Chapter 23: Teaming Up to See the Cat-Eared Maid
The two of them were chatting. Not too loudly, but not too quietly either.
Their voices were just the right volume for Lin Muqing to hear clearly, but not so loud that they would bother the people around them.
“!?”
She had just put away her anime figure and was about to talk to her buddy about something else when she suddenly heard Lin Wenbin and Zhang Xiaoling talking.
It startled her so much she almost dropped the homework she had just taken out.
There was only one maid cafe in the south part of the city, and that just happened to be where she worked.
And as far as she knew, there was only one cat-eared maid in the whole shop… and that was the cute Lin Muqing.
She remembered that after leaving the manager’s office last night, she went to the main hall to try and find Sister Yu to clock out.
But she didn’t see her, so she wandered around the hall for a bit before going to the break room to eat dinner.
“Stay calm, don’t panic.”
Coincidentally, Ye Ziming also overheard the conversation.
Seeing how nervous Lin Muqing looked, he reached out to catch her falling homework and gently grabbed her shaky hand.
Then he leaned closer and spoke softly to her.
After that, he squinted a little, and his face showed a subtle expression that made it hard to tell what he was feeling.
“Ah… oh.”
It was impossible not to panic, but Lin Muqing tried her best to look calm and pretended to keep listening to their conversation.
“How about it? That super cute cat-eared maid, wanna go see her after school today?”
After repeating what his friend had said, Lin Wenbin invited Zhang Xiaoling to go have coffee together that afternoon.
“Is she really that cute?”
Zhang Xiaoling hesitated for a second and asked carefully.
Trying to keep her cool, she didn’t look too excited. Her face only showed a bit of curiosity, mixed with some surprise.
“Cuter than a pearl! Too bad he didn’t take a picture, or I’d definitely show you.”
Lin Wenbin looked very serious as he talked about the cafe, clearly hoping Zhang Xiaoling would say yes.
“Aren’t you into animal ears? Don’t tell me you don’t like cat girls anymore?”
That last sentence was something Lin Wenbin whispered into Zhang Xiaoling’s ear, so quietly that only the two of them could hear it.
“Ahem… alright then.”
Hearing that, Zhang Xiaoling’s face froze for a moment. Then she quickly stepped back and coughed twice to cover her embarrassment.
She didn’t really want to admit it, but it was true. Zhang Xiaoling was into animal ears, especially cat-eared girls.
“Hm? You’re interested too? Want to come with us this afternoon?”
After agreeing to Lin Wenbin’s invitation, Zhang Xiaoling turned to collect Lin Muqing’s homework, only to notice her staring at them the whole time.
From the way Lin Muqing was acting, Zhang Xiaoling thought she looked curious, so she invited her too.
“Ah… uh!”
Faced with classmates who were planning to go check out the cross-dressing version of herself, Lin Muqing was too embarrassed to speak. She had no idea how to respond.
The two of them stared at her, and Lin Muqing instinctively took a step back. Her mouth opened, her eyes were full of panic, and she couldn’t say a single word.
If possible, she really wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into and hide.
“?” ×2
Both of them looked at Lin Muqing, question marks practically floating over their heads. They had no idea what was going on with her.
“Ahem… she’s not free today. She has plans with me this afternoon.”
At that critical moment, Ye Ziming stepped in. First, he gently held Lin Muqing’s shoulder to keep her steady.
Then he calmly explained to the two.
“Uh… yeah, yeah! I’m not free today.”
When she heard her buddy's voice, Lin Muqing quickly came back to her senses and rushed to answer.
But even as she replied, there was still an awkward look on her face. She could only try her best to act normal.
“Whew~”
Lin Wenbin let out a sigh of relief, instantly fixing his expression, then gave Lin Muqing a smile.
He thought Lin Muqing was helping him out. And to help him, she was even willing to go on a date with another guy. That kind of “sacrifice” felt pretty big to him.
“Oh, I see. That’s a bit of a shame.”
Zhang Xiaoling glanced at Lin Muqing, then looked at Ye Ziming behind her, her expression a little hard to read.
But she didn’t say much else. After just one comment, she reached out her hand to collect both of their homework.
“It’s fine. If there’s a next time, I’ll treat you to a visit to the maid cafe.”
Feeling grateful to Lin Muqing, Lin Wenbin patted his chest and generously offered.
“Mm-hmm, let’s all go next time.”
Zhang Xiaoling nodded in agreement after he said that. She supported Lin Wenbin’s idea and also seemed to want to invite Lin Muqing to hang out with them.
“Ah… um… we’ll see when the time comes.”
With a stiff smile, Lin Muqing gave an awkward reply.
Then she quickly glanced away, clearly trying to avoid eye contact with Zhang Xiaoling and Lin Wenbin.
Just thinking about how the cat-eared maid they were excited to see was actually herself made Lin Muqing’s whole face tighten in discomfort, even if she technically didn’t have anything down there anymore.
She couldn’t say a word about it. After Zhang Xiaoling left, Lin Muqing slumped over her desk and turned to look at her best buddy beside her.
“You’re my secretary, not just a regular maid.”
Seeing how Lin Muqing was staring at him with those pleading eyes, Ye Ziming felt a bit embarrassed. He sighed helplessly in his heart and quietly reminded her.
He didn’t expect things to turn out this way either, but thinking about it, it kind of made sense. After all, the way Lin Muqing looked last night in that outfit. She really was explosively cute.
Thinking about that suddenly made him feel a little proud.
To avoid being recognized, Lin Muqing would probably choose to hide in the office during work instead of going out into the cafe hall.
That way, only he would get to enjoy the company of cat-eared Lin Muqing. Just thinking about it made him feel a little happy.
Yep~ Everything going according to plan.
“Oh right! Why didn’t I think of that!”
As soon as she heard there was a solution, Lin Muqing instantly perked up. She sat up straight and looked at her buddy with bright, excited eyes.
“And besides, you don’t have work today.”
Ye Ziming added calmly, a tiny smile flashing in his eyes, though he didn’t say much more.
“Ah… right.”
She had almost forgotten. This afternoon, after school, she was supposed to go shopping for clothes with her best buddy.
Emmm... is there any way she could sneak away?
Anyway, the problem was solved, or at least, temporarily solved.
For now, Lin Muqing didn’t need to worry. She could keep working as usual, getting her paycheck, and also enjoying free food and drinks every day.
As for the future… she didn’t know. She’d figure it out when the time came.
Morning reading class started, then ended.
During the break, the class rep Zhang Xiaoling delivered the homework to the office.
On her way back to class, she deliberately passed by Lin Wenbin’s desk and quietly whispered something to him.
After that, she glanced at Muqing, then turned and went back to her seat.
“Lin Muqing.”
“Huh?”
Hearing Lin Wenbin call her name, Lin Muqing turned around in confusion, not sure what was going on.
“I heard you’ve been working all summer. I wanted to ask what kind of job you’re doing.”
As he spoke, Lin Wenbin recalled what Zhang Xiaoling had just said to him, that she wanted him to help find out where Lin Muqing worked.