Chapter 1139
Ritsuko: Don't blame your sisters for being inhuman!
Cui Ming didn't notice her panic. He smiled and gestured for her to come over, his tone calm but gentle: "Get in the car."
Miri steeled herself and walked over, her eyes darting around, her voice weak and tentative, tinged with a sliver of hope: "Why did you come to pick me up?!" She desperately hoped that Choi Myung was just passing by and would drive away quickly.
Cui Ming, however, did not grasp her hint at all. Instead, he stepped forward and naturally tidied the messy hair on her forehead, teasing her with a hint of doting: "What are you saying? I'm your husband, isn't it only natural for me to come and pick up my wife?"
"Oh~ Husband~" Misato blushed at his words and subconsciously responded with a coquettish tone.
Ritsuko Akagi remained silent throughout, her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Misato with a meaningful gaze, the probing in her eyes almost tangible. The interaction between the two, Choi's address, and Misato's unusual reaction all confirmed her suspicions.
Misato felt extremely uncomfortable under Ritsuko's gaze. Her heart sank, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She knew clearly that she was truly finished—Ritsuko had discovered all her secrets!
Only then did Choi Myung notice Ritsuko standing behind Misato. He nodded politely, completely unaware of the strange atmosphere between the two, and even opened the car door, saying, "Is this your friend? Get in the car, I'll take you home."
Misato looked at the open car door, then at Ritsuko beside her with her sharp eyes, and felt utterly overwhelmed, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Logically speaking, Misato shouldn't be so easily embarrassed.
But since Ritsuko was her best friend, someone she'd known since childhood, she couldn't hide a single thought from her. This made her even more embarrassed than when facing others, her face tense but her ears turning red.
Ritsuko smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Akagi Ritsuko. I didn't expect Misato to get married?" Her tone was teasing, and her eyes darted between Misato and Choi Myung.
"I'd say we're getting married, but we're already living together." Cui Ming said frankly, extending his hand to shake Ritsuko's, their fingertips lightly touching before he politely let go.
Upon hearing this, Misato glared at Choi Myung, her face flushing even more, but she didn't try to argue back—being caught by her best friend, denying it would only seem deliberate, so she could only turn her face away with a straight face, revealing a hint of annoyance at being exposed.
Seeing the unspoken understanding between the two, Ritsuko's smile deepened. She patted Misato's shoulder and said, "You're quite something, you kept it well hidden." Her tone was full of familiar teasing between close friends. She then turned to Choi Myung and nodded, "Since she's someone Misato trusts, take good care of her in the future."
Cui Ming nodded slightly: "Of course. Get in the car, I'll take you back."
Misato didn't respond, but instead opened the car door and got in, feeling both angry and embarrassed—and Ritsuko had caught her red-handed, so she was sure Ritsuko would nag her about it from now on.
The three of them got into the car together. Misato was still flustered because Ritsuko had seen through her earlier, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, her eyes darting around, avoiding direct eye contact with her friend beside her. As soon as the car started moving smoothly, Ritsuko turned to the side, staring at Misato with a half-smile, her tone full of mockery: "You've been hiding it well!" Misato, her secret exposed, instantly blushed and quickly waved her hands in protest, her cheeks still flushed: "Oh! You don't understand! There's a lot going on here, it can't be explained in a few words!" She deliberately avoided the core topic, wanting to gloss over the matter.
Ritsuko scoffed lightly, her eyes full of disbelief: "Tch," a single syllable punctured Misato's pretense, her gaze seeming to say, "I don't believe your nonsense."
Seeing this, Misato quickly shifted the focus, moved closer to Ritsuko, lowered her voice and pretended to be mysterious, and even exaggeratedly frowned and widened her eyes to try to be more convincing: "Let me tell you, Choi is very scary! A girl like you, with a simple mind, could easily be eaten by him!" As she spoke, she patted Ritsuko's arm, looking like she was "doing this for your own good".
However, Ritsuko was not fooled by her exaggerated words at all. Instead, she watched Misato's clumsy performance with great interest. Then she slowly turned her head and looked at Choi Myung, who was focused on driving in the driver's seat. She said in a calm tone, "You are a good person. You can actually put up with her like this."
Choi Myung stared straight ahead, his fingers firmly gripping the steering wheel. His tone was calm, tinged with self-deprecation: "Miri is a good woman, and I'm a womanizer, that's all." His words didn't reveal much emotion, but he accurately picked up on the topic.
"See!" Misato, as if grasping at a lifeline, readily agreed, afraid of missing the chance to refute. As soon as she finished speaking, she leaned over, grabbed Choi Myung's head, and quickly kissed him on the cheek, her movements swift and decisive.
Then she pointed at Cui Ming and emphasized to Ritsuko, "Look! This guy is a total womanizer! I'm not kidding you!"
Choi Myung tilted his head slightly, his tone tinged with helplessness, but his eyes held a hint of amusement: "I'm driving in Miri." The sudden closeness made him pause for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure to ensure driving safety.
Misato then realized she had gone too far, quickly withdrew her hand, and awkwardly sat back down, whispering an apology: "Oh, sorry." A blush crept onto her cheeks again, and she looked somewhat embarrassed.
"Hiss!" Ritsuko gasped as she looked at the scene before her, her eyes filled with inquiry and understanding. She leaned back in her seat, thinking to herself: It seems this matter is not so simple. I'd better take a closer look. There's more to the story between these two than I imagined.
A brief silence fell over the car, broken only by the soft sound of the engine. Misato kept glancing at Ritsuko, afraid that the other would ask more questions, while Ritsuko would occasionally look at Choi Myung in the driver's seat, her scrutinizing gaze becoming increasingly obvious.
A brief silence fell over the car, broken only by the soft hum of the engine. Misato fidgeted, glancing furtively at Ritsuko beside her, her eyes filled with a hint of probing, afraid the latter would press her about the previous topic. Ritsuko's initially scrutinizing gaze, however, gradually drifted away from its original purpose after landing on Choi Myung in the driver's seat.
However, the more Ritsuko looked, the hotter her cheeks became, spreading from her ears to her jawline, a faint blush spreading across them. At first, she just wanted to observe Choi Myung carefully, to see what kind of personality this person, who could make Misato so straightforward and close, possessed, but as she looked, her attention was uncontrollably drawn to him.
Her heart began pounding wildly without warning, an abnormally rapid rhythm. The frantic, almost excited throbbing made her inwardly panicked—what was this racing heartbeat all about?! (End of Chapter)