Chapter 7

Along the way, Ling Mo just sat there at first. When the road got bumpy, he reached out and grabbed the head teacher’s sleeve tightly.

Teacher Huang, the head teacher, furrowed her brow.

She could feel the deep loneliness and unease hidden beneath this child’s calm exterior.

As Teacher Huang walked into Ling Mo’s room, she passed a trash can. Inside, there were torn pieces of paper with Ling Mo’s handwriting on them. It seemed that what Ling Mo said about Li Yuanhang deliberately tearing up his homework was probably true.

Teacher Huang clenched her fist. As soon as she opened the door, she was stunned.

The room had only a small bed and a desk for elementary school students, which was definitely not suitable for Ling Mo’s current height. There was only one small window in the room, it didn’t look like a room at all.

A rope was stretched across the diagonal of the room, with half-dry school uniforms hanging on it.

“They let you live here?”

“Mm.” Ling Mo nodded.

“Unbelievable!” A fire surged up in Teacher Huang’s head. She lowered her head and said to Ling Mo very seriously, “Don’t say anything. Today I will ask Director Lin from the Academic Affairs Office to come for a home visit together! I thought Li Yuanhang’s words were just bragging, but it turns out to be true! We have to let Chen Li and her husband know the seriousness of the situation! She even wants to be the liaison officer for the parent meeting, how can we agree? It’s not good for the students’ parents!”

At this time, Chen Li had already arrived at the grade office, and her son was standing there, head down, in front of a young female teacher. She handed Chen Li Li Yuanhang’s homework with a serious expression. Chen Li flipped it open and saw a sea of red.

Chen Li immediately became furious, “Li Yuanhang! Were you listening in class? How come you didn’t get a single question right?”

“It’s not just that, his homework was copied from Ling Mo!” Teacher Ding said.

“Copied from Ling Mo? That’s impossible.” Chen Li laughed, “If he copied Ling Mo’s homework, how could he get everything wrong?”

“Five students heard him say it with their own ears. He also said that Ling Mo wouldn’t let him copy it, so he beat up Ling Mo.”

As soon as Chen Li heard this, her face changed, and she grabbed Li Yuanhang’s ear, “I told you to stop bragging! You think you can beat Ling Mo? Teacher, don’t listen to his nonsense, he’s always been beaten by Ling Mo at home!”

“Ling Mo wouldn’t beat up your son, would he? And your son was doing great today, I saw Ling Mo’s eye socket was bruised during class.” The English teacher, who was grading homework, looked up and said.

“No, no, no, teacher, don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean that Ling Mo beat Yuanhang, I mean Yuanhang can’t beat Ling Mo, so Ling Mo’s eye wasn’t beaten by Yuanhang.”

“You’re changing the subject! Your son said in front of so many classmates that he copied Ling Mo’s homework, what do you have to say about that?” Teacher Ding pressed.

“Teacher, don’t be angry! It’s just that the child didn’t listen carefully in class and got all the questions wrong, and then he bragged and said he saw Ling Mo’s homework, that’s how it happened. The other classmates copied my Yuanhang’s homework, that’s because the other classmates have a bad learning attitude, we have to separate these things. I apologize to the teacher for my Li Yuanhang not paying attention in class! I’ll go home and personally discipline him, and watch him do his homework!”

Chen Li said this, and the young Teacher Ding opened her mouth, but she couldn’t speak.

After a few pleasantries, when Chen Li and Li Yuanhang reached the door of the office, the English teacher, who had been grading homework with her head down, looked up and said, “Actually, whether or not you can do your homework is not a big deal, the teacher can explain it a thousand times, ten thousand times, it doesn’t matter. But if a person’s character is bad from the root, then no one can save them.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Li’s face darkened. She pulled on Li Yuanhang and replied respectfully, “The teacher is right, we parents will definitely pay attention!”

After leaving the teaching building, Chen Li couldn’t help but slap her son hard on the back of the head.

“Do you have a problem with your brain? How could you say in front of so many classmates that you beat up Ling Mo! Are you better at school than Ling Mo? Or do you think the teacher likes you more than Ling Mo?”

“Mom… but Ling Mo is framing me… He deliberately prepared a homework paper with all the wrong answers for me…” Li Yuanhang was very unwilling.

At this time, another woman in a long dress and elegant temperament walked towards them. She smiled slightly at Chen Li.

Chen Li immediately smiled, “Director Lu, hello! I didn’t expect to see you here! Are you here to pick up Chen Qiao?”

This Director Lu was the office director of Chen Li’s unit, and she was also Chen Qiao’s mother, Lu Yuehua.

“I can’t help it, my Chen Qiao heard that he copied your Li Yuanhang’s homework, and it’s become common knowledge.” Lu Yuehua’s words were polite, but Chen Li had a bad feeling.

“It’s Yuanhang’s fault! He shouldn’t have given his homework to Chen Qiao to copy! Director Lu, don’t mind it!”

“So, it’s all Chen Qiao’s fault? How come I also heard that you’re not as good to Ling Mo as you say all day long? Li Yuanhang wants to hit him, so he hits him, you don’t want to feed the child, so you don’t feed the child? My Chen Qiao is not good at studying, but he’s been in middle school for so long, this is the first time he’s been in trouble to the point of calling parents. It seems that as the saying goes, ‘If you associate with the virtuous, you will be virtuous; if you associate with the wicked, you will be wicked.'” Lu Yuehua was still smiling, but her eyebrows were raised, implying something.

“Director Lu, it’s really just the child’s careless words! Don’t believe him!”

Li Yuanhang, behind Chen Li, wanted to argue, but Chen Li stopped him, the more you say, the more mistakes you make.

“Who knows if it’s the child’s careless words? It’s just that our unit’s outstanding employee for the half-year is not only evaluated based on work performance, but also character. Meng Fei’s father is also a middle-level cadre in the unit, this time he also came to school to pick up his child, and he was scolded by the teacher. Even if I’m willing to vote for you, Manager Meng will be uncomfortable, right? I haven’t even opened the perfume you gave me last time, just looking at the packaging makes it feel too expensive. I’ll have Chen Qiao send it back to you tomorrow.”

After saying that, Lu Yuehua walked away.

“Director Lu! Director Lu! Listen to me!”

Lu Yuehua waved her hand, meaning that this matter is over.

Chen Li was so angry she wanted to give Li Yuanhang a big slap.

“You little rascal! Now are you satisfied! I’ve told you countless times to be nice to Ling Mo in front of people! Now you’ve done it! Do you know how important this outstanding employee for the half-year is to your mother! You made a director and a manager come to school and be scolded by a young teacher! Do you know how embarrassing this is! She’ll definitely remember!” Chen Li’s tears were about to fall.

“Mom! Why are you blaming me! Ling Mo is framing me!”

“You’re just stupid! Let’s go! Go home!”

In the evening, Chen Li, for the first time ever, steamed some buns, and put one for Li Yuanhang and one for Ling Mo.

Ling Mo didn’t want to eat, he had eaten Chen Li’s buns, he had to at least repay her with a piece of gold, so he just looked on calmly.

“Xiaomo… can you do Auntie a favor?”

“Auntie, tell me.”

“It’s just that Yuanhang’s dad has been saying he wants to eat lotus root and pork buns, can you do me a favor and take them to the factory? He won’t be back until Friday, and I heard that the food at the factory isn’t very good, it’s not oily, and the buns are all cabbage-filled. Your uncle said he’s going crazy wanting to eat some meat… I was going to take them to him myself, but I got a call from the teacher and rushed to pick up Yuanhang, and I twisted my ankle…”

Chen Li looked very careful.

And she also emphasized that she twisted her ankle because she was in a hurry to answer the teacher’s call, implying that if it wasn’t for Ling Mo framing Li Yuanhang, she wouldn’t have twisted her ankle, and Ling Mo should be responsible for this.

“Okay.” Ling Mo lowered his head.

“Sigh, Xiaomo is such a good kid, if only your cousin was half as sensible as you!”

Li Yuanhang, who was standing beside him, was unhappy at first when he heard Chen Li praise Ling Mo, but after ten seconds, he figured something out and showed a smug expression.

Watching Ling Mo go out, Li Yuanhang ran over and hugged Chen Li.

“Mom is still the best! It takes more than an hour to take the bus to Dad’s factory!”

“Wait for him to go there, and when he comes back, the last bus is gone. Let’s see how he gets back. That’s what you call a warning! Let’s see if he’ll cause trouble anymore!”

Ling Mo left home and got on the bus. He yawned with his eyes closed and fell asleep against the window without a second thought.

When he got to the terminal, he didn’t go to Li Yuanhang’s father’s factory, but got on the bus back and fell asleep against the window again.

The corners of Ling Mo’s lips curled up slightly, the streetlights swept across his face, flickering on and off.

Sometimes gloomy, as if countless undercurrents were churning in the shadows.

Sometimes bright, like thousands of wings struggling to fly into the air.

Just as Chen Li was sitting on the sofa watching TV, there was a knock on the door.

Chen Li looked at the time, thinking that Ling Mo couldn’t have come back so soon, could he?

So she got up, opened the door, and found Li Yuanhang’s head teacher and the director of the Academic Affairs Office standing outside.

“Oh my! Why are you two teachers here? Is it because of Yuanhang’s mistake this afternoon?”

The director of the Academic Affairs Office smiled, “Yuanhang’s mom, don’t be nervous, I’m Lin Yuan, the director of the Education Department of the school, and this is Teacher Huang, the head teacher. We’re here to implement a work requirement from the Ministry of Education, requiring the school to achieve a 60% home visit rate before the end of this month. You see, you have two students, we definitely have to come and see you first.”

“Oh… I see, Director Lin, Teacher Huang, please come in! Please come in!”

The director of the Academic Affairs Office and Teacher Huang took a look at Li Yuanhang’s room and retreated.

“Then let’s go and see Ling Mo.” Director Lin said to Chen Li, who was preparing tea.

“Oh… Xiaomo, he went out to deliver food to his uncle. Because I twisted my ankle and it’s inconvenient, and Xiaomo finished his homework, so I asked him to run an errand. Otherwise, can the two teachers come back tomorrow?”

Chen Li’s heart started to race. Ling Mo wouldn’t be back for a while, and if the two teachers knew that she had asked Ling Mo to go so far to deliver something, who knows what gossip would spread.

“Ling Mo wouldn’t be back until nine or ten o’clock, would he? Teacher Huang and I will just wait for him.” Director Lin said.

Chen Li became uneasy, after all, compared to Li Yuanhang’s room, Chen Mo’s room was too small, and if the teachers, especially the director of the Academic Affairs Office, saw it, it would inevitably lead to bad associations.

But no matter what Chen Li said, Teacher Huang and Director Lin meant to see this most outstanding student in the grade.

Chen Li was on pins and needles, thinking, how could it be that they came for a home visit today? And it’s the director of the Academic Affairs Office, why does she feel like Teacher Huang deliberately chose today?

Hopefully, Ling Mo will think it’s too far and come back himself halfway.

But that’s unlikely. Ling Mo is so stubborn, how could he turn back halfway?

He could call back from the factory to report that he’s safe, and then she could make an excuse to tell the teachers that his uncle will personally take him to school tomorrow morning, and he’ll sleep at the factory tonight.

But the problem is… the factory is having a technical study session, and besides the old man guarding the gate, there’s no one else… Even if Ling Mo gets there, he won’t have a place to make a call. She’s deliberately making Ling Mo go to the factory for nothing!

Sigh, what bad luck!

At this time, Ling Mo had already gotten off the bus coming back. He passed a small store, looked at the clock inside, it was only 9:30, not late enough, he had to go back a little later.

He carried the thermos, his hand in his pocket, and strolled down the street.

It had been raining for the past few days, today was finally a sunny day, and there were few clouds at night. Looking up, you could still see a few faint stars.

At this time, Qu Yun was sitting at his desk, bored. He had flipped open his math homework, and as always, he got stuck on the third to last problem.

When you have no idea, racking your brains is just self-torture, so Qu Yun let himself go, propping his head up and staring out the window.

Even the internet wasn’t very developed in this era, let alone smartphones. Qu Yun yawned boredly, glanced out the window, and saw Ling Mo’s familiar back.

He was alone, the thermos swinging with his steps, walking under the cold streetlights.

He didn’t look lonely, but rather like he was enjoying it all.

Qu Yun thought about everything that happened during the day, and suddenly felt like he had been injected with a shot of adrenaline. He jumped up, opened the door, and rushed out.

“Xiaobai – it’s so late, where are you going?”

“I saw my classmate downstairs, I’m going to find him!” Qu Yun ran downstairs, afraid that he would be too slow and Ling Mo would be gone, and he wouldn’t be able to catch up.

As he ran, he felt the flesh on his belly jiggling.

Sigh! I have to lose weight! I can’t keep going like this, it’s not going to be good for my future, I won’t be able to keep up with the times!

Finally, at the corner, Qu Yun was finally about to catch up with Ling Mo. It felt like he had been ambushed in the forest for days and nights, and finally his target appeared, he could pull the trigger!

“Ling Mo!”

He couldn’t help but call out that name, with a hint of excitement.

Ling Mo furrowed his brow, but he pretended not to hear and continued walking forward.

Based on his speed and his weight, Qu Yun knew that if Ling Mo picked up his pace, he would be left behind again.

“The money in your pocket fell out!” Qu Yun shouted.

Ling Mo finally stopped and turned around.

“Idiot, I don’t have any money in my pocket.”

Whether you have money or not, you’re stopping to talk to me, which means you’re willing to talk to me!

“It’s so late, why are you wandering around alone?” Qu Yun said happily.

“Aren’t you wandering around alone late at night?” Ling Mo’s voice was soft.

“Well, I saw you from the window and came down. What’s wrong, did your aunt kick you out?”

Qu Yun had thought about whether he should use a more tactful way to care about Ling Mo, but then he thought, forget it.

The more tactful you are, the more hypocritical you’ll appear in his eyes, it’s better to be straightforward.

“So?” Ling Mo looked indifferent, but he didn’t ignore Qu Yun.

“So, do you want to come to my house? I just finished half of my math homework, and I can’t do the last three problems, can you teach me?”

“Didn’t I tell you to give up?”

“Give up what? Maybe in your mind, everyone who’s not as smart as you is an idiot. I don’t want to reach your level, I just want to at least be able to finish my homework and turn it in. My mom is going to give me a midnight snack again, if I eat any more, I’m really going to have the Big Three. You might as well help me digest it?” Qu Yun said in a completely buddy-buddy tone.

Actually, Qu Yun had discovered from the bun incident this afternoon that Ling Mo was much more patient with people who were straightforward and told the truth, even if it was an unpleasant truth, than those who were tactful and pretended to be good people.

“What do you really want?” Ling Mo asked.

“You’re walking around the street with a thermos, you must be killing time, right? I remember the weather forecast said there would be a shower tonight, are you sure you want to keep wandering around? Maybe by the time the shower comes, you won’t have any dry school uniforms to wear tomorrow?”

Ling Mo still didn’t move. He was wary of everyone who got close to him, which was why so many elites had entered his subconscious but couldn’