On Tuesday morning, Lin Mo noticed the atmosphere was off the moment he stepped into the classroom.
Several girls were gathered around Zhang Wei’s seat, whispering. As soon as they saw him enter, they immediately scattered, their eyes filled with obvious scrutiny and suppressed giggles.
Chen Yu caught up from behind and lowered his voice. “Something happened.”
“What?” Lin Mo put down his backpack.
“Check the class group chat.” Chen Yu handed over his phone.
The Class One group chat had exploded with messages after 11:00 PM last night.
Scrolling up, the catalyst was a message sent by Zhang Wei:
“Some girls act all cold and aloof on the surface, but what they do behind people’s backs is truly eye-opening. [Surprised face]”
Someone replied below: “What happened?”
Zhang Wei responded: “I don’t dare say. I’m afraid of retaliation. [Scared face]”
This kind of hesitant, vague statement immediately piqued everyone’s curiosity.
The girls close to Zhang Wei began egging her on, demanding more details. After a long period of back-and-forth, Zhang Wei finally laid her cards on the table: “There’s a pervert among us who’s been stalking and secretly taking photos of our male classmates for a long time. She records everything—what they drink, even what kind of socks they wear. It’s terrifying. [Horrified face]”
Although she didn’t name names, the entire class knew exactly who she was talking about.
In last night’s chat logs, all sorts of guesses and hints were flying around.
“Is it the one who never talks to anyone?”
“Who else could it be? She even peeks at other people’s phones. [Covering mouth]”
“No wonder she’s always alone. She probably has psychological issues, right?”
“People like that should see a therapist. Don’t come out and harm society. [Cold sweat]”
The most stinging one was Zhang Wei’s final message:
“I just think everyone should be careful. After all, there are a lot of guys in our class. Who knows who her next target will be? [Sigh]”
The chat history cut off at 1:00 AM.
Lin Mo returned the phone to Chen Yu, his expression darkening.
“You saw it, right?” Chen Yu asked.
“Do you believe her?” Lin Mo countered.
Chen Yu scratched his head. “Logically, I shouldn’t. But Su Ran’s behavior is indeed… well, you know. And Zhang Wei described it so vividly, mentioning photos and logs.”
“How do you know what she said is true? And more importantly, how would she know?”
Lin Mo said coldly, “If Su Ran has records, how did Zhang Wei see them?”
It was the first time Chen Yu had seen Lin Mo look this way—so cold he looked like he wanted to tear someone apart.
He froze for a moment, looking a bit dazed. “Right, how does she know? Did she also sneak a look at Su Ran’s phone?”
“She’s spreading rumors.”
Lin Mo didn’t believe Zhang Wei had any supernatural skills; he immediately judged the situation. “She likely has no evidence and is relying entirely on insinuation.”
Chen Yu was speechless. He suddenly felt like society was a dark place and wanted to run away.
“Then what do we do? It’s already spread through the whole class. Once Su Ran arrives…”
Before he could finish, Su Ran pushed open the classroom door and walked in.
Today, she wore a cream-colored sweater, and her ponytail was tied meticulously.
As usual, she walked toward her seat without looking left or right.
Lin Mo keenly noticed that her pace was faster than usual and her lips were pressed tight.
Clearly, she already knew what had happened.
Before the bell for morning self-study rang, several girls deliberately walked past Su Ran’s desk.
One of them “accidentally” knocked her pencil case to the floor.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry.”
The girl apologized without a shred of sincerity, pretending to bend over to pick it up while actually trying to peek into the storage space under Su Ran’s desk.
Su Ran immediately crouched down, snatching the pencil case before the girl could and clutching it to her chest.
She didn’t say a word, but her gaze was icy.
The girl felt a bit intimidated by the look, scurrying away sheepishly. However, she immediately turned around and exchanged a “See? She’s feeling guilty” look with the other girls.
Lin Mo clenched his fists. Just as he was about to stand up and do something, he saw Su Ran tilt her head and give him a very subtle look, followed by a slight shake of her head.
She was saying: ‘Stay out of it.’
‘Why?’
Lin Mo was incredibly puzzled.
Morning self-study began, and an eerie silence permeated the classroom.
No one was reading. The students were all stealing glances at Su Ran with all sorts of expressions.
Curiosity, wariness, and even disgust.
Su Ran kept her head down, staring at her English book, but she hadn’t turned a page in a long time.
Lin Mo couldn’t help but write a note, but this time, it didn’t reach Su Ran’s hands.
The boy sitting behind Su Ran intercepted the note and let out a weird laugh. Then, he opened it in front of everyone and read it aloud: “Don’t mind them. What do you need me to do? Hahaha, Lin Mo, are you trying to be the hero saving the damsel in distress?”
The entire class burst into laughter.
For the first time, Lin Mo felt that this class was disgusting.
He stood up and walked straight over to the boy. “Give it here.”
The boy held the note up high. “What’s the rush? Let everyone see. It’s so touching.”
“Do you want to die?”
Lin Mo’s voice was as cold as ice.
The surrounding noise suddenly vanished.
The boy was frightened by the look in Lin Mo’s eyes and sullenly handed over the note.
Lin Mo took it and placed it on Su Ran’s desk. “This is for you.”
In the exceptionally quiet classroom, his voice was firm and loud enough for everyone to hear.
Lin Mo didn’t know what they were thinking.
He only knew that even if the sky fell, he would stand by Su Ran’s side.
In his past life, he had fled from her in a panic; in this life, he wouldn’t leave her side even if it meant death.
Furthermore, at this stage, Su Ran was still young and her heart might be fragile. Unlike her, this kind of school bullying meant nothing to him.
Lin Mo returned to his seat and began memorizing vocabulary as if nothing had happened.
The classroom remained terrifyingly quiet for a while.
Every student was stunned by Lin Mo’s actions, and no one dared to speak loudly.
Even Zhang Wei looked terrible. She bit her lip, her hands clenched tightly.
Su Ran, on the other hand, stared at the note on her desk with wide eyes for a long time. Finally, she picked it up gently, as if it were a precious treasure, and tucked it into her book.
From behind, Lin Mo could see her ears had turned red, but he couldn’t see that her eyes were also red.
But this time, it wasn’t from shyness; it was from anger.
Su Ran kept her head lowered, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Lin Mo thought she was crying from being bullied and felt a sharp pang of heartache. At the same time, he was confused.
His experience from two lifetimes told him that this little yandere was someone no one but himself could bully. Usually, she was the one taking others down; how could she be like this…
‘Is she holding back? Why is she enduring this?’
—
The first period was math. The teacher handed back the graded papers from last week’s quiz.
Su Ran got a perfect score, while Lin Mo got 145.
He had missed one multiple-choice question—the one he had deliberately changed to the wrong answer last week.
While explaining the problems, the teacher pointed out, “Only three people in the class missed this question. It was all due to carelessness. Especially you, Lin Mo; you usually don’t miss these.”
Lin Mo was distracted and didn’t respond. The teacher only gave a brief reminder before quickly looking elsewhere. “Su Ran got a perfect score again. Everyone should learn from her.”
This was standard procedure for the math teacher, and everyone was used to it.
However, Zhang Wei muttered under her breath, “Learn how to stalk people?”
The voice wasn’t loud, but the surrounding students heard it and let out suppressed snickers.
The math teacher frowned. “Zhang Wei, what did you say?”
Zhang Wei replied indifferently, “Nothing. I said we should learn from Su Ran.”
She emphasized the word “learn” heavily, dripping with spite.
The teacher looked confused and cast a subtle glance at Su Ran but didn’t pursue the matter publicly.
After class, Lin Mo took his paper to find the teacher, but he was actually waiting for Su Ran.
Sure enough, she was also called over by the teacher.
“Su Ran, you’ve been doing well lately,” the math teacher said. “Keep it up. There’s hope for the competition.”
“Thank you, Teacher,” Su Ran said softly.
The teacher hesitated, clearly having heard something. “Do you need me to help with anything?”
“No, thank you.”
“Are you sure? If it affects your studies…”
“It won’t. I’ll handle it.”
The teacher frowned, neither agreeing nor refusing. “If you have any difficulties, come find me anytime.”
Su Ran bowed and left, with Lin Mo following right behind her.
As they walked out of the office one after the other, Lin Mo called out to her.
“Su Ran.”
Su Ran stopped but didn’t turn around.
“How are you planning to handle this?” Lin Mo walked up to her.
Su Ran looked up at him. There were red streaks in her eyes, but her gaze was calm.
It was a calmness that was almost frightening.
“I need time.” She crossed her arms and looked away, not wanting him to see her like this.
“Time for what?”
Su Ran bit her lip, whispering with suppressed emotion, “My mother has been contacting schools lately. She wants me to transfer to the music conservatory’s affiliated high school. If something happens now, she’ll find out.”
Lin Mo froze. “A transfer?”
“She thinks I’m wasting my time here. She wants me to practice the piano all day to prepare for next year’s professional exams.”
Su Ran’s voice was cold, as if she were chewing on the flavorless bits of her own life.
Lin Mo suddenly wanted to reach out and touch her face, but he held back.
“Did you agree to it?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
Su Ran spoke very calmly. “I can stay at this school for now, but if there’s trouble, she’ll transfer me immediately. I don’t want to… so I have to endure it until the transfer procedures are finalized.”
Lin Mo fell silent, abandoning his plan to immediately retaliate on her behalf.
He understood. It wasn’t that Su Ran didn’t want to fight back; she just couldn’t do it right now.
She wanted to stay at the school and wait until the transfer was either confirmed or sabotaged. No matter what, she couldn’t cause a scene.
Lin Mo felt like it was getting harder to breathe. “Then for now, you…”
Before he could finish, Su Ran gave a slight shake of her head. “Let them talk. I’m used to it.”
The words were spoken so lightly, yet they felt so heavy.
Lin Mo felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart.
The Su Ran of his past life was the same.
Isolated, talked about, and labeled.
She never explained herself. She just locked herself in the practice room, in a world where only music existed—a world that might not even have been what she wanted…
Lin Mo shoved his hands into his pockets, clenching them into fists. “You shouldn’t have to get used to this. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Su Ran couldn’t help but pout slightly. Although she pulled it back in an instant, the stinging in her nose wouldn’t go away.
She quickly wiped her eyes. “Don’t help me. My mother will find out, and then…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but Lin Mo already knew.
Then she would be completely locked away.
Locked in a piano room.
Locked under her mother’s control.
Locked in a world with no friends and no understanding—only the piano.
Lin Mo looked at Su Ran’s slender back and took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to kill someone. “How much longer?”
Su Ran also took a soft breath to steady her emotions.
“There will be a result by next week. If the transfer goes through, I’ll have to leave. If it doesn’t…”
Su Ran turned to look at Lin Mo. “If it doesn’t, I can stay. And then, I will make the people who spread those rumors pay.”
Her tone was quiet when she said it—so quiet it held a chilling coldness.
That was Su Ran’s style of revenge.
Calm, precise, and lethal.
For some reason, sensing Su Ran’s intent for revenge actually made Lin Mo feel relieved.
“What do you need me to do?” he asked one last time.
Su Ran immediately shook her head. “Nothing. If you help me, they’ll attack you too.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do!”
Su Ran spoke with absolute certainty, but her eyes suddenly softened, flickering with a glimmer of hope.
“Don’t worry, okay?”
‘Not okay!’ Lin Mo answered instantly in his head, but he didn’t want to add to the girl’s mental pressure.
He gave what looked like an understanding smile and nodded. “Fine, I’ll listen to you. But if you need me, just say the word. Anytime.”
Su Ran’s lip trembled again.
She quickly turned around to hide her expression and gave her nose a quiet sniff.
‘I want to hug him so much…’
‘I want to pin him against the wall and really…’
“You’re so good to me,” she whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz before quickly running off.