Chapter 55: Forgot to Bring Tissues
Outside in the hallway, while getting water, Lin Muqing suddenly sneezed. She frowned and rubbed her nose. Was someone thinking about her?
“Hmm~ Is someone thinking about me?”
Still feeling a bit itchy after rubbing her nose, Lin Muqing muttered to herself in confusion.
“Maybe.”
Standing nearby, Ye Ziming raised an eyebrow and replied in a calm tone.
The school was pretty well-funded, with hot water dispensers on every floor. The water was filtered and boiled, so in theory, it wasn’t any worse than what you’d boil at home. That’s why Lin Muqing usually didn’t bring water from home, why not just enjoy the free stuff at school?
“I’m going to the restroom.”
After filling her bottle, Lin Muqing didn’t take it with her. Since there weren’t many people around, it was fine to just leave it there. It wasn’t like someone would take it. So she decided to leave it for now and grab it after using the restroom.
As usual, she told her good buddy before leaving and turned around to walk toward the bathroom.
“Did you bring tissues?”
Just as she lifted her right foot, Ye Ziming's voice came from behind, completely calm, with no emotion at all.
Lin Muqing froze on the spot. She turned back awkwardly, raised her head slightly, and looked at her friend.
She reached into her pocket, and to her surprise, she hadn’t actually forgotten them. She had just used them earlier and forgot to refill.
This was a little embarrassing. Without tissues, she couldn’t really go to the bathroom…
“Here.”
Before she could say anything, Ye Ziming pulled a pack of tissues from his own pocket and handed them to her directly.
He had just noticed she might’ve forgotten, so he casually asked to test it, and sure enough, she really hadn’t brought any.
Seeing her awkward expression, he immediately knew what was going on.
After giving her the tissues and filling his water, Ye Ziming picked up Lin Muqing’s water bottle too and headed back to the classroom.
“Ah, um…”
Holding the nearly new pack of tissues, Lin Muqing stood there with an embarrassed look and felt a bit awkward.
If her friend hadn’t looked so calm, she might’ve suspected he had figured something out.
Maybe… she should pretend she went for a number two instead. After all, if she used tissues just for a number one, it might seem a little weird.
So something that would’ve taken a minute ended up taking her five, and only then did she slowly walk back to the classroom.
She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but after she sat back down, she felt like someone was watching her.
And not just any look, it felt… strange.
When she lifted her head to find the source of the gaze, she realized it was mostly girls looking at her. And when they looked at her, they also glanced at her friend.
The smiles on their faces could only be described as auntie smiles. Gentle, knowing, and amused.
“Hey boss, don’t you think those girls are looking at us kinda weirdly?”
She leaned over, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered to her friend.
As she spoke, she glanced at the group of girls again and saw them still looking their way, switching between her and Ye Ziming.
She gave him a subtle look, hinting at where they were.
“Don’t worry about it. Even if they weren’t looking at you like that, they’d just be looking at someone else.”
Ye Ziming turned to Lin Muqing with a faint smile and whispered back.
He was already used to all kinds of attention, so it didn’t bother him.
“Emmm… okay then.”
He looked at his good buddy’s eyes, then looked at the girls over there. After thinking for a bit, he sat up straight again and decided to ignore it.
Just before the class bell rang, Lin Muqing suddenly remembered that she hadn’t done her class prep yet, so she quickly started getting ready.
While she had her head down, a few girls not far away were covering their mouths, almost letting out gasps.
“Wow, did you see that? Ye Ziming just smiled!”
“No way, he smiled… at Lin Muqing?”
“I’m so jealous! Ye Ziming has never smiled at me!”
“Same here…”
The girls quietly gossiped while feeling jealous, and the more they looked at the two, the more jealous they got.
In the end, they once again came to a conclusion. They were pretty sure Ye Ziming was still into boys.
And they had strong “evidence” too. Wherever Ye Ziming was, Lin Muqing was always nearby. Didn’t that say something?
Achoo!
“What’s going on today? Am I catching a cold or something?”
Sitting at her desk, Lin Muqing sneezed again, then rubbed her nose. It felt a little uncomfortable.
She raised her hand and placed it on her forehead. Didn’t feel like a fever. Her temperature seemed normal.
Hearing Lin Muqing complain, Ye Ziming immediately put down his pen, frowned a little, and turned to look at her.
He didn’t say anything, just raised his hand and reached toward her forehead.
When Lin Muqing saw his hand, she understood and lifted her head to make it easier for him. She knew what he was trying to do.
“Feels a little warm.”
After touching her forehead, he gently moved his hand to her neck to check the temperature there too.
Then Ye Ziming said softly, “Alright then, drink this.”
As he spoke, he took out two small packets of powdered medicine, planning to mix one later for her to drink.
He didn’t mix it right away because the class bell had already rung, and the other students were returning to their seats to wait for the teacher.
“……”
Looking at the medicine packets, Ye Ziming thought for a moment but decided not to tell Muqing to go to the school nurse for a check.
He just turned his eyes back to the front, placed both hands on his desk, and quietly waited for class to begin.
What neither of them realized was that their actions, though they felt normal, looked quite different from another person's point of view.
First touching the forehead, then the neck… if that’s not something close or intimate, what is?
Unfortunately, class was about to start, so the girls couldn’t freely chat about it. They just had to hold it in and wait for break time.
Soon, the teacher walked into the classroom with his teaching materials and announced that class was starting.
The students quickly stood up and shouted, “Good morning, teacher!”
Class in progress…
“Ah~ finally, class is over!”
As soon as the bell for the fourth period rang, and the teacher announced the end of class, Lin Wenbin, who was sitting nearby, immediately started complaining.
Four classes in a row, it was way too much for him.
Halfway through class, he almost fell asleep.
But just as he was about to doze off, he caught a glimpse of the school discipline officer standing outside the window, smiling while pulling out his phone, probably getting ready to take a photo of him sleeping.
That nearly scared him half to death. He stayed wide awake for the rest of the period.
“Is the next class P.E.?”
After hearing the noise, he glanced at Lin Wenbin, then turned to his good buddy with a questioning look.
“Yes.”
Ye Ziming nodded calmly while putting away his books and notebook.
“Ohhh, so it’s today!”
Hearing that made Lin Muqing happy. She quickly packed her things, took a big sip of water from her bottle, then stood up, ready to head downstairs.
P.E. was scheduled as the last class of the day, which meant they could leave early. That alone was enough to put her in a great mood.