Chapter 72: A Weekend Invitation
After putting on the jade pendant, Lin Muqing didn’t just cut her hair. Her whole appearance changed quite a bit.
The most noticeable change? Her chest was now completely flat. Not even a little curve left.
After carefully looking her up and down, Ye Mengze’s expression shifted from surprise to full-on shock.
She thought back to their last meeting, which was just a few days ago. There was no way she had mistaken the person.
But standing in front of her now was clearly a boy. There wasn’t even a hint of any feminine features.
The two of them stood awkwardly by the side of the road. Lin Muqing avoided eye contact, her mind racing, trying to figure out a way to escape the situation.
“Ah! Oh no!”
Just as Ye Mengze reached out a hand, about to place it on Lin Muqing’s shoulder, Lin Muqing suddenly cried out.
“What’s wrong?”
The shout startled Ye Mengze, and she instantly became nervous, quickly asking what happened.
“I forgot to turn off the gas at home!”
As if she had just remembered something urgent, Lin Muqing shouted the words and quickly rushed past Ye Mengze, running straight toward her apartment.
She ran all the way back and only slowed down when she got to her front door. Panting, she took out her key and thought, Finally… safe.
Back outside the building, Ye Mengze watched the direction Lin Muqing had gone, frowning slightly as her eyes narrowed with a thoughtful look.
“Interesting.”
She didn’t chase after her. Not because she believed Lin Muqing’s excuse, and definitely not because she was giving up.
She was absolutely certain that person was Lin Muqing. Even though she had no proof, she knew deep down that the person she just saw was a boy.
But as the saying goes, you can run, but you can’t hide. With that, Ye Mengze turned and headed toward Ye Ziming’s place.
At Ye Ziming’s apartment, several construction workers were inside renovating one of the bedrooms.
To be clear, it wasn’t his bedroom, but another room that had long been unused and had basically turned into a storage space.
While the workers were busy renovating, Ye Ziming and Ye Mengze sat on the couch, sipping tea and chatting.
“I ran into your little girlfriend downstairs just now.”
Halfway through their conversation, Ye Mengze suddenly changed the subject, glancing at her brother with amusement.
“Mhm,” Ye Ziming replied calmly.
He didn’t seem surprised. After all, the two apartment complexes weren’t far apart. Running into each other wasn’t that unlikely.
But when he saw the look on his sister’s face, he knew she wasn’t finished talking. He looked at her, quietly waiting for the rest.
“She was dressed like a boy, with short hair. I think she even wrapped her chest. She really looked like a guy.”
Ye Mengze spoke slowly while playing with her fingers, her smile growing wider with every word. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and the look she gave her brother became more and more curious.
She had paid close attention. Just as she finished her sentence, there was a slight pause in Ye Ziming’s hand as he held his teacup.
“I’m sure I didn’t get the wrong person. But she acted like she didn’t know me, or maybe she was pretending not to.”
She shifted her gaze from her brother to her phone, where she had secretly taken a photo of Lin Muqing.
Partly from instinct, and partly because she was very good at reading people, she had no doubt that it was Lin Muqing.
“And that room over there, it’s being renovated for her, right?”
She looked over toward the construction area and smiled.
Even though the work wasn’t done yet, it was obvious the room was being designed for a girl, especially with such a cute and feminine style.
Anyone with eyes could tell what was going on.
With that, Ye Mengze turned to look at her younger brother again, now even more curious about his relationship with Lin Muqing.
“……”
Ye Ziming really had no idea how to explain the situation.
In this kind of moment, staying silent seemed like the best choice, so he just quietly sipped his tea.
But he wasn’t panicking. Ye Mengze couldn’t really do anything to him anyway. Even if he kicked her out right now, nothing serious would happen.
Because they were related by blood, he didn’t do that. Instead, he just kept pretending to know nothing.
Acted like everything was normal.
…………………………………………
Over at Lin Muqing’s place, since she didn’t have work today, she decided to just stay in all day.
Doing homework, playing games, or just lying on her bed scrolling through her phone.
At one point, she glanced over at the cosplay outfit from her favorite adult manga artist that was hanging on the balcony.
“Looks like it’s dry… maybe I should try it on?”
“Short sleeves and shorts… it looks comfy and cool.”
“Hmm~ it actually looks pretty nice. Seems perfect for home wear.”
Talking to herself, Lin Muqing ended up wearing the cosplay set the entire day. She really treated it like regular home clothes.
If she added a white wig, she’d basically look like a real-life version of the character.
The weekend passed quickly. Staying home was comfy and relaxing—she blinked, and it was already Monday.
Even though she spent a lot of time trying, Ye Mengze couldn’t get any useful information out of her brother. It was clear he was determined to protect the girl.
She had no choice. After finishing what she came to do, she left Ye Ziming’s apartment.
“Good morning, boss!”
On Monday morning, as usual, Lin Muqing bumped into her good friend near the breakfast shop and greeted him with a smile.
But this time, she felt just a tiny bit awkward, because she suddenly remembered what had happened at the comic convention.
Luckily, after a full day of quiet alone time over the weekend, she had already calmed down. No more blushing or pounding heart.
“Boss, are you free this weekend?”
As they walked through the school gates together and headed toward their classroom, Lin Muqing suddenly asked.
“Mhm, I’m free.”
Ye Ziming turned to look at her with a slightly curious expression.
“I want to invite you to a movie and then maybe grab dinner.”
Being straightforward, Lin Muqing didn’t beat around the bush. She just said what she was thinking.
To her, it was just a normal, friendly invitation. Nothing strange about it.
As for the gift, she decided not to say anything for now. It would be more fun as a surprise.
“Sure.”
He looked into her eyes as he answered, then quickly looked away. A small flicker of surprise flashed across his face.
He didn’t need long to think, he agreed almost immediately.
Then the two of them walked in silence for a bit.
As they reached the floor where their classroom was, Lin Muqing started feeling weird. Why didn’t he ask her why she wanted to take him to a movie?
Could he already know something?
No way… that doesn’t make sense. He’s not supposed to figure it out.
“Boss, aren’t you curious why I want to take you to a movie?”
Just before entering the classroom, Lin Muqing couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer and asked.
“Oh? Why?”
Ye Ziming’s lips curved into a faint smile. There was a soft gleam in his eyes. Just a bit of amusement, and maybe a touch of pride, as if he already knew something.