Chapter 222: A Private Talk
As she was being led along, Lin Muqing was also deep in thought the whole way. Her mind was filled with what had just happened, about how her good buddy had asked her to be his girlfriend. She was still a bit confused.
She clearly remembered that not long ago, her good buddy had told her himself that he didn’t like guys and wouldn’t suddenly want her just because she had turned into a girl.
(Ye Ziming: “No, I never said that. That was just your imagination.”)
So now, after what happened, she felt like maybe her good buddy was just joking. But the joke felt way too real, so real it actually seemed true.
No! Lin Muqing thought this was a big problem. No matter what, she had to talk to him about it tonight. If he really had fallen for her, then she might be partly responsible!
Lin Muqing: “Oh nooo, please don’t fall for me, bro!”
Since there were too many people around right now and it wasn’t a good place to talk, she decided to wait until they were home to bring it up.
On the other hand, Ye Ziming was feeling completely relaxed and happy. His face was full of the confident smile of someone who just won.
In that earlier “battle,” he had scored the perfect victory, successfully turning his good bro into his girlfriend.
So now, they weren’t pretending anymore. They were a real couple. Just thinking about it made the corners of his mouth rise in delight.
“Brother Ye~”
Just as they were about to return to the villa to grab some more food, Fang Xiyue suddenly appeared in front of Ye Ziming. She called his name while stepping right into their path to block them.
“What is it?”
“Oof—!”
Surprised by someone suddenly blocking the way, Ye Ziming quickly stopped walking and looked at Fang Xiyue, confused.
What he didn’t realize was that Lin Muqing was still lost in thought behind him. So when he stopped, she didn’t react in time and bumped right into his back.
“Why’d you stop so suddenly?”
Rubbing her nose, Lin Muqing stepped out from behind her good bro and looked up slightly, asking with a bit of annoyance in her voice. But before Ye Ziming could reply, she quickly noticed Fang Xiyue standing in front of them.
“…You’re…”
Lin Muqing looked at her for a long time, trying hard to remember, but just couldn’t figure out her name. Things got awkward fast.
She did remember meeting this person a few days ago at the Ye family’s villa. She had even argued with her back then.
“I’m Fang Xiyue. I hope you won’t forget my name again next time.”
The awkward silence dragged on for a moment. Ye Ziming didn’t say anything. Lin Muqing just stood there, unable to recall who she was.
Fang Xiyue finally couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up first.
“Ohhh, Fang Xiyue, right! Got it!”
Lin Muqing suddenly widened her eyes like she had just remembered, pretending to be super surprised.
“Then… you must be—”
Copying Lin Muqing’s trick, Fang Xiyue tried to act like she also didn’t remember her name. But what she didn’t expect was that Lin Muqing never played by the rules.
Staring at Fang Xiyue, Lin Muqing suddenly gave a sly little laugh… then struck a dramatic pose that no one could understand.
“I’m just a passing Kamen Rider! Remember that well!”
After saying that, Lin Muqing felt amazing. She almost couldn’t hold back her smile and burst out laughing.
Fang Xiyue: “You little—(insert a bunch of curse words here)!”
Ye Ziming: “Wow… what a cute Kamen Rider. Ahem, so… what do you want with me?”
Just as the scene was about to fall apart from the tension, Ye Ziming cleared his throat and quickly pulled his smile back, putting on a serious face as he asked. Honestly, just a moment ago, he had almost laughed out loud.
After calming down, Ye Ziming gently raised his hand and patted Lin Muqing on the head, using the gesture to signal her not to stir up any trouble for now.
“I remember today is your birthday, so I wanted to give you this.”
Fang Xiyue, who had finally managed to control her expression, gave a shy smile again and took out a gift box she had prepared ahead of time, looking a little embarrassed like a bashful girl.
“Birthday? His birthday isn’t today.”
Before Ye Ziming could say anything, Lin Muqing spoke up first when she saw the gift box.
“What? That can’t be…”
Fang Xiyue’s eyes went wide with surprise after hearing Lin Muqing’s words. She thought the information she got shouldn’t be wrong.
“Why would I lie? His birthday already passed.”
Lin Muqing, who often says whatever’s on her mind, didn’t realize that her honest words were like a “critical hit” to Fang Xiyue’s heart. The damage was unintentional, but it hit hard.
“She’s right.”
Ye Ziming looked calmly at Fang Xiyue and added his own comment, like a final blow.
The moment turned awkward again. None of the three spoke for a while.
Just as Ye Ziming was about to take Lin Muqing’s hand and lead her somewhere else to have fun, Fang Xiyue suddenly spoke up again. This time, unlike before, she wasn’t there for Ye Ziming. She asked if she could talk to Lin Muqing alone.
“Alone?”
Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Lin Muqing was confused.
They had only met a few times. What could be so important that they had to talk in private? She didn’t really get it. Still, she agreed to talk, but not completely.
She just walked a short distance to the side with Fang Xiyue, to a spot where Ye Ziming could still see them, but couldn’t hear. There, the two began to whisper.
“Take a look at this.”
Under the dim lighting, Fang Xiyue took out a DNA test envelope with most of the important information erased and handed it to Lin Muqing. The test result clearly showed, no biological relationship.
“A… DNA test report?”
Lin Muqing raised an eyebrow slightly as she read out the words printed on the paper.
“A toad will always be a toad,” Fang Xiyue said, her expression suddenly changing. The smile disappeared from her face, replaced by disgust and contempt. “Even if it wears a swan’s feathers, it can’t change what it really is.”
Her sudden change of tone and attitude made Lin Muqing feel like she had just entered a bizarre and confusing drama scene.
Lin Muqing: What is she even saying? I don’t understand a single word.
“You can’t hide the truth forever. If you don’t want this report to end up in the Lin family’s hands, you’d better behave and stay away from Brother Ye!”
Fang Xiyue’s words were long and roundabout, but clearly meant to threaten Lin Muqing. She was trying to say, “I know something about you,” and was using that to make Lin Muqing back off.
Fang Xiyue thought she had everything figured out, so she acted mysterious, saying just enough to scare, but not explaining everything.
But Lin Muqing was totally confused. She had no idea what this DNA test was even about, who was it testing, and why?
‘Could it be… me and my mom? That makes no sense’, she thought.
DNA test results are rarely wrong, only a tiny chance of error. So she just stood there, quietly watching Fang Xiyue’s “one-woman show.”
Her blank reaction made Fang Xiyue think Lin Muqing had been scared stiff.
“Hmph! Serves you right!”
Like a proud rooster who just won a fight, Fang Xiyue lifted her chin, gave Lin Muqing a sideways glance, then grabbed the test report back.
Then she turned and walked off alone.