Chapter 16: Dignity Means Nothing
After getting Sister Yu’s message, the maids were even more nervous than Lin Muqing herself.
All of them moved out together and escorted her to the office door.
Lin Muqing was totally confused. Before she could figure out what was happening, the office door was already right in front of her.
Behind her stood all the maid-sisters.
They lined up behind her like bodyguards, cutting off any chance of escape, each one looking at her with eyes full of hope and excitement.
“Hurry up and go in! The manager and Sister Yu are probably waiting.”
Someone opened the door and gently pushed her from behind. With just a little nudge, Lin Muqing was already inside the office.
After she went in, the maids very thoughtfully closed the door behind her…
…then quickly scattered and returned to work, acting like nothing ever happened.
The “secretary competition”? That was all fake. Lin Muqing was the only one who thought it was real.
The office door opened, and a catgirl maid walked in. Then the door closed again.
“?!”
The moment he saw Lin Muqing, Ye Ziming froze for a second. Her outfit was just too unique, it radiated soft and cute energy at first glance.
He also felt like something had poked him right in the heart. A critical hit, straight to the feels.
For so long, he had never felt anything special toward any girl. But now, for the first time, he was certain.
This was what people call a crush.
It was hard to explain, but he just knew this feeling was good, really good.
And also… a bit strange. A first for him.
“Manager, what do you think?”
Even Sister Yu felt amazed when she saw Lin Muqing enter.
Cat ears, a maid outfit, cute little decorations…
Lin Muqing’s cuteness level had shot through the roof. Sister Yu’s eyes lit up, and her smile grew even wider.
After admiring Lin Muqing for a moment, Sister Yu turned and looked at Ye Ziming. She smiled and asked him.
“Is this… a new uniform?”
Ye Ziming quickly snapped back to reality. He forced himself to shake off the strange emotions and looked at Sister Yu with a subtle, complex gaze.
As he spoke, he clearly felt his voice wasn’t quite steady. He was having a hard time staying calm inside, even if he looked fine on the outside.
“No. This uniform is made especially for Lin Muqing.”
Sister Yu gave him a meaningful smile. She held his gaze for two seconds, then turned back to look at Lin Muqing, who was walking over.
While the two of them were quietly talking, Lin Muqing didn’t hear anything. She was just focused on walking toward them.
The office wasn’t big. Just a few steps would bring her to the desk.
But to Lin Muqing, it felt like a long walk. Because her mind was filled with thoughts.
If she could get a promotion and a raise, her life would improve again. She could even save up for senior year.
By then, she wouldn’t be able to work part-time every day like now. She would need to focus on studying, preparing to get into a good college.
So she made a decision.
Dignity is just fluff.
Male pride? Useless junk.
She didn’t need any of it right now.
“If something must be done, do it fast,” she told herself.
And then…
“Meow~ o( =∩ω∩= )m”
Just like the maid-sisters had taught her, Lin Muqing stood in front of Ye Ziming, put on her cutest expression, and let out the biggest, most adorable ‘meow’ she could.
In that moment, Ye Ziming literally forgot how to breathe.
It was like the whole world changed. Even the lighting in the room felt dimmer for a second.
His emotional HP bar dropped rapidly, and right now, the only thing that could save him… was probably a medkit.
"Can I be your secretary?"
With her big, beautiful almond-shaped eyes wide open, Lin Muqing blinked at Ye Ziming. Her eyes were full of hope, and a sweet, cute smile appeared on her face.
"Pfft~"
Sister Yu’s eyes flew open. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She was so shocked she almost burst out laughing.
She thought, ‘Wow, those maids really did a great job.’
All she did was casually mention it, and they trained Lin Muqing into this? Sister Yu couldn’t help but be impressed.
"Ahem… You don’t really have to do all that."
Ye Ziming was also totally shocked inside, but he forced himself to stay calm. He cleared his throat to cover the awkwardness.
He looked at the amused smile on Sister Yu’s face, then at Lin Muqing, who was acting very out of character. Given what he knew about her, there was no way this wasn’t fishy.
What he really wanted to say was, ‘You don’t need to go this far to act cute. If you want to be my secretary, just ask. I’d say yes.’
If she kept doing things like this, he wasn’t sure how long his emotional health bar would hold up. She was just too cute.
"Huh? Why not?"
Lin Muqing misunderstood what he meant. She thought she had been rejected. That her best buddy didn’t want her anymore.
Without thinking, she stepped forward and leaned onto the desk, grabbed his hands with both of hers, and looked at him with puppy-dog eyes.
"Don’t do this to me! I know how to do a lot of things! Just say the word, I’ll do anything!"
In her panic, Lin Muqing wasn’t even sure what she was saying. She only knew one thing, she needed this raise.
"No… that’s not what I meant."
The two of them were now very close. Lin Muqing, with her twin tails and adorable face, was now right in front of him.
Even the tips of her ears had turned slightly red.
Ye Ziming had never been in a situation like this before, and he honestly didn’t know how to handle it.
He reached out and gently held her hands, hoping to calm her down. Then, in a soft voice, he explained.
"What I mean is, if you want to be my secretary, you can do it anytime you want."
After saying that, he finally let out a breath of relief. He couldn’t help but give her hands a little squeeze.
So small. So soft. The feeling was... kind of amazing.
Are boys' hands supposed to be like this?
Ye Ziming felt uncertain again.
"Ah? Really? So that means… I got the promotion and the raise?"
Lin Muqing froze for a second. Then, with eyes full of hope and a happy tone, she looked at Ye Ziming and asked.
"Yes."
He was a little stunned too, but after thinking for a second, he nodded.
"Yay!ヾ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ"
Overjoyed, Lin Muqing felt like jumping for happiness. She could already see her wonderful new life coming true.
While the two were still caught up in their moment, neither of them noticed something.
Sister Yu had quietly left.
The office door was built very well, completely soundproof when opened or closed. She had walked out, and neither of them noticed.
"By the way…"
"Hm?"
"If there’s nothing else… could you let go of my hands?"
"!?"
Ye Ziming turned his head and suddenly realized he was still holding both of Lin Muqing’s hands.
And he’d even given them a squeeze without noticing.
Caught off guard, he quickly let go, then coughed a few times to hide how awkward he felt.
After calming down, he glanced again at Lin Muqing… and at her little hands, now pulled back.
They felt really nice.
He kind of… wanted to squeeze them again.