Lin Mo’s back began to break into a cold sweat.
It seemed he really had mentioned that. That night, Su Qing had asked him how the group study session was going, and he had casually expressed his admiration.
But at the time, he was purely impressed by Shen Qingyue’s study habits; he didn’t mean anything else by it. Those weren’t even his exact words.
However, coming from Su Qing’s mouth in this setting, using that specific tone…
“I also tried to learn from Classmate Shen’s cleverness.”
Su Qing sighed, her tone helpless.
“As a result, I ended up neglecting my work for the Student Council. Some things, it seems, really can’t be learned.”
A dead silence fell over the private room.
Wang Hao and Li Wei finally sensed something was wrong. The two exchanged a look and buried their heads in their food, not daring to interject.
Shen Qingyue picked up her teacup and took a small sip.
As she set the cup down, she raised her eyes and looked directly at Su Qing for the first time.
“President Su doesn’t need to learn from anyone,” she said softly.
“Everyone has their own rhythm and traits. Forcing yourself to change will only make you lose your own advantages.”
She paused, her gaze shifting toward Lin Mo before quickly darting away.
“Like… even though Classmate Lin Mo occasionally zones out, his way of understanding problems is very unique. He always sees angles that others overlook. That is also his strength.”
As she spoke, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
Lin Mo was stunned.
He hadn’t expected Shen Qingyue to notice that—a small habit he hadn’t even realized he had himself.
When solving physics problems, he really didn’t like following the conventional methods. He always preferred thinking of “unorthodox” ways, which had resulted in him being criticized by teachers more than a few times.
But she said it was a strength.
Shen Qingyue lowered her head immediately after finishing, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the rim of her teacup.
She realized she had said too much, especially in front of Su Qing. Evaluating Lin Mo so bluntly…
The redness from her ears spread down to her neck.
Wang Hao finally found an opportunity to jump in and quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Right, right, right! Lin Mo’s brain is really flexible! During that last problem, the teacher explained three solutions, and he actually squeezed out a fourth one—even though he got the math wrong in the end, haha!”
The awkward atmosphere eased slightly.
Su Qing smiled while listening. Once Wang Hao finished, she elegantly picked up a small piece of fish, ate it slowly, and dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
“Speaking of which,” she said, setting the napkin down and looking at Shen Qingyue with a gaze as gentle as a senior caring for a junior, “Representative Shen is so outstanding and cares so much about her classmates. At school… there must be many people who like you, right?”
Shen Qingyue looked up, a trace of alertness flashing behind her glasses.
“However, it is our senior year,” Su Qing continued to smile, her tone as tender as if she were sharing a heart-to-heart. “It’s better to focus on your studies. After all, at this stage, any distraction could affect your future.”
Her gaze swept lightly over Lin Mo before returning to Shen Qingyue’s face.
“Lest… some simple-minded dummies get the wrong idea and have unnecessary misunderstandings.”
She said the word “dummy” very lightly and softly, as if it were a joke.
But Lin Mo understood.
Shen Qingyue understood even better.
There is nothing scarier than a sudden silence.
Shen Qingyue’s hands, resting on her lap, slowly tightened into fists.
She looked up at Su Qing for a long time before slowly nodding.
“…Thank you for the reminder, President,” Shen Qingyue said softly.
The smile on Su Qing’s face finally reached a perfect arc.
She checked her phone and stood up.
“It’s getting late; I should head back.”
She picked up the document folder and handed it to Lin Mo. “Remember to fill out the information.”
Then she turned to Shen Qingyue and nodded politely. “Thank you for the treat, Representative Shen.”
Finally, she leaned down and whispered into Lin Mo’s ear. It was a voice soft enough to drip with honey, yet loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Come over to my house tonight. My mom made soup.”
With that, she straightened up, gave Wang Hao and Li Wei a small smile, and turned to leave the room.
The door clicked shut softly.
Four people remained in the room, and for a long time, no one spoke.
—
By the time they walked out of the restaurant, the sky was pitch black.
Su Qing was waiting at the entrance. Seeing Lin Mo come out, she naturally walked to his side.
“Let’s go,” she said, reaching out to naturally straighten his collar.
Lin Mo stood stiffly, allowing her to do so.
He glanced back at the restaurant entrance. Shen Qingyue and Li Wei were walking out together while Wang Hao was hailing a taxi by the roadside. Her head was lowered.
As if sensing his gaze, Shen Qingyue looked up.
Across a distance of ten meters, through the darkness and the noise of the street, their eyes met briefly for a single moment.
Then, Shen Qingyue quickly looked down and climbed into the taxi.
The car drove away.
Lin Mo withdrew his gaze, his mind a mess.
Recalling the conversation at the table just now, he felt like something was off.
Those things Su Qing said… they sounded like she was praising Shen Qingyue, but they also felt like…
“What are you thinking about?” Su Qing’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Nothing.” Lin Mo shook his head.
Su Qing smiled and didn’t press further.
The two walked side by side on the way back to the residential complex. Her hand would occasionally brush against the back of his, only to move away quickly.
the streetlights stretched their shadows long, overlapping them on the ground.
After walking for a while, Su Qing suddenly said softly, “Shen Qingyue… is a good girl.”
Lin Mo was startled for a moment.
“The way you spoke earlier, she might misunderstand,” he couldn’t help but say.
“Misunderstand what?” Su Qing turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling under the streetlights.
“Misunderstand that you… have a problem with her.”
Su Qing laughed, a light sound.
“I don’t have a problem with her,” she said. “I’m just stating facts.”
She stopped walking, turned around, and looked seriously at Lin Mo.
“It’s our senior year. Any thoughts that shouldn’t be there will only hold a person back. I’m doing it for her own good, and for yours.”
Lin Mo opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
He suddenly remembered the faint blush on Shen Qingyue’s face when she said “That is also his strength.”
And her lowered eyelashes when she said “His way of understanding problems is very unique.”
Somewhere in his heart, something stirred slightly.
“You definitely misunderstood. Classmate Shen and I are just… she’s helping me review my lessons. It’s just a top student teaching an academic slacker. You definitely misunderstood.”
“Besides, Representative Shen is so good at studying and so pretty. There must be many people chasing her. How could she possibly…”
At this point, Lin Mo realized he had said too much. He had actually praised Shen Qingyue’s looks in front of Su Qing.
“Let’s go,” Su Qing said, starting to walk again as if she hadn’t heard Lin Mo’s explanation. “The soup is going to get cold.”
Lin Mo followed behind her, his mind still replaying everything that had happened.
He had a faint feeling that he had missed something important.
But as for what exactly it was, he couldn’t figure it out.
He was only worried that when he got to Su Qing’s house tonight, she might try to “hypnotize” him again to interrogate him about every detail of today’s dinner.
***
At that moment, Shen Qingyue, who had already reached home, was standing at her desk looking at the deep blue fountain pen that matched Lin Mo’s.
She picked up the pen, her fingers lightly brushing over the Sagittarius pattern engraved on the cap.
Outside the window, the night was deep.
She thought of Su Qing’s seemingly joking remark: “Lest… some simple-minded dummies get the wrong idea and have unnecessary misunderstandings.”
In a voice only she could hear, as if answering Su Qing or perhaps confirming her own conviction, she whispered:
“…It’s not a misunderstanding.”
The voice was very soft, yet it carried the steady determination of a young girl.