Chapter 158: Trust and Like
The misunderstanding was cleared up, even if it was kind of tricked away, but Lin Muqing still felt a little embarrassed. She couldn’t really explain why she felt that way. But since her good buddy had given her two packs of cookies, she decided not to stay upset. Instead, she quietly chatted with him for a bit.
After a while, once the car entered the highway, Lin Muqing started to feel sleepy, along with a bit of discomfort.
“Mm… I’ll sleep for a bit.”
When she felt uncomfortable like this, Lin Muqing had her own solution, sleep it off. She didn’t need to sleep all the way until they arrived, just a short nap would help her feel better. After telling her good buddy, she leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes to rest.
“Okay.”
Ye Ziming nodded softly. He turned to look at Lin Muqing for a moment and quietly admired her peaceful sleeping face. Then, after a bit, he suddenly remembered something and pulled out a small pillow from the car.
It looked like a regular pillow, but when you unzipped it, it could turn into a small blanket. He used it to gently cover Lin Muqing, to keep her from catching a cold. After that, he thought it would be better if she had her seatbelt on too.
“Mm…”
When Ye Ziming leaned over and tried to pull the seatbelt without waking her up, Lin Muqing suddenly frowned a little, maybe because her sleeping position was uncomfortable. So she shifted around a bit to find a better position.
By coincidence, at that exact moment, Ye Ziming was really close to her. When she sat up slightly to adjust, she felt like her lips touched something.
“Huh?”
She opened her eyes sleepily, confused, and saw her good buddy right in front of her. Then she noticed the small blanket covering her.
“What’s wrong?”
She didn’t really think about the thing that just touched her lips. What caught her attention more was the look in her good buddy’s eyes, it seemed a bit strange. And if she looked more closely, his face also seemed a little off, like he was trying to act normal but wasn’t.
“Nothing. Just fasten your seatbelt and go back to sleep.”
“Oh… okay.”
She nodded obediently, buckled her seatbelt, then tilted her head and went right back to sleep.
Once her eyes were closed again, Ye Ziming slowly raised a hand and gently touched his own cheek. His eyebrows lowered slightly. The car’s air conditioning was cool, but for some reason he felt kind of hot and restless. He couldn’t help but keep glancing at Lin Muqing’s sleeping face.
Just now, they had been so close, and she hadn’t questioned him at all. She just accepted it and went back to sleep.
From that alone, he could tell that, in Lin Muqing’s eyes, Ye Ziming was someone she completely trusted.
Realizing that made Ye Ziming’s smile soften. He felt something stir in his heart. Without thinking, he gently reached out and touched Lin Muqing’s cheek.
Surprisingly, she didn’t pull away or look uncomfortable. Instead, she leaned into his hand a little. It was a small movement, but Ye Ziming felt it deeply. For a moment, he didn’t even know how to describe what he was feeling.
After a little while, he reluctantly pulled his hand back. Then, as if dreaming of something tasty, Lin Muqing smiled and lightly smacked her lips.
“You little foodie…”
Ye Ziming chuckled softly and teased her with a whisper.
Looking at how cutely she moved her lips in her sleep, he thought, ‘So this is what it feels like to like someone.’
This feeling wasn’t totally new to him, but this time, it was much clearer and stronger than ever before. It moved him deeply.
“Ehehe~”
And then, like a delayed reaction, after Ye Ziming said those three words, Lin Muqing let out a cute little giggle in her sleep. It was like someone had just praised her, and she was super happy about it.
“Pfft~”
Ye Ziming couldn’t hold it in and let out a small laugh, though it was quiet enough not to disturb the little cutie sleeping next to him.
The car kept moving along the highway. Since it was Friday and the beginning of the National Day holiday, they happened to run into a traffic jam on the expressway. Because of a few accidents along the way, their original plan to arrive around 7:30 was delayed until after 9:00.
During the ride, Lin Muqing slept for about an hour. For the rest of the time, she scrolled through her phone out of boredom or chatted with her good buddy. Luckily, she had two packs of cookies to tide her over. Otherwise, the poor girl might have been starving.
“Boss~ where are we now?”
Putting her phone aside, Lin Muqing rested her head on her buddy’s thigh and asked tiredly. She had been sitting normally, but after they got off the highway, she gave in and slumped into a lazy, sprawled-out position.
While she was lying down, a pillow “appeared out of nowhere,” and before she knew it, her buddy’s thigh had become her pillow. Speaking of which, so this was her buddy’s thigh? It really was thick. Lin Muqing kind of liked it and wanted to hug it a bit longer.
“We’ve arrived, time to get out.”
Looking out the window and gently patting Lin Muqing’s head, Ye Ziming said with a smile. By now, the car had entered a neighborhood full of villas, so it was moving very slowly.
“Wow~ is this your house?”
Hearing his words, Lin Muqing quickly sat up and leaned toward the window, curiously peeking outside. Everything looked so new and interesting to her. Growing up, she had never stayed in a villa. Honestly, she had never even seen one up close.
Now that she was surrounded by rows of villas, Lin Muqing looked like a curious kitten, eyes darting everywhere. Ye Ziming just smiled without saying anything. Seeing her so excited, he thought about taking her for a walk around tomorrow. It would be good for her to get familiar with the area early, especially since he was planning to have her live here with him someday.
The exact house would be another villa not far from his parents’ home, still within the same neighborhood.
“We’re here, let’s get out.”
A few minutes later, the car finally stopped. Ye Ziming patted Lin Muqing’s shoulder and gently told her it was time.
“Oh, okay.”
She nodded, opened the door, and got out of the car. Then she went to the back to grab the luggage.
Note: Ye Ziming was returning home, so only Lin Muqing had luggage.
“Huh? Why are you taking my bag?”
Lin Muqing had just picked up her bag of clothes and was reaching for another one when suddenly, her buddy took the bag from her hands.
“I’ll carry it for you.”
Giving her a warm smile, Ye Ziming quickly picked up his own bag and took two steps back. From the way he acted, it was clear he had no intention of letting her carry anything—even though the bag wasn’t heavy.
“Umm... isn’t that a bit too much?”
Looking a little unsure, Lin Muqing put the other bag on her back and reached out to try to take her bag back.