NOVEL NEXT 20. Public Punishment
“This is just too humiliating.”
At that moment, Ling Ning was standing on the street near the café, holding the flyers that Luo Xiaoning had just given her. Her task was to distribute all of these thick stacks of flyers by the end of the day.
She never thought that she’d actually have to hand out flyers. Ling Ning had assumed Luo Xiaoning was just joking that day. Handing out flyers was one thing, but why on earth did she have to do it in a maid outfit? The stares from passersby—oh, how she wished she could just disappear into a crack in the ground, even with her thick skin.
It was public punishment, plain and simple! Damn it!
The only solace she found was that she wasn’t alone. Looking at Zhou Xiaoxiao and Luo Xiaoning nearby, Ling Ning felt a small sense of comfort. As for why it was just the few of them, well, after thinking it over, it made sense. Given Xia You’s timid nature, she’d probably be able to hand out about ten flyers in a whole day. And Su Qi? Even if she was willing, was there anyone who would dare take a flyer from her? Chu Mengyao, on the other hand, was responsible for managing everything inside the café.
Originally, Luo Xiaoning had planned to stay holed up in her little den and avoid going out. However, Chu Mengyao had insisted they didn’t have enough staff and demanded that Luo Xiaoning come out to help. But Luo Xiaoning, being who she was, wouldn’t give in that easily. Upon hearing Chu Mengyao’s request, she simply locked her door and, with a satisfied smile, sat back down to catch up on her anime. No way would she be dragged out to distribute flyers.
But Chu Mengyao just smiled sweetly, executed a perfect spinning kick, and kicked the door open. Amidst everyone’s shocked gazes, she walked into the room.
The next thing they knew, they heard a series of anguished cries from within. Then Chu Mengyao emerged, dragging Luo Xiaoning out by her legs, her black-and-white striped panties clearly visible to Ling Ning’s startled eyes.
Despite her usual recluse chuuni behavior, Luo Xiaoning was surprisingly quick at handing out flyers. She approached anyone and everyone, regardless of age or gender, without caring about how people looked at her—quite unlike Ling Ning and Zhou Xiaoxiao, who were hesitant and awkward.
“Sigh~”
Ling Ning sighed helplessly at the sight of the thick stack of flyers still in her hands. At this rate, it seemed she’d be here until nighttime before she finished. How could she speed things up? Well, there was one incentive—if they finished handing out the flyers, they could clock out early. But if they didn’t finish… well, let’s just say there’d be no early end to their day.
“Are you… Ling Ning?”
Just as she was racking her brain for a faster way to distribute the flyers, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind her. Turning around, she saw a beautiful girl looking at her in surprise. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was her classmate and friend, Xu Qing.
“As I thought, I recognized that silhouette.” Xu Qing smiled, visibly happy after recognizing Ling Ning.
“Xu Qing, what a coincidence!”
“Are you working at a maid café?” Xu Qing now took notice of Ling Ning’s maid outfit and the flyers in her hands. It was pretty clear she worked at a maid café.
Ling Ning nodded and handed Xu Qing one of the flyers with a smile. “The location is a bit out of the way, but the atmosphere is really nice. Come by if you have some time. Anyway, I need to head over to a busier spot to finish these flyers, or I’ll be stuck here until night.”
Xu Qing accepted the flyer, staring at it blankly for a moment. She couldn’t help but notice how much Ling Ning had changed. She seemed more outgoing now—she even talked more. And honestly, Ling Ning looked absolutely stunning in that maid outfit. Xu Qing couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be to have a maid like Ling Ning at home.
She carefully folded the flyer and tucked it into her bag, making a mental note to visit the café sometime. Who knows, maybe she’d get a special service from Ling Ning herself—oops, she was drooling just thinking about it!
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When Ling Ning finally moved to a busier spot, she found the flyers indeed went much faster. But the downside was that the curious stares also increased. Well, everything came at a price. Like that guy who asked if she offered “compensated dating.” Of course, she refused. Did they really think she would be swayed by such a pitiful amount of money? Honestly! If they were going to make such an offer, they should at least double it!
Compared to earlier, Ling Ning found herself able to ignore most of the attention. After all, these people were strangers—why bother caring about their opinions? Her only goal now was to finish handing out the flyers as soon as possible and call it a day.
Suddenly, while in the middle of handing out flyers, Ling Ning felt someone tugging at her skirt. She turned to see Ling Ye smiling up at her. Wasn’t Ling Ye supposed to be at Qin Qing’s house? What was she doing here? Before Ling Ning could even ask, Ling Ye started explaining how Qin Qing had brought them out for a big meal.
“Why’d you run off so quickly~”
After a moment, Qin Qing finally caught up, holding Qin Sirou by the hand. When she saw Ling Ning in her maid outfit, she understood immediately why Ling Ye had rushed over so fast. Just moments ago, they had been far away, and Qin Qing herself couldn’t even make out what was on this side. But somehow, Ling Ye had known her sister was here. How did she do it?
Qin Qing narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Ling Ning’s maid outfit. “Hmm, overall, not bad. But the skirt could be a bit shorter. And if we replaced those thigh-high socks with garter belts, the effect might be unexpectedly nice. Oh, oh, and if we added some lace here, that’d be great too.”
“You think so too? I also wanted to make the skirt shorter, but Ling Ning refused no matter what. And she wouldn’t wear garter belts either, no matter what I said. Personally, I think swapping the headband for cat ears would be even better. By the way, I’m her boss, Luo Xiaoning.” No one knew when Luo Xiaoning had appeared.
“Oh~” Qin Qing looked at Luo Xiaoning with great interest and said, “I’m her boss too. My name is Qin Qing—nice to meet you.”
“When did you even get here? Hey!” Ling Ning looked at her two bosses, one older and one younger, and couldn’t shake a bad feeling.
“As your boss, I’m just here to see if you’re slacking off.” Saying this, Luo Xiaoning turned her head to Qin Qing, her eyes filled with a strange passion. “Would you like to visit my café? We could discuss some ideas for outfit improvements.”
“Of course.”
“Well, I’ll leave the rest to you then. I’ve already handed out more than half.” After saying that, Luo Xiaoning handed the remaining flyers to Ling Ning and left with Qin Qing and the others.
Ling Ning stood there, utterly defeated, watching them leave. The flyers flapped listlessly in her hands, caught in the evening breeze.
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Author’s Note:
This is the real Chapter Twenty…