Chapter 5: The Sweet “Interrogation” After Being Jealous

Lin Mo frowned and took out his phone to send a message, only to find that Su Qing had already set him to “Do Not Disturb”—there was a small mute icon next to her profile picture.

“Is she… really angry?” Lin Mo muttered to himself.

He turned to head back to his own home, but then he heard a faint “thud” from behind the opposite door, like something had dropped onto the floor.

“Su Qing?” he asked tentatively.

There was a rustling sound from inside, followed by footsteps.

The lock turned, and the door opened.

Su Qing had already changed into loungewear—not that Squirtle T-shirt, but a loose, light beige knit sweater with a wide neckline that exposed one of her fair shoulders.

Below that… was a white pleated miniskirt. Most notably, she wore a pair of pure white over-the-knee socks with delicate lace edges.

She stood barefoot on the entryway floor, her legs encased in the white socks appearing straight and well-proportioned.

‘Absolute Territory,’ those two words flashed through Lin Mo’s mind.

“Something the matter?” She looked up at Lin Mo.

“I… came to ask how your foot is doing.” As Lin Mo spoke, his gaze drifted toward her left ankle.

“Oh.” Su Qing turned and walked into the house. Her gait was perfectly normal, with no sign of a “sprained ankle” at all. “It’s dead.”

Lin Mo froze. “…What’s dead?”

“My foot.” Su Qing sat on the sofa, picked up a throw pillow, and buried her face in it. Her voice was muffled. “It’s hurting me to death.”

Lin Mo stepped inside and closed the door. “Then should we use an ice pack? Or a medicated patch? I have some at home—”

“I don’t want them.” Su Qing lifted her face slightly from the pillow, revealing only her eyes. “I want it to hurt.”

“…Why?”

“Because—” She paused, then buried her face back into the pillow. “Because a certain someone was so rough when he helped me yesterday, but so gentle when helping someone else today. My foot thinks it’s unfair, so it decided to hurt.”

Lin Mo almost laughed out loud. Forcing himself to hold it in, he walked over to the sofa and sat down. “Then how about I give it a rub?”

“No.” Su Qing pulled her left foot back. “Who knows what your hands have touched today.”

“I only gave Secretary Zhao a hand—”

“Secretary Zhao.” Su Qing repeated the name with a subtle tone. “You call her so affectionately.”

“That’s a formal title…”

“How many of her buttons were undone?”

Lin Mo was speechless.

Su Qing finally lifted her face completely from the pillow. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, though it was unclear if it was from being stifled or from anger.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I didn’t ask if you did it on purpose.” Su Qing interrupted him and turned her face away again. “What does it have to do with me?”

Lin Mo looked at the tense line of her profile and her slightly pursed lips. Suddenly, he felt that this version of Su Qing was… rather cute.

“Are you sure you don’t want a massage?” he asked again.

“…I do.”

“I thought you said no?”

“Now I want it.” Su Qing extended her left foot and rested it directly on his lap. “Be gentle, it hurts.”

Lin Mo looked down at her foot wrapped in the white sock. The fabric was very soft, allowing the faint silhouette of her foot to be seen beneath. He reached out and grasped her ankle—through the sock, he could feel the warmth of her skin and the shape of the bone.

He deliberately pressed his thumb against the spot that was “supposed” to be swollen.

“Hiss—” Su Qing immediately gasped.

“Does it hurt here?” Lin Mo asked with a straight face.

“…Yes.”

“But I’m pressing the ankle bone. Even if it were sprained, it wouldn’t hurt there.” Lin Mo looked up at her. “If it hurts here, it might be a fracture.”

Su Qing’s expression froze.

Lin Mo continued to press around with faux seriousness. “Or is it actually here that hurts?” He moved his hand to a different spot.

“…That hurts too.”

“What about here?”

“…It all hurts.” Su Qing’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

Lin Mo finally couldn’t hold back his laughter. He let go of her foot and looked at Su Qing’s reddening face. “President Su, did you know? When people lie, their pupils dilate, their breathing quickens, and—”

Before he could finish, a pillow slammed into his face.

“Lin Mo, you jerk!” Su Qing finally snapped. She grabbed another pillow and started hitting him with it. “You knew all along, didn’t you! You knew since yesterday, didn’t you!”

Lin Mo laughed while blocking the blows. “Who told you to be such a bad actress—”

“What was bad about it! I acted perfectly!”

“On the bus, you ‘sprained’ your left foot, but when you got off, you stepped down with your left foot first—”

“That was me being strong!”

“When you were changing your shoes, that ‘sprained’ foot untied its own laces—”

“Can’t I have flexible ligaments?!”

The pillow fight lasted for half a minute. Finally, Su Qing sat on the sofa huffing in anger, her hair a mess. The collar of her knit sweater had slipped to one side, revealing a large expanse of her fair shoulder and collarbone.

Lin Mo wasn’t much better off; his hair was covered in down feathers from the pillow.

The two stared at each other for three seconds before laughing simultaneously.

“Idiot.” Su Qing kicked him, though she didn’t use any force this time. “All you do is make fun of me.”

“I wasn’t making fun of you,” Lin Mo said seriously.

After a moment of silence, Lin Mo reached out again and touched her ankle. “So… it really doesn’t hurt?”

“It does,” Su Qing said softly. “But it’s not just my foot that hurts.”

“Then where does it hurt?”

Su Qing didn’t answer. She looked down at her socks, her fingers unconsciously plucking at the fuzz on the sofa.

“Lin Mo.”

“Yeah?”

“When you helped her…” Her voice was very quiet. “Where did you put your hands?”

Lin Mo paused for a second. “On her waist. Because she was about to fall—”

“Oh.” Su Qing gave a small response and went silent again.

It took quite a while before she continued, “I… originally wanted to go find you today. I wanted to ask if you were free at noon, I wanted… wanted to eat with you.”

Something in Lin Mo’s heart softened.

“But when I walked to your classroom door, I saw you heading toward the Administration Building.” Su Qing’s fingers moved faster as she plucked at the fuzz. “I thought I’d just wait until you were done turning in your forms. But then…”

She didn’t finish, but Lin Mo understood.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s not like you did anything wrong.” Su Qing buried her face in her knees. “I’m just being petty.”

Lin Mo reached out and ruffled her hair—it was a gesture he hadn’t done in a long time. When they were children, he used to mess up her bangs like this all the time.

Su Qing’s body stiffened for a moment before she slowly relaxed.

“What do you want for dinner?” Lin Mo asked.

“…Shredded Pork with Green Peppers.”

“Okay.”

“I also want Tomato and Egg Soup.”

“Sure.”

“And…” Su Qing looked up, her eyes misty. “You have to go buy the groceries. Go right now.”

“Now?” Lin Mo glanced out the window; the sun hadn’t set yet.

“Yes.” Su Qing stood up from the sofa, her bare feet stepping onto the floor. “I’m coming with you.”

“Your foot—”

“It’s suddenly better.” Su Qing spoke with total confidence. “A medical miracle.”

Lin Mo smiled. “Fine, a medical miracle it is.”

Su Qing turned to head back to her room to change. As she was closing the door, she poked her head out to look at Lin Mo, who was still sitting on the sofa.

“Lin Mo.”

“Hmm?”

“Next time…” She pursed her lips. “If I see you helping someone else like that again—”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Lin Mo immediately raised his hands. “I promise, from now on, I’ll only use a stick to help people.”

Su Qing gave a satisfied huff and closed the door.