My Best Friend is Actually a Cat-eared Maid at a Cafe! – Chapter 73

Chapter 73 Chapter 72: Weekend Invitation
After putting on the Jade Pendant, Xiaomuqing would undergo many changes beyond just cutting her hair.
If there was one thing most noticeable, it was the flatness of her chest, which now seemed completely devoid of any curves.
After taking a good look at Xiaomuqing, Ye Mengze’s expression became surprised, even shocked.
She thought that the last time they met was only a few days ago, and she shouldn’t have mistaken someone.
But the person standing before her now, no matter how she looked at it, was a boy, with no feminine characteristics whatsoever.
At this moment, the two people stood awkwardly by the roadside, Xiaomuqing avoiding their gaze, her mind racing, thinking of a way to escape.
“Ah! I’m in trouble!”
Just as Ye Mengze reached out a hand to touch Xiaomuqing, Xiaomuqing suddenly exclaimed.
“What’s wrong?”
This exclamation startled Ye Mengze, who then became nervous and quickly asked.
“I forgot to turn off my gas!”
As if suddenly remembering something, Xiaomuqing shouted this out, quickly went around Ye Mengze, turned, and ran towards her home.
She rushed all the way back to her doorstep before taking out her keys, panting, thinking she was finally safe.
Outside the residential compound, Ye Mengze watched the direction Xiaomuqing left, frowning and narrowing her eyes with a thoughtful expression.
“Interesting.”
Her not chasing after her didn’t mean she didn’t see that Xiaomuqing was making excuses, nor did it mean she was giving up on this matter.
She was absolutely sure it was Lin Muqing; even without proof, she knew that what she had just seen was a boy.
But as the saying goes, you can run from the monk, not the temple. Ye Mengze turned and headed towards Ye Ziming’s residence.
At Ye Ziming’s residence, several construction workers were currently renovating a room in his house.
This wasn’t his own bedroom, but another room that had been neglected for years and was almost a storage room.
While the renovation was underway, Ye Ziming and Ye Mengze sat on the sofa, drinking tea and chatting.
“I ran into your little girlfriend downstairs just now.”
Halfway through their conversation, Ye Mengze suddenly changed the topic and looked at her younger brother with interest.
“Mhm.”
Ye Ziming was not surprised, as their residential compounds were not far apart, and the probability of meeting was not small.
He saw the expression on his sister’s face and knew she had more to say, so he looked at her with confusion, quietly waiting for her to continue.
“She was wearing men’s clothes, had short hair, and seemed to have bound her chest. She looked like a boy.”
She said this leisurely while playing with her fingers.
As she spoke, the smile on her face grew, her eyes narrowed, and her gaze towards her brother became very subtle.
This was because she had very carefully noticed that when she finished speaking, Ye Ziming’s hand holding the teacup froze for a moment.
“I couldn’t have mistaken her, but she didn’t seem to recognize me, or perhaps she pretended not to.”
She withdrew her gaze and looked at her phone, which contained a photo she had taken of Xiaomuqing.
On one hand, there was her intuition, and on the other hand, she rarely made mistakes when judging people, so she directly concluded that it was Xiaomuqing.
“And that room, it’s being renovated for her, isn’t it?”
Turning to look at the construction site, Ye Mengze said with a smile.
The renovation was halfway done, and she could tell it was being decorated for a girl, and a cute style at that.
Anyone with eyes could see the implications here.
With that, Ye Mengze turned to look at her own younger brother, her curiosity about his relationship with Xiaomuqing growing even more.
“…”
Maintaining a calm expression on the outside, Ye Ziming was sweating profusely on the inside, not knowing how to explain the situation.
At the crucial moment, he remained silent, simply drinking his tea.
However, he wasn’t panicking because Ye Mengze couldn’t do anything to him. Even if he kicked her out right now, nothing would happen.
It was only out of their blood relation that he didn’t do so, and he kept pretending to be oblivious.
Acting as if he knew nothing.
…
At Xiaomuqing’s home, since she didn’t have to work today, she decided to stay home all day.
She did homework, played games, or just lay on her bed playing with her phone. During this time, she glanced at the Eromanga Sensei cosplay outfit hanging on the balcony.
“It seems to be dry. Maybe I should take it down and try it on?”
“It’s a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, feels quite comfortable and cool.”
“Hmm~ it looks pretty good. It seems like it would be nice to wear as loungewear.”
With these self-muttered words, Xiaomuqing wore this cosplay outfit for the entire day, treating it as her loungewear.
If she had a white wig now, there would be a living Eromanga Sensei in the room.
The weekend passed quickly. Staying at home was very comfortable. With one close and one open of her eyes, Monday arrived.
Despite spending a lot of time, Ye Mengze couldn’t get any useful information from her brother. It was clear he was absolutely determined to protect her.
She couldn’t do anything about it. After finishing what she needed to do, she left Ye Ziming’s house.
“Good morning, boss.”
On Monday morning, Xiaomuqing met her good brother at the breakfast shop as usual and greeted him with a smile.
However, this time, Xiaomuqing felt a little bit awkward, as she inadvertently recalled what had happened at the Comiket.
Fortunately, after a day alone over the weekend, she had calmed down and wasn’t blushing or having heart palpitations.
“Boss, are you free this weekend?”
As they walked into the school together towards the classroom, Xiaomuqing suddenly asked her good brother.
“Mn, I’m free.”
With a hint of confusion on his face, Ye Ziming turned to look at Xiaomuqing, his eyes filled with curiosity.
“I want to invite you to watch a movie and then have a meal.”
As a good brother, Xiaomuqing was direct and didn’t beat around the bush, stating her intentions clearly.
This was just a normal invitation, and she didn’t see any problem with it.
As for the gift, she decided not to tell her good brother yet, so it would be a nice surprise for him then.
“Okay.”
Looking into Xiaomuqing’s eyes, Ye Ziming quickly withdrew his gaze. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
The thinking time was very short; he agreed almost instantly.
Then, the two were silent for a while.
As they reached the floor where the classroom was located, Xiaomuqing felt strange. She wondered why her good brother wasn’t asking why she was inviting him to a movie.
Did he know something?
That shouldn’t be the case. No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t make sense; he shouldn’t have figured it out.
“Boss, aren’t you curious why I’m inviting you to a movie?”
As they reached the classroom door, Xiaomuqing finally couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked.
“Oh? Why?”
As he said this, the corners of Ye Ziming’s mouth curved upwards, a faint smile in his eyes, tinged with a sense of accomplishment and a bit of smugness.