The night (noch’)... feminine gender, third declension... soft sign stays.
The assignment was daunting: a complex review of noun declensions and suffix rules. Denis sighed, his pen hovering over the first line. Outside, his friends were likely already online, their voices echoing in the digital arenas of their favorite games. Here, in the quiet of his room, there was only the smell of old paper and the ticking clock. The night (noch’)
He pushed the tablet away. He opened his textbook to the reference section Zelenina had carefully organized. He read the rule about soft signs after sibilants. He looked at the exercise again. The night (noch’)... feminine gender