Chapter 217 : I Didn't Expect You to Be Such a Lewd Lady
“I… I didn’t expect you to be this lewd!” Ling Ning stared, dumbfounded, at the assortment of “unspeakable” items in front of her, which covered all imaginable types. Scattered around were various sketches depicting intimate scenes—men and women, men with men, women with women. What on earth was going on?
Wasn’t Chen Ruo supposed to be a BL manga artist? Ling Ning felt like her brain was struggling to process this.
“It’s not… not what it looks like! Please, let me explain!” Chen Ruo stammered, equally shocked by the situation. She hadn’t anticipated something like this happening.
Ling Ning took a cautious step back, eyeing Chen Ruo with suspicion. Despite her petite, wife-like appearance, Ling Ning was beginning to wonder if she was actually some twisted, depraved character. She even started to worry for her own safety.
Seeing this, Chen Ruo quickly spoke up. “Actually… I’m an adult manga artist! Those things are just props I bought online for reference, I swear! I don’t actually use them, please believe me!”
Ling Ning blinked, still looking skeptical but slightly more at ease.
“Here, follow me—I’ll show you my work… uh, my ‘treasures’… I mean, I’ll show you my published works. That should clear things up,” Chen Ruo insisted, determined to convince Ling Ning she wasn’t a pervert.
She opened her computer, logging onto a certain website and pulling up her author dashboard.
Ling Ning scanned through Chen Ruo’s portfolio and was surprised to recognize one of the adult yuri manga titles she’d read before. This confirmed it—Chen Ruo really was a professional adult manga artist.
Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover, thought Ling Ning. Who would have guessed that this frequently lost, perpetually confused “wife” figure could be a dedicated adult manga creator?
“Um… can I ask how you manage to capture all those realistic details? Do you… use personal experience?” Ling Ning asked, wondering if Chen Ruo’s authentic depictions came from firsthand knowledge. If so, that would be… something.
Realizing what Ling Ning was thinking, Chen Ruo huffed indignantly. “Ling Ning, you better not get the wrong idea! I get my inspiration from reading ero-novels, not from real-life experiences! So don’t even think that way, or… or I’ll get really mad!”
“Oh~” Ling Ning responded thoughtfully, a hint of admiration in her tone. “Still, it’s impressive that you can create such vivid scenes just from text descriptions. But… isn’t there a risk doing this kind of work in China?”
“Huh?” Chen Ruo froze, taken aback by the question. She’d been bracing herself for Ling Ning to judge her, not to ask something like that. After a moment, she replied, “Actually, I publish on an overseas website. A friend of mine who works there encouraged me to start sharing my work there. I think it’s been… over ten years now?”
“Ah, that makes sense. For a moment, I thought China had become that lenient,” Ling Ning said with a laugh.
Then, Chen Ruo hesitantly asked, “Ling Ning… what do you think of me being an adult manga artist?”
Ling Ning tilted her head. “It doesn’t change my opinion of you. A job is a job; there’s no high or low in that. You’re still the same lovable, sometimes lost Chen Ruo.”
“Hmph, I don’t get lost that easily!”
“Oh, by the way, Chen Ruo… it’s almost noon now…” Ling Ning said, touching her stomach. She’d skipped breakfast after waking up late and had spent the entire morning running around with Chen Ruo, so she was starving.
Realizing this, Chen Ruo’s face lit up. “Ling Ning, you relax here. I’ll go make us some lunch!”
However, a few minutes later, she returned with a sheepish look. “Um, Ling Ning… I just remembered… I don’t actually know how to cook.”
Ling Ning nearly choked in disbelief. “Seriously?!”
“It’s usually my daughter who cooks… I forgot she wasn’t here today when I invited you… I’m really sorry!” Chen Ruo apologized, embarrassed.
With a sigh, Ling Ning replied, “Well, if you don’t mind, could you show me to the kitchen? If there are ingredients, I’m confident enough in my cooking skills. If not, we can always order takeout.”
“Wait—you can cook, Ling Ning?” Chen Ruo looked at her with awe. To her, anyone who could cook was amazing.
“Yeah, kind of,” Ling Ning replied nonchalantly.
Following Chen Ruo to the kitchen, she opened the fridge and found enough ingredients to make a meal for the two of them, even if supplies were a bit sparse.
Without further delay, Ling Ning got to work. Chen Ruo watched in awe as she expertly prepared the dishes, impressed by her skill. Not even her daughter could cook with such ease—Ling Ning’s talent reminded her of her late husband’s culinary skills.
Since it was just the two of them and the ingredients were limited, Ling Ning quickly put together two small dishes.
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“Wow, I’m stuffed!” Chen Ruo exclaimed, sprawling out on the couch in bliss. Ling Ning’s cooking had been incredible. Though it was just a simple meal, the flavors were as good as a feast. Normally, she’d only eat a small bowl, but today she’d gone back for seconds, and now her stomach felt about to burst.
“Don’t just lie there after eating—it’s not good for you,” Ling Ning scolded as she came back from washing the dishes, seeing Chen Ruo lounging lazily on the couch.
“Oh~ I know, I know,” Chen Ruo replied, though she made no effort to get up.
With a shake of her head, Ling Ning started to walk over to say something else. But she tripped over something on the floor and fell forward—directly onto Chen Ruo.
At that moment, they both heard the sound of someone opening the front door.
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Author’s Note:
Finally, I can start building a stockpile of chapters again! Time to get ahead~