Chapter 120

“Excuse me.”

Mo Yin lowered his hand and calmly moved aside.

Li Xiu used the keys to unlock the laboratory door and then went to unlock the cabinet under the workbench.

Mo Yin leaned against the wall by the laboratory door, peering inside. Li Xiu’s every move and expression seemed perfectly legitimate, likely under the teacher’s orders to check the equipment.

A bitter taste surged in Mo Yin’s heart. His fingers curled behind his back as he watched Li Xiu move around the lab effortlessly. He couldn’t quite tell if it was jealousy or something else, but right then, he wished the lab would explode and turn Li Xiu into pieces.

But the lab didn’t explode, and everything seemed fine. Li Xiu methodically locked each cabinet again, and when he reached the front row, he looked up towards the lab door.

This time, Mo Yin didn’t avoid his gaze, staring back coldly.

Earlier, Li Xiu had accused him of wanting to sneak in, a baseless assumption and rude remark. If it had been anyone else, Mo Yin might have ignored it, unwilling to waste energy on petty conflicts. But because it was Li Xiu, Mo Yin felt compelled to strike back.

Li Xiu squatted behind the workbench, his tall figure looming even while crouched. “Want to come in?”

Mo Yin hesitated. He wanted to enter, but not under Li Xiu’s permission. Anyone else would do, just not Li Xiu.

Seeing Mo Yin’s silence, Li Xiu closed the cabinet and locked it.

He locked it meticulously and slowly, the keys clinking in the lock cylinder. Mo Yin couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He turned and walked towards the stairwell, descending to the classroom via the skybridge. The classroom was empty when he arrived. Mo Yin sat down at his desk, opened the problem set, tapped his pen twice, his expression growing increasingly grim.

He wouldn’t lose to Li Xiu. Even if Li Xiu was ahead in every aspect, even if he had better conditions in every way, Mo Yin would surpass him.

Clutching the pen tightly, his nerves were on edge. Mo Yin knew this was a sign of excessive pressure. Yesterday, during the test, he had watched the teacher collect Li Xiu’s paper. Li Xiu seemed to glance back at him, or maybe he didn’t—it was hard to tell.

Mo Yin kept his interactions with classmates almost emotionless.

They were not in the same world as him.

Even if he succeeded in the future, they wouldn’t understand him. Like Zhong Jiaming, who had looked at him with undisguised sympathy today, thinking he was pitiful, with poor family conditions and bad social skills, only good at studying, offering attention like he was some kind of savior. It must have felt good.

He didn’t care about their feelings and didn’t want to meet their expectations, to be a pitiful creature grateful for any attention.

They were the ones who were pitiful.

Mo Yin dared to say that if they were in his shoes, they would find life a hundred times harder than him. Just ascending from a mediocre middle school to a prestigious one like this was a miracle.

Thinking this, Mo Yin gained some confidence. If he could create one miracle, he could create another, couldn’t he?

As for Li Xiu, although he was arrogant and looked down on him now, when Mo Yin surpassed him, Li Xiu wouldn’t be able to laugh anymore.

A smile crept back onto Mo Yin’s face. He bit his lip lightly, imagining the defeated expression on Li Xiu’s face when he realized Mo Yin had taken away his two-year reign as top student in the school. The smile on his lips turned sweet.

After evening self-study ended, Mo Yin took the bus home. Many cars lined the roads near the school gate, and tomorrow was a holiday—each fortnight, the school had a day off. The physics teacher had already informed them to gather at the office tomorrow.

A black car pulled out from the roadside. Mo Yin saw Li Xiu walk towards it. His footsteps halted, and he squinted—he had good eyesight. The driver wasn’t Li Xiu’s father whom he had seen at the hotel last time; it was a middle-aged man with a somewhat balding head.

Mo Yin thought maliciously to himself: “Maybe diplomats’ families are all fake. Li Xiu is probably kept by this middle-aged man.”

But that couldn’t be true.

Li Xiu came from a respectable family. Mo Yin had seen them before — his tall father in a sharp suit and his beautiful, elegant mother in a light pink long skirt.

“Li Xiu,” the driver glanced back in the rearview mirror cheerfully, “are you really applying to stay at the dormitory?”

“Senior year is too intense. Staying at school is more convenient.”

Li Xiu looked out of the car window.

There were many people at the bus stop, a slender figure standing in front, reading under a street lamp.

Mo Yin smirked, thinking about the person who had solemnly said during the day, “Entering the lab without permission is against the rules.” “Uncle Chen, please stop.”

“Huh?”

The driver reacted quickly and pulled over.

“What’s wrong?” the driver asked.

“Just pull over to the side.”

The driver didn’t say more and parked the car by the roadside.

Li Xiu leaned against the window, looking out, and the driver did the same. They only saw the bus arrive, and people crowded to get on.

When the bus arrived, Mo Yin closed his book and held it in his hand. He blended into the crowd and got on the bus. It was a holiday today, so many students were taking the bus. He kept his head down, shoulders bumping into people. Someone in front glanced back at him, but Mo Yin paid no attention. Squeezing onto the bus, he slipped his book under his arm, swiping his card with a ‘beep’. Laughter reached his ears, but Mo Yin remained indifferent.

He had been caught skipping fare once before by a classmate. The look of surprise and disdain had hit him sharply. If you’re going to do something bad, why be afraid of being caught? Thin-skinned people wouldn’t dare, but so what if they found out? At most, they’d mock him a bit. It didn’t matter. Public transportation was subsidized by the government. Saving a couple bucks wouldn’t stop the bus from running. Those few dollars could buy him a decent breakfast. So in the end, spending that money on himself was more worthwhile than tossing it into the bus fare box.

He didn’t blush at all. Mo Yin sat proudly in a window seat and continued reading.

Someone stood by the door, blocking his light. Mo Yin looked up and saw a boy with lots of pimples on his face. The boy curled his lips in a mocking smile.

Mo Yin turned his head, using the light from outside to read. He remembered Li Xiu laughing at him in the lab during the day. Though Mo Yin found it annoying, compared to this boy, Li Xiu didn’t seem so bad.

“Let’s go,” Li Xiu said to the driver as the bus pulled away.

The driver started the car, quickly catching up to and surpassing the bus. Mo Yin’s figure, sitting by the window reading, flashed past Li Xiu’s eyes.

The rumors about him weren’t wrong. He really did skip fare.

*

The house felt quiet with only one person. Mo Yin brought water from the public sink in the corridor, washed up, and returned to his room. After cleaning himself, he ate a bowl of hot instant noodles and lay on the bed, feeling satisfied.

Everything was moving in the right direction.

Tomorrow was school training. He had to stand out. Dropping out temporarily last year had already left a bad impression with the teachers. Today, Li Xiu came to check the lab. They would probably use it tomorrow. Mo Yin wasn’t very familiar with the lab procedures. Would he stumble?

Mo Yin raised his hand and stared at his palm in the darkness for a while. Then he turned over.

The curtain was still hanging between the two beds.

The room was very dark, and he couldn’t see anything.

After moving to the school dormitory, he could return this place. Rent was paid monthly, and there were still twelve days left. He would have to find a way to get the landlord to refund him. The landlord probably wouldn’t want to, so he needed to think of a solution.

Unintentionally, he slowly fell asleep. Today’s room smelled like beef, very fragrant.

The alarm clock rang, and Mo Yin leaped out of bed, washed up, ate breakfast, and smiled. At the sink, he met the neighbor from next door. Seeing him so cheerful, the neighbor still felt a bit uneasy. He couldn’t forget the car from the courthouse a few days ago that had taken the father away from the father and son next door.

The man had screamed particularly loudly, naked, flailing his arms and legs like he’d gone mad.

“He’s definitely a lunatic if Stone Yard took him away.”

“He never noticed before! He thought that person was just moody and eccentric, who knew he actually had a problem…”

“The child is very bright, but his personality is also strange. I wonder if he inherited some issues.”

Mo Yin noticed the scrutiny from his neighbors, but as usual, he didn’t care.

The weather was nice, a bit hot, which Mo Yin liked because he wasn’t afraid of heat.

He arrived at school by bus, and glanced at the clock on the tower near the school gate—it was only 7:37. The teachers had set the gathering time at eight-thirty, wanting the hardworking senior three students to get a little extra sleep during their rare break.

Mo Yin entered the school with his backpack, heading towards the meeting room.

The meeting room door was still closed. He leaned against the wall, reading a book, feeling very comfortable and calm inside. His fingers were a bit numb, with a hint of nervousness, fearing he might not perform well in today’s experiment.

There were seven people; he didn’t know how they would be grouped—pairs or threes. There would be an extra person left, so he would be that extra person. He didn’t want to cooperate with others; he preferred to work alone.

The teaching building was quiet. Mo Yin silently read his book, finding this solitary time particularly peaceful.

Time passed unnoticed. He was sure he was far ahead in the question bank compared to the others, which motivated him greatly to immerse himself in studying. No one else had arrived yet, indicating he was more than just a little ahead; they all wanted to sleep a bit more, but not him.

While working on a practical question, his phone in his pocket vibrated.

It shook once and then resumed with a steady rhythm.

Someone was calling him.

Mo Yin hesitated for a moment, instantly feeling a bit stiff.

Generally, no one called him. He had no friends and rarely exchanged numbers with anyone. The only one who had his number and would keep pestering him was Zhou Ren, but he had scared Zhou Ren away a few days ago, leaving him in a panic without looking back. So who else could be calling him?

Mo Yin took out his phone.

It was the number he had expected.

He didn’t want to answer, staring fixedly at the phone screen as it continued vibrating. Footsteps approached, and Mo Yin put down his phone, looking up.

Zhong Jiaming had arrived.

Seeing Mo Yin, Zhong Jiaming felt odd. He didn’t greet him or come closer, maintaining a distance, leaning against the teaching building’s balcony.

Mo Yin continued reading with his head lowered. The words in the book suddenly seemed to shake. He couldn’t concentrate; his temples tightened, feeling very nervous.

The phone vibrated again, just once this time, probably a missed call followed by a text message.

Mo Yin ignored it.

What could it be? He had already reached this point; it was no longer his concern. He had already freed himself.

His heart gradually calmed down.

Voices came from downstairs again. Mo Yin looked down; other students and teachers had arrived.

“Today, we’re mainly here to take you to the laboratory for some practical teaching.”

The physics teacher walked at the front. Mo Yin walked among the crowd, still not looking at his phone.

In the laboratory, the physics teacher said they would group up. “There are enough workstations for you all. How about pairing up—does that work for you?”

The students naturally had no objections.

“This time, the numbers are awkward. Someone will have to work alone, or we could add another group of three. You can decide on your own; I won’t interfere,” said the physics teacher to assert his stance before leaving the lab.

“Let’s team up!”

Li Xiu was bumped by Zhang Qiyuan, a classmate, on the shoulder. He looked at the person standing alone in the front row; his classmates had already walked away to find other partners. It was clear he was left out, his face hidden by his drooping head.

Maybe he was smirking.

Li Xiu remembered the eager expression on his face at the laboratory door yesterday. He said to Zhang Qiyuan, “You go with Song Ziyi.”

Zhong Jiaming directly found students from another class to team up with, showing very decisive and determined actions. Once the teacher closed the door, he walked in the opposite direction of Mo Yin, making exaggerated movements as he invited others, while keeping an eye on Mo Yin from the corner of his eye, wanting Mo Yin to know he had missed a good chance to make a friend.

“Sure enough, no one paid attention to Mo Yin.

Zhong Jiaming felt a bit relieved and a bit soft-hearted. Just as he was hesitating whether to give Mo Yin another chance, he saw Li Xiu walking over.

“Let’s team up.”

Mo Yin was lost in thought with his head down. When Li Xiu spoke to him, he didn’t realize it at first. When he reacted, he turned his head and looked at him with wide eyes.

Li Xiu said, “There are three of us from our class, so I’m the extra one.”

“You can go find someone else,” Mo Yin turned his head stiffly, “I’ll manage alone.”

“Operating alone, sometimes you might make mistakes without realizing it, relying only on the teacher’s reminders.”

Mo Yin frowned slightly. He hadn’t considered this initially. What if he made a mistake later, and the teacher kept noticing his errors? Would it worsen the impression of him?

“I often do physics experiments,” Li Xiu said, “how about we collaborate?”

Mo Yin’s fingers curled slightly on the workstation. Although he didn’t want to admit it, Li Xiu was probably better than him in this aspect. That’s okay; he’ll learn from his operations. “Fine,” he looked up at Li Xiu, “we’ll split the operating time in half, you go first, and then I’ll follow. We’ll time it then.” He openly laid out his thoughts without reservation.

Li Xiu smiled and nodded, “Sure.”

Mo Yin nodded back.

“You seem to value rules and regulations a lot,” Li Xiu’s tone seemed teasing.

“Isn’t that how experiments should be done?” Mo Yin responded coldly.

Li Xiu raised an eyebrow and nodded, “Oh, you’re right.”

He doesn’t even flinch when he skips fares.

Li Xiu smiled again. He’s tall, and when he laughs with his head down, Mo Yin thinks of a giraffe lowering its head to drink water.

“And, please be serious and focused during the experiment,” Mo Yin added seriously, “no giggling or fooling around, or else we shouldn’t team up.”

Mo Yin didn’t know why Li Xiu wanted to team up with him, maybe to mock him. But regardless, since Li Xiu took the initiative, Mo Yin had the right to make demands.

Even if Li Xiu didn’t team up with him, Zhong Jiaming would probably be willing to.

Mo Yin finally remembered the somewhat unfamiliar classmate’s name and accurately found Zhong Jiaming’s face across the workstation. Zhong Jiaming’s expression was a bit strange, but Mo Yin didn’t mind. He asked Li Xiu, “Do you agree?”

Li Xiu pressed his lips together and nodded silently in response to Mo Yin.