Chapter 169: The Gentle Little Kitty
The two women secretly watching from the side were very surprised. From their point of view, it had looked like Lin Muqing was at a disadvantage, and they had even been wondering if they should step in to help. After watching for a while, they still felt like they needed to intervene.
But not to help Lin Muqing, rather to help the three girls who were getting overwhelmed.
Under Lin Muqing’s fierce and relentless attacks, the three girls had no chance to fight back. They were shocked to realize... they actually didn’t know how to do anything. Everyone there was underage, but Lin Muqing could already live on her own. Before working at the cafe, she had done several part-time jobs.
Just from that experience alone, she could easily “school” the other three.
And when it came to other skills, there was even less to say. She was attending Chengnan High School, the best public high school in the southern part of the city. It had low tuition fees and great educational resources, but the entrance score line was very high.
"What are you doing?!"
Just as Lin Muqing was about to launch into another round of verbal attacks, she suddenly felt a hand on her head. She quickly turned her head with a slightly annoyed expression and looked at Ye Ziming.
But when she remembered this was her good buddy, Lin Muqing held back some of her anger. She just pouted and frowned a little, trying to dodge the hand on her head.
"That's enough already."
With a doting smile, Ye Ziming gently patted the little kitty’s head while pulling out two small packs of cookies.
Then, what happened next was clear, the little “angry tiger” turned into an obedient little kitty the moment she saw the cookies. Eyes lighting up as if she had just found treasure, Lin Muqing quickly took the two packs of cookies and stashed them away.
"Ehehe, thanks boss!"
After getting the cookies, not only did Lin Muqing stop avoiding him, she even leaned in a bit closer and gave him a sweet smile. Being patted on the head? Whatever, as long as there were cookies, he could pat her all he wanted.
Of course, Lin Muqing would never admit it, but being patted on the head actually made her feel a little happy... and even a little bit safe.
The two of them continued chatting and playing for a bit. Maybe it was because she was in a good mood, but Lin Muqing didn’t bother the three other girls anymore. Those three, still shaken from earlier, now stared at the gentle “kitty” version of her, not daring to even breathe too loudly. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, who would believe that this girl acting all sweet and cute just now was the same one who almost tore them apart?
"Is there anything else?"
Ye Ziming, still petting the kitty with one hand, looked up at the three girls sitting across from him and asked calmly.
"Brother Ye…"
Fang Xiyue looked up at him, her voice soft and pitiful like she wanted to say something. But when she saw Lin Muqing beside him, she shrank back down.
"If there’s nothing else, then please leave. I’ll be very busy for a while, and I hope you all focus on your studies."
He was clearly telling them to leave. And by his actions, he was also making it obvious. He already had a girlfriend, so they shouldn’t waste time trying to chase him.
Soon, Xu Panyang stood up first and led Fang Xiyue and the other girl out the door.
At this point, they had clearly lost. They had no advantage. Not in timing, not in location, not in people. Staying any longer would only make them look more foolish. Still, before they left, all three of them gave Lin Muqing a similar look, one full of resentment.
"Hmm?"
The little kitty, still enjoying being patted, suddenly felt something. She turned her head with a puzzled look and saw the three girls by the front door.
As luck would have it, Fang Xiyue was glaring fiercely at her at that very moment, caught red-handed. Lin Muqing slowly opened her mouth… and it just kept opening wider, with her eyes starting to look a little scary too.
"Eek!"
Fang Xiyue quickly turned her head away, as if she had just seen something terrifying, and ran outside in a panic.
"Ah~ ( O )"
After the three girls ran off, Lin Muqing let out a big yawn. It sounded a bit like a tiger’s roar. Watching this from the side, Ye Ziming found it both funny and a little surprising.
He thought, ‘I didn’t know my little cutie could be so scary. How come I never noticed?’
“Hu-lulu~”
As she lowered her head, Lin Muqing unknowingly made a soft, cute little sound. The reason was that after spending time together, Ye Ziming had gotten really good at patting her head. He knew exactly how to make her happy.
“Aiya, looks like we underestimated her,” said Mother Ye with a chuckle, feeling both amused and proud as she watched the two of them interacting so sweetly on the sofa.
“Fang family, Xu family… and what’s the name of the other one?”
Unlike Mother Ye, Meng Yue was more focused on the way the three girls had glared at Lin Muqing before leaving. It was clearly filled with jealousy or dislike. As someone with experience, she knew exactly what that kind of look meant.
If someone looked at her like that, she usually wouldn’t care. But since this was her precious daughter, she couldn't just ignore it.
“Sigh... No way, they're just kids,” Mother Ye said casually.
But hearing Meng Yue’s tone and thinking back to what kind of things the Lin family used to do, Mother Ye suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Even if they’re kids, it’s not okay if they bully my daughter,” Meng Yu insisted. She wanted to know who those girls were, and maybe even warn them a little.
Mother Ye felt a bit helpless about this. In her opinion, it was already nice enough that Lin Muqing didn’t bully those girls instead.
Then she suddenly remembered something. A long time ago, when Meng Yue and her husband were dating, there was a similar situation. Meng Yue might have looked gentle on the outside, but when things got serious, she didn’t hold back at all. In fact, back then, she was even more fierce than now.
“Hey, let me look at your eyes,” Mother Ye said, suddenly noticing something.
She turned to Meng Yue, trying to meet her gaze.
“What?” Meng Yue asked, confused, and blinked while looking back at her, not understanding what was going on.
“Aiyo, exactly the same! Let me take a picture so you can see.”
Mother Ye quickly pulled out her phone and took a picture of Meng Yue.
Meng Yue felt a little embarrassed but didn’t say anything. She let her best friend take the photo.
After taking the picture, Mother Ye opened a photo of Lin Muqing, then used split-screen to show both pictures side-by-side.
“Look at those eyes. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think she was your real daughter.”
Both of them had beautiful almond-shaped eyes, full of life, almost like they could speak.
Seeing this, Meng Yue suddenly went quiet. Her eyes widened as she stared, her heart unsettled and a little choked up for some unknown reason.
Meanwhile, on the sofa in the living room, the two young people were still enjoying their time together.
“Hey, if I remember right, your birthday is right after the Mid-Autumn Festival, isn’t it?” Lin Muqing said.
She did a quick mental calculation. The Mid-Autumn Festival is on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar. She remembered that last year, Ye Ziming’s birthday came just after that, so his birthday should be on the 17th day of the 8th lunar month, which means he’s about three months older than her.
“So… is there anything you want as a birthday gift?”
She looked up at him with a smile, clearly excited and hoping for an answer.