During lunch, Lin Mo ran into Chen Yu again in the cafeteria.
The two made eye contact, but neither spoke.
Chen Yu carried his tray to the other side, sitting three tables away from Lin Mo.
Lin Mo didn’t pay it any mind as he found a seat by the window. He had only taken two bites when someone sat down across from him.
It was Su Ran.
She set her tray down and sat across from him with a natural movement, though her ears were incredibly red.
“Can I sit here?” she asked softly.
“Of course.” Lin Mo smiled and moved a piece of his braised pork with mustard greens onto her tray.
The surrounding tables immediately erupted in whispers, but this time, Su Ran didn’t have the heart to listen to them.
She stared at the piece of meat, a bit dazed. She felt it would be delicious even before tasting it.
‘If only I could take it home and keep it forever…’
As usual, Su Ran sat perfectly straight. Her elegance was so out of place with her surroundings that, through a lens of prejudice, she appeared “pretentious.”
But she didn’t care. She took small bites of her food, occasionally glancing up at Lin Mo.
“Those physics problems… I understand them now. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If there’s anything else you don’t understand, feel free to ask me anytime.”
“Okay.”
After a period of silence, Su Ran suddenly asked, “Does Chen Yu hate me now?”
Lin Mo’s chopsticks paused. “Why do you ask?”
“He didn’t eat with you today, and… the way he looks at me has changed.”
Su Ran held her chopsticks in her right hand while her left hand clenched into a fist under the table.
Lin Mo shook his head without hesitation. “He just has a bit of a misunderstanding. I’ll explain things to him.”
Su Ran whispered, “I don’t want to affect your friendship because of me.”
“It’s not an issue, don’t worry. Sometimes he just doesn’t understand plain English. It’s normal.”
Su Ran didn’t say anything else, lowering her head to finish her meal.
After eating, the two headed back to the classroom together. In the hallway, they ran into Zhang Wei and her lackeys.
Seeing them, Zhang Wei intentionally said in a loud voice, “Oh, look at you two, inseparable? Your relationship is so good.”
Lin Mo ignored her and walked straight ahead.
However, Zhang Wei refused to let it go. “Su Ran, I heard you’re transferring? When are you leaving? We’ll throw a farewell party for you.”
She said this on purpose; if Su Ran really left, she would definitely celebrate.
Su Ran couldn’t help but stop in her tracks. She turned to look at Zhang Wei.
Her gaze was cold — as cold as winter ice.
“Don’t trouble yourself. Whether I leave or stay has nothing to do with you.”
“How is it unrelated?”
Zhang Wei laughed, sounding extremely pleased. “The class will be much more peaceful once you’re gone. After all… only Lin Mo wants to be classmates with a freak.”
Those words were incredibly toxic.
Just as Lin Mo was about to snap, Su Ran beat him to it. “Zhang Wei, you have photos of Teacher Wang’s daughter saved on your phone, don’t you? Seventeen of them, all saved from Teacher Wang’s social media.”
“Tell me, if Teacher Wang found out, what would he think?”
Zhang Wei’s expression shifted, and her face turned several shades paler. “What — what are you talking about!”
“Whether I’m talking nonsense or not, you know the truth in your heart.”
Su Ran’s tone remained calm as she continued, “Your photo album, the private folder… the password is your birthday plus the initials of the person you have a crush on. Do I need to tell everyone who it is?”
Zhang Wei’s face went from white to red, then from red to purple.
She glared at Su Ran, her lips trembling, yet she couldn’t say a single word.
Her two lackeys were also stunned, looking back and forth between Zhang Wei and Su Ran.
Seeing this, the corners of Su Ran’s mouth curled up slightly. “Also, you copied Li Yue’s answers during last week’s math quiz. For Question Eight, both of your mistakes were identical.”
Li Yue, who had been suddenly named, also changed her expression. “I didn’t…”
“We can check the surveillance footage,” Su Ran said.
Fully unleashed, an invisible aura seemed to expand around Su Ran again. Her cold, aloof appearance now carried the air of a queen.
“Don’t forget, there are cameras in the examination hall. Even if the specific details aren’t clear, if someone looks closely enough, they can see your little movements when you pass notes.”
The hallway went completely silent.
Students passing by stopped one after another, looking at the confrontation with curiosity.
Hearing the whispers around her, Zhang Wei’s eyes welled up with tears. She was panicked.
“You… what right do you have…” Her voice was shaking.
“The right that comes with having evidence.”
Su Ran looked coldly at Zhang Wei. Even though they were at the same height, she seemed to be looking down at her. “If you harass Lin Mo again, I will make sure everyone knows your secrets.”
She turned and walked away. As soon as she rounded the corner, she leaned against the wall, gasping for breath from the exhaustion.
‘Are you okay?’ Lin Mo sighed in his heart, feeling a pang of sympathy.
If Zhang Wei had only targeted her, Su Ran probably wouldn’t have bothered. But Zhang Wei’s big mouth had dragged him into it, which was no different from poking a tiger’s nest.
He didn’t care about it himself, but she couldn’t stand it.
Su Ran looked at Lin Mo with some concern and nervousness. “Was I… too much?”
“No. She brought it on herself.”
“But I still…”
Su Ran lowered her head, not daring to look into Lin Mo’s eyes. “I still used secrets to threaten someone. You said I shouldn’t do that…”
Looking at her trembling eyelashes, Lin Mo suddenly felt a strong urge to hug her.
“Su Ran, there’s nothing wrong with protecting yourself. I didn’t say you could never do that. I meant… you should only do it when normal methods can’t resolve the conflict.”
“So you’re not wrong. You did very well.”
Su Ran looked up at him cautiously, her eyes glistening. “Really?”
“Really.”
Lin Mo nodded solemnly. “And you did great. It was a job well done!”
Su Ran immediately broke into a smile through her tears, but she quickly turned away to face the wall to hide it.
“Lin Mo, I… I’m scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“Scared that you’ll hate me.”
Su Ran’s voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it pierced through Lin Mo’s heart like a sharp blade.
Just then, the bell rang for class.
Zhang Wei returned with red, swollen eyes, but she didn’t speak again.
The entire afternoon was strangely quiet in the classroom.
***
After school, Chen Yu was waiting for Lin Mo in the bike shed.
“Let’s talk.”
“Sure.”
They pushed their bikes out of the school gates and walked slowly down the street toward the setting sun.
“I saw it. The confrontation between Su Ran and Zhang Wei.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s pretty formidable.”
Chen Yu’s tone was much calmer than it had been that morning. “She actually made someone like Zhang Wei cry.”
Lin Mo didn’t comment on that.
Chen Yu stopped walking. “Can you tell me why the hell you’re protecting her so much? Don’t give me that stuff about her needing to be understood. That reason won’t work on me.”
Lin Mo frowned.
He couldn’t tell the truth, but he had to give Chen Yu an explanation. It had to be an explanation that Chen Yu could understand — or at least one that would make him stop opposing his relationship with Su Ran.
“Do you remember back in ninth grade, when my parents were getting a divorce?” Lin Mo said flatly.
Chen Yu was stunned for a moment. “Yeah, I remember. You were in a terrible mood back then, and your grades dropped.”
“At that time, everyone told me to study hard and not think too much. Only one person gave me a piece of candy when I was feeling my worst.”
Lin Mo smiled at Chen Yu, looking a bit sheepish. “Back then, she didn’t say anything, but… you know, I really needed that kind of care during that period.”
Chen Yu’s eyes widened. “That person was Su Ran?”
Lin Mo nodded and continued. “During the ninth grade sports meet, she fell and got hurt, and I took her to the infirmary. She was crying the whole way, so I gave her a piece of candy.”
“Later, on the day my parents were fighting, she waited for me at the school gate and gave me a piece of candy too.”
This was a true story, but Lin Mo had omitted some parts.
Back then, Su Ran had already started following him. Seeing that his mood was off, she had finally gathered the courage to give him the candy.
Furthermore, that piece of candy had been the exact same brand he had given her.
Chen Yu’s expression became complicated.
“Just because of that?” he asked.
“Is that not enough?”
Lin Mo said somewhat helplessly, “She comforted me when I was at my lowest. Looking back, that piece of candy really helped me a lot. Now that she’s the one suffering and being bullied, shouldn’t I help her?”
Chen Yu opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words.
“And do you know why she pays so much attention to me?”
“Why?”
“She has nothing besides the piano. Her mother controls her, her classmates isolate her, and she has no friends. To put it a bit dramatically, I’m the only light in her world.”
This was a slight exaggeration, but basically true.
Chen Yu’s expression shifted from confusion to understanding, then to sympathy.
“So you pity her?” he asked.
“I suppose, but mostly I see her as a friend.”
Lin Mo sighed softly toward the sky. “Since I’ve become her light, I have a responsibility not to let her down. I have a responsibility to teach her how to communicate normally, and a responsibility… to pull her back when she makes a mistake.”
“Just like how you pulled me back then.”
“If you hadn’t dragged me to play basketball and forced me to eat every day that year, I might have really collapsed.”
Chen Yu turned his face away, his voice suddenly sounding a bit raspy. “That’s different.”
Lin Mo laughed. “How is it different? Either way, it’s just us looking out for each other. It’s not like I’m going in one-against-five or trying to be some superhero. I have no interest in saving the world.”
‘You say you aren’t going in one-against-five, but you almost took out several people in a class of dozens.’
Chen Yu remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he let out a sigh. “Fine, I won’t stop you anymore. But promise me one thing.”
“If things ever get messy, tell me. We’ll figure something out together.”
Lin Mo smiled. “Sure.”
“Also, I don’t mean anything by this, but if Su Ran needs a psychiatrist, let me know. My older cousin knows some very good doctors.”
Lin Mo was taken aback for a moment, then he nodded solemnly.
The sun set in the west, casting the long, steady shadows of the two boys side by side on the ground.
When they reached the fork in the road, Chen Yu said, “Lunch together tomorrow?”
Lin Mo gave him a sidelong glance. “I don’t want to start any rumors with you.”
“Screw you.”
Chen Yu rode off on his bike, swearing under his breath.
Lin Mo smiled, a warm feeling rising in his chest.
Soon after, his phone vibrated as usual. It was a text from Su Ran.
‘I’ve decided. I’m not transferring.’
‘Really? Did your mom agree?’
‘Not yet, but I’ll convince her. I want to stay.’
‘Okay, I support you.’
‘And about Zhang Wei, I don’t want her to harass you anymore.’
Lin Mo stopped walking as he looked at the screen, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.
Was it coming?