Chapter 25: Boss Treats Us to Lunch
“Boss, what are you doing?!”
Lin Muqing was startled when she was suddenly held down.
She looked at the crowd already leaving the classroom and started to panic. If she was too late, all the best-value meal sets would be gone.
She really wanted to break free from his grip and quickly join the hungry crowd heading to the cafeteria.
But Ye Ziming’s hand was strong. Once he held her down, there was no way to escape, unless he let go on his own.
“Running right after class to get food is bad for your health.”
Seeing her anxious and unhappy expression, Ye Ziming stayed calm and explained in a flat tone.
“I… I’m gonna miss lunch!”
Her eyes widened in shock. She had no idea what her buddy was thinking.
She’d been doing this all last year and he never said anything. But now, all of a sudden, he was stopping her from rushing to the cafeteria?
What was going on with her best buddy?
It felt like ever since summer break ended, he’d changed a little. Was it just her imagination?
“Then eat mine.”
He looked her straight in the eyes with a calm face. No matter how anxious she looked, Ye Ziming didn’t budge and kept holding her down with his right hand.
Thinking back to the night before, he had actually looked up how rushing to eat right after intense activity could hurt the body. Once he read that it was bad for your health, he made up his mind.
From now on, he wouldn’t let Lin Muqing do that again.
As for why he cared so much… he wasn’t really sure. Maybe he just wanted to protect her.
“...Eat yours?”
“Mm-hmm. Eat mine.”
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds. Lin Muqing started to wonder if she had heard him wrong. She really didn’t understand what was going on.
She glanced out the window and saw more and more students walking out. Even if she ran now, the crowd was already too big. There was no chance of grabbing a meal set.
With no other choice, Lin Muqing sighed, put her lunch box back on her desk, propped her chin on her hands, and let her face say one thing: I’m not happy.
“Emmm... Boss~”
Time passed. The classroom slowly emptied, and the crowd outside the window thinned out. Lin Muqing couldn’t hold it in anymore and finally called out to him softly.
“Mm.”
He responded with a light hum. With his left hand, he casually closed his notebook and put it away, then turned to look at Lin Muqing.
His eyes showed a little curiosity, as if to say, ‘What’s up?’
“Can you let go now so I can go eat?”
Lin Muqing gave him a helpless look and glanced at the hand still resting on her shoulder.
Even though her buddy hadn’t been staring at her the whole time and hadn’t kept pressing down hard, every time she tried to move even a little, that hand would tighten instantly and push her back into her seat.
Muqing: Are your eyes on the side of your head or something!?(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
“You can go, but you’re coming with me.”
He slowly took his hand away, and a tiny, barely noticeable smile appeared on his face. Anyone who knew him well could tell he was in a good mood.
From his point of view, he could see Lin Muqing’s cheeks puffed out slightly, and her lips pouting just a little. She clearly wasn’t happy with him.
At that moment, two words popped into his head, grumpy cutie.
These kinds of little expressions were things only he would notice.
Just like how only Lin Muqing could spot the tiny changes in his expression.
And because she saw him smiling, Lin Muqing became even more annoyed. Her pout was deep enough to hang a pen from.
“Go where with you?”
Watching her best buddy stand up from his seat, Lin Muqing looked confused and asked.
“Where are we going?”
“To eat.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Muqing’s lunchbox. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly. After a short pause, he added.
“No need to bring your lunchbox. I’ve got food.”
Then he turned around and calmly walked toward the classroom door.
Lin Muqing froze for a second, then quickly put her lunchbox away and jogged to catch up with him.
At that moment, her unhappy mood was completely gone, because she finally understood. Her best buddy was treating her to lunch!
That was great. Not only did she save money, but she didn’t even have to fight the crowd in the cafeteria.
“Hehe~ What are we eating for lunch today?” ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ
“No idea.” (ー_ー)
“……”
They chatted as they walked, just like a couple leaving the classroom together, heading toward the school gate.
What they didn’t notice was that class president Zhang Xiaoling had stayed behind in the classroom, quietly watching their every interaction.
So did her deskmate, Wang Wenxin.
“Emmm… their relationship seems really close.”
As Wang Wenxin said that, her eyelid twitched. Even she thought what she said sounded kind of… sus.
But when she saw the two walking side by side, she really thought they could be a perfect couple, the kind with super high compatibility.
“I suddenly feel like I’m not even as good as a guy.”
After hearing her friend’s comment, Zhang Xiaoling didn’t react too strongly. She just slumped over her desk in defeat.
Just thinking about how Lin Muqing was always hanging out with Ye Ziming, but had never accepted a single one of her invitations. It made Zhang Xiaoling feel like a complete failure.
“Uh… well…”
Wang Wenxin was caught off guard for a moment. That sounded kind of off… but also kind of accurate.
Because, well… it was true.
Emmm… the fact that a girl couldn’t attract a guy as much as another guy did, meant that maybe that guy wasn’t totally straight anymore?
On the other side, Lin Muqing followed Ye Ziming straight back to his home, an apartment in a newly built complex not far from the school.
It wasn’t her first time there, so she walked in like she knew the place well.
“Uncle Liu.”
The first person she saw after entering was Ye Ziming’s family butler-slash-driver. Out of habit, Lin Muqing greeted him.
Uncle Liu was sitting on the sofa watching TV. When he saw the two of them walk in, he got up and went straight to the kitchen.
“Go wash your hands. I’ll bring out the food.”
He wasn’t surprised at all by Lin Muqing’s visit. After all, this wasn’t the first time. All it meant was adding one more set of dishes, no big deal.
Everything flowed naturally. At one point, Lin Muqing tried to get up and help bring the food, but Ye Ziming stopped her.
In the end, she was made to sit quietly at the dining table, waiting while her buddy served her food.
“Um… I can’t eat that much.”
Looking at the rice in her bowl, Lin Muqing hesitated and spoke up.
“If you can’t finish, give it to me.”
Ye Ziming stared into her eyes for two seconds, then put his own bowl in front of her, ready to help finish her rice.
“Oh.”
With one swipe of her chopsticks, nearly half a bowl of rice was scooped up and transferred into Ye Ziming’s bowl.
Seeing that, Ye Ziming slightly furrowed his brow. He thought that doesn’t seem like how much a boy would eat.
But… if it were a girl, then it would actually make sense.
As he was thinking, his eyes lowered a little. He could see Lin Muqing’s throat. There was a slight bump that looked like an Adam’s apple, but… not quite.
It was too small. So small it was almost unnoticeable.
Just as Ye Ziming was staring at Lin Muqing and about to say something, a phone rang suddenly from the couch.