Chapter 41: Did the Iron Tree Just Bloom?
The bell rang, and the teacher was the first to leave the classroom. After that, the students stood up and left one after another.
Only a few people weren’t in a rush, like Ye Ziming, who was still sitting at his desk, and Lin Muqing, who was being held in place by him.
There were always a lot of people on the stairs at this time, and Ye Ziming didn’t like squeezing through crowds, so he preferred to leave a bit later.
Naturally, Lin Muqing also had to wait, because Ye Ziming was taking her home for lunch again.
While waiting, Lin Muqing took out her phone and started playing on it right on top of her desk, not even bothering to hide it.
But halfway through her game, she suddenly heard a few girls talking not far away.
She looked toward the sound and saw some girls standing just outside the window, holding up their phones and seemingly looking toward her direction.
Looking more closely, it seemed like they were staring at her desk neighbor. Her good buddy, Ye Ziming.
“What’s going on?”
She had no idea what those girls were doing. Some of them were from their class, while others were from different classes.
She glanced at Ye Ziming beside her, but he didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he did and just didn’t care. He was quietly reading an English vocabulary book like usual.
“What the heck!?”
Suddenly, Lin Wenbin, who had also stayed behind to avoid the crowd, shouted out loud, making everyone jump. Then he spun around and stared at Lin Muqing.
More accurately, he was looking past her, straight at Ye Ziming.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Startled by the sudden outburst, Lin Muqing leaned back in her seat and gave him a disapproving glare.
That loud shout nearly scared her to death, and she almost dropped her phone.
“Brother Ye!”
With a face full of surprise and excitement, Lin Wenbin completely ignored Lin Muqing’s complaint and called out to Ye Ziming loudly.
“You got a girlfriend!?”
Without waiting for a reply, he quickly stood up, walked around their desks, and came to stand next to Ye Ziming, placing his phone on the desk with a thud.
He looked super excited, like he’d just uncovered a huge piece of gossip.
Hearing that, both Lin Muqing and Ye Ziming were stunned at the same time. Their reactions were completely in sync. They even blinked together.
It wasn’t until Lin Wenbin changed seats and brought over his phone that they snapped out of it.
Then they both looked at his phone.
Their reactions were 100% in sync.
“You were at the shopping center last night, right? This picture was taken by someone from our school. It’s been spreading around since this morning.”
Wearing a classic nosy-aunt smile, Lin Wenbin looked at Ye Ziming and pointed at his phone while explaining where the picture came from.
“!?”
After seeing the photo, Lin Muqing’s eyes flew wide open. She was totally shocked.
Because in the picture, the background was clearly the shopping center they had gone to last night.
And the main subjects of the photo… were none other than herself and Ye Ziming.
Whoever had secretly taken the photo had serious skills, Ye Ziming looked super clear in the image. You could recognize him instantly.
But the person standing next to him, Lin Muqing, was much more blurry. You couldn’t see her face clearly.
You could only tell she was wearing the same school uniform, and maybe guess her height and general build.
Thud. Lin Muqing’s phone slipped out of her hand and hit the desk.
She was completely shaken by what she had just seen.
“Ahem… that’s right. I’m in a relationship.”
After clearing his throat, Ye Ziming reached out and gently pressed down on Lin Muqing’s shoulder. After checking that she wasn’t having too much of a reaction, he finally turned his head to Lin Wenbin, gave a small nod, and slowly spoke.
In the photo, their poses were very close. Ye Ziming was even holding Lin Muqing’s hand. No matter how you looked at it, it clearly looked like they were a couple.
He hadn’t planned to hide it anyway. There was nothing for him to hide. Now that someone had already seen it, he might as well just admit it.
Besides… no one could tell that the person in the photo was Lin Muqing, right?
“Wow~ Brother Ye, you’re amazing. You actually got yourself a girlfriend from our school…”
“Not bad.”
The two real guys continued chatting. One was burning with gossip, the other stayed calm as ever.
As for Lin Muqing, sitting right next to Ye Ziming. She was anything but calm.
She couldn’t believe that her good buddy actually said that girl was his girlfriend. And he said it in front of their classmates!
Only now did she finally remember. Last night, he had asked her to pretend to be his girlfriend.
But he still hadn’t explained anything about it to her!
She was doomed! Lin Muqing had a terrible feeling that her high school life might be over soon… because she was about to suffer social death.
[mental breakdown.jpg]
“Let’s go eat lunch.”
While chatting casually with Lin Wenbin, Ye Ziming was secretly watching Lin Muqing’s reactions.
Just as he expected, she totally couldn’t stay calm under pressure. From the look on her face, it seemed like she might explode at any moment.
He patted her shoulder and stood up, saying that line to both of them.
“Brother Ye, you still haven’t told us who that girl is.”
Pointing at the picture on his phone, Lin Wenbin kept asking excitedly.
That girl’s identity was the key. He really wanted to know what kind of person had managed to do what no other girl at school could.
Even the girls standing by the window earlier were thinking the same.
“She doesn’t want anyone to know.”
Ye Ziming glanced at Lin Muqing beside him and gently squeezed her shoulder a little before smiling and replying.
After saying that, he didn’t answer any more of Lin Wenbin’s questions. Instead, he walked off with Lin Muqing, leaving the classroom, and the school, behind.
“What the heck? Did the iron tree finally bloom!?”
That was Lin Wenbin’s final reaction. Just now, he actually saw a warm smile on Ye Ziming’s face, especially when he mentioned his “girlfriend.”
It freaked him out so much, he almost ran to the first floor to check if the old ironwood tree at school was blooming.
On the way home, Lin Muqing was completely out of it. She kept glancing at Ye Ziming, clearly wanting to say something but not knowing how.
“Don’t worry. No one knows that it’s you.”
Ye Ziming chose a quieter street and said this while looking straight ahead.
“But…”
Lin Muqing turned to him. She knew that she hadn’t been exposed. If she had, she wouldn’t still be calmly walking beside him right now.
But just because things were fine now, didn’t mean they’d always stay fine. And besides, he still owed her an explanation.
Like why did he tell everyone she was his girlfriend!? The thought alone made her want to bury her face in the ground. It was so awkward.
“Let me finish talking first. Then you can decide what to do, okay?”
Ye Ziming placed his hand on her shoulder again. This time, he dropped his smile and looked her in the eyes seriously.
Then, in a calm and steady voice, he said that line.
“…Okay.”
Lin Muqing looked back into his eyes and held back the words she wanted to say. Then she nodded softly.
Even now, she still trusted her good buddy. She believed he wouldn’t do anything just to mess with her.
So for now, Lin Muqing chose to stay quiet, and listen to what he had to say. After that, she’d figure out what to do next.