After school the next afternoon, Lin Mo accompanied Su Ran to the music conservatory.
On the way, he intentionally took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Su Ran had a very good figure. Her height was already 1.67 meters. Her stunning curves filled out her well-fitting shirt, perfectly showcasing the allure of the school uniform.
No matter how one looked at it, Su Ran was already a young woman.
However, Lin Mo’s jacket still felt loose on her.
Combined with her doll-like, almost expressionless, and exquisite face, the oversized jacket added a cool yet dorky contrast to her appearance. She drew plenty of attention as they walked down the street, possessing the kind of charm that felt almost criminal.
The key was that she was completely unaware of it. She kept pulling the collar of the jacket up to hide half of her face whenever Lin Mo wasn’t looking, secretly indulging in his warmth and scent lingering in the fabric.
She thought she was being sneaky, but Lin Mo had noticed her little movements long ago.
Yandere behavior from someone at the level of a school beauty was truly something else.
He was afraid that if he looked a few more times, he wouldn’t be able to help himself, and even more afraid that if he teased her too much, she would get shy and drag him into a small alleyway.
Just like their other classmates, Lin Mo hadn’t paid much attention to Su Ran in the past. These last few days, however, he found her more and more precious. From time to time, he would catch himself cursing his past self.
‘How could I have missed such a treasure of a girl? I must have been blind.’
“Su Ran.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you a reincarnated succubus?”
“???”
—
Inside the music conservatory, Zhou Muyuan had his own classroom, which also served as a piano room.
On the third floor, they arrived at the door.
Su Ran pursed her lips tightly, her good mood sinking to the bottom.
Lin Mo naturally took her hand and spoke as if coaxing a baby, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Su Ran’s mood instantly shifted from cloudy to sunny, and she finally gathered the courage to knock on the door.
The door opened quickly. When Zhou Muyuan saw Su Ran, he immediately flashed a warm smile. However, when his gaze landed on Lin Mo, his smile dimmed. “Student Lin Mo came as well.”
“Hey, I just missed you, Teacher Zhou.”
Lin Mo intentionally raised their intertwined hands and pointed into the room. “Can I come in?”
Only then did Zhou Muyuan notice their fingers were locked together. Their relationship seemed to have grown even more intimate.
The smile completely vanished from his face, and his elegant expression turned somewhat gloomy. However, he couldn’t bring himself to kick someone out to their face, so he eventually nodded and stepped aside.
Once they entered and the door closed, the atmosphere became heavy.
The tension was subtle but stifling. It was as if a bottle of vinegar had been smashed, flooding the entire room and making it hard to breathe.
Just like before, Lin Mo led Su Ran to the piano and sat her down. He stood behind her like a personal bodyguard, protecting her from a close distance.
As per usual, Zhou Muyuan went over the lesson plan, and then Su Ran began to play.
It was still the Revolutionary Etude, but the tempo had increased.
Lin Mo didn’t know what the point of such practice was; Su Ran was playing very fast and very frantically.
It didn’t sound artistic at all. Instead, it sounded like a chase between two madmen.
Suddenly, Zhou Muyuan barked out a stop, “Wrong! This part needs more power! Like this!”
As he reached out his hand, Lin Mo grabbed Su Ran’s shoulders and pulled her back a bit.
Then the sound of a demonstration echoed — heavier and louder.
Su Ran leaned back completely into Lin Mo’s embrace. Only after Zhou Muyuan withdrew his hand did she frown and say, “Teacher, playing like that… my wrist hurts a little.”
“You must persevere even if it hurts! A true pianist finishes the piece even if they are bleeding!”
Zhou Muyuan was no longer gentle. He was so harsh that Lin Mo wanted to give him a punch and ask after his entire family.
Su Ran didn’t give Lin Mo the chance. She placed her hands on the black and white keys again.
The music started, but this time it was noticeably unstable. She hit several wrong notes in a row.
“Stop!”
Zhou Muyuan pushed his glasses up, his eyes turning sharp. “Su Ran, what’s going on? This isn’t your usual level. Are you nervous because Student Lin Mo is here?”
“No…”
Before Su Ran could finish, Zhou Muyuan cut her off harshly, “Yes, it is!”
“Your mother told me everything. Delivering lunch boxes, dating — these are all a waste of time!”
“That is my business, and I haven’t wasted any time.”
Su Ran leaned back into Lin Mo’s chest, her tone very calm.
The corner of Zhou Muyuan’s eye twitched imperceptibly, a prelude to a possible explosion.
He completely ignored Lin Mo’s existence and questioned her in a low voice, “Since you’ve come to learn piano from me, I have the right to be responsible for you. Why did you bring him here? Why do you insist on letting him affect you?”
Lin Mo acted as if he hadn’t heard a word, placing his hands on Su Ran’s shoulders and gently kneading them to help her relax.
“He doesn’t affect me.”
Su Ran turned her head to look at Zhou Muyuan and said word for word, “He wants to hear me play, and I want to play for him. He’s the only one who understands my music. Is that not allowed?”
The room suddenly fell silent.
Right in front of Zhou Muyuan, Lin Mo gave Su Ran a thumbs-up.
When it came to destroying someone’s heart, who could do it better than a master?
Seeing this, Zhou Muyuan let out a cold laugh. “He understands? Su Ran, you’re too naive. He’s just trying to please you. Once you become famous, he’ll just ride your coattails…”
“Teacher Zhou!”
Su Ran interrupted him as well. Her voice rose, and her gaze turned cold.
She slowly stood up and stared fixedly at the increasingly unfamiliar Zhou Muyuan. She spoke with abnormal calmness, “I think you’ve misunderstood something, both about me and about Lin Mo.”
“I am only your student. And Lin Mo isn’t trying to ride my coattails. Right now, I’m just an ordinary high school student. I have no fame, no money, and nothing else.”
“Just because you don’t have it now doesn’t mean you won’t in the future!”
Zhou Muyuan was suppressing a fire in his heart. Countless words were stuck in his throat, and in the end, they only came out as a paranoid interrogation, “What can he give you? Can he make you an international pianist? Can he put you on the world stage? No! Only I can!”
“I don’t need all that.”
Su Ran gripped the sleeves of the jacket and stood her ground. “I only want to play my piano for the people I want to play for. I don’t have to achieve anything, and I don’t need a world-class stage.”
“As long as I want to, and as long as I practice well, anywhere is my stage.”
“Also, I am not your creation, nor am I your tool. If you want to stand on the international stage, then go by yourself.”
Those words were incredibly harsh, bordering on disrespecting her master.
Zhou Muyuan looked at Su Ran in disbelief. The room once again fell into a deathly silence.
Lin Mo was afraid that if Su Ran lost her temper, she might actually eat Zhou Muyuan alive, so he let out a small, “Uh…”
Before he could speak, Zhou Muyuan snapped with a dark face, “Who told you that you could open your mouth?”
“What the hell?!”
Lin Mo’s eyes widened in shock. He reached back and pulled Su Ran behind him. “I wasn’t going to hold it against you, but you’re really pushing your luck, aren’t you?”
Zhou Muyuan sneered, “I am teaching my student! It is not your place to butt in!”
Lin Mo was so angry he laughed. “Teaching? You call that teaching? You don’t look like a teacher at all, so why are you faking it? It was fine when you ignored me, but now you’re scolding my Little Succubus right in front of me? Who the hell do you think you are?”
The words ‘Little Succubus’ were like two arrows shot with perfect precision.
The first person hit was Su Ran.
She shuddered, her dissatisfaction with Zhou Muyuan instantly thrown to the back of her mind. Her face turned red at a visible speed, and she secretly pinched Lin Mo from behind.
Zhou Muyuan was also stunned. It took him a moment to realize what kind of ‘succubus’ Lin Mo meant, but it was too late.
Lin Mo was a blunt speaker and felt much better after getting that off his chest. He turned around and led Su Ran toward the door. As they walked, he continued to scold her, “What kind of shitty teacher did you find? You’re essentially paying for someone to yell at you. And your mother too… next time, tell her to pay me. I’ll give her a piece of my mind!”
Su Ran was pulled along, following his quick steps. Despite being scolded, she lowered her head, looking incredibly obedient.
Only Zhou Muyuan, standing to the side, saw it.
Su Ran’s ears were bright red, and the corners of her mouth were slightly curled upward. She actually looked happy to be scolded.
What was wrong with her?
What kind of spell had Lin Mo cast on her?
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