Chapter 33: Trying on Clothes
Because he knew Ye Mengze well, Ye Ziming didn’t think Lin Muqing could outplay her.
His sister's look made him a bit uneasy, like when someone used to eye his favorite things back when he was a kid.
After speaking, he held Lin Muqing’s hand tightly and walked around Ye Mengze, heading straight into the clothing store.
The whole time, he stood between them, physically keeping the two girls apart and giving them no chance to interact.
“Tsk! I just looked at her a few more times. It’s not like I’m really going to steal your girl.”
Watching her little brother walk off, Ye Mengze pouted and complained, clearly not happy with his behavior.
But it was only a little bit. After letting it out, she chuckled softly to herself, thinking that Lin Muqing was really quite interesting. She really liked this future little sister-in-law.
She was completely different from all the girls she had met before. In fact, she didn’t even really feel like a typical girl, which only made her more curious.
While thinking, she pulled out her phone, typed a few messages, and sent them off. Then, she followed the two into the store.
As a fashion designer, she figured she might as well lend a hand.
“Was that your real sister?”
After walking into the store, Lin Muqing glanced around. Once she made sure Ye Mengze wasn’t nearby, she quietly asked Ye Ziming.
“Yeah. Why?”
Ye Ziming nodded calmly and looked at her, his eyes full of quiet curiosity.
“Uh… nothing. I was just a little surprised.”
Lin Muqing quickly shook her head and glanced away, looking slightly embarrassed.
Her good bro’s face almost never changed. Even when it did, it was just a small difference, which is why people called him the cold, mysterious type.
Compared to him, his sister had a completely different vibe. So different that they didn’t seem like they were from the same family.
But that thought felt a little rude, so she didn’t say it out loud.
She also wanted to ask something else, like why he told his sister she was his girlfriend.
But since his sister was still around, she figured he wouldn’t tell her now, so she gave up on the idea for the time being.
“?”
Ye Ziming looked at her with a slightly confused expression. He had a feeling she was thinking something rude, but he had no proof.
“Take a look at these clothes.”
His expression shifted slightly, and he led Lin Muqing over to a rack of clothing, pointing at the rows of outfits.
None of them were skirts, a perfect match for what he knew Lin Muqing preferred.
He picked out two sets he thought would suit her well, at least in his own opinion.
“Hmm… then I’ll try this one.”
Since she used to live as a boy, some habits still remained, like picking clothes without overthinking.
She grabbed a set with white shorts and a white round-neck T-shirt, then turned and headed for the fitting room after spotting a store staff member.
By the time Ye Mengze found them again, Lin Muqing had already changed and was standing in front of a mirror.
“Not bad. The size is just right.”
The T-shirt was a bit long, so long it almost covered the shorts, which made it look like she wasn’t wearing any pants at all.
This style was something Lin Muqing could accept, because it didn’t feel much different from boys' clothing, except it made her look prettier when she wore it.
“What do you think?”
She spread out her arms and spun twice in front of the mirror. After checking herself from all angles, Lin Muqing was sure the outfit fit her well.
Then she turned to Ye Ziming, wanting to hear his opinion.
“Yeah, it looks really pretty.”
With one hand on his chin, Ye Ziming couldn’t help but widen his eyes as he watched Lin Muqing spin like she was dancing.
The long hem of the shirt lifted slightly with her movement, making it look a bit like a skirt.
Below it, he could see the white shorts, and her slender, pale legs.
That’s when he suddenly noticed something strange. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he couldn’t see any leg hair at all!
Last time when he walked her home, it was dark, so he couldn’t see clearly. She wore stockings once, and then she’d been in long pants…
This was the first time he’d clearly noticed.
To be honest, it looked really good. Images of her wearing white stockings were already flashing through his mind.
“Mhm, not bad at all. Did you pick that outfit yourself?”
Ye Mengze stood beside Ye Ziming and looked Lin Muqing up and down, nodding approvingly.
“Emmm… I didn’t pick it.”
Lin Muqing answered honestly and then looked at her good bro, clearly hinting, ‘He picked it.’
Still, something about the way he said "really pretty" felt a bit awkward to her.
She agreed that it looked nice, but hearing her best buddy say it like that just felt… weird.
Before she realized it, her cheeks started to warm up.
“Well, if it fits, then let’s get this one.”
Looking at Ye Ziming, Lin Muqing noticed that he seemed distracted. He was staring at her but not saying anything, and his expression looked a little odd.
She turned to the mirror again. Since he didn’t say anything, that must mean he agreed. It looked fine.
She turned around to go back into the fitting room and change back into her regular clothes, planning to buy the outfit.
In her mind, if the clothes fit well and didn’t look ugly, then that was good enough. No need to overthink.
“Try this one too! This one’s also super cute!”
Just as Lin Muqing was heading back to the fitting room, Ye Mengze quickly stepped in front of her, holding another outfit she had “snatched” from Ye Ziming.
“Huh? No, that’s okay.”
Lin Muqing took a step back and looked toward Ye Ziming, clearly surprised.
“Why not?”
Ye Mengze didn’t understand. She held the outfit up against Lin Muqing to compare the size and fit.
“This one also looks great. You’ll look even prettier in it.”
After a quick comparison, Ye Mengze smiled and tried to hand it to her.
But she didn’t know that the words “even prettier” had the opposite effect. They made Lin Muqing want to run away.
“Cough, no thanks. I think the one I’m wearing is already pretty good.”
Lin Muqing took another step back, raising her hands to push the outfit away, firmly rejecting it.
Being prettier was not what she wanted, what she really wanted was to go back to being a boy!
“Huh? Why? This one suits you even better.”
Now it was Ye Mengze’s turn to be confused. Seeing the panicked look on Lin Muqing’s face only made her more puzzled.
She knew Lin Muqing didn’t like skirts, but this wasn’t a skirt!
She took a step closer, clearly still trying to convince her to give the outfit a try.
“I… I just think it’s not right for me.”
The closer Ye Mengze came, the more Lin Muqing backed away. She looked at the clothes in her hand with hesitation, her voice uncertain and awkward.