Ever since his attempt at flattery failed that day, Bai Mu Ning felt that Wen Jing had been looking at him strangely—always on guard, as if afraid he might say something shocking enough to give him a heart attack.
What he said that day was rather shocking. Things like super amazing and very capable which, in retrospect, felt a little yellow1Something like too R18. But he wasn’t yellow at all. He was pure and innocent.
Bai Mu Ning had come to fully realize his mistake and was determined to stop throwing around flattery so carelessly.
He really liked his current job. He didn’t want to end up unemployed, he wanted to retire here.
—
On payday, Bai Mu Ning happened to be off. While lying in bed, he received a notification from his bank, and he nearly jumped up in excitement. He was so thrilled he almost broke into a set of calisthenics to express it.
He had only started working ten days last month and somehow still got nearly two thousand yuan.
After calming down, Bai Mu Ning figured this was actually a lot. Four thousand for a full month? That would be over a hundred a day. And after factoring in the deductions for the five social insurances and one housing fund, wasn’t that around two hundred a day?
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Lsv wdelapvydekdt vbl xyvb xyel Jyk Yw Lkdt wdnsxqsavyczl, ps bl xlppytle vbl qkdydnl zyeu vs ypj kq vblu’e xyel y xkpvyjl.
Mbl zyeu ryvkldvzu lmrzykdle vbyv y osaj xsdvb oypd’v nyznwzyvle yp 30 eyup, cwv ayvbla wpkdt y qynvsa sq 21.75 eyup. Pkhkel vbl xsdvbzu pyzyau cu vbyv dwxcla vs tlv vbl yhlaytl eykzu oytl.
Xdzu vbld eke Jyk Yw Lkdt wdelapvsse bso pyzyaklp olal nyznwzyvle, yde bl qkdyzzu qlzv yv lypl vyjkdt vbyv xsdlu.
Mbl qkapv vbkdt bl eke yqvla tlvvkdt ryke oyp nsdvynv Nk Gdnbl vs ypj obld bl’e cl cynj. Tl oydvle vs valyv bkx vs bsv rsv.
Mbkp vkxl, ds xsal cwetlv asvyvkdt bsv rsv. Mblu nswze ts psxloblal okvb y bwdeale uwyd rla rlapsd yhlaytl prlde.
Nk Gdnbl bye qkdkpble vaykdkdt yde, okvb blzr qasx bkp ryaldvp, oyp rzynle kd vbl cydj’p akpj nsdvasz elryavxldv. Ohlau eyu bl bye vs pvweu rkzlp sq xyvlakyz; vbl alzldvzlpp rynl oyp eakhkdt bkx xye. Ebld bl tsv Jyk Yw Lkdt’p xlppytl, bl ytalle kxxlekyvlzu.
Gqvla nzspkdt vbl nbyv, Jyk Yw Lkdt cltyd plyanbkdt qsa bsv rsv alpvywaydvp okvb tsse alhklop, cwv obkzl bl oyp pnaszzkdt, bl tsv y nyzz qasx Nk Nk, obs byed’v nsdvynvle bkx kd ytlp.
“Dkys Lkdt, zsdt vkxl ds pll.”
Li Li had finalized her divorce, and with the unpleasant mess behind her, she looked more vibrant than ever. Just a couple of days ago, Bai Mu Ning had seen her post on her Moments about traveling abroad.
In the photo, she smiled brightly, obviously over everything.
With the toxic people and bad environment behind her, she looked completely refreshed.
“Is something up, Li-jie?”
“Xiao Ning ah, I just wanted to ask if you’d be willing to take on a job. It’s a matchmaking thing, but you don’t really have to do anything. Just show up.”
Bai Mu Ning didn’t rush to agree and let Li Li continue.
Matchmaking? That sounded odd already.
“This friend of mine is a strong woman, the kind of boss who opens her own company. Unfortunately, her parents are old-fashioned and believe women should just get married and have kids, so they’ve been forcing her to go on blind dates.”
“To push her into marriage, they even paid for a VVVIP membership on a matchmaking site. If she refuses to go, her parents are threatening to cut ties.”
“To deal with them, she decided to hire someone to go in her place. As soon as I heard about it, I thought of you. Xiao Ning, I think you’re perfect for this.”
Bai Mu Ning was getting a headache just listening. He reminded her, “Li-jie, I’m a guy.”
“So what? You’re good-looking. Put on some women’s clothes and I guarantee those sleazy guys at the blind dates will be drooling over you. Jiejie believes in you, you can totally pull it off.”
Bai Mu Ning was about to refuse when Li Li added, “Xiao Ning, are you sure you want to pass up a job that pays 1,000 a day?”
What? 1,000 a day?
The words of rejection got stuck in his throat. With a righteous tone, he declared, “Li-jie, I’ll take it. It’s not about the money, I just really enjoy helping people solve their problems.”
After hanging up, Bai Mu Ning felt like he might’ve acted too impulsively. Crossdressing for a blind date, could he actually pull it off?
Soon after, Li Li sent another message on WeChat asking for Bai Mu Ning’s address, the other party wanted to mail him women’s clothing and a wig.
When it came to presentation, the other side wanted full control. The outfit couldn’t look low.
Li Li also sent a deposit and informed Bai Mu Ning that there was a matchmaking event scheduled for this Friday.
For the money, Bai Mu Ning accepted the job.
1,000 a day—for that kind of cash, forget crossdressing, he’d be willing to play the grandson too.
—
That evening, after Li Anche got off work, he and Bai Mu Ning went to the mall for hot pot.
It was rush hour, so they had to wait half an hour for a table.
During that half-hour, Li Anche vented about his painful experiences at work—it was pure misery.
Back in the day, he could pull all-nighters without losing a single strand of hair. Now, after just a few days of working a regular schedule, he was already going bald.
Maybe it was because he worked at the traditional Chinese medicine clinic, but as soon as Bai Mu Ning heard “hair loss,” his first instinct was to recruit a customer. He suggested Li Anche visit Sanwen Hall for a TCM consultation to get his body adjusted.
Li Anche let out a deep sigh and muttered weakly, “Ning ah, I don’t think even Chinese medicine can save me. What I really need is to quit my job, that’s the only cure.”
“Stop right there. Don’t even think about quitting. Do you know how hard it is to get into a bank? These places even nitpick over which grad students they hire. You got in as a full-time employee right off the bat, and you still want to quit?”
Bai Mu Ning then broke down Li Anche’s career prospects for him, along with the current situation for college graduates.
Li Anche’s job might be stressful, but the salary and benefits were great ah. Plus, he had his parents backing him. His career path was basically on cheat mode. What was there to complain about?
As long as he followed the path his parents laid out for him, becoming a millionaire wasn’t a dream.
Li Anche had no real life goals, nor did he know what he actually enjoyed doing. That’s why his parents had arranged such a carefully planned-out path for him. All he had to do was follow it obediently and not rebel, and he’d have financial freedom.
Li Anche clicked his tongue as he looked at Bai Mu Ning. “Ning ah, you’re starting to sound just like my parents. I know I can’t actually quit, I’m just venting.”
“My parents pulled a lot of strings to get me into this job. I have to make something of myself and show them it wasn’t for nothing.”
Bai Mu Ning gave him a boost of encouragement. “Jiayou.”
After dinner, the two of them headed out. As they stepped through the mall’s revolving door, Li Anche’s gaze was suddenly pulled away by something.
Bai Mu Ning asked curiously, “Did you see someone?”
Li Anche snapped back, looking shocked. “I saw Zheng Kejian’s girlfriend hanging onto some other guy. Zheng Keijan won’t be green,2Cuckolded. right?”
“No way. Ning you go back first, I’ll go take a look.”
He dashed off without even giving Bai Mu Ning a chance to speak, leaving him no choice but to walk back to school alone.
Just as he reached the school gates, Bai Mu Ning received a text: his delivery had been signed for.
He had assumed it was a regular courier delivery and had used Sanwen Hall’s address.
It wasn’t convenient to use the school’s address. No one was around during work hours to collect packages.
But it turned out the employer had used a same-city runner service, and the delivery had already arrived at Sanwen Hall.
It was the women’s clothing the employer had sent. Bai Mu Ning didn’t dare waste a second. He took off running toward Sanwen Hall in a panic.
While running, he messaged Zhuang Yumian to ask who was still at Sanwen Hall.
Zhuang Yumian told him that at this hour, only Wen Jing was still there. He was always the last to leave and was responsible for locking up every night.
Bai Mu Ning was alarmed. Did that mean Wen Jing had signed for it?
He had no idea whether the package had been discreetly packed. If Wen Jing saw the women’s clothing, would he think he was some kind of pervert?
The more he thought about it, the more terrified Bai Mu Ning became. He broke into a full sprint, faster than he ever had in a physical fitness test.
By the time he arrived at Sanwen Hall, he was gasping for breath. The shutter door was halfway down, it was clearly about to close.
Bai Mu Ning bent down and slipped inside. The lobby lights were off; only the lamp in Wen Jing’s consultation room was still on.
There was no sign of the package under the dim lighting, so Bai Mu Ning had no choice but to brace himself and go look for Wen Jing.
Wen Jing was on the phone. The call was on speaker, and Bai Mu Ning could hear everything clearly.
“Son, just trust mom this time, alright? Mom swears this is not setting you up. This matchmaking candidate is definitely single and super handsome.”
“He’s my colleague’s son, I already checked—there’s no overlap. I saw his photo, he’s the cute type. Even I find him likable. It’s set for Friday, just go!”
Wen Jing sounded exasperated. He leaned back lazily in his chair and said, “Madam Pei, last time you really screwed me over. Can we not do this again?”
“I was tricked last time too. They said he was single, but he had a boyfriend and still went on dates. I was furious, we’ve already cut ties.”
“He hasn’t come looking for you again, has he?”
“No.”
Just as Wen Jing finished saying that, Bai Mu Ning received a message. The employer was asking if the clothes fit. As he replied, he missed the next bit of the conversation.
“Good. Guys like that, with a boyfriend but still going on dates, then using you to provoke a breakup makes it look like you’re the third party. Thankfully, you found out early and cut him off.”
“I still don’t get how he had the nerve to keep bothering you. Claimed you were his boyfriend’s, and when you didn’t agree, he started spreading rumors that you ruined their relationship. Ai, people these days…”
Just as Bai Mu Ning sent his reply, he caught the tail end of the conversation. What were they talking about? What kind of people are out there?
Wen Jing said calmly, “It’s all in the past now.”
“By the way, how’s your sister doing? Your uncle and I have been too busy with work to keep an eye on her. You’ve been the one taking care of her since she was little. She’s going through a rebellious phase now and won’t listen to us at all. You’re the only one who can get through to her.”
Wen Jing said, “She gets annoyed the moment she sees me. Now, she doesn’t want me involved in her life.”
“Ai, how is she even more rebellious than you were? She ran away from home. Does she have enough money? Nothing’s happened to her, right!”
Wen Jing was about to pour himself a glass of water when he noticed a figure at the door. His tone turned noticeably colder. “Don’t worry, she knows how to take care of herself. Just leave her be. She’ll come back once she’s had enough fun.”
“Mom, I’ll talk to you later. I’ve got something to deal with.”
Bai Mu Ning had been standing at the doorway, planning to step in and greet Wen Jing once he finished the call.
But before he could even reach the doorknob, a figure suddenly lunged out from inside and gripped his neck with shocking force, so tight it left him gasping.
Bai Mu Ning couldn’t speak. He genuinely thought he was going to die.
In the next second, breathing fresh air again, Bai Mu Ning coughed violently.
Clutching his throat, Bai Mu Ning wheezed out, “You… you trying to murder me?”
“Sorry, I didn’t see it was you.” Wen Jing looked over with concern, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”
Bai Mu Ning’s almond-shaped eyes were wide with disbelief, tears pooling in his lashes—not from emotion, but from the coughing fit that had triggered a reflex.
He lifted his chin, showing his neck to Wen Jing, and said indignantly, “No, I’m not alright. You nearly choked me to death.”
“Look, didn’t you leave a mark?”
Wen Jing slightly bent his knees, lowering his gaze. His hand came to rest on Bai Mu Ning’s slender swan-like neck, fingertips brushing over the pale skin.
Bai Mu Ning immediately felt as if an electric current passed through the places he’d been touched—tingly, numb, and uncomfortably stimulating.
He stepped back a little, pulling his neck away and letting out a cold snort. “Forget it. I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”
Wen Jing withdrew his hand, clenching it tightly. “Aren’t you off today? What are you doing here?”
Only then did Bai Mu Ning remember why he came. “I came to pick up a delivery.”
“That was your package?” Wen Jing’s surprise was obvious, as if he couldn’t quite believe it.
“The delivery guy didn’t say who it was for—just said to drop it off at Sanwen Hall. I left it on the payment counter.”
Bai Mu Ning followed Wen Jing over, and Wen Jing turned on the lights, returning brightness to the hall.
He went to the counter and handed over a cardboard box that hadn’t even been properly sealed. Bai Mu Ning took it and looked inside—only to be instantly dumbfounded by what he saw: a JK-style pleated mini skirt sitting in plain view, completely unwrapped.
It was blatantly displaying its little skirt hem in all its glory. As long as Wen Jing wasn’t a complete idiot, he would instantly recognize it for what it was.
His little skirt had been seen by Wen Jing.
Would Wen Jing think he was a pervert?
Author’s Note:
A conversation between Wen Jing and his mother, explaining how Bai Mu Ning misunderstood Wen Jing was the third party in someone else’s relationship in the first chapter.
Hi! Thanks for the update!!! I think Ch16 is missing though!
Thank you for this and thanks for reading! I noticed I chose the wrong category! Sorry about that TT. I have this updated now. Here’s the link: https://secondlifetranslations.com/breakup/breakup-chapter-16/