My Best Friend is Actually a Cat-eared Maid at a Cafe! – Chapter 385

Chapter 385: Chapter 382: Letting Go of the Jade Pendant
Outside the classroom, the homeroom teacher Qiu Zhihe looked at Lin Muqing with surprise.
She knew this student. Her grades were pretty good. She was a very well-behaved boy… uh… is she a boy or a girl now?
Thinking this, she scratched her head, her brow furrowed in a complex mood.
“Um… Lin Muqing,” the homeroom teacher began hesitantly.
“Uh, hmm.”
“How come you…”
Qiu Zhihe wanted to say, “How come you’re wearing female attire?”
But she got stuck halfway. Because at this moment, Xiaomuqing was wearing the winter school uniform, which had no distinction between male and female attire.
This was awkward. Even though they were wearing the same clothes, she looked drastically different from other boys.
Although she had noticed last semester that Lin Muqing had a feminine aura, she never expected it to be like this, completely lacking masculinity!
“Teacher, you want to ask if I’m a boy or a girl now, right?”
Seeing the homeroom teacher stuttering for a long time without speaking, Xiaomuqing directly initiated the conversation.
“Ah, yes, you are now…”
Qiu Zhihe nodded quickly, following Xiaomuqing’s lead.
“Actually, I’m a girl.”
“!? ”
“This is my ID card.”
Saying this, Xiaomuqing took out her prepared ID card and handed it to Qiu Zhihe.
Afterward, she nervously withdrew her hands, lowered her head, and looked at her ten fingers, intertwined in front of her abdomen.
Now, she looked like a bashful young girl, with a trace of shyness and panic on her face.
Before this, she had thought about it. The Jade Pendant was no longer useful, and she knew she couldn’t pretend to be a boy anymore.
Since that was the case, it was better to confess directly.
“Ah, this…”
After looking at Lin Muqing’s ID card again and again, Qiu Zhihe almost doubted her eyes.
She had originally thought that Lin Muqing was just dressing up as a girl, but she never expected that she was actually a girl.
“Were you a girl before too?”
“Mhm.”
“Then… you’ve been pretending to be a boy all this time?”
“Mhm, mhm.”
“Why!?”
Qiu Zhihe couldn’t understand and couldn’t imagine how such a girl had managed to blend in with the boys for so long.
As a woman herself, she felt it was like putting a swan into a flock of geese—it was a hardship!
“Uh, it’s a bit difficult to explain… Hmm!”
Xiaomuqing fumbled with her hands, trying to muddle through the situation, when Qiu Zhihe suddenly reached out and cupped her face.
As if examining an item, Qiu Zhihe looked left and right, then looked at her hands after looking at her face.
“Teacher, what are you doing?”
Xiaomuqing was confused. The homeroom teacher’s actions felt like a physical examination, which was a bit strange.
“Hmm, not bad. You’ll be very beautiful if you get dressed up.”
After examining Xiaomuqing, Qiu Zhihe rested her chin on her hand and nodded to herself with a satisfied expression, completely ignoring the questions being asked.
“…”
Explaining that she was a girl was really complicated.
Even though she was prepared for it, it still took a lot of time to explain to the homeroom teacher.
Sigh~ Thinking about having to explain to her classmates later, Xiaomuqing felt a wave of exhaustion, not knowing what to do.
However, one point surprised her: after learning she was a girl, the homeroom teacher didn’t seem that shocked.
She was only surprised at first, then quickly accepted it, and later even offered to add her on WeChat to chat about makeup matters.
“I used to think you were a boy, so I was too embarrassed to talk to you deeply. But it’s different now.”
Oh, well. Although she felt it was a bit strange for a teacher and student to discuss these things, Xiaomuqing still agreed.
Afterward, they chatted for a while longer. Qiu Zhihe insisted that Xiaomuqing promise never to cross-dress again.
This was another point Xiaomuqing couldn’t understand. She used to be a boy, so what was wrong with wearing boys’ clothes now?
“Hey, what’s with that look?”
“Huh?”
When making the promise, Xiaomuqing had a slightly indifferent look and muttered to herself.
She didn’t expect this small action to be caught and lead to a lecture from the homeroom teacher.
Even more unexpectedly, Qiu Zhihe put her hands on her hips and sternly told her, “If you dress up as a tomboy again, don’t enter my classroom.”
“emmm.”
This was a very serious matter. Xiaomuqing didn’t think she was joking.
Last semester, someone in the class had been kicked out of the classroom by her—literally kicked out.
At the same time, inside the classroom, because Lin Muqing and Qiu Zhihe had left, it had descended into chaos.
The news that Lin Muqing was actually Lin Muxue had spread, with Xiaolan leading the revelation.
As the students murmured amongst themselves, the class president Zhang Xiaoling promptly stood up and took Qiu Zhihe’s place on the podium to maintain order.
“Quiet! Stop arguing! Lin Muqing is a girl, and always has been!”
Her statement was like an official announcement. The most shocked were, of course, the boys.
It was like the line from the Mulan poem recited in junior high: “Companions for twelve years, yet unaware Mulan was a girl.”
This line perfectly applied to Lin Muqing now. After being classmates for over a year, no one had discovered the tomboy hidden among a group of guys.
However, it wasn’t necessarily everyone. As everyone was still shocked that the school beauty was right beside them, some people looked at Ye Ziming, Lin Muqing’s deskmate.
The two of them had always had a good relationship, always sticking together after school or during events—inseparable, so to speak.
Moreover, some people had rumored they were gay and even shipped their CP.
Looking at it now, Ye Ziming was on another level, so much so that it could leave people breathless.
You thought he never hung out with girls and always played with guys, thinking they were gay?
Too naive, too small-minded! He was actually pursuing the school beauty, and he succeeded.
Furthermore, looking at the incident with his WeChat Moments during the winter break from this angle, the whole thing became intriguing and worth pondering.
At this moment, in certain parts of the classroom, some boys turned to look at their deskmates or their male friends.
Boy A looked sternly at his friend: “We’re brothers, right?”
Boy B raised his middle finger: “Get lost! Mine is bigger than yours!”
Boy C made a funny face: “Brother, when are you going to change?”
As best friends, Boy D looked disdainful: “Heh, why don’t you transform?”
On the podium, Zhang Xiaoling not only revealed the truth but also shared a story that Ye Ziming had told her beforehand.
In her telling, Xiaomuqing was raised as a boy since childhood because her family wanted a boy but couldn’t have one.
She subtly added her own spin, hinting that Lin Muqing gave up pretending to be a boy because of Ye Ziming, which led to today’s astonishing revelation.
Then, Ye Ziming became a master in the eyes of the boys and the male protagonist of a romance novel in the eyes of the girls.
And Xiaomuqing’s image became pitiable due to that story.
She was clearly a girl, yet she had to dress up as a boy, and had been doing so for over a decade. To everyone, it was too pitiful.
Xiaomuqing, who didn’t understand what was happening: Meow meow meow?
Ye Ziming, who inexplicably became the center of attention: I didn’t know I was so amazing. *Shrug.jpg*
After telling the story, Zhang Xiaoling called for everyone to treat Lin Muqing kindly and as an ordinary girl.
Finally, the class president directly stated, “I’ll look out for Lin Muqing,” before calmly stepping down from the podium.
Coincidentally, not long after she finished speaking, Qiu Zhihe returned to the classroom with Xiaomuqing.
“Ahem, I need to say something here… Tsk, come here, why are you hiding?”
Qiu Zhihe walked towards the podium while pulling Xiaomuqing, who was trying to sneak away, and forcibly brought her up to the stage.
What she said next was similar to what Zhang Xiaoling had said, telling everyone that Lin Muqing was actually a girl.
While she was speaking, Xiaomuqing noticed that her classmates’ gazes were a bit strange.
She could understand the surprised and astonished looks; if she suddenly found out a friend was a girl, she would also be surprised.
But why did they seem to be pitying her? Is this weird?
Before she could think further, the school broadcast announced the voice of the grade director, informing everyone that the opening ceremony was about to begin.
“Let’s go to the opening ceremony first. We’ll discuss the rest later.”
Upon hearing the broadcast, Qiu Zhihe stopped talking and began directing everyone to the gymnasium.
The school gymnasium was quite large, capable of accommodating over a thousand students. The opening ceremony was held there every semester.
This opening ceremony, to put it bluntly, was about listening to speeches from teachers and students in rotation. It happened once every semester, and it was always quite boring.
Fortunately, they could bring chairs, otherwise, a speech lasting over an hour would have been unbearable.
While carrying their chairs to go downstairs, Xiaomuqing and Ye Ziming walked together, chatting about what had just happened.
She had already confessed to the homeroom teacher, which meant the entire school would know she was a girl.
There was no other choice; she couldn’t pretend to be a man anymore.
“Mhm, since you’re going to be a girl, you shouldn’t wear the Jade Pendant anymore.”
After listening to Xiaomuqing’s account, Ye Ziming turned to look into her eyes and said with a smile.
“Huh?”
Xiaomuqing was taken aback by Ye Ziming’s words.
Then, she fell silent, thinking as she walked towards the gymnasium with Ye Ziming.
Indeed, she had worn the Jade Pendant to pretend to be a boy.
Since she couldn’t pretend anymore, there was no need to continue using it.
And if she stopped using the Jade Pendant, it meant she was completely, utterly saying goodbye to her past self.
Thinking this, she suddenly felt a sense of reluctance.
Recalling the past dozen years, she had gained a lot and had many happy times when her adoptive parents were still alive.
Although they weren’t her biological parents, they loved her very much, or rather, doted on her.
Later, due to an accident, she lost everything overnight.
That period was truly dark. Every time she recalled it, Xiaomuqing felt as though the sky was gray, and the people and things around her were almost gray.
But even so, she still…
“Careful!”
As Xiaomuqing was lost in thought and her eyes became vacant, Ye Ziming’s voice suddenly rang out, followed by her feeling someone pull her.
Because she was distracted, Xiaomuqing lost her footing and was pulled into Ye Ziming’s arms by him, her head hitting his chest.
Recovering quickly, she realized she had almost been hit by a student carrying goods, but thankfully her good brother had grabbed her in time.
At the same time, she also noticed that her and her good brother’s posture was a bit ambiguous, making it seem as if she had thrown herself into his arms.
“Ahem, thank you.”
Coughing awkwardly, Xiaomuqing quickly straightened up and maintained a distance from Ye Ziming.
“Be careful when you walk.”
“Oh, oh.”
The ambiguous moment lasted only an instant. As they separated, the crowd around them remained dense, and no one noticed their interaction.
Seeing that Xiaomuqing seemed to be avoiding him, Ye Ziming thought that this was a school where boys and girls were strictly forbidden from getting too close.
Therefore, he only reminded her softly not to get distracted and that there were many people around.
However, he noticed a slight change in Xiaomuqing’s eyes when she bumped into his arms and stared at him blankly.
In fact, letting go of the Jade Pendant was not just letting go of the past, but also seizing the future.
Now she had such a good life, so many family members and friends, and… *cough cough*, the person she liked.
⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄
Thinking this, Xiaomuqing turned her head and quietly glanced at her good brother standing beside her, then lowered her head and pursed her lips, a sweet smile unconsciously curving the corners of her mouth.
At that moment, holding the chair with both hands, she felt her slightly accelerated heartbeat and quietly made a decision in her heart.
She would put away the Jade Pendant, and then… (stare~)
“What are you smiling about?”
After entering the gymnasium, Ye Ziming noticed Xiaomuqing smiling foolishly at him, so he raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.
“I just remembered something happy.”
Xiaomuqing continued to smile foolishly. As for why she was smiling, she couldn’t quite explain it herself; she just wanted to look at Ye Ziming and smile foolishly.
He was the person she liked, the light in her heart.
When she was at her loneliest and most helpless, he appeared before her and led her out of that darkness.
If letting go of the Jade Pendant meant letting go of the past, then holding his hand probably meant seizing the future, Xiaomuqing thought.
“Pfft~”
Perhaps because Xiaomuqing was smiling so foolishly, Ye Ziming looked into her eyes and couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.
His mood improved greatly, and a hint of pampering appeared in his eyes.
“What happy thing?”
“Hmph, I won’t tell you.”
“Is it something delicious?”
“I absolutely won’t tell you. This noon, I want to eat braised eggplant.”
“Haha~”
Chatting as they walked, they searched for their class’s location and then sat down to wait for the opening ceremony to begin.
A small problem arose during this time: Xiaomuqing still thought she was a boy and intended to sit with her good brothers.
The gymnasium seating wasn’t arranged arbitrarily; it was like morning exercises, with boys in one row and girls in another.
So, after she put down her chair and sat with the boys, class president Zhang Xiaoling immediately ran up to her and pulled her to the girls’ row.