Chapter 54: Shipping the Couple Together
Being completely ignored made Lin Wenbin feel super awkward. He wanted to say something, but Ye Ziming didn’t even give him the chance to speak.
And to make it worse, while being left out, he had to sit there and watch the two of them showing off, both financially independent.
On top of that, it weirdly felt like he was being force-fed dog food* on the side.
(*Note: “Being fed dog food” is slang for watching other people being sweet or romantic when you're single.)
Could someone explain to him how that even happened?
“I just got lucky, that’s all.”
Lin Muqing scratched the back of her head a bit shyly after hearing her good friend say that, even though it was true.
She knew that working at the cafe wasn’t something ordinary, and being able to land that kind of job was honestly just pure luck.
So she didn’t feel like there was anything to show off about. Compared to that, what her good friend was doing felt way more impressive.
That was real skill.
“No need to be humble. Your hard work and earnings are already better than most people’s.”
Looking at the shy Lin Muqing, Ye Ziming’s smile grew even warmer. At that moment, he actually had the urge to pat her on the head.
But he held back, because thankfully his brain was still working, and he knew this wasn’t the time or place.
“Really?”
That made Lin Muqing even more bashful. Her good friend was complimenting her, wasn’t he? It definitely sounded like praise.
That was rare. Her good friend was actually praising her.
She felt a little light and floaty. If he kept complimenting her like that, she might get a little full of herself.
“Since Lin Muqing is so rich, how about lending me some money? I’ll pay you back later.”
Finally finding an opening, Lin Wenbin jumped into the conversation and tried once again to bring up borrowing money.
“You’re dreaming.”
The happy feeling from just now vanished almost instantly. Lin Muqing shot Lin Wenbin a sharp side-eye and flat-out rejected him.
Besides, she had just seen the number on his phone screen. To her, that amount of money was huge.
He had that much and still wanted to borrow money from people? Was this how rich kids lived?
Just thinking about it made her feel a little salty.
Even though, honestly, she probably had just as much money on her now.
“Aren’t you super rich?”
After being rejected, Lin Wenbin still didn’t give up. He frowned and tried again, hoping to convince her to lend him some money.
“Hmph. Even if I am, I’m not lending you any.” ╭(╯^╰)╮
She lifted her chin and turned her head away, clearly showing she didn’t like this silly guy and wanted him to stay far away from her.
She had underestimated how thick-skinned Lin Wenbin could be, even after getting rejected like that, he still wouldn’t let it go.
But before he could say anything else, Ye Ziming’s smile faded. He turned and looked straight at Lin Wenbin.
His eyes were cold and sharp.
“What do you think will happen if Uncle Lin finds out you’re going around asking people for money?”
Fingers interlocked in front of him, Ye Ziming spoke slowly and calmly, but there was a clear warning in his voice and a hint of amusement in his eyes.
And at that moment, he protectively positioned Lin Muqing behind him.
“Yikes! No—please don’t!”
The moment Lin Wenbin heard that, all his stubbornness disappeared. He quickly glanced at both Ye Ziming and Lin Muqing...
Then decisively returned to his seat and pretended like nothing had happened.
Seeing how close those two were, Lin Wenbin had every reason to believe that if he tried asking Lin Muqing for money again, Ye Ziming would definitely find out.
The word “close” felt a bit too much, but then again… maybe not?
Honestly, it fit them pretty well.
“If he bothers you again, make sure to tell me.”
After Lin Wenbin walked away, Ye Ziming turned back and leaned close to Lin Muqing, speaking softly into her ear.
Or maybe it was more of a reminder, he didn’t want her to be troubled by anything.
“Mm-hmm, got it!”
With a sweet smile, she nodded obediently and continued chatting with her good friend.
During their conversation, Lin Muqing found out that her income had already surpassed the city’s average.
In other words, at least half the people in the city earned less than she did.
Oh my~ She really was about to get a big head now.
Before the morning reading class started, they saw the class monitor, Zhang Xiaoling, going around collecting homework like usual. When she came to their row, Lin Muqing felt a bit embarrassed.
Because the events from last night were still fresh in her memory.
Luckily, Zhang Xiaoling didn’t seem to notice anything strange. She just took Lin Muqing’s homework and moved on to the next classmate.
Lin Muqing quietly sighed in relief, thank goodness no one had found out her secret.
But what she didn’t know was that Zhang Xiaoling had been watching her closely the whole time while collecting homework.
Last night, after hearing Lin Wenbin’s “plan” and tagging along to the cafe to stir up trouble, Zhang Xiaoling suddenly felt like…
Lin Muqing’s figure looked really similar to that cat-eared maid girl.
“Class monitor, here’s my homework.”
“Oh, oh—thanks.”
Lost in thought, Zhang Xiaoling didn’t snap out of it until a classmate called her a few times. She blinked in surprise and then went back to collecting homework.
It was a strange idea, and she had no clue how to prove it.
The way she looked at Lin Muqing slowly became more and more curious.
If it really was her, then what should she do?
A girl dressed as a maid with cat ears… just thinking about it made her feel strangely excited. Before she even realized it, Zhang Xiaoling was already a little hyped up.
“Boss, need me to help fill your water bottle?”
During break time, Lin Muqing took out her water bottle and shook it in front of her good friend, smiling as she asked.
She figured she could use the chance to stop by the bathroom too, she’d had a bit too much soy milk this morning.
“Let’s go together.”
Ye Ziming looked at his own bottle, then nodded without any expression, picked it up, and stood up like he was ready to leave the classroom.
“Mm-hmm.”
Going to the bathroom together wasn’t that strange, even guys could team up for that, right?
But as she walked out of the classroom side-by-side with her good friend, she vaguely heard some girls talking behind them.
“Hey, do you think that rumor about Ye Ziming having a girlfriend… could it be Lin Muqing?”
One of the girls covered her mouth, smiling playfully as she asked the two girls beside her.
“Wow! Now that you mention it, they really did look good standing next to each other just now.”
“For real! They totally feel like a couple.”
Girls two and three gasped in surprise, all saying they got the same impression.
So, their chat quickly switched from “Which bag online looks better?” to “Shipping Ye Ziming and Lin Muqing as a couple.”
As of now, the buzz around Ye Ziming dating someone wasn’t dying down. In fact, it was getting even more intense.
Back in his first year of high school, Ye Ziming had already become well-known at school because of one particular record he set.
He rejected over ten girls in one week. Some were obvious, some were subtle, and a few had even confessed in secret.
But he turned all of them down cold. No chance, no hesitation, not even sharing contact info.
Then sometime later, no one knew where the rumor came from, but it started spreading that Ye Ziming might be gay.
So when the rumor came out that he was dating someone, it caused a huge stir, especially among the girls who had once confessed to him.
Because the person he was dating… was a girl, and even more shocking, she went to their school.
That made it extra spicy.