Chapter 84: Banana Peel
The answer didn’t seem to have any problems, but when Lin Muqing heard it, she felt something was off. She had a feeling that her good buddy’s words had some hidden meaning.
She tried to ask about it, but her good buddy didn’t say anything. He just looked at her with a slight smile.
“Emmm…”
There was nothing she could do. If he didn’t want to say, she couldn’t force him. So she snapped back to focus on class and decided to find a way to figure it out later.
The morning classes went by quickly. At least if you paid attention in class, it felt that way.
The afternoon classes were pretty much the same. Time passed quickly too, and with her good buddy’s help, she managed to take notes the whole time.
“These people are really too free.”
When school ended in the afternoon, Lin Muqing was packing her bag when she saw a few students from other classes enter the room again.
Just like in the morning, they were looking for Lin Wenbin.
And from the way they talked, it seemed like something called a “Knight Order.” When they said those words, they looked super excited.
Like they were about to go save the world or something, excited and proud at the same time.
It was actually kind of scary.
“If you think they’re annoying, I can help you deal with them.”
While they were chatting, Ye Ziming overheard most of it.
He turned to look at Lin Muqing and saw that she looked a little troubled, so he asked her with a simple show of concern.
As for how he’d help? That was easy. Just report the whole thing to the school office, and this so-called Knight Order would be shut down instantly.
“No need. What could they possibly stir up?”
She turned to look at her good buddy, met his eyes, and smiled while turning down his offer. Then she kept packing her bag.
To be honest, at first she was a little worried. If this group of people teamed up, they might cause some trouble.
But when she heard that Lin Wenbin was the leader of the Knight Order, she nearly laughed out loud like a goose. No worries at all.
“Looks like most people are gone. Let’s go.”
After packing her things, she glanced outside and saw the crowd thinning out. She gave her good buddy a little poke on the arm and said with a smile.
“Mm.”
He nodded, then stood up and walked toward the door with his Lin Muqing.
They were both thinking the same thing. Lin Wenbin wasn’t worth worrying about, so there was no need to take it seriously.
What Ye Ziming was really curious about now was how did Lin Muqing manage to look just like a boy?
That was a big mystery.
He had been watching her closely these past two days. Other than not seeing an Adam’s apple, he couldn’t find any flaws at all.
Her disguise was nearly perfect.
“Boss, what are you doing?”
Back at her apartment complex, just as she was getting ready to go upstairs and change clothes, Lin Muqing noticed her good buddy following behind. She looked confused and asked.
Even though he didn’t say anything, Lin Muqing could tell he wanted to go upstairs with her. Otherwise, why follow her inside?
“I’m going up with you.”
He answered with a blank expression, then slightly narrowed his eyes. When he looked at Lin Muqing, there was something strange in his gaze.
Because he had noticed something very specific. Right after he said that, Lin Muqing avoided eye contact. That was a sign of guilt.
And his instincts told him that Lin Muqing was hiding a big secret in her home.
Maybe, if he just followed her upstairs and took a look, he would be able to figure out how Lin Muqing disguised herself so well that she looked just like a boy.
"You… why are you coming upstairs?"
Seeing that her good buddy was following, Lin Muqing panicked a little and asked with a confused look.
She really did have a big secret at home, the cosplay costume she got last night was still hanging on the balcony to dry.
If her good buddy saw that, she would totally die of embarrassment!
"I'm curious," Ye Ziming replied casually, since he couldn’t think of a better reason.
"Curious about what?"
Lin Muqing widened her eyes in shock. She had no idea what he was trying to do.
"I don’t know."
"Uh… what?"
The conversation suddenly hit a wall. The two of them just stood at the stairs, staring at each other awkwardly.
After a short moment, Ye Ziming realized there was no point in just standing there, so he simply started walking up the stairs.
Coincidentally, even though he had never been to Lin Muqing’s home, he did know which floor and which apartment she lived in.
"Wait… hey!"
Panicking, she hurried after him. She skipped several steps at a time and quickly caught up with him.
Just as she was about to stop her good buddy from going any farther, something unexpected happened.
Some naughty kid had thrown a banana peel on the stairs. It was a small piece, not very noticeable, but just enough to make Lin Muqing slip.
The good news was she happened to fall in Ye Ziming’s direction.
"Watch out!"
At the critical moment, Ye Ziming quickly reached out and caught Lin Muqing with both hands, using his body to stop her fall.
It all happened so suddenly that before she could even react, Lin Muqing found herself in his arms.
His body was tall and solid, which didn’t surprise her. She knew her good buddy worked out often.
What did surprise her, though, was the feeling in her chest.
Her cheeks were pressed against his chest, and her hands were resting on her own chest. Somehow, her heart was beating faster.
Then her face started to feel hot. That sudden hug made her feel… well, something hard to explain.
"Are you okay?"
Looking down at the Lin Muqing in his arms, Ye Ziming noticed how soft and small she was. She felt delicate, nothing like a boy at all.
Coming back to his senses quickly, he asked with concern, also glancing at her slightly bent legs to see if she was hurt.
"Ah! I’m fine!"
Like she’d been shocked, Lin Muqing instantly jumped out of Ye Ziming’s arms and took a few steps back in a panic.
Nervously glancing at him, then at the banana peel on the floor, she clearly didn’t know what to do.
"You—"
"I’m going up to change clothes. Don’t follow me!"
Ye Ziming had just opened his mouth to say something when Lin Muqing suddenly interrupted him.
She spun around and ran upstairs in a hurry.
In the hallway, Ye Ziming slowly raised his hand toward the empty air, watching her run off, but he didn’t follow.
He was thinking about that strange feeling when she had fallen into his arms.
He realized… he kind of liked it.
And when she turned around, her blushing face, panicked eyes, and helpless expression…
That looked just like a shy girl.
And a really cute one at that.
After thinking about it, he decided not to go upstairs.
He figured Lin Muqing might freak out if he did.
Kind of like a kitten with its fur all puffed up.
And if that happened, it might be hard to calm her down again later.