A Straight Wife Fallen from the Sky - Chapter 1

July in Wu City was always this sweltering.

Even though it was only morning, the fierce sun had already poured onto the asphalt roads, scorching out a wave of heat that dispersed the scent of summer throughout the air.

In this kind of weather, no one would ever want to go out.

Sang Zhancheng felt a sense of suffocation just sitting on the sofa, watching the bright light barge straight into the house.

But today, she had no choice but to go out.

Sang Zhancheng dawdled for a long time before finally being spurred into motion by a string of alarms set at five-minute intervals. Her incredibly lazy legs moved one step at a time toward the bathroom.

After applying her makeup in the proper sequence, she added a thick layer of sunscreen. Then, she coated her skin with a thin protective layer of sun-shielding magic unique to the succubus race. Only after these preparations were she truly ready.

By the time she had paced her way to her destination, hesitating every three steps and pausing every five—the school gates were nearly closed.

She folded her frilly little parasol and offered a smile to the security guard.

“Auntie~ are there still teachers inside?”

Auntie’s reaction time was almost as slow as Sang Rancheng’s walking pace.

As if moving at 0.5x speed, she pushed up her glasses, squinted, and finally recognized the person asking.

“Oh, little Sang. You’ve come quite late; yours is the only graduation certificate left to be picked up.”

Then, as if suddenly snapping out of her slow-motion state, Auntie quickly scooped Sang Zhancheng up and brought her inside.

Given Auntie’s burly and robust build, the word “scooped” was not an exaggeration at all.

Sang Zhancheng was used to it. Over the past three years, every time she was late, Auntie would bring her into the school just like this.

She stuffed a candy into Auntie’s hand and obtained the classroom location of her homeroom teacher.

On the way to the teaching building, she even started twirling her umbrella, her feet performing a fancy step she had seen a couple of days ago. She stepped only within the shadows cast by the tree canopies, determined not to let a single sliver of sunlight touch her, looking very much like a vampire.

She simply didn’t want to get a tan.

Being a succubus, protecting one’s skin was very important.

As for that missing thing called a “vitamin,” she could just take some supplement tablets.

She bumped into two classmates on the way.

“Chengcheng! I thought you weren’t coming.” One of the girls waved at Sang Zhancheng and ran toward her.

“Mumu, I didn’t want to come either. It’s too hot today; it’s not suitable for little fairies like us.”

Sang Zhancheng even cracked a joke, displaying a sense of humor that suggested she would delay for even a minute if possible, and would never voluntarily enter the teaching building unless necessary.

Mu Li nodded frantically. “Tell me about it. Now that you’ve got your graduation certificate, what are your plans?”

She tactfully avoided mentioning the college entrance exam results or admission notices. After all, they had been classmates for three years; who didn’t know that Sang Zhancheng finished last in every single exam?

Hearing this question, Sang Zhancheng grew excited. She hooked her finger at Mu Li, signaling her to lean her ear close to her mouth, acting as if she were about to share a world-shaking secret.

“I turned eighteen today!”

“Ah, that’s right! Happy birthday!”

Only then did Mu Li remember.

It wasn’t her fault; Sang Rancheng’s birthday fell during the summer break. Unlike Mu Li, whose birthday was on September 1st—which meant it coincided with the start of school every year—she even had to buy cake for her classmates under their nagging.

“Happiness doesn’t matter; the most important thing is that I can go find a partner now!”

As Sang Zhancheng spoke excitedly, the tail she usually kept well-hidden slipped out, swaying back and forth. The little heart at the tip of the tail revealed a bit of an ambiguous pink hue.

“Interested? Come with me~” Sang Zhancheng sincerely extended an invitation to Mu Li.

Paired with the unique, coquettish tone of a succubus, Mu Li was momentarily unsure if Sang Zhancheng was inviting her to look for a partner or to be her partner.

It was also at this moment that Mu Li realized the distance between them was a bit too close.

Her ear happened to be right against Sang Rancheng’s lips, and the fine hair on her neck stood up from the other girl’s sweet-scented breath.

Mu Li shuddered, her ears turning red, and she took a step to the side.

She glanced at her late-arrive companion and apologized to Sang Zhancheng.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, just go and take care of your business. Where’s Jiayu?” Sang Zhancheng didn’t mind at all, turning her gaze toward Mu Li’s companion.

Song Jiayu froze for a second before reacting to what Sang Zhancheng was saying. Her entire face turned red.

While for a succubus, reaching adulthood meant it was time to find a partner and get married.

But for Mu Li and Song Jiayu, two ordinary humans, they hadn’t even been in a relationship at the age of eighteen for the sake of getting into a good school, let alone discussing the adult topic of finding a life partner.

The little knowledge they possessed on the subject caused them to quickly become embarrassed.

Covering her burning face, Song Jiayu pointed behind Sang Rancheng, stiffly changing the subject. “Your tail is out, Chengzi.”

“Wha!” Only then did Sang Zhancheng realize she had failed to control her magic. Not only had she let her tail out, but she had also let outsiders see the way it changed color.

Now it was her turn to flush a deep red. Not just her tail, her entire being seemed to turn red.

“Um… you guys don’t have some rule that says… if someone sees your tail, you have to form a partner contract, right?” Song Jiayu asked, feeling quite embarrassed.

“There used to be one, ugh… it was abolished many years ago after the one-on-one partner principle was implemented, but, but…” Sang Zhancheng had failed before she even started, her tail exposed prematurely. She was so ashamed she wanted to vanish into the ground.

“We’re sorry, we didn’t mean to. But we really can’t accompany you to find a partner. I… I still have to review for the entrance exams.” Mu Li didn’t dare stay longer and pulled Song Jiayu away.

Sang Zhancheng remained on the spot, tidying herself up for a good while before setting off again.

When she reached the classroom, her homeroom teacher—known as the “Exterminator Nun”—was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. Her gaze was incredibly fierce, as if she wanted to devour Sang Zhancheng, the ultimate “bad student,” whole.

Sang Zhancheng shrunk her neck. “Exter—ahem, good morning, Teacher Tan.”

“It’s already noon and you’re saying, ‘good morning.’ Take it. After three years of study, you got such a score. Don’t tell anyone I was the one who taught you.”

The Exterminator Nun irritably tossed the graduation certificate into Sang Zhancheng’s hands.

Sang Zhancheng swallowed hard. “Yes…”

Seeing her so submissive, the Exterminator Nun became truly angry.

“People say you succubus are all soft-natured, and you really are. Little girl, going to school properly is better than exhausting your mind trying to find some unreliable partner, isn’t it? Knowledge and skills last a lifetime. Even if you just go to a vocational school, it’s better than nothing.”

Sang Zhancheng covered her head, precisely dodging her teacher’s attempt to flick her forehead.

“What’s wrong with finding a partner? Being able to eat and drink for free and lie flat for the rest of my life is my true pursuit.”

She retorted in a tiny voice, then slipped out of the teaching building before the Exterminator Nun could react. Her speed was comparable to a high school student rushing to the cafeteria for food.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead caused by the hundred-meter dash and, taking advantage of the sun’s inattention, hid in the shadows, thoroughly upholding her principle of refusing sun exposure.

Finally, the first task was done.

The thought that she could now find the partner she had been dreaming of for eighteen years put Sang Zhancheng in a great mood.

Sensing the remaining magic power in her body, she held her umbrella and walked at a power-walking pace toward the recommended address her mother had written down for her.

“Why has it suddenly turned cloudy?” While waiting for a red light, Sang Zhancheng looked at the shadows around her with some confusion.

She was carrying a parasol; if it was going to rain, she would have to switch to a dedicated rain umbrella.

She had just folded her umbrella and looked up to confirm when her vision went completely pitch black.

Something had landed squarely on her head.