Chapter 152: You’re Overthinking It
Just as Lin Muqing expected, when Ye Ziming heard the news, he didn’t even blink. He looked calmer than she did. After all, he’d seen all kinds of things before, this was nothing special.
So the two of them just went on with their day as usual: going to class, getting water, using the restroom, same routine, nothing changed.
But what surprised Lin Muqing was that all morning, no one came looking for her good buddy. It was like nothing had ever happened.
“Boss, I think something’s off,” she said.
During lunchtime, while slowly packing up her desk, Lin Muqing suddenly thought of something and turned her head to look at Ye Ziming.
“Hm?”
He paused what he was doing and turned to look at her, giving a quiet hum in response.
“I’m talking about that girl from the other class, the new one. She said she was going to win you over, remember?”
Before getting to the point, she reminded her good buddy of the incident to jog his memory.
“Yeah.”
He paused and then gave a small nod. Honestly, if she hadn’t reminded him, he would’ve forgotten.
“Thing is, the school’s cracking down on dating right now. For her to be so bold and say something like that out loud… something doesn’t feel right.”
Her usual smile faded as she put on a serious face. Lin Muqing glanced around cautiously, then leaned in a little and continued, “There are two possible reasons.”
Ye Ziming was clearly interested now, stopping what he was doing to listen closely.
“I think it could be one of two things. First, she’s a fool, and she’ll get shut down by the school before she even makes a move.
“Second, she has connections. Maybe the school already knows and just doesn’t care, which is why she dared to say something like that so directly.
“If you ask me, the second one sounds more likely. I mean, anyone who transfers into our school usually has some kind of background, right? What do you think, boss?”
Her little analysis ended there. Lin Muqing thought back while she talked, and after finishing, she even gave herself a mental thumbs-up. That reasoning was solid!
She stared straight into Ye Ziming’s eyes, clearly hoping for some praise from her good buddy.
“Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.”
Ye Ziming nodded with a smile, giving her a small compliment while feeling genuinely proud of her.
Not for any big reason, just because Lin Muqing had taken the initiative to analyze her potential "love rival," and had done such a good job of it. He figured she deserved a little reward for that.
Actually, come to think of it, whenever she was dealing with outsiders, Lin Muqing’s brain worked just fine. In fact, it was surprisingly sharp.
At least from what he’d seen.
“Of course~”
Pleased by the compliment, Lin Muqing puffed up a bit with pride.
Before saying anything else, she looked out the window and noticed the stairwell wasn’t so crowded anymore. That meant they could start packing up and head home for dinner.
“Ahem, boss, should we drop by the class next door on the way? I heard from Lin Wenbin that the new girl already became the class belle.”
After checking the stairs, she turned back to Ye Ziming and asked playfully, a teasing smile on her face like she was hiding something.
She wasn’t that curious at first, but after Lin Wenbin kept going on and on during break, gossiping, asking everyone about how pretty the new girl was, her interest was piqued.
Now she kinda wanted to see for herself what this so-called "school beauty" looked like. Or rather… what her deal was.
“No need.”
Looking at his desk, Ye Ziming answered in a calm and emotionless tone.
He really wasn’t interested at all. A class beauty? So what? His girlfriend was already the school’s top beauty! Proud.jpg
But while he was thinking that, he underestimated Lin Muqing’s curiosity, or rather how much she cared about this whole situation.
“It’s on the way anyway, let’s just go have a look.”
“…?”
“Who knows? Maybe she’s your type. What if you take one look and fall for her?”
“…?”
A tick mark appeared on Ye Ziming’s forehead, and when he looked at Lin Muqing, a faint dangerous vibe flickered in his eyes. For some reason, not only did he not want to give Lin Muqing any reward now. He even felt like pressing her down on his lap… and giving her a spanking.
Maybe that wasn’t what Lin Muqing meant at all.
But from Ye Ziming’s point of view, it was like she was pushing him toward another girl, a girl he hadn’t even met yet.
“Hey? Boss, look at the front door, looks like that girl has been staring at you. She might be the new transfer student from the class next door.”
Lin Muqing didn’t notice the shift in her best friend’s expression, because she had been secretly observing the girl standing at the door the whole time. After a bit of careful observation, Lin Muqing thought the girl was decent, on the same level as their class monitor, Zhang Xiaoling. If nothing unexpected happened, she might also end up being one of the school beauties.
Lin Muqing: Ahem, the class monitor is ranked 10th. What does that mean? You figure it out.
At the same time, Ye Ziming was also observing the girl. But his expression grew even more serious. In fact, a classic line even popped into his head, ‘If we don’t eliminate her now, she’ll be a problem in the future.’
“Hmm. So, what do we do now?”
After sneaking a glance, Ye Ziming calmly looked away and casually tossed a question back at Lin Muqing.
Depending on her answer, it could determine whether, after dinner at home, he might “accidentally” make someone’s little butt bloom like a flower.
“Eh!?”
Hearing his question, Lin Muqing was stunned for a moment. But then she interpreted it as her best friend asking for help.
Whoa, wait a minute… isn’t that the same as him relying on her? Was he… being soft toward her?
Maybe it was because she saw the girl and didn’t think she was much of a threat, but Lin Muqing instantly relaxed and got a bit cocky. She started imagining all kinds of things.
“Ahem, you can take a quick look at her, and then we’ll leave through the back door.”
After carefully checking his eyes and confirming that he really didn’t seem interested in that girl, Lin Muqing started giving him advice.
You saw her, and then avoided her, that’s already a clear sign of rejection, and anyone with a bit of emotional intelligence should get it.
If she tries to chase after you, you can always use excuses like “I need to study,” “I forgot to turn off the gas at home,” or “My wife’s about to give birth.”
“…Hmm?”
After finishing her suggestion, Lin Muqing noticed Ye Ziming was looking at her a little… weirdly. She tilted her head, her big pretty almond eyes wide open, full of confusion.
“…Alright, let’s do what you said. Let’s go.”
Ye Ziming looked away, not saying anything else. He gave the girl at the door a cold glance, just one, and then got up, preparing to leave through the back with Lin Muqing.
He suddenly realized that ever since they started living together, since this semester started, he had been overthinking things a lot.
This was clearly a simple matter, but somehow he managed to overcomplicate it, turning it into a mental battle with imaginary enemies. Now Lin Muqing wasn’t just on his side, she was actively helping him make plans.
He knew he had been overthinking, but he wasn’t going to admit it.