The bell for the end of the second period rang the next afternoon.
Lin Mo pulled the completed registration form from his backpack. After checking it over, he carefully smoothed out the creases.
At that moment, a memory of yesterday in the kitchen flashed through his mind.
Su Qing had been sitting on the barstool with her eyes slightly red, saying, “I’m a girl, and my feet really hurt.” Her acting had been incredibly realistic.
‘She’s such a good actress. It makes sense, though. Even after all these years, I never knew she had a yandere constitution.’
Lin Mo shook his head, grabbed the form, and walked out of the classroom.
Arriving at the Student Union Office on the third floor of the Administration Building, he heard the sound of paper rustling from inside.
He raised his hand and knocked.
“Come in.”
It was the voice of the little secretary.
He pushed the door open. Zhao Panpan was the only one in the office.
She wasn’t wearing her glasses today, and her long hair was tied into a single ponytail. She was currently leaning over a filing cabinet, searching for something. Her deep blue uniform skirt swayed with her movements, revealing the curves of her calves clad in black stockings.
“Secretary Zhao, I’m here to drop off my form.”
Lin Mo walked over and held out the registration paper.
“Ah, Student Lin Mo.”
The little secretary straightened up. As she turned, she wobbled, losing her balance because of the stack of documents in her arms.
“Careful!”
Lin Mo instinctively reached out to steady her arm.
“Thank you…”
Once Zhao Panpan found her footing, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
“Give the form to me.”
Lin Mo handed it over.
When their fingertips brushed, Zhao Panpan paused for a fraction of a second. She took the form and lowered her head to inspect it, her ponytail sliding over her shoulder. Lin Mo could smell a faint scent of perfume lingering on her.
“Guardian’s signature… Mmh, everything is here.”
The little secretary checked it seriously.
“Student ID, class, name… You need to add a stamp here.”
As she spoke, she turned to grab the official seal, but her foot slipped.
This time, she actually fell. Her shoe tripped on something, and she lunged forward.
Zhao Panpan fell right into Lin Mo’s arms. He wrapped one arm around her waist while using his other hand to brace himself against the nearby desk.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Lin Mo’s hand was still resting on her waist. Even through the fabric of her uniform, he could feel how slender she was. Zhao Panpan’s face was buried against his chest, her breath warm against him. Both of them froze.
“Ah, sor — ah!”
Lin Mo finally snapped out of it and pulled his hand back from her waist. However, the moment he let go, Zhao Panpan lost her balance again. Startled, Lin Mo lost his own footing as well.
“Ah!”
In the next second, the two of them tumbled together in an incredibly awkward position — Zhao Panpan’s entire upper body was pinned on top of him.
Time froze once more.
Lin Mo could smell the fragrance on Zhao Panpan. Her eyes were wide, filled with panic and embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry!” Lin Mo was the first to react, preparing to get up, but Zhao Panpan was still pressing down on him.
Zhao Panpan finally came to her senses and realized she was still draped over Lin Mo.
“It’s, it’s fine…” Zhao Panpan scrambled to crawl away, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. “It was my own, my own carelessness…”
In the midst of their frantic scrambling, the office door pushed open.
Su Qing stood at the door, holding a stack of new documents.
She was wearing her full Student Council uniform today — a deep blue blazer, a white shirt buttoned meticulously to the very top, a pleated skirt, and black calf socks covering her straight legs.
Lin Mo was still half-crouched on the floor, holding the documents he had just picked up. Zhao Panpan was kneeling opposite him, her shirt collar slightly disarrayed and her face as red as a ripe tomato. The distance between them was less than thirty centimeters, with scattered papers littering the floor between them.
No matter how one looked at it… it looked like an ambiguous, intimate scene.
Su Qing’s expression didn’t change at all. She maintained her standard, polite President’s expression.
“It seems I’ve interrupted you?” her voice was gentle, devoid of any obvious emotion.
“It’s not like that, President!” Zhao Panpan practically bounced up, frantically fumbling with her buttons. “I just slipped, and Student Lin Mo was just helping me —”
“Mmh.” Su Qing nodded. She carried the documents to her desk and began organizing them with her back turned to them. “Be more careful next time. The floor was just waxed.”
Her movements while organizing the files were composed. But Lin Mo saw it — when she picked up a heavy file box, her hand was trembling.
“The form… I’ll leave the form right here.” Lin Mo placed the signed paper on Zhao Panpan’s desk, his voice sounding a bit dry.
“O-Okay…” Zhao Panpan kept her head down, not daring to look at anyone.
“President, I…”
“Student Lin Mo, is there anything else?”
“No, nothing…”
Lin Mo took another glance at Su Qing’s back. She was pulling a fountain pen from a pen holder. The way she uncapped it felt like she was skinning him alive.
“Then, then I’ll be going now.” After saying that, Lin Mo quickly left the office.
As he closed the door, he heard Zhao Panpan’s quiet voice trying to explain herself, followed by Su Qing’s cold, calm response:
“It’s fine. Go take this document to the Academic Affairs Office first.”
“B-But President —”
“Go.”
The word “go” had no fluctuation in tone, yet it sent a chill down Lin Mo’s spine.
—
Lin Mo spent the entire afternoon in a state of subtle apprehension.
He thought Su Qing would come looking for him — using some sort of method, an excuse, or even just another “Hypnotic Interrogation.” But nothing happened.
When he went to get water during the break, he saw Su Qing from a distance in the hallway, talking to several Student Council members. She was standing sideways to him with a proper smile on her face, explaining something as her fingers swiped across a tablet.
During the free period in gym class, Lin Mo sat on a bench by the sports field and watched Su Qing emerge from the Administration Building, walking toward the teaching building with a folder in hand. The wind caught her skirt and long hair, and she raised a hand to tuck a stray strand behind her ear.
As she passed the field, she greeted the gym teacher with a polite smile.
Throughout it all, her gaze didn’t land on Lin Mo for a single second.
This deliberate ignoring was more unsettling than if she had directly made trouble for him.
Lin Mo began to recall every detail of the scene in the office — where his hand had been when he caught Zhao Panpan, and the distance between them. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Su Qing’s self-control was terrifying for not using her special ability to hypnotize both of them on the spot.
When the final bell rang, Lin Mo was practically the first one to rush out of the classroom. He waited at the stairwell for a moment but didn’t see Su Qing.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he decided to head straight home.
When he reached the bus stop, he instinctively looked around — Su Qing wasn’t there.
The bus arrived, and Lin Mo boarded, finding a window seat. As the bus started moving, he saw a familiar figure walking out of the school gates — Su Qing was walking side-by-side with Zhao Panpan, seemingly discussing something. Zhao Panpan was gesturing with her hands, and Su Qing tilted her head slightly to listen before nodding.
Then, Su Qing looked up. Her gaze met Lin Mo’s through the bus window.
It lasted for only one second.
Her eyes were calm and waveless, as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
Then she withdrew her gaze and continued talking to Zhao Panpan.
The bus pulled away from the station.
By the time he got home, the unit across from his was silent. Lin Mo opened his own door, put down his backpack, and paced the living room a few times. Finally, he braced himself and went over to knock on her door.
There was no answer.
He knocked twice more.
Still nobody.
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