Chapter 31: Just a Photo
"Ah… this..."
Seeing Ye Ziming’s serious expression, Lin Muqing felt a wave of helplessness wash over her. For a moment, she didn’t know how to explain things.
Just as she was trying to find a way to make him understand her thoughts, she suddenly noticed a full-length mirror standing nearby.
It was then that she remembered her current appearance.
After taking off the jade pendant, she now had long black hair, a clearly visible chest, and a smooth, flat neck without even the slightest bump.
She blinked unconsciously, and her long eyelashes seemed to flutter like they could dance. She could see herself clearly in the mirror.
Her face was small and looked really youthful. No wonder people often asked if she was still in junior high and when she’d be taking entrance exams.
Click~
While she was still spacing out, she suddenly heard a strange sound from beside her. It was the sound of a camera shutter.
"What are you doing?"
She turned her head and saw that her buddy had taken a photo with his phone.
What surprised her was how close his face was. It seemed like he had leaned in on purpose before taking the picture.
Startled, she quickly stepped back, leaning away in self-defense like a pro.
She felt like he had gotten way too close, so close she could feel the warm breath from his nose.
"Just taking a photo. That’s all."
With a faint smile, Ye Ziming casually turned off the phone screen and slipped the phone back into his pocket like nothing had happened.
Only he knew that there was now one more photo in his album. A picture of him and Lin Muqing holding hands, standing close together.
A photo like that… was usually only seen between couples.
So he couldn’t let Lin Muqing know. At least, not right now.
"Emmm… just taking a photo?"
Lin Muqing stared at his face for a few seconds. She felt like something was off, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find any clues.
Frowning slightly, she narrowed her eyes and gave him a suspicious look.
"Of course."
Ye Ziming looked completely calm, confidently holding her gaze without a trace of guilt.
So the two of them just stood there, right at the entrance of the store, staring at each other with wide eyes.
"...Fine, I guess."
Lin Muqing finally looked away. She reluctantly accepted his explanation but still felt like something was weird.
Since she couldn’t figure it out, she decided to just treat it as her imagination and let it go.
After brushing off that strange feeling, she was pulled into the clothing store by Ye Ziming before she could even react.
Neither of them noticed that, just after they entered the store, a woman nearby slowly took off her sunglasses.
She had just exited the camera app on her phone. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she sent off the photo she had just taken.
"Mom, did you see that? They were holding hands and shopping together, even showing off affection in public. Ziming has really grown up~"
After sending the photo, she tapped the voice input option and quietly spoke into her phone.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Ziming’s definitely not gay. Just look at that girl, she’s really pretty! If she dressed up a bit, she’d definitely turn heads.”
“Alright, I’m going to go meet her now and see what kind of girl Ziming likes. I’ll report back to you later.”
After sending several voice messages, the woman smirked slyly.
She locked her phone screen, put it and her sunglasses into her handbag, and then followed the two into the clothing store.
Inside the store, Lin Muqing stared at the clothing racks in front of her and the many different cute dresses hanging on them. For a moment, she felt overwhelmed.
She had to admit, the dresses were very pretty. She genuinely thought they looked nice.
But what she meant by ‘nice’ was ‘nice on other people’. Not nice for her to wear!
If it were just her and her good buddy looking at the dresses, she might not feel too embarrassed. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal.
But the worst part was… the two overly enthusiastic sales assistants.
“This one and this one are super cute and really suit you. You should try them on first! If you don’t like this style, we have others too…”
“This one's also great! It’s our latest design, it not only… but also…”
Both store assistants were all smiles, holding up multiple cute dresses and enthusiastically recommending them to Lin Muqing. They even held the dresses in front of her to help her visualize them.
But in her eyes, these two women were like final bosses in a video game, putting her under immense pressure.
She took an unconscious step back. Now, instead of Ye Ziming holding her hand, she was gripping his tightly for support.
Looking up, her eyes full of silent pleading, she blinked at him as if begging him to rescue her.
“Let’s try this one first.”
Ye Ziming smiled as he looked at her. He thought she looked especially adorable right now, with her flushed cheeks, looking both nervous and shy.
He casually took one of the dresses from the sales assistant. A plaid pleated skirt paired with a short-sleeved white blouse, basically a Japanese-style school uniform.
It was the autumn version, youthful and energetic, but also designed to make someone look extra cute.
He held the dress up against Lin Muqing’s body to compare.
“I…”
Lin Muqing was shocked. Not only did her good buddy not save her, he teamed up with those two “devils” and started handing her more dresses!
She was ready to give up on life. Right now, all she wanted was to get out of there!
“You don’t like this one? Then how about this?”
Seeing her shrink back a little, Ye Ziming glanced at the outfit in his hand and asked, confused.
He honestly thought the school-style dress looked great. It wasn’t some flashy cosplay. It was a casual, street-friendly outfit.
But since she clearly didn’t like it, he switched it out for a different one. A simple white one-piece dress.
He held it up against her again and was surprised at how well it suited her. It gave the same cute, youthful vibe.
“It’s not that! Can’t it just not be a dress!? Wearing these is seriously too much for me!”
Seeing his reaction, Lin Muqing was about to explode. She thought, This isn’t about liking it or not, it’s about survival!
Unable to hold it in anymore, she raised her voice and finally said it out loud. She even pushed the dress away in frustration.
Now that she’d finally said it, she felt a lot better. She had nearly lost her mind just now.
But her relief didn’t last long. She quickly realized she’d drawn attention, several people turned to stare at her.
It was as if she’d said something shocking. Everyone's expressions looked surprised, even Ye Ziming's.
“Uhh…”
The two overly enthusiastic store assistants also froze, their smiles fading a little. Now they felt awkward.
In all their years of working here, or even just being alive, they had never met a girl who seemed to have a psychological rejection to wearing beautiful dresses.
Especially not a girl who was already this pretty, and had a boyfriend too?
This was rarer than seeing a panda in the wild.