Chapter 40: My Fists Are Clenching
Lin Muqing thought for a moment, then turned to look at herself in the restroom mirror. She checked her throat, which had no Adam’s apple, and then looked at her face again.
She didn’t see anything wrong, but earlier, her good buddy had put his hand on her neck, like he was staring at it.
That made her a little uneasy, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out.
He probably didn’t notice anything strange... right? she thought.
She couldn’t help but think about what happened yesterday at lunch. If Ye Ziming really had noticed something, he wouldn’t have stayed so calm. At least she knew she wouldn’t be able to!
If her good buddy somehow turned into a girl, she’d definitely take action right away. No way she’d let that opportunity go to waste!
She looked at herself in the mirror again, then walked out of the restroom, deep in thought as she made her way back to class.
“Emmm…”
Back in her seat, Lin Muqing glanced at her desk mate, her good buddy, and opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but then stopped.
She was really bothered by what just happened.
But how was she supposed to bring it up? Was she supposed to just ask, “Hey, do you know I’m actually a girl?”
Definitely not. There was no way she’d let her good buddy find out that her “little buddy” had already run away from home.
“You wanna say something?”
Just as she was deep in thought, Ye Ziming suddenly turned to her and whispered in her ear, catching her off guard.
“Ah—uhh… n-no, nothing.”
Lin Muqing flinched and quickly pulled back, her eyes wide as she awkwardly waved her hands.
She had just secretly peeked at him while thinking, and figured he wouldn’t notice.
But somehow, he did. And then he suddenly leaned over and scared her, like a ghost or something.
“Careful.”
Ye Ziming’s lips curled up slightly. He reached out and grabbed her arm, gently pulling her toward him.
Right behind Lin Muqing, another classmate was walking by carrying a water bottle, and Ye Ziming’s quick move stopped her from getting bumped or splashed.
“Uh… thanks, Boss.”
At first she was confused, but Lin Muqing quickly realized what had happened. Her good buddy had helped her again.
“Mhm. Uncle Liu is making lunch for you today. Don’t run off at noon.”
With a calm smile still on his face, Ye Ziming turned his eyes back to the book on his desk and spoke casually.
“Ah? That’s not necessary…”
Hearing the offer, Lin Muqing immediately thought of everything that happened yesterday and instinctively wanted to decline.
But before she could even finish speaking, her good buddy suddenly turned to look at her, with that look in his eyes.
“…Alright then.”
Under that intense stare, Lin Muqing didn’t even last ten seconds before giving in.
Because when Ye Ziming looked at her like that, the pressure was too much, she lost every time.
It made her think of one phrase: “Bossy CEO.”
After thinking about it, Lin Muqing realized. Yeah, he really was kind of bossy. She barely ever got the chance to say no to her good buddy.
Classes went on as usual, and by the time it was noon, they had already finished five lessons. All in all, the morning felt pretty full and productive.
During the last class before lunch, the teacher had finished teaching and was now drinking water while answering questions from a few students.
He had already packed up his things, and the moment the bell rang, he would declare class over and be the first one out of the classroom.
It made sense, who wouldn’t want to go home right away when their shift was about to end? No one’s going to volunteer to stay behind and work overtime.
Besides, in a class full of second-year science students, how many of them would really dive deep into a liberal arts subject anyway?
“Boss, I really don’t think you need to do this…”
In the somewhat noisy classroom, Lin Muqing was sitting at her desk, expressionless, trying to pack her books.
But since she could only use one hand, it was taking a bit of time to get everything into her desk.
And the reason she could only use one hand?
It was because her right hand was being tightly held by her good buddy, Ye Ziming. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break free.
“What’s wrong?”
Putting down his pen, Ye Ziming turned his head and looked at her with an innocent face, though there was definitely a hidden smile in his eyes.
“You…”
Seeing him act all innocent, like he didn’t know anything, Lin Muqing really just wanted to say one thing.
Her fists were clenching!
“Ugh… I really wasn’t gonna run, okay?”
But just because her fists were clenching didn’t mean she could act tough. After just two seconds, she gave in and spoke in a soft voice like she was begging.
She had no idea what her buddy ate growing up, but his hand was huge. He could totally wrap hers up in it.
She had tried several ways to break free, but none of them worked.
“Oh? Then tell me, what were you trying to do with the lunchbox just now?”
Ye Ziming gave her a warm, teasing smile and stared straight into her eyes as he asked.
“Uh…”
Lin Muqing’s eyelid twitched, and she guiltily turned her head away to stare blankly at her empty desk.
Getting caught trying to sneak something was super embarrassing, way more than just a little awkward.
She had tried to secretly grab her lunchbox earlier, but of course her buddy noticed. He never missed a thing.
Sigh. He’s so good at this… maybe he deserves a thumbs-up. But how about letting go of her hand so she can actually move?
“You probably don’t want to be seen holding hands with me as we walk out the school gate, right?”
Just as she was pretending to space out, Ye Ziming leaned in closer and whispered in her ear.
Then he casually sat back up again. From the outside, it looked totally normal, nobody noticed his little move.
“!?”
Lin Muqing quickly turned to look at him, shocked. Then she glanced down at her hand still trapped in his.
“Boss… are you serious?”
The smile on his face wasn’t the usual calm and harmless one anymore. There was something strange in it, something extra.
It didn’t feel like he had changed, exactly… but it did feel like his “cool and distant male god” image was starting to crack. This was not the kind of thing a calm and quiet guy was supposed to do!
“You can try and see.”
Ye Ziming looked into her eyes and replied softly, the corner of his lips curving up slightly.
Then he gently squeezed her little hand. Soft and small, like it didn’t have any bones. It felt really nice to hold.
If walking out of the school gate holding her hand was what it took, Ye Ziming had no problem doing that at all. He didn’t feel awkward about it in the slightest.
Unfortunately for him, Lin Muqing definitely wasn’t going to agree to that.
He had clearly felt it, the moment he said that, her hand in his went stiff.
“Uhh… let’s not do that, okay…”
Faced with his dominance, Lin Muqing could only lower her head and weakly give in.