Chapter 113: I Saved Myself
It took a bit of time, first going upstairs to get the bike lock key, then asking Uncle Liu where the bike had been parked, and finally finding that brand-new bicycle in the underground parking lot.
Why not give her an electric scooter instead?
Because Lin Muqing was thinking too small. That idea never even crossed her mind, she only ever said she wanted a proper bicycle.
Even now, she hadn’t realized it. The bike in front of her looked great, felt amazing to ride, and was way better than her old one in every way. If not for the sky-blue color that made it look like it was designed for girls, everything else about it was perfect.
"Alright, boss. I'm heading back now."
She patted the bicycle seat and smiled brightly while saying goodbye to her good buddy. Honestly, she was already excited to ride it home.
“Yeah, be careful.”
He smiled and nodded, speaking softly while walking with her toward the exit of the underground parking lot. He was a little worried, so he planned to walk her home.
When the two of them stepped out of the basement, rumbling sounds echoed through the sky, and the air around them felt heavy.
“Looks like it’s going to rain.”
“Yeah.”
“I better hurry up and go, or I might end up soaked like a drowned rat.”
Standing at the exit of the parking lot, Lin Muqing joked cheerfully with her friend.
But what she didn’t expect was that just as she said that, after walking only ten or so steps while pushing her bike, it suddenly started pouring.
Ye Ziming stood under the eaves, watching everything unfold with a blank face. He felt a bit speechless and didn’t even know how to start roasting the situation.
The rain came suddenly and heavily. Even though Lin Muqing reacted fast and rushed back under the eaves with her bike, she still ended up completely drenched. Just like she had joked about earlier.
"Ugh… what do I do now?”
She stared at the pouring rain in front of her, frozen in place, while thunder rumbled from the sky.
With rain coming down this hard, even having an umbrella wouldn’t help. If she forced herself to go home, she’d be soaked all over, and with this wind blowing, she’d probably catch a cold by tomorrow.
“Come to my place and wait for the rain to stop.”
“Emmm… okay then.”
Technically, she could wait until the rain lightened up before leaving. But who knew when that would happen?
Plus, not only was it raining heavily now, but there was thunder too. Judging from the time gap between the lightning and the sound, she figured the thunder was just over a kilometer away.
She didn’t have a choice. She wheeled her bike back under the parking structure and followed her friend back to his place.
“Ah-choo! Sniffle—ugh~”
Wearing clothes soaked by the rain, Lin Muqing couldn’t help but sneeze as the chill hit her. Her nose felt a little uncomfortable, and she even made some cute extra noises, kind of like a kitten sneezing.
“Go take a shower and change into some dry clothes.”
Looking at her wet clothes, Ye Ziming frowned slightly and pointed toward the bathroom.
Lin Muqing didn’t quite react right away.
“Go on, hurry up. There are clean towels in the bathroom, and I’ll bring you some clothes in a bit,” Ye Ziming said. He clearly wasn’t planning to discuss it with her. His tone was more like giving an order.
And as he said this, he put his arm around her shoulders and directly led her to the bathroom door, then gently pushed her inside.
“I…”
Standing at the bathroom entrance, Lin Muqing looked at her good buddy in front of her, flustered and trying to say something, but she didn’t know how to start. She hadn’t brought her jade pendant today, for crying out loud!
Taking a shower was fine, she could just lock the door and keep her secret safe.
But what if after the shower, her buddy asked why she was still wearing a "fake chest" and a "wig"? How was she supposed to explain that!?
“Do you want me to help you wash up?”
Seeing that Lin Muqing wasn’t cooperating, Ye Ziming frowned even more. There was obvious annoyance in his eyes, and his voice sounded the same.
After getting caught in the rain and wind, he figured that with Lin Muqing’s lack of exercise, she’d probably catch a cold. Maybe not even tomorrow, but tonight.
“No! No need! I’ll do it myself!”
As soon as her good buddy started moving toward the bathroom, Lin Muqing panicked and quickly waved her hands to stop him. Then she shut the bathroom door right away.
Because she knew him so well, Lin Muqing understood what that look on his face meant.
Put simply: if she didn’t go along with it, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. The only thing she could do was follow his lead and take a shower here.
To be honest, her good buddy didn’t really have any major flaws, except he could be a bit stubborn sometimes. Like right now, insisting she take a shower.
She couldn’t do anything about it. She wasn’t as forceful as he was, and if she didn’t listen, she had a feeling he might actually go through with what he said, personally helping her shower.
“Sigh… I hope the rain stops soon.”
With a helpless sigh, she turned around and began taking off her wet clothes, while also figuring out how to use the water heater. Luckily, it was simple enough, and she figured it out quickly. Soon, the sound of the shower filled the room.
Outside the bathroom, Ye Ziming was busy finding clothes for Lin Muqing. At the same time, he knocked on Uncle Liu’s door next door.
“Ginger tea, huh? I actually still have some ingredients. I’ll bring it over later.”
“Thank you, Uncle Liu.”
“No trouble at all. I was thinking about making some anyway, so I’ll make a bowl for both of you too.”
“Okay.”
After the chat, Ye Ziming went back into his own place and grabbed the smallest set of clothes he had, placing them on top of the washing machine outside the bathroom.
The bathroom in his apartment was designed with a small changing area before entering the actual shower space. The toilet was in a separate room.
After placing the clothes there, he spoke to Lin Muqing inside to let her know where to find them.
“Okay, got it.”
Her voice came out together with the sound of water from the shower.
Hearing that, Ye Ziming turned and walked away toward the living room.
Just now, when he was picking out clothes for Lin Muqing, he had seen the set of underwear she had tried on during that time Sister Yu brought her over. It was still in his wardrobe. He paused, falling into deep thought.
So she really was a prophet, huh? It had only been a week, and now it was already being used. That was… scary, in a way.
After weighing the pros and cons, he quietly closed the wardrobe door, pretending he hadn’t seen those small, delicate pieces of clothing.
He didn’t want to feel awkward, and he didn’t want Lin Muqing to know that he already knew that she was actually a girl.
After delivering the clothes, Ye Ziming went to the couch in the living room, sat down, and started searching on his phone.
“How to prevent getting a cold.”
……………………………………
“Boss, are you there?”
Back in the bathroom, after spending about 15 minutes cleaning herself thoroughly, Lin Muqing leaned toward the bathroom door and softly called out.
After waiting a moment and getting no reply, she carefully cracked open the door and peeked her little head out to check.
“Boss~ are you in the bathroom?”
Since she couldn’t see into the toilet area, Lin Muqing nervously called in that direction with a quiet little voice.