My Best Friend is Actually a Cat-eared Maid at a Cafe! – Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Happy Fried Chicken Eating
At the checkout counter, after queuing for a while, the two of them discovered that, just as Ye Ziming had said, the limited-edition meal sets for this morning were already sold out.
So, Ye Ziming took out a cat ear headband from his bag and skillfully put it on Xiaomuqing.
In that instant, Xiaomuqing’s image changed dramatically.
Walking on the street wearing a JK uniform wasn’t considered strange in this era; passersby would just think she was cute and take an extra glance.
However, putting on this cat ear headband changed things.
One reason was that, right next to where she was standing, was a life-sized cardboard cutout of the cat-girl loli character used for the fried chicken shop’s promotion.
The same outfit, the same cat-girl loli, the same height, and… a flat chest. The only difference was that the character on the cutout was an anime character.
And Xiaomuqing was a real-life person.
“Uh, do I look weird?”
Xiaomuqing raised her hand to adjust the cat ear headband on her head and was surprised to find many people looking at her.
This made her feel very confused, so she turned to her good brother and asked, perplexed.
“No.”
With a sly smile, Ye Ziming shook his head and replied softly.
As he spoke, he placed his hand on Xiaomuqing’s shoulder, positioned her next to the cutout, and took out his phone to take a picture.
But before he started taking photos, he wanted Xiaomuqing to imitate the cat-girl loli cutout and strike the same pose.
“Like this?”
Xiaomuqing glanced at the cutout next to her and saw that the character was holding a bucket in one hand and making a peace sign with the other, smiling happily.
She found it a bit troublesome and also felt a bit embarrassed with so many people watching.
So, she frowned slightly, pouted her lips, and puffed out her cheeks, then gave a somewhat perfunctory smile, looking unwilling and a little tsundere.
But what she didn’t know was that this pose not only didn’t detract from her image but actually made her look even cuter.
The most direct reaction was that passersby immediately took out their phones and joined the photo-taking crowd.
The shop manager also sprang into action. Seeing this, she quickly had someone bring out a family-sized bucket meal and handed it to Xiaomuqing.
And so, Xiaomuqing held a bucket in one hand and made a peace sign with the other, posing for photos for quite a while.
After a short while, when this was over, Xiaomuqing, carrying the meal set gifted by the shop manager, walked back to their reserved spot.
“Boss, is… is this okay?”
Sitting on a sofa with a backrest, Xiaomuqing looked at the meal set on the table, feeling a little dazed.
If it were just people taking photos, that would be fine. She often got her picture taken while working at the cafe, and everyone was used to it.
What surprised her was that when she was about to order, the shop manager handed her a business card, asking her to be a ‘promotional ambassador.’
And then, she received a free fried chicken meal set, along with limited-edition souvenirs.
“If you’re interested, you can try it.”
Ye Ziming raised his eyebrows slightly as he took out fried chicken from the bucket and said with a light laugh.
“What does ‘promotional ambassador’ mean?”
“Put on a cosplay outfit and take some photos for promotion or posters.”
“Then never mind.”
With that one sentence, Ye Ziming finished explaining. It was simple.
When Xiaomuqing heard about wearing a cosplay outfit and thought about the game character’s cat-girl loli outfit, she immediately refused.
Wearing skirts, she had even refused her good brother’s sister, so there was no way she’d accept this ‘promotional ambassador’ gig.
Moreover, compared to that, the fried chicken in front of her was more enticing, so Xiaomuqing quickly forgot about it.
Incidentally, the business card wasn’t from the shop manager, but from the person in charge of the joint event, someone from the game company.
And the shop manager would never have imagined that the two of them weren’t lacking money at all and weren’t tempted by such things.
P.S. For now, Xiaomuqing will only wear cute little dresses for Ye Ziming.
“Lin… *cough*, hello, can I take a picture with you?”
While eating fried chicken, Zhang Xiaoling approached her with her phone, a look of embarrassment on her face.
Even though they knew each other and were good besties, due to the presence of a certain silly person, Zhang Xiaoling had to pretend to be a stranger.
“Uh, sure.”
Xiaomuqing turned her head and looked at Zhang Xiaoling, initially stunned, but quickly understood why she was speaking to her like this.
The sofas in the shop were long and connected two tables, so Zhang Xiaoling only needed to move a little to get to Xiaomuqing’s side.
“Emmm, can you wear that and take a picture with me?”
Seeing that Xiaomuqing was about to take a picture with her like this, Zhang Xiaoling hesitated for a moment, pursed her lips, and pointed expectantly at the cat ear headband placed aside.
“Okay.”
Xiaomuqing nodded with a smile. For such a small request, she was very willing to agree.
Then, the two of them sat on the sofa together, struck a few poses, and took some selfies. They also asked Lin Wenbin to take a couple of pictures.
During this process, Xiaomuqing was surprised to find that no matter how close she and Zhang Xiaoling were, even hugging each other, Lin Wenbin didn’t react at all.
He was smiling happily, a goofy kind of smile.
Xiaomuqing: If I put on the jade pendant and hug Zhang Xiaoling, what would this dummy do? Hehe. (Covers mouth, mischievous face)
After taking photos with Zhang Xiaoling, Wang Wenxin also requested a photo.
Compared to that, taking pictures with Wang Wenxin was very simple, with no special poses. It was over after taking them.
However, after the photos were taken, Xiaomuqing felt Wang Wenxin’s gaze towards her was strange.
“Is there something on my face?”
Looking into Wang Wenxin’s eyes, Xiaomuqing touched her cheek and instinctively tilted her head, asking the question.
“N-no.”
After making eye contact with Xiaomuqing for two seconds, Wang Wenxin hurriedly waved her hands and denied it, her smile appearing somewhat unnatural.
Or rather, a bit awkward. She looked into Xiaomuqing’s eyes, frowning, her expression becoming very subtle.
“Oh dear, let’s hurry up and eat our fried chicken.”
Seeing the atmosphere becoming awkward, Zhang Xiaoling quickly took Wang Wenxin’s hand and led her back to their four-person table.
While starting to eat fried chicken, she quickly changed the subject.
Finally, with Meng Wenhao’s help, no one at the table brought up the topic of ‘the godmother and Lin Muqing’ again. They talked about many other things.
Xiaomuqing, who didn’t know what had happened, soon forgot about it and happily continued eating fried chicken.
Due to some special circumstances, they received their fried chicken meals much earlier, so the two of them finished eating sooner as well.
“Cough, cough, eat slowly. We’re leaving now.”
Standing up and leaving with her good brother, Xiaomuqing pretended to wave goodbye to her two nephews, but was actually waving at Zhang Xiaoling.
After spending the past few days together, their relationship had been quite good, progressing from ordinary classmates to good friends.
As she waved goodbye, she noticed Wang Wenxin’s strange gaze towards her again, as if she had something to say.
However, just as she was about to say something, Wang Wenxin quickly lowered her head again and avoided eye contact.
In the end, Xiaomuqing didn’t say anything, thinking that with Meng Wenhao and Zhang Xiaoling, two intelligent people, nothing troublesome would happen.
Leaving the fried chicken shop, hand in hand with her good brother, they walked side-by-side towards the supermarket.
Regarding holding hands, Ye Ziming said nothing, and Xiaomuqing had no reaction. She was naturally led by him.
“There are so many people here, my good brother is doing this to prevent me from getting lost, right?”
This was Xiaomuqing’s inner thought.
However, she didn’t seem to realize that the moment their hands were joined, her mood instantly became very joyful, and she couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.
“Boss, boss~”
As they walked towards the supermarket, Xiaomuqing suddenly stopped and tugged at her good brother’s hand, looking up at him pleadingly.
“What’s wrong?”
Ye Ziming stopped as well, turned his head in confusion, and then saw Xiaomuqing acting cute towards him.
Alright, seeing that expression, he roughly knew what was going on.
Xiaomuqing didn’t say anything. She just looked into his eyes and then subtly nodded in a certain direction with her lips.
He followed her gaze and quickly spotted a busy milk tea shop.
“Didn’t you just finish eating?”
Ye Ziming frowned slightly, feeling a little exasperated, but his eyes held a hint of doting affection.
Actually, Ye Ziming didn’t have the heart to refuse, but considering Xiaomuqing’s health, he gently patted her head and said softly.
“…”
After being refused, Xiaomuqing still didn’t speak, just looking up at him with big eyes, her lips pouted, looking a little wronged.
If Xiaomuqing really had cat ears, they would definitely be drooping now, unhappy at being rejected.
Seeing this, Ye Ziming felt exasperated again, but because he was so charmed, he could only sigh helplessly in his heart.
“Let’s go buy things first, and then we can come back for milk tea later, okay?”
“You said it.”
Xiaomuqing blinked her eyes, making them as wide as possible, and said very seriously to her good brother.
“Mm-hmm, I said it.”
In a coaxing tone, Ye Ziming nodded, patted her head again, and then led her towards the supermarket.
“Heehee.”
Having received Ye Ziming’s promise, Xiaomuqing’s cute smile returned as if she hadn’t been wronged at all.
She knew that whatever her good brother promised, he would always do, and she felt very reassured about that.
Inside the supermarket, they did some shopping, buying mainly daily necessities like tissues, body wash, and shampoo.
During the process, Xiaomuqing habitually picked up the cheaper items she used to use.
Then, Ye Ziming put them all back.
“Emmm.”
Actually, she knew which ones were better. Yu Jie had also taught her how girls should care for their hair, so she quickly picked up a new set.
This included daily skincare products. It was a habit; if she didn’t have a few bottles at home, she would feel uncomfortable.
After a round of shopping, it was time to pay.
While queuing at the checkout counter, Xiaomuqing noticed the BYT counter next to the cashier.
“Heh heh ~ Boss, want me to buy a box for you to chew on?”
In a joking tone, Xiaomuqing pointed at the small boxes and smiled at her good brother.
Besides thinking of the many boxes at her good brother’s home (in City A), she also recalled that on his birthday, she had given him two boxes of soft candies in that shape.
“Okay, you get it.”
Ye Ziming frowned imperceptibly, then glanced at the smirking Xiaomuqing and said softly with a composed smile.
This instantly shifted the pressure of the conversation back to Xiaomuqing.
“Ahem, do you want strawberry flavor or blueberry flavor?”
Feeling the pressure, Xiaomuqing’s eyes widened, and after a few coughs, she tried to relieve the awkwardness a little.
She wasn’t one to admit defeat easily, so after a few seconds of thought, she threw the conversational pressure back with a sly smile.
“You…”
“Ahem, student, according to our country’s criminal law, engaging in sexual acts with an individual under the age of fourteen will be punished severely for the crime of statutory rape…”
Just as Ye Ziming was about to retort, the person in front of them finished paying, and the cashier happened to notice their conversation.
And so, this scene unfolded: the cashier started lecturing Ye Ziming on China’s criminal law.
“Wait! What?”
Hearing the young lady suddenly speak, Xiaomuqing was completely bewildered. After a while, she realized the problem.
So, this time, instead of being mistaken for a middle school student, she was mistaken for an underage girl!
“Yes, little sister, whether you consent or not, it constitutes a crime… and eighteen years old is already…”
From the cashier’s subsequent words, it was clear that she considered Ye Ziming an adult.
But it was understandable. After all, Ye Ziming was 17 years old, and with his aura, being mistaken for an adult was not a big deal.
But Xiaomuqing felt it was a huge problem.
“I’m sixteen! I’ll be seventeen in two months!”
Interrupting the cashier again, Xiaomuqing puffed out her cheeks angrily and said with great dissatisfaction.
Hearing her words, the cashier performed a tactical lean back and then covered her mouth, muttering softly:
“Oh my god, so young. Could this be the legendary legal loli?”
“You…”
The cashier’s voice wasn’t that quiet, and Xiaomuqing could hear some of it, which made her even more displeased.
Just as Xiaomuqing was about to express her further discontent, the cashier interjected:
“In that case, please feel free to purchase. The ones on top are the latest threaded designs, and they are our best-selling models…”
Her attitude instantly changed. The cashier, with a smiling face, introduced the products to Xiaomuqing, her service attitude was excellent.
This time, Xiaomuqing blushed. She had been joking earlier and never intended to actually buy such things.
“Alright, please ring us up.”
Ye Ziming, who had been passively observing for a while, finally came back online. Seeing that the situation was getting a little out of hand, he quickly stepped forward to process the payment for the items.
At first, he shared Xiaomuqing’s surprise.
Then, as Xiaomuqing’s ‘explanation’ continued, his expression gradually turned into one of suppressed laughter. He had to exert great effort not to burst out laughing.
——————
Choosing a title is so troublesome, can I skip it?