shen Xinglan shot her a glance: Counts as you having high energy.
"Don't forget the delivery at the guard booth." Shen Xinglan remembered the supermarket order under the "All-In" account balance.
"I'll grab it." Chu Tianqing hopped out of the car and retrieved the delivery.
The sedan stopped at the villa entrance.
The three girls had finally made it home.
"Hungry? Want some snacks or instant noodles?" Chu Tianqing opened the bag wide, looking at the downcast Lin Nanxi.
Lin Nanxi shook her head with red-rimmed eyes: "Thank you, little aunt, but I'm not hungry."
"If no one's eating, I'll take it. Some things need to go in the fridge." Shen Xinglan whisked the bag away from Chu Tianqing's hands.
Shen Xinglan had OCD.
Anything bought from the supermarket had to have its outer packaging disinfected and be reorganized.
Shen Xinglan found a mask, put it on, slipped on disposable gloves, grabbed the alcohol spray bottle from the utility room, and went to town spraying the outer packaging of every snack bag like a disinfection maniac.
Chu Tianqing was used to her best friend's quirks.
"Lanlan-jie, the household staff can handle your… disinfection requirements. I'll let Auntie Zhang know."
Lin Nanxi instinctively felt it was impolite to let guests do such things.
"We currently don't have Auntie Wang, Auntie Zhang, or their supervisor's ten-person cleaning crew, and no driver, chef, gardener, or butler…"
Chu Tianqing laid out the family's bleak current situation for the young miss.
Lin Nanxi remained emotionally stable, just a little surprised. She didn't throw a tantrum over the missing servants.
Chu Tianqing's impression of the delicate little flower niece went up another notch. It seemed her little uncle truly doted on her without spoiling her rotten.
She patted Lin Nanxi's shoulder reassuringly: "It's fine. You still have your little aunt and Lanlan-jie."
"It's just that…" Lin Nanxi lowered her gaze, then looked up again, her beautiful big eyes like glistening glass beads, "I feel bad for you, little aunt. You and little uncle just got married, and my family has become like this. You're suffering because of me."
"It's okay, it's okay." Chu Tianqing couldn't bear to see a beauty cry, so she gave her a gentle hug.
No wonder in the original text, every time the F4 male leads saw Lin Nanxi cry, their rage made them want to raze an entire city.
Seeing the delicate little flower's face up close for the first time—when she cried, she was truly heart-wrenching and pitiful.
Even Chu Tianqing, a girl, felt her heart soften.
It was just…
The more Chu Tianqing looked, the more she thought Lin Nanxi resembled her little uncle Lin Sinian.
A chibi demon Qingqing popped into her head, grinning smugly: Gagaga, Lin Sinian's skin is so pale, like tofu. If he got bullied hard enough to cry, would he look just as beautiful?
What the hell?! Chu Tianqing shook her head to snap herself out of it.
She must be so sleep-deprived she was losing her mind, thinking about nonsense like that.
Lin Nanxi's voice was hoarse: "Little aunt, about what happened at school today…"
Chu Tianqing took her arm and walked her to the elevator, pressing the button: "Nanxi, get some sleep early tonight. We'll talk about it tomorrow once you're well-rested."
Shen Xinglan looked up with a disinfectant wipe in hand: "High school seniors need their sleep most. Go to bed now. Even if the sky falls, we'll hold it up for you."
"I'm sorry, little aunt." Lin Nanxi hung her head in guilt.
Chu Tianqing nudged Lin Nanxi into the elevator: "We're family—from now on, let's say 'I love you' more. I hate hearing 'I'm sorry' the most. Good night, Nanxi."
That night, Chu Tianqing and Shen Xinglan slept in the same bed for the first time in ages.
After showering and slathering on their lotions, they perked up for a little while, lying face to face under the covers, gossiping.
Shen Xinglan frowned: "I think we should get Lin Nanxi out of that environment—transfer her to a public school. That elite school is complete bullshit."
Chu Tianqing sighed: "In real life, that's absolutely what we'd do. But we've transmigrated into a restricted-genre novel. Public schools are just as messed up. She just needs to get into a good university and she'll be fine."
"You're right. I keep forgetting." Shen Xinglan reminded herself.
Chu Tianqing twirled a strand of her best friend's hair in her fingers, murmuring softly—
"Besides, if we transfer Lin Nanxi away, what about the four male leads? Lin Nanxi genuinely has feelings for them. High school is the foundation of the purest love."
"No wonder they say the female lead is born with the ability to love. In the original story's extra chapters, ten years later, the five of them live together happily and harmoniously. All four men are her true loves, and they're utterly devoted to her too."
"If we play the spoilsport and forcibly tear apart their family of five, we'd fail the mission outright and owe the system billions. Then we'd go back to the third dimension as deadbeats?"
"That's terrifying…" Shen Xinglan closed her eyes in despair.
She did not want to become a deadbeat.
The two of them seriously analyzed the little white flower niece's inner turmoil—
Shen Xinglan: "I think the problem Lin Nanxi is facing now is fear and self-loathing caused by her lack of understanding of her physiological needs and her body."
Chu Tianqing: "She grew up without a trusted female elder in her environment. At eighteen, her body started changing, and she had no one to confide in or know what to do."
Chu Tianqing's eyes darted around—she had another mischievous idea.
She leaned close to Shen Xinglan's ear and whispered for a long while.
Shen Xinglan thought it over: "That's actually doable. We'll do it your way tomorrow."
Chu Tianqing pulled the blanket tighter: "Then tomorrow, it's a heart-to-heart big sister session."
The next day, Saturday.
The three girls didn't get up until around ten in the morning.
Lin Nanxi ordered brunch delivery from the Western restaurant in the villa district through a mini-program.
The three of them enjoyed a hearty brunch.
With the young lady back home, Chu Tianqing's standard of living had shot straight up.
Well-rested and with full stomachs, the girls were all in a relaxed state.
Chu Tianqing called out to Lin Nanxi, who was about to head upstairs to study: "Xiaoxi, Sister Lanlan and I want to talk to you—not as elders, but as girl friends. Is that okay?"
Lin Nanxi looked surprised, hesitated for a few seconds, but still nodded in agreement.
Chu Tianqing set the heart-to-heart location in the cozy family living room and draped a cashmere blanket over Lin Nanxi's shoulders.
Chu Tianqing opened with an example from her own adolescence, guiding Lin Nanxi to voice the confusion she'd been having lately.
Lin Nanxi was silent for a long time before finally summoning the courage to speak—
"Little aunt, ever since I turned eighteen, my body has changed. Out of nowhere, I go weak all over, my body heats up, and I can't control myself… those kinds of thoughts."
"I really want to focus all my attention on studying and force myself not to think about those needs, but sometimes I just can't control it."
"The more I try not to think about it, the stronger those dirty thoughts get. Just from imagining, I can… I can reach… climax."
"Yesterday I received notes from Gu Jingci and Gu Jingheng, asking me to meet them in the school's back garden. I didn't really know how to refuse, so I went."
"When I got there, they confessed to me. I… actually… I have feelings for both of them."
"They both said they were the best at kissing, and for some reason I got really excited, wanting to try it out to see who kissed better."
"Before we even kissed, the patrolling dean and security guard caught us…"
"Little aunt, after that I felt so dirty, so disgusting. How could I have such filthy thoughts? I'm such a terrible person, not worthy of being liked by you all."
Chu Tianqing and Shen Xinglan exchanged glances.
Chu Tianqing took a deep breath and said steadily: "Xiaoxi, what you're describing is actually a normal physiological need for adult women."
"N-normal?" Lin Nanxi looked at her in disbelief.
Chu Tianqing: "Having sexual urges and being curious about sex is completely normal. There's nothing dirty, disgusting, or filthy about it at all."
Lin Nanxi's brows furrowed, as if she was trying hard to process her words.
Chu Tianqing's eyes carried encouragement: "And you're a particularly fortunate woman—naturally gifted."
"I… am fortunate?" Lin Nanxi was puzzled.
Chu Tianqing: "First of all, don't treat this as something shameful or filthy. Sex is as ordinary as eating and sleeping. Just like you eat when you're hungry and sleep when you're tired, when you have sexual needs, you relieve them. It's the most normal thing in the world."
Lin Nanxi blinked, as if her entire worldview had been turned upside down.
No one had ever told her any of this.
Chu Tianqing: "Do you know how many women go their whole lives without ever reaching it? You can reach the peak just from imagination—how is that not a form of luck?"
"Once you get to college and enter society, you'll know how lucky you are to have this ability. Countless girls would envy your natural gift."
Lin Nanxi hesitated: "Really?"
Chu Tianqing nodded: "Of course. This is a good thing—you'll understand better when you're older. It's just that you just turned eighteen, and with no female elder around to teach you what to do in this situation, that's why you're troubled."
Chu Tianqing shot a look at her best friend.
When it was time to persuade her to focus on her studies, naturally the academic star needed to step in.
Shen Xinglan picked up the thread: "So when your grades dropped at the start of senior year, it was because of this?"
Lin Nanxi hung her head in shame: "Mm."
Shen Xinglan asked directly: "Then do you actually like Gu Jingci and Gu Jingheng?"
Lin Nanxi answered honestly, "I have good feelings toward them, and I'm curious about them too. I'm not sure if that counts as liking them."
Shen Xinglan leaned forward and extended both hands. "That's easy. I have a way for you to tell whether it's real liking—quick questions, quick answers. Getting into Qingbei, or dating Gu Jingci and Gu Jingheng?"
Lin Nanxi answered without hesitation, "Getting into Qingbei."
Shen Xinglan laughed. "See? You don't like them that much. But—" She shifted her tone. "If they have clean personal lives, solid values, and good character, you can treat them as your fantasy material."
Lin Nanxi's eyes widened. "What… material?"
Shen Xinglan was always this direct. "You fantasize about them. You know, actual physical relationships take a huge amount of energy and stamina. As a senior-year student, you barely have enough time to study and sleep—there's no way you'd have extra energy for the real thing."
Lin Nanxi's face flushed bright yellow as she listened, and she looked helplessly toward Chu Tianqing.
This Sister Lanlan seemed refined and composed on the surface—how could her words be even bolder than Little Aunt's?
Chu Tianqing patted Lin Nanxi's arm. "Since we're making getting into university our number one goal for senior year, everything else should serve that goal, right?"
Lin Nanxi: "Right."
Chu Tianqing: "You live in a single dorm. In the dorm, at home—you can fantasize about them in a safe, stable environment. That way you satisfy your needs, relieve academic pressure, and it won't drain too much energy."
Shen Xinglan shrugged and spoke from experience. "When I was in high school, I had a crush on a senior. I made him my fantasy material—it was really stress-relieving."
Chu Tianqing chimed in with praise. "Your Sister Lanlan skipped a grade, she's a top student in biopharmaceuticals at the University of Science and Technology, and she was the top scorer in the college entrance exam."
"Oh my god!" Lin Nanxi's eyes instantly sparkled as she looked at Shen Xinglan with boundless admiration.
Shen Xinglan took out her phone and sat down beside Lin Nanxi. "Let me recommend a few little toys for you. They're very safe, all food-grade silicone, and the upgraded versions last a long time too."
Chu Tianqing pressed on while the iron was hot. "Actually, the reason you have trouble concentrating during the day is largely because you've been suppressing and avoiding your own physical needs."
"Some people feel full after one bowl of rice, others need three bowls to feel full—but we never say the person who eats three bowls is a pervert, dirty, or disgusting, right?"
"So Xi'er, never think that having these thoughts makes you disgusting, dirty, or sleazy. It's completely normal."
Lin Nanxi's chest rose and fell as she looked at them, deeply moved.
A full minute passed before she nodded heavily. "Thank you, Little Aunt. Thank you, Sister Lanlan. I'll never think that way again."
Chu Tianqing let out a breath of relief and looked at Shen Xinglan.
Shen Xinglan smiled back at her.
How was this not completing the plot?
Even if it was a Restricted-genre novel, no matter how many scenes the author wrote, they were all just process—the goal was to advance the emotional development between the male and female leads.
Erotic fiction wore a melodramatic skin, but its core was always pure love.
Now, having the female lead fantasize about the male leads—at least keeping things from becoming physical before university—extended the ambiguous period between her and the male leads. Wasn't that also deepening their emotional connection?
"Little Aunt, Sister Lanlan." Lin Nanxi asked weakly.
The two turned to look at her. "Hmm?"
Lin Nanxi looked troubled. "I… is it okay if I fantasize about more than just Gu Jingci and Gu Jingheng at once?"
Chu Tianqing looked at her best friend. "It should be… okay?"
Shen Xinglan spread her hands.
This question, for two big roses with rich theoretical knowledge but zero practical experience—
Was beyond their syllabus.