Chapter 26: A Nap That Left Her Dazed
The ringtone that suddenly played was an old song from years ago.
Uncle Liu, who had just sat down with his bowl and chopsticks to eat, stood up as soon as he heard it. In just a few steps, he walked over to the sofa, picked up the phone, and went out to the balcony to answer the call.
“You… What were you about to say just now?”
Seeing that Uncle Liu had left, Lin Muqing pulled her gaze back and looked at her best buddy beside her.
Since she understood Ye Ziming pretty well, she could tell something from his expression earlier, so she asked curiously.
“…After lunch, how about resting a bit in the guest room?”
He looked at Lin Muqing again for two seconds, mainly at her neck. He wanted to ask her about the Adam’s apple, but after thinking about it, he chose not to say anything.
Instead, he changed the subject and pointed toward one of the rooms nearby.
“Ah? Uh… okay.”
She felt a little awkward, but since it was her buddy inviting her, she agreed after a bit of hesitation.
Then the two of them continued eating. Ye Ziming told her she didn’t need to wait for Uncle Liu, just leave some food for him.
Meanwhile, on the balcony, Uncle Liu was calmly watching the view as he spoke on the phone with a woman.
“Young master said he’s going to XX Mall this afternoon to buy clothes, after school. Uh, not alone, he’s bringing a girl, about his age.”
The call wasn’t long. Uncle Liu answered respectfully, replying with whatever he knew.
After a few minutes, the person on the other end ended the call, and Uncle Liu returned to the table to eat.
At the dining table, all three of them ate quietly, no one seemed to think anything was off.
But on the other end of the call, a woman smiled as she put her phone into her purse. Then she walked over to a car, casually opened the door, and got into the driver’s seat like she’d done it a hundred times.
She paused for a second, picked up her phone again, opened WeChat, and selected a chat. Then she tapped the voice input button.
“I won’t be home for dinner tonight. I haven’t seen Ziming in a while, so I’ll go check on him. And while I’m at it, I’ll help you take a look at this girl, see what kind of girl actually caught Ziming’s eye.”
After recording, she hit send, then chuckled softly. She picked up a pair of sunglasses from the passenger seat and put them on.
Then she stepped on the gas and headed for the highway.
……………………………
Back at Ye Ziming’s place, after finishing lunch, Lin Muqing rested on the sofa for a bit, then went into the guest room to take a nap.
Her buddy’s house was definitely rich-kid-level. It was a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. One room was used as a storage room.
Saying they were rich wasn’t an exaggeration. In fact, they even owned the apartment next door, which was used as living space for Uncle Liu.
It was said that Uncle Liu was quite old and had served Ye Ziming’s parents for many years.
Now that he was older, they arranged for him to have an easy job, mostly just driving Ye Ziming around and cooking meals.
And once Ye Ziming became an adult, Uncle Liu wouldn’t need to take care of him anymore and could officially retire.
Lying on the bed in the guest room and looking at her buddy’s place, Lin Muqing couldn’t help but want a house like this too. It just looked amazing.
“I wonder if the money from the demolition can buy me a house like this…”
She closed her eyes and thought for a while. Lin Muqing didn’t really understand real estate prices, but she knew this kind of home definitely wasn’t cheap.
The more she thought about it, the heavier her eyelids became. Then her eyes closed, and her consciousness slowly faded away.
To avoid choking herself while sleeping, Lin Muqing took off her jade pendant before lying down. She also locked the door to keep her best buddy from accidentally discovering her secret.
From Lin Muqing’s point of view, it felt like she had only just lost consciousness for a moment when she suddenly heard knocking on the door, along with Ye Ziming’s voice from outside.
“Ah~ (yawn)”
Her nap was short, and she hadn't slept much the night before either, so when she woke up, her mind felt foggy. Even rubbing her eyes didn’t help her feel more awake.
The knocking didn’t stop. Feeling a bit annoyed, she got up instinctively to open the door and tell her buddy to stop knocking.
Meanwhile, in Ye Ziming’s view, he originally planned to just open the door and call Lin Muqing to get ready for school. But to his surprise, the door was locked, so he had no choice but to knock and call out to her.
“Lin Muqing, if you don’t wake up now, you’re gonna be late!”
He called out again. Just as he frowned, wondering why she still hadn’t responded and was about to go look for the spare key—
Click. Slam!
The door suddenly opened, then immediately slammed shut again and locked.
Inside the room, a panicked Lin Muqing rushed to the bed, grabbed her jade pendant, and quickly put it back on. Only after confirming she looked like a boy again did she open the door a second time.
“Ahem, good afternoon, Boss.”
When she showed up again, Lin Muqing had forced herself to act normal, but her expression was obviously awkward.
She wasn’t sure if her buddy had seen her true appearance in that brief moment just now.
That was so close! She had opened the door while still half-asleep and almost walked straight out of the room.
If she hadn’t snapped out of it just in time, the consequences could’ve been a lot worse.
“…Just now… you didn’t look like this.”
Ye Ziming stared straight at her, especially her hair, trying to spot anything off. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find a problem.
The door had only been open for a second, and he didn’t see much. But he was sure that what he saw was a girl, not a boy.
“Ah? Just… just now? What happened just now?”
Scratching the back of her head, Lin Muqing looked away nervously. She was so tense that even her words didn’t come out smoothly.
She tried to play dumb, but the more she did, the more suspicious she looked. Anyone could tell something was up.
“Are you… blushing?”
Ye Ziming’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He was now very suspicious of Lin Muqing and everything she had just said.
To him, her nervous expression clearly showed she was hiding something.
“M-me? Blushing? No way, you must’ve seen wrong. Ahaha~”
The situation was way too awkward. Lin Muqing wanted nothing more than to jump off the balcony and run far away from this mess.
While she was panicking and looking around wildly, her eyes accidentally landed on the clock hanging in the living room.
“Ah! We’re gonna be late, Boss, let’s hurry!”
When she saw the time, she let out a sudden yelp. This time, they really were about to be late!
Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and rushed out the door with her best buddy, heading to school together.
“……”
On the way to school, Ye Ziming didn’t say a word. His eyes either watched the road or stayed on Lin Muqing the whole time.
He was sure Lin Muqing was definitely hiding something from him!