Chapter 8: Which Identity Should I Go As?
Lying on her bed, Muqing happened to glance at a small tank top hanging on the clothes rack.
Ever since she turned into a girl, her small chest had started to develop. If she didn’t do anything about it, wearing clothes would start to feel uncomfortable.
To deal with this, underwear became a must. But because of the shame she felt, and the memories of once being a boy, Muqing stubbornly refused to wear those things.
After Sister Yu found out, she gave Muqing a few of those small tank tops. Their real name was “sports bras,” but Muqing didn’t really know that.
As for how Sister Yu knew Muqing’s size... well, that’s another story that would make anyone blush.
“Hmmm… how should I go there?”
Hugging her anime waifu pillow like an octopus, Muqing stared at the tank top and mumbled softly.
Should she go as a boy? Or should she go as a girl? She felt unsure and couldn’t decide.
Deep inside, she actually wanted to go as a girl. She couldn’t explain why, there was just a voice inside telling her that.
The room was quiet. Outside the window, she could hear the sound of cars passing by now and then.
The lights in the room were still on, but they weren’t as bright as before. They had dimmed a little.
Muqing slept peacefully on the bed. Ever since what happened a year ago, she had to sleep with the lights on to feel safe enough to fall asleep.
………………………
The next morning, while Muqing was still half-asleep, her phone alarm suddenly rang, with vibrations too, forcing her to wake up.
Her eyes were still hazy, and her brain hadn’t fully switched on. The post-holiday laziness hadn’t gone away yet. But then she quickly realized that summer break was over, and she had to get up and go to school.
“Mom, Dad, I’m heading to school now!”
After washing up and getting ready, Muqing slung on her slightly faded school bag and hung the jade pendant around her neck.
Before leaving the house, she looked at the photo on the wall and smiled as she spoke to the people in the picture.
It had become a habit, saying goodbye before leaving made her feel less alone and made the house seem less empty.
“Hmmm~ Good morning, Boss!”
While munching on her breakfast, Muqing reached the school gate and just happened to run into Ye Ziming, who was also about to walk in. She didn’t even finish chewing her steamed bun before waving and greeting him.
One hand held the bun, the other held soy milk. She was in a bit of a rush that morning, so she chose to eat on the go. Just as she reached the gate, she was down to her last bite.
“Mm. Morning.”
Ye Ziming turned his head and also raised his hand in greeting.
He had a faint smile on his face. The morning sunlight gently shone on the side of his face, making his already good-looking appearance seem even more charming.
If someone took a picture of him at that moment, without filters, it would still look like a professionally edited photo. The kind that would make a bunch of girls scream.
Muqing locked eyes with her “good bro” for a few seconds and started to feel a little embarrassed, because she could hear gasps from people around them, and even a few faint camera shutter sounds.
"Umm... give me a second."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Muqing quickly swallowed the bun in her mouth and took a big gulp of soy milk so she wouldn’t choke.
She tossed her trash into the bin, then quickly walked a few steps forward to walk side by side with her good buddy, heading toward the school building together.
To her, this felt like a huge achievement, because in the entire school, she was the only one who could walk side by side with Ye Ziming. No one else could.
She even thought about showing off about it. That thought made her feel like a proud little kitten. Head held high, chest out, taking big, confident steps.
Ye Ziming glanced at her calmly without saying a word the whole time. Maybe he noticed what was happening around them, or maybe he just didn’t care.
To everyone else, he seemed like the naturally cool and distant type. Someone who didn’t care about anything, even if the sky fell.
So, of course, no one noticed that when Lin Muqing puffed up her cheeks to greet him and struggled to swallow the bun, there was a quick change in his eyes.
He didn’t know why, but ever since summer break ended, Ye Ziming suddenly felt like this deskmate of his was… just a tiny bit… cute.
That thought felt kind of dangerous. Ye Ziming quickly forced it out of his mind and walked into the classroom with Muqing.
They sat down at their usual seats. Muqing put her backpack on her lap and slowly took out her schoolwork, and her unfinished summer homework.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lin Wenbin, who sat at the desk next to hers, calmly playing on his phone. She was surprised.
“Whoa~ You’re not rushing to finish your homework?”
Muqing covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide like she was seriously shocked. She even leaned back a little dramatically.
She looked surprised, but her face had more of a teasing smile.
“What the heck do you mean? You wanna get smacked?”
Wenbin’s face turned red. He slapped the desk and sat up straight, glaring at her.
If you didn’t know him, you might think he was angry enough to fight, fists clenched and all.
But Muqing knew him well. Wenbin might be a bit hot-headed, but he would never actually hit anyone.
“Hehe~”
She gave him a cheeky grin, clearly proud of herself.
Seeing Wenbin’s red face as he glared at her made Muqing laugh even more.
“Whoa~ You’re not rushing to finish your homework?”
Someone else repeated the same line in the same tone, class monitor Zhang Xiaoling, holding a thick stack of collected homework, had just walked over.
She turned and looked back, her face matching Muqing’s exactly. One hand over her mouth, eyes full of laughter. She stood right behind Wenbin, teasing him.
“I swear I’ll—” Wenbin sounded fierce, ready to snap.
“Hmm? You wanna try something?”
Xiaoling raised her eyebrows and stared him down. Her smile disappeared in an instant. This was the class monitor in full form, totally scary.
“Here’s my homework...”
Wenbin gave up in less than a second. He slumped down and handed over his homework with both hands, like a kid being scolded.
Scenes like this had happened many times. Muqing was used to it by now, it didn’t surprise her anymore.
But even if it was familiar, Muqing couldn’t help but join in when her friend got roasted.
So of course, she rushed over immediately to laugh at him.
“Pffft~”
“What are you laughing at?!”
Wenbin’s face was bright red. He pointed at her and shouted.
“I just remembered something happy. This morning the breakfast shop owner gave me a discount and charged 50 cents less,” Muqing kept smiling, almost like she was about to make a silly face.
“…Ugh.”
While all this silliness was going on, Ye Ziming wasn’t completely zoning out. He quietly watched his deskmate.
These little things were simple and kind of pointless. If it were anyone else, he might think it was a waste of time.
But when Muqing did it, it actually felt kind of fun to watch.
Since class hadn’t started yet, why not watch it?