Chapter 29: Finally Set Free
"If you're feeling really uncomfortable, just say so."
While the teacher was writing on the board, Ye Ziming leaned closer to Lin Muqing and whispered softly.
Seeing her looking so miserable made him feel a little uneasy too, even though technically, it had nothing to do with him.
"Huh? I'm not uncomfortable at all."
Lin Muqing froze for a second when she heard his voice. She was in the middle of taking notes and ended up writing the wrong character.
Quickly trying to focus again, she turned her head slightly and awkwardly whispered back.
To be fair, she’d done a pretty good job hiding her discomfort. No one else in class had noticed, except for her close buddy, Ye Ziming.
That surprised her. She’d been holding it in for so long… And yet, he still noticed.
"...You're really not uncomfortable?"
Ye Ziming hesitated before asking again. He really wanted to help, but if she didn’t want him to, there wasn’t much he could do.
"Cough cough, really, I’m fine."
Lin Muqing didn’t even know where her stubbornness was coming from, but once again, she refused her buddy’s offer to help.
She crossed out the wrong word in her notebook and went back to listening and taking notes, then secretly shot him a quick glance.
The teacher's watching. Be quiet. Don’t get us in trouble.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the bell rang.
As soon as the teacher said class was over, Lin Muqing was the first to leap out of her seat and head straight for the door.
She walked quickly, but didn’t run.
Why?
Because if she ran, she was afraid she might… leak. And that would be disastrous.
This time, she got lucky. There was no one else in the bathroom.
She picked a stall, closed the door, unzipped her school pants, squatted down, and then, sweet relief.
"Ahhh~ Freedom!"
The feeling was too good. She couldn't help but let out a sigh of bliss from inside the stall.
Besides her own voice, there was also the sound of a long, high-pitched stream echoing through the bathroom.
At that moment, Lin Muqing finally understood why some people collapse from exhaustion after holding it in too long.
That’s right. She was this close to collapsing herself. She almost didn’t have the strength to stand up after.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"
Feeling great after solving her urgent issue,
she pressed the flush button, pulled up her pants, and started humming as she got up.
Walking out of the stall, she went over to the sink and turned on the faucet to wash her hands.
"That was quick."
"...That's because I only did a little."
A strange moment happened. While washing her hands, Lin Muqing heard a familiar voice asking her a question, and she just answered without thinking.
But right after speaking, she froze.
Because she suddenly realized… that voice was Ye Ziming’s.
Only his voice could make her lower her guard like that, enough to answer without even checking who was there.
"Uhh… Boss, why are you here?"
Turning her head stiffly, Lin Muqing looked at her best buddy and saw that subtle, unreadable expression on his face. Instantly, the awkward feeling came back.
The corners of her mouth twitched, her eyelids fluttered, and her expression stiffened. She had no idea what to say.
She even forgot to turn off the faucet, letting the water run nonstop.
"I came to use the bathroom too," Ye Ziming said casually as he looked into her eyes. Then he reached out and helped her turn off the faucet.
The longer things went on, the more convinced he was that Lin Muqing was hiding something. He was more curious than ever now and really wanted to uncover the truth behind her identity.
But his rational side reminded him. If he pushed too hard, he might scare her, and that wouldn’t help him get any answers.
Caught between these two thoughts, he gave Lin Muqing one last deep look, then walked past her to the urinals and began doing his business.
"Whew~"
As soon as her buddy left, Lin Muqing let out a breath of relief and patted her chest.
She couldn’t help but wonder, did he see anything earlier when she woke up from her nap, before she put on the jade pendant?
The difference in appearance between her two forms was huge. And she had no idea how to bring it up or ask him.
She left the bathroom without waiting for Ye Ziming. Of course, she wasn’t going to stick around and watch him pee.
So she returned to the classroom by herself.
"Sigh~"
Back in her seat, Lin Muqing propped her head up with one hand, feeling troubled. She didn’t know how to handle everything going on.
It wasn’t just the issue with the bathroom. There was also the bicycle problem, and the fact that her buddy was supposed to take her clothes shopping after school today.
So many problems already, and it was only the first few days of school!
"What are you sighing about? If you're feeling down, how about we go see the cat-eared maid cafe later?"
Across the aisle, Lin Wenbin also leaned on his hand and grinned at her.
"Tch! If I really go, don’t come crying later!"
Lin Muqing instantly felt more annoyed. She almost forgot, there was also this ridiculous plan, where some of their classmates were going to watch her crossdress in public.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
So she switched hands to prop her head, rolled her eyes at Lin Wenbin, and turned away. She didn’t want to talk to him.
He was clearly up to no good. It wasn’t hard to tell that this whole thing was Lin Wenbin’s sneaky plan for a date. Childhood friends or not, it was obvious.
If she really went with them and joined in on the fun...
Well, it would definitely be "fun." In all kinds of ways.
"Haha! Then I’ll take some pictures and show you that legendary catgirl maid myself!"
Seeing that Lin Muqing didn’t respond, Lin Wenbin wasn’t offended. Instead, he laughed and teased her again.
Lin Muqing: “You can cut that out, seriously!”
The break ended quickly. Ye Ziming soon returned to his seat, and the two of them went back to class like nothing had happened.
At least on the surface, everything seemed normal.
What Ye Ziming was thinking deep down, though, no one knew. Not even Lin Muqing.
The final class of the day went by fast, at least for someone like Lin Muqing who was focused on the lesson.
As soon as the dismissal bell rang, the teacher left the classroom in a flash, and the room instantly filled with noise as everyone got ready to head home.
“Wenbin, Xinxin’s interested in the cat-eared maid too, so we’re going together, okay?”
Two girls walked up to Lin Wenbin’s desk holding hands. Zhang Xiaoling smiled as she spoke.
“Uh… okay.”
Lin Wenbin was stunned for a second. Then he glanced at Wang Wenxin, who was standing next to Zhang Xiaoling, and suddenly felt a little upset.
He thought it was going to be just the two of them. But now, right before they were about to leave, a bestie popped out of nowhere.
There’s a saying, ‘Best friends can make or break things.’
Even though he was a bit disappointed, he definitely wasn’t going to skip the cafe trip. No way he’d give up just because of something like this.