It would have been fine if she hadn’t looked, but as soon as she caught sight of that person, she snapped her head back.
“Huh?”
the boy sitting behind Su Ran was the first to catch her abnormality. He thought she had seen a ghost. He suspiciously looked out the window, and sure enough, his peripheral vision caught a ghost-like gaze. He looked over nervously and found Lin Mo resting his chin on his hand, spinning a pen and looking this way with great interest.
‘Damn, this couple.’
‘They can show off their love from this far away?’
Feeling a bit indignant, he poked Su Ran’s shoulder with his pen and leaned in to whisper, “Why aren’t you two passing notes today? Did you have a fight?”
Su Ran didn’t dare look back again. She stared straight at the blackboard, her eyes shrinking into two small dots from extreme guilt, and even her breathing stopped.
The boy couldn’t get a response from her, so he could only turn back and give Lin Mo a helpless gesture.
The corners of Lin Mo’s mouth curled up, and the pen spinning between his fingers stopped.
For two whole classes— this girl had endured for nearly two classes. It was truly hilarious that she had been caught red-handed as soon as she tried to peek.
Lin Mo couldn’t help but wonder. If he went to the piano room to corner her after school, how would she hide? It had been all day; she should have a plan for avoiding the piano room, right?
‘Could it be that idiot Chen Yu again?’
Just as he was thinking, a ball of paper traced a perfect parabola through the air and landed on his desk. Lin Mo looked over and saw Chen Yu winking at him from halfway across the classroom.
He opened the note, and sure enough: “Don’t leave after school. I’m challenging you to a duel!”
Lin Mo thought for a moment. It was true— if he insisted on going to the piano room to corner her, she really wouldn’t have any good way out. Except jumping out the window.
‘Better forget it then.’
Using Chen Yu’s note, he slowly wrote a sentence: “This guy is crazy. I’m not going to the piano room today; I’m going straight home.”
When he finished, he crumpled it into a ball and threw it accurately to the floor by Su Ran’s feet.
Seeing this, the boy behind her gave Lin Mo an appreciative look and then poked Su Ran to tell her about the note. Su Ran picked it up, looked at it, and nodded somewhat dejectedly.
She didn’t reply because Chen Yu’s words on the note had completely exposed her. By delivering Chen Yu’s provocation to her, Lin Mo was essentially saying, “I’ll play along with you guys.”
Actually, it didn’t matter if she was found out; it was just that now she couldn’t take it back. It was much as Lin Mo had thought. She was also afraid that the surprise she had prepared would turn into a scare that would frighten him away.
For the rest of the school day, Su Ran’s mind became increasingly chaotic, and her sense of unease continued to ferment.
***
When the bell rang to end school, Chen Yu rushed over like a bull. To be honest, he hadn’t handled things very well, but he had tried his best.
“Let’s go, brother! Let’s play ball!” Chen Yu said it loudly on purpose, fearing Su Ran wouldn’t hear him.
At the same time, he leaned in next to Lin Mo and said in a very low voice, “I don’t know what surprise she prepared for you either. Just come with me for now.”
The underlying meaning was: regardless of what the surprise is, just act very surprised when the time comes.
Lin Mo shook his head with a small laugh. Without saying much, he got up and left the classroom. Before leaving the door, he noticed Su Ran’s face was a bit pale.
Before even leaving the school building, he sent her a text: “Don’t force yourself. It’s okay. This birthday is already very special.”
Time quickly reached 8:00 PM, the time Su Ran usually finished her piano practice. Lin Mo had finished dinner and taken a shower. As soon as he came out, he received a text from her.
“Lijing Apartments. Can you come over?”
Seeing this message, Lin Mo’s heart couldn’t help but race; he was a bit stunned. He had been to this apartment when he accompanied Su Ran to her piano lessons over the weekend. Su Ran had rented it herself. Later, after Su Qingwan returned and found a new place, Su Ran moved in with her mother.
In other words, the apartment at Lijing was currently empty. But in essence, it was still Su Ran’s private sanctuary. Going there meant being alone together…
‘No way, right?’
‘Could the special gift she mentioned really be…’
Lin Mo’s mind involuntarily conjured an image of Su Ran lying on a bed. Like a perfect, flawless doll, letting him do as he pleased. Or perhaps she would have a sudden episode and tie him up as soon as he entered the door?
Had her gentleness lately all been an act? Had she specifically chosen his birthday to lure him over and then…?
As he was thinking, a sudden “thud” from the door closing snapped his thoughts back.
Startled, Lin Mo realized he had already left his home. He had even, quite embarrassingly, reacted physically to the thought.
By the time he walked downstairs, hailed a taxi, and watched the lights fly past the window, Lin Mo was lost in thought. He gradually realized that as far as he had run away in his previous life, he wanted to be just as close to Su Ran in this life— even if her condition never improved.
This might be the work of desire, or perhaps it was fueled by guilt or a desire to make amends, but he felt it was mostly because he liked her. Yes, he mostly liked her. The more he understood her, the more he liked her.
To what extent did he like her now? Even if she had a sudden episode and wanted to lock him in a cage, he would probably accept it submissively.
Lin Mo’s eyes widened, startled by the sudden thought. He gripped his hands, suddenly feeling nervous.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but he felt as if he were anticipating it— anticipating Su Ran’s episode, anticipating that the madness he hadn’t been able to experience in his previous life could be repeated in this one.
Before he knew it, the taxi had arrived at Lijing Apartments. Lin Mo paid and got out. Looking up at the apartment building in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. But despite the apprehension, the feeling of wanting to flee did not resurface.
He checked the time; it was already 8:30 PM. He didn’t know how long she could stay. Since things had come to this, he would just go for it!
“I’m downstairs. Do you want to come down, or…?”
“Come up. Room 502.”