Hannibal Not Barca
patreon
Trapped In Paradise
🕑 Added 2025-02-05 18:01:01 +0000 UTCVolume 1 Chapter 202: Mother
Standing inside the elevator, Ning Chu lowered her head, feeling her heartbeat grow more intense.
Over the years, her memories of her mother had become blurry.
All she could vaguely recall was a frail and exhausted figure, constantly out working to make ends meet, raising two children all on her own…
She desperately wanted to go home, to reunite with her mother, to learn about everything her mother had gone through over the years.
What would a mother who hadn’t passed away look like?
But then she glanced down at herself—the girl she had become—and suddenly, a wave of guilt and anxiety washed over her.
Would her mother beat her and throw her out?
Would she refuse to acknowledge her as her child and tell her to leave and fend for herself?
She had raised a son for nearly twenty years, only for him to turn into a daughter. Even if Ning Chu imagined herself in her mother’s shoes, she would probably black out on the spot.
The elevator doors opened.
Ning Chu stepped out nervously, and as she looked up, she saw the hallway walls covered in messy graffiti and advertisement stickers.
Some of the graffiti looked oddly familiar.
She was the one who did that…
Ning Yuan stopped in front of the door, glancing back at his sibling. “You sure you don’t want to get a haircut first?”
“No.”
“Don’t blame me when you get scolded.” He muttered under his breath and used his fingerprint to unlock the electronic door. As soon as the door opened, he called out, “Mom! Ning Chu’s back!”
“I know.”
A familiar voice responded from the kitchen.
Ning Chu’s emotions nearly crumbled right then and there. Her nose stung, and her nostrils flared slightly with a deep inhale. She lowered her head, took off her shoes, and stepped inside.
“Oi, don’t forget to put on slippers.”
As if she hadn’t heard her brother, she walked in a daze, taking in the seventy-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment. The furniture arrangement felt a little unfamiliar, but a wall covered in award certificates caught her eye.
Instinctively, her gaze shifted to the round table in the corner, where a framed family portrait from when she was five sat.
A slightly cramped living room, striped wooden floors, solid wood sofas, slightly yellowed walls, warm-toned lighting… everything was so familiar, so comforting.
Her eyes turned red, and no matter how hard she tried to hold it back, tears welled up.
After scanning the living room, she quickly made her way to the kitchen.
Just a glimpse of her mother’s back made her heart drop—
Why is my frail mother now a voluptuous young woman?!
“I was making you a late-night snack. You must be hungry, right?”
Hearing the footsteps, her mother turned around with a smile—only for that smile to freeze as she stared in shock at her child.
Good grief! Just a few months away at college, and your hair’s grown this long?! And why are you dressed so girly?!
Did college make you completely uncontrollable?!
Ning Chu was equally stunned.
She stared blankly at the beautiful woman in the kitchen. That face, both familiar and unfamiliar, looked no older than her early thirties, yet it overlapped with the hazy memory of her mother’s worn-out appearance.
It’s Mom…
The moment she was sure of it, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
Looking back on the past few months—the transformation into a girl, becoming a succubus, struggling every day to sabotage the plot, constantly being on edge and wary of everything around her…
It was all worth it.
The grievances, the heartache, the joy—too many emotions flooded her at once, leaving her mind completely blank.
Without thinking, she rushed forward and threw herself into her mother’s arms.
Burying her head in her mother’s embrace, she choked up and softly called out, “Mom…”
Her mother swallowed the scolding she was about to give, hesitantly patting Ning Chu’s back to comfort her. Gently, she asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen at college?”
“You’re already eighteen, a grown man now, yet you’re crying like a little kid. Aren’t you afraid your brother will laugh at you?”
She was clearly confused, so she turned to Ning Yuan for an explanation.
But Ning Yuan only shook his head, looking just as bewildered.
"What's wrong? Tell Mom." She gently stroked Ning Chu's head, comforting her. "It's okay, Mom and your brother are here. If you're feeling wronged, just say it."
Ning Chu sobbed silently, her throat dry from crying, her face covered in tears and snot.
She nestled in her mother's embrace, savoring her scent, listening to her voice...
She was home.
At this moment, she felt rooted in this world—wherever her mother was, that was home.
She lifted her tear-filled eyes and carefully examined her mother’s face.
Her delicate features showed no signs of fatigue. On the contrary, her complexion was rosy, her cheeks plump and full of collagen, her skin smooth and glowing. Only the faintest wrinkles lined the corners of her eyes, and her peach blossom-shaped eyes—identical to Ning Chu’s—were filled with concern.
This version of her mother was doing well.
Even though she knew deep down that the woman before her wasn’t exactly the same as her late mother, Ning Chu preferred to believe that after passing away, her mother had come to the world she had written and was now living a happy life.
Her mother cupped Ning Chu's face, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes. She sighed helplessly, "You’ve only just come back, and you're already crying so miserably. What happened?"
Ning Chu's emotions had calmed a little. She let go of her mother’s waist and wiped her tears with a tissue, suddenly struggling to explain why she had been crying so hard just moments ago.
"It's only been a few months, and you've become such a little crybaby."
Her mother tried to lighten the mood, using a teasing tone to make her smile. "Did you find yourself a boyfriend out there?"
But instead of laughing, Ning Chu froze, instantly tense.
How did she guess so accurately?!
"Mom, let’s talk in the bedroom..."
"Why can't you say it here?"
"......"
Ning Chu grabbed her mother's wrist and pulled her toward the bedroom. Ning Yuan, curious, followed them, only to be shut out with a loud bang as the door closed behind them.
"Can you talk now?" Her mother sat at the head of the bed, looking at her son's red-rimmed eyes. "If you were suffering so much, why didn't you tell me over the phone?"
Although she was puzzled by why her son now looked so delicate and feminine, she held back her questions, prioritizing Ning Chu’s emotions.
Ning Chu lowered her head, her face gradually flushing. She silently took off her jacket, revealing the small curves that had been hidden beneath it.
Her mother’s eyes immediately caught the changes in her body. She covered her mouth in shock.
Ning Chu hesitated for a moment before turning her head aside and lifting the hem of her shirt, exposing a portion of a tattoo.
Only then did she hesitantly whisper, "Mom... I….I turned into a girl."
"And... a succubus."
Now, her mother finally understood why her child had been so overwhelmed with emotion.
No wonder she had cried so miserably for so long.
Her son had become a daughter.
For a moment, her mother was speechless, sitting there in a daze, her eyes scanning her child's figure.
A modest chest, a slender waist, a perky curve to the hips—after just a few months, she had developed almost like an average 14- or 15-year-old girl.
And then there were the silver markings…
The silence stretched on, making Ning Chu even more anxious. She stood there helplessly, unsure whether to explain her situation in detail or simply wait for her mother’s judgment.
A heavy sigh from her mother sent her heart plummeting into the abyss.
Panicked, she tried to explain, "I don’t know how it happened, one day I just—"
Before she could finish, her mother gently pulled her into an embrace.
"It’s okay. It’s not your fault."
The tension in Ning Chu’s body instantly eased. Feeling her mother’s comforting warmth, she softly replied, "Mm."
