Chapter 143: Fate and Coincidence
After getting up to brush her teeth and wash her face, and finishing breakfast, Lin Muqing still hadn’t figured out why she needed to wake up early today.
She was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, staring blankly at Ye Ziming. She had no intention of going back to her room to change clothes. Lin Muqing looked really cute in her pajamas, but Ye Ziming didn’t plan on sharing that cuteness with anyone else.
“Oh right, I almost forgot about that.”
After hearing a reminder from her good friend, Lin Muqing finally remembered and quickly returned to her room to get changed. Today was the day to make big money, something she had agreed to do last week. If it weren’t for Ye Ziming’s reminder, she probably would’ve forgotten.
She took some time to tidy herself up and brushed her hair, then left the house together with her good friend.
By coincidence, just as the two of them came downstairs and walked out of the apartment complex, Ye Mengze pulled up in her private car right in front of them.
“Get in.”
The car window slowly rolled down. Ye Mengze, dressed in light clothing, was sitting in the driver’s seat and waving at them.
Without any hesitation, Ye Ziming opened the car door and gently pushed Lin Muqing in first, then followed in himself.
After driving around the city for a while, Ye Mengze brought them to the location she had mentioned, her studio.
“You two wait here for a bit.”
She led them into the studio’s lounge area, said a quick word, and then walked off into another room. She seemed to be in a bit of a rush.
“Boss, I want to ask something.”
Sitting on the couch and holding a glass of cold water Ye Mengze poured for her before leaving, Lin Muqing turned her head to her good friend.
“Hmm?”
Ye Ziming put down his phone and looked at her, signaling with his eyes for her to go ahead and ask.
“I remember you’re not from the southern part of the city, right?”
She thought for a moment and then asked.
“Yeah.”
He nodded calmly to confirm.
“Then why did your sister open her studio here? And how come you go to school here too?”
She was very curious about both.
If Ye Ziming had been from this area, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it. After all, the high school they went to was the best public high school in the southern part of the city.
But from what she knew, the city where Ye Ziming’s family lived was much more developed than this one, better in almost every way.
She had actually wondered about it before, but never paid much attention to it, and Ye Ziming never brought it up, so she just never found out.
“She opened her studio here because the fashion design program at Southern City University is pretty well known. She can collaborate with them.”
Although slightly surprised, Ye Ziming still answered both of her questions clearly.
Since he was already planning to bring her home later, he didn’t feel the need to hide anything and simply told her the truth.
He didn’t go to school in his hometown because he didn’t want to run into certain “old acquaintances”, like the one they met last week, Fang Xiyue.
Also, because his family had been expanding their business in this area in recent years, he decided to move here, which is how he ended up meeting Lin Muqing.
“Wow, then I guess this really is fate between us.”
Lin Muqing was a little surprised. She didn’t expect her good friend to have such a story, and suddenly felt like it was a loss not asking him earlier.
“Mhm.”
Ye Ziming nodded with a light smile on his face, clearly in a good mood.
“Think about it, we’ve ended up in the same class twice, sat next to each other for a whole year, live in almost the same area, both have jade pendants we've worn since we were little, and...”
She raised one hand and started counting with her fingers as she listed all the coincidences.
“And we play the same game, became online friends, and formed a duo.”
When she got to that point, Ye Ziming narrowed his eyes slightly and added with a mischievous smile, “...And we became an in-game couple.”
“Uh... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Once again, Lin Muqing pretended not to understand, her big eyes darting around, clearly feeling guilty.
“It’s fine, as long as I know.”
Looking at her cute reaction, Ye Ziming couldn’t help but laugh.
Speaking of it, everything really did happen by coincidence, and he also felt like he and Lin Muqing were truly fated to meet. Thinking back to the first semester of their first year in high school, the first time he met Lin Muqing, it was also just a coincidence.
Back then, she suddenly appeared in his view and somehow made such an impression that he remembered her. Not long after that, they even became desk mates and friends.
“Emmm…”
Lin Muqing continued to look around aimlessly, scanning the entire lounge, clearly avoiding eye contact with Ye Ziming.
As the two of them chatted, Lin Muqing noticed that Ye Mengze wasn’t the only one in the studio. There were a few other young women around, all seemingly very busy. Even when they saw Lin Muqing and Ye Ziming, they barely stopped, only giving them a quick glance.
And just at the moment when the atmosphere between the two was starting to get a little awkward, Ye Mengze finally appeared in front of them again.
“Alright, come with me,” she said, reaching out her hand toward Lin Muqing and leading her toward the dressing room.
Shortly after, another young woman who looked to be about the same age as Ye Mengze came in and led Ye Ziming to the photo studio. It was a pretty simple setup.
“Wow, did you all design these?”
Lin Muqing was amazed the moment she stepped into the dressing room. The place was full of beautifully made clothes, both men's and women's. It was her first time visiting a design studio like this.
“Some of them,” Ye Mengze replied with a smile. “Here, try this on first.”
She turned around and pulled a set of women’s clothes from a rack and handed them to Lin Muqing. Besides that outfit, there were also several more already picked out, ready for her to try on later.
“Huh? Don’t just stand there.”
After picking the clothes, Ye Mengze turned and saw Lin Muqing frozen in place.
“Uh… do I have to change here?”
Lin Muqing asked nervously, raising an eyebrow.
“Is that a problem?” Ye Mengze replied with a hint of confusion.
“Ah… um…”
Lin Muqing’s eyes went wide. She had thought about becoming a fitting model, which meant she’d have to wear lots of women’s clothes, even dresses. But she didn’t expect to have to change right there on the spot.
“Aiya, don’t be so shy. We’re both girls, aren’t we?”
Ye Mengze stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled as if she understood.
She stepped forward, gently took the dress from Lin Muqing’s hands, and then reached out as if to help her undress.
“Ah! Don’t take off my clothes like that!”
“Not the pants either!”
“Wait—don’t pull on my underwear!”
What followed was a burst of chaos in the dressing room, with Lin Muqing’s surprised yells echoing from inside, along with Ye Mengze’s teasing laughter.
Meanwhile, in the next room, Ye Ziming was sipping tea and could clearly hear bits of what was going on, causing his mind to wander all over the place.
As for the other young women, they were huddled together, giggling quietly while sneaking glances at Ye Ziming to see how he would react.
After quite a while, the dressing room door finally opened. Ye Mengze held Lin Muqing’s hand and led her out in front of everyone.
“Wow~ She’s too cute!”
As soon as Lin Muqing stepped out in a little dress, all the girls exclaimed in admiration.
The most shocked of them all was Ye Ziming.
He was stunned by how beautiful she looked and suddenly thought, ‘Lin Muqing was made to wear pretty dresses. Anything else would just be a waste!’