Before the afternoon class meeting, Lin Mo explained everything that had happened to Su Ran.
After listening, Su Ran remained silent for a long time.
While Lin Mo had been negotiating with Zhang Wei, she had been watching from not far away.
“…You shouldn’t have done all this for me,” she said, sounding somewhat frustrated.
Lin Mo replied nonchalantly, “I didn’t do it just for you; I did it for us. I did it so you wouldn’t be bullied anymore, so I wouldn’t have to watch you get bullied, and so our class could return to normal.”
Su Ran looked at him, her eyes shimmering with complex emotions.
She crossed her arms and turned her head away, whispering, “No one… has ever protected me before. My mother would only tell me to endure it until it passed, and my teachers would just tell me to ignore them. You are the first person… who has ever truly looked out for my well-being.”
“It’s good to have you.” She said the last part very, very softly.
Lin Mo’s heart softened. He wanted to say, “I’ll always be here in the future,” but the words wouldn’t come out.
In his past life, he hadn’t been there.
In his past life, she had been isolated for ten years and misunderstood for ten years until the day he died.
Talking was not enough. If he said it and failed to follow through, it would only hurt her more. It was better to just keep doing what he was doing and save those words for the moment he died.
The bell for the class meeting rang.
Teacher Wang walked into the classroom with a serious expression. “During today’s class meeting, we are going to resolve an issue together. Student Zhang Wei will explain it to everyone.”
The class fell silent as everyone turned their gaze toward Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei stood up, her face pale. The immense pressure made her entire body tremble.
She held a piece of paper in her hand but didn’t look at it.
“I… I want to apologize to Su Ran.”
A collective gasp echoed through the classroom.
The gravity of reality was far heavier and more terrifying than one could imagine.
Unlike in anime or novels, when a rumor-monger personally comes forward to clarify the truth — and the fact that everyone’s blind belief almost made them accomplices in bullying is laid bare — no one can ignore their conscience.
“Over the past week, I spread false statements about Su Ran. I said she was… stalking and taking secret photos, and that she had psychological issues. None of that was true. I made it all up.”
Zhang Wei took a deep breath. Tears began to fall, but once they did, she let the words pour out. The rest became easier to say.
“I did it all because of jealousy. I was jealous of her good grades, her beauty, her piano skills, and… her being so close to Lin Mo. So, I did something I shouldn’t have. I wanted to destroy her reputation and isolate her.”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have started rumors or incited everyone to isolate her. I apologize to Su Ran, and I apologize to the whole class. My actions damaged our class unity. I am truly sorry!”
After finishing her speech, Zhang Wei gave a deep bow.
The entire process took less than three minutes, but every second felt like a year.
The classroom was deathly silent.
Everyone was stunned, including Teacher Wang.
She clearly hadn’t expected Zhang Wei to admit everything so directly.
After a moment, Teacher Wang looked at Lin Mo with a complicated expression, but she addressed Su Ran. “Su Ran, are you willing to accept Zhang Wei’s apology?”
Su Ran stood up with a calm expression. Only Lin Mo saw her nails digging into her palms.
“I accept the apology, but I have a few requirements.”
“Go ahead,” Teacher Wang said.
“First, Zhang Wei must take responsibility for clarifying the truth until people stop mentioning it. Second, she must guarantee that she will not harass me or any other students in any way again. Third, if she relapses, I reserve the right to take legal action.”
She spoke calmly and clearly, as if stating a mathematical theorem.
Watching her, Lin Mo felt it even more deeply.
His own maturity stemmed from his past life, but Su Ran was truly precocious. However, this precocity wasn’t reflected in her social mindset as much as it was in her talent and technical skill.
If there were people in the world born to be “crazy,” she certainly had her reasons. Su Ran’s yandere behavior was the same.
Teacher Wang thought for a moment and nodded. “That is reasonable. Zhang Wei, can you do that?”
Zhang Wei lowered her head and whispered, “I can.”
“Good, then let this matter end here. I hope everyone can learn a lesson from this. Students should respect each other and be kind and friendly. You are still young, and it’s okay to make mistakes. I believe you all understand that both apologizing and accepting an apology are very brave acts.”
“Alright, now for the main topic of the meeting…”
The meeting continued, but no one was listening.
The students were all stealing glances at Su Ran and Zhang Wei with complicated looks in their eyes.
Lin Mo looked at Su Ran’s profile and let out a long sigh of relief.
Only then did he remember Su Ran’s mention of an anonymous report, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
She had learned to protect herself and how to strike back when necessary, but she still hadn’t learned how to distinguish emotions. To think she was going to expose her evidence just because she didn’t want him to hate her… she was ‘silly and cute.’
Fortunately, she had also learned to give her opponent a chance.
This was important.
Paranoid people often don’t understand forgiveness. They don’t know how to let things go, choosing instead to pursue total destruction until the very end. But usually, before that happens, the other party’s revenge has already arrived.
Such results often left both sides devastated.
Su Ran hadn’t done that; she chose reconciliation.
***
After school, Su Ran walked quickly out of the classroom.
The atmosphere in the class had shifted, and no one was whispering behind her back anymore.
Not long after, Lin Mo’s phone vibrated.
He pulled it out and saw a text from Su Ran.
‘Can you come to the piano room for a moment?’
‘I’m on my way.’
In the piano room, Su Ran was playing a song — the one she had written called “Etude for Lin Mo.”
She played lightly and gently, as if whispering a secret.
Lin Mo stood outside the door, not entering, and listened quietly.
The piece wasn’t long, lasting just over three minutes.
When she finished, the piano room was silent for a while before the door was pulled open.
“Come in,” Su Ran said.
Only one small lamp was on in the room, making the light dim.
Su Ran sat on the piano bench, her back to Lin Mo.
“Thank you for today,” she said softly, stroking the black and white keys.
“Don’t mention it.”
Lin Mo sat on the stool next to her. “You did a great job.”
“Did I?”
Su Ran turned to look at him, her eyes bright in the dim light. “I’m not sure… was I being weak? Maybe I should have just reported her father and let her be truly punished.”
“That wasn’t weakness.”
Lin Mo spoke quite seriously. “On the contrary, it’s a display of greater strength. If a person has the power to dictate someone else’s fate but still gives them a chance, that is something a weak person could never do.”
“And… trust me. People who use power to hurt others will eventually trap themselves, even if that power is used for ‘justice.'”
Su Ran was silent for a moment, thinking, before she asked, “How do you know that?”
Lin Mo thought for a second and told the truth. “Because I’ve seen people like that. They start with a justifiable reason, feeling no psychological pressure while removing an evil for the people, but they slowly lose themselves and become exactly like the people they eliminated.”
He was referring to things from his past life.
Workplace struggles, business competition — all that harm done in the name of justice.
Su Ran nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. So forgiveness isn’t weakness…”
“It never was.”
Lin Mo chuckled. “Those who mistake my kindness for weakness will eventually face the judgment of my iron fist.”
Su Ran smiled — a shallow smile that looked beautiful in the dim light.
“Lin Mo, you always know exactly what to say.”
“That’s because I’m speaking from the heart.”
The piano room fell silent again.
Outside the window, the sky was darkening, and the streetlights were flickering on one by one.
Su Ran suddenly said, “This weekend, my mother is coming to the school.”
Lin Mo’s heart tightened. “Because of the transfer?”
Su Ran nervously tugged at her skirt. “She’s coming to see Teacher Wang and… to see you.”
“Me?”
“She heard some things.”
Su Ran lowered her head, her long hair falling like the night and obscuring her dimming eyes. “She said she wanted to ‘see the boy who made my daughter not want to transfer.'”
Lin Mo found it hard to imagine the scene.
Su Ran’s mother.
What kind of gaze would that hyper-controlling pianist use to scrutinize him?
“Will you come?” Su Ran asked, her voice very small.
Lin Mo nodded without hesitation. “I’ll be there. I don’t want you to transfer either.”
“My mother is… very strict. she might say some unpleasant things.”
“I’m not afraid. Nothing could be worse than what Zhang Wei said.”
Su Ran was amused by his joke, but her smile quickly vanished.
She reached out tentatively and lightly pinched Lin Mo’s shirt. “I’m so scared.”
Lin Mo pretended not to notice and flipped through the sheet music. “What are you afraid of?”
“I’m afraid she’ll force me to transfer. I’m afraid she’ll… take you away from me.”
Lin Mo’s hand paused for a split second before he turned the page naturally. He spoke in a light tone. “She won’t. Since she wants to meet me, it means there’s room for negotiation. Otherwise, she would have just transferred you without asking any questions. Why bother meeting me?”
He was just offering casual comfort, but after saying it, he realized it actually made a lot of sense.
Su Ran finally looked up, her dim eyes gradually brightening again.
She was clearly moved by Lin Mo’s words.
“Really?”
“Of course. Why else would your mother come to see me? To use me as a spinning top for her amusement?”
“Pfft…”
Su Ran couldn’t help but laugh out loud, quickly turning her head to hide her face.
The clock in the piano room pointed to 6:00 PM.
It was completely dark now, and the two walked out of the music building side by side.
Stars were beginning to appear faintly in the sky.
“Lin Mo.” Su Ran stopped at the fork in the road.
“Yeah?”
“If… if my mother says anything out of line, please don’t be angry.”
She pinched Lin Mo’s clothes again, her watery eyes full of pleading.
Looking at her obedient appearance, Lin Mo’s heart felt like it was melting.
“I won’t be angry. I’ll have a good talk with her.”
Su Ran smiled, a look that held both relief and anticipation.
“Thank you. You always… make me feel like everything is going to be okay.”
“It was always going to be okay.”
Lin Mo looked at her and smiled. “We’ll work hard together.”
Su Ran nodded vigorously. “Mhm.”
She walked away, her silhouette stretching out long under the streetlights.
Lin Mo remained where he was, watching her figure disappear into the night.
His phone vibrated. This time, a text from Chen Yu arrived first:
‘You handled things beautifully today.’
‘Buy me some milk tea later to compensate me for the mental anguish I’ve suffered these past few days.’
Lin Mo typed a reply: ‘Call me Father first.’
The moment he sent the message, an image of Chen Yu swearing and grumbling popped into his head.
Night came quickly. When he looked up at the starry sky again, he noticed that the scattering of starlight looked like beautiful eyes, gazing tenderly upon the world.
And gazing upon him and her.