Lin Mo held his phone.
On the screen was his chat history with Su Qing.
The last message was from ten days ago: “Morning.”
Ten days.
A full ten days.
Su Qing had completely disappeared for a full ten days.
(；一_一)…
At first, he thought it was great.
Freedom.
No one to nag him.
No need to be on edge. He could breathe the air of freedom to his heart’s content.
But today, while packing his luggage, he found that little box in his drawer—the ginkgo leaf bookmark Su Qing had given him.
Suddenly, he felt a little… a little…
He couldn’t quite describe the feeling.
He just… wanted to call and ask.
Just ask.
Nothing more than that.
Just then, a call came in…
The ringtone sounded…
*Hard to Sever*
*I want — *
*What use is this Iron Rod?*
*I have — *
*What of this change?*
*Still uneasy*
*Still melancholy*
*The Golden Hoop on my head*
*Words left unsaid*
The caller ID showed Su Qing. It was Su Qing calling…
Lin Mo’s heart began to race.
He didn’t know why he was nervous.
It wasn’t the first time he had answered a call from Su Qing.
But still…
The call connected.
“Hello? Little Mo?”
A gentle female voice.
It wasn’t Su Qing.
It was Su’s mother.
(；一_一)…
Lin Mo froze for a moment.
“He — Hello, Auntie…”
“Oh, Little Mo, are you at home? Qing’er and I haven’t been able to make it home these past few days. Could you help me water the flowers? It’s been so many days, and I don’t know how they’re doing.”
Su Wanqing’s voice carried a hint of a smile.
“No problem, Auntie Su. Sure. My mom usually helps with the watering too.”
“Mhm, it’s fine, I was just asking. By the way, since you haven’t seen Qing’er in so many days, don’t you miss her? Should I let her talk to you?”
Lin Mo’s face instantly turned bright red.
“No, it’s not… it’s just… she really hasn’t been back for several days, so I was just wondering…”
“Haha, what are you being shy for? Qing’er is right — wait, where did she go? Oh, oh, oh, but she’s… well… she went out just now. She went to buy some groceries.”
Lin Mo heard one second of silence on the other end.
Su Wanqing’s voice dropped a bit. “She was right here just now, but as soon as she heard you were on the phone, she — “
“Mom!”
A muffled voice came from the other end of the phone.
It was Su Qing.
Lin Mo heard it.
(｡•́︿•̀｡)…
So she was right there?
Why didn’t she pick up the phone?
Why wouldn’t she talk?
Su Wanqing laughed. “Little Mo, do you have anything you want to say to her? How about I pass a message to her for you in a bit?”
“No, it’s nothing. I was just checking in.” Lin Mo scratched his head. “Are you guys… doing okay?”
“We’re doing great. I had a job transfer and have been temporarily moved out of town. I brought Qing’er along to get familiar with the environment ahead of time.”
Out of town??
Lin Mo was stunned.
“Out of town?”
“That’s right. Oh, Little Mo, did you receive your admission notice?”
“I — I received it… Alice Royal Academy…”
“Alice Royal Academy. That school, huh? Oh, that school is quite good. Yes, quite good.” Su Wanqing’s tone was very natural.
(°△°|||)
Lin Mo’s mind was a bit dazed.
How did Auntie Su seem to know about this school?
Why did she seem to… know everything?
“Au — Auntie… How do you… Are you familiar with this school?”
“How do I know? Am I familiar with it?” Su Wanqing chuckled.
“Little Mo, there are some things I can’t say right now. But you have to believe me — Auntie won’t harm you. That school… it’s quite good. You’ll understand once you get there. I know a few things about that school because of my work.”
Lin Mo didn’t know what to say.
Rustling sounds came from the other end of the line.
It sounded like someone was trying to snatch the phone.
“Mom, stop talking…”
It was Su Qing’s voice.
Very soft.
But Lin Mo heard it.
(；一_一)…
She really was right there.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop.”
Su Wanqing said with a laugh, “Little Mo, how about I have Qing’er call you back later? She’s out buying groceries now. I’ll have her call you when she gets back?”
“No — No need!” Lin Mo said quickly. “I was just checking in… It’s good as long as you’re together… It’s nothing, it’s nothing…”
“Alright then. Take good care of yourself.”
“Mhm, thank you, Auntie.”
The call ended.
Lin Mo stood there in a daze, holding his phone.
His mind was a mess.
Alice Royal Academy.
Auntie Su seemed to know something about that school.
But why wouldn’t she tell him exactly what it was?
And… since Su Qing was right there, why didn’t she answer the phone?
(｡•́︿•̀｡)…
He remembered what happened that day.
That drink.
That dream.
After waking up.
(；一_一)…
‘Was she… embarrassed?’
‘What happened that day really was strange.’
‘No. She was clearly so normal that day.’
‘Washing dishes, humming songs, and joking around.’
‘It didn’t seem like…’
‘But what if she was faking it?’
‘She has always been a good actress.’
The more Lin Mo thought about it, the more confused he became.
He tossed his phone onto the bed and lay down.
‘Su Qing’s voice on the phone just now…’
‘It was very soft.’
‘Did she sound a bit flustered?’
‘Or did I hear it wrong?’
(；¬＿¬)…
‘Whatever, no need to overthink it. Forget it, I won’t think about it.’
‘As long as she’s okay.’
***
On the other side.
In a hotel room in Haicheng City.
Su Qing sat on the edge of the bed, her face bright red.
Su Wanqing hung up the phone and looked at her.
“The call is over. You can talk now.”
Su Qing: “……”
“What? Weren’t you trying to snatch my phone just now? Didn’t you want to say something?” Su Wanqing sat down next to her with a smile. “Are you playing the mute now?”
“Mom!” Su Qing covered her face. “You… how could you tell him everything!”
“I didn’t say anything? What did I say?” Su Wanqing looked innocent. “I just said you went to buy groceries.”
“You said that as soon as I heard he was calling, I… I… ugh…”
“But that was the truth. What else was I supposed to say?” Su Wanqing laughed even harder. “Who told you to freeze up the moment you heard his voice, like someone had struck your pressure points?”
Su Qing: “……”
She buried her face in her pillow.
Su Wanqing patted Su Qing’s back.
“Alright, alright, Mom will stop. I’ll stop, okay? But Qing’er, what exactly is going on between you two? You used to run over to his place every day, and now you don’t even dare to pick up the phone?”
Su Qing kept her face buried in the pillow and didn’t say a word.
Su Wanqing sighed softly.
“Fine, fine. I won’t meddle in the affairs of you young people. I won’t ask. But school starts in a few days. You’ll be seeing each other every day then. He doesn’t even know you’re at this school yet. Do you think you can keep hiding then?”
Su Qing still didn’t speak.
Su Wanqing stood up and walked to the door.
“By the way, that boy Lin Mo… he’s quite good. Mom watched him grow up, so you can rest easy.”
The door closed.
Su Qing lifted her head from the pillow.
Her face was still red.
She picked up her phone and looked at her chat window with Lin Mo.
The last message was still “Morning” from ten days ago.
She typed a few words:
‘Just now…’
Deleted.
She typed again:
‘My mom was just talking nonsense…’
Deleted.
Typed again:
‘In a few days…’
(>﹏<)…
She tossed her phone aside and buried her face in the pillow once more.
Lin Mo’s voice from the call just now filled her head.
‘It’s good as long as you’re together…’
‘That was it?’
‘That was it??’
While she felt a sense of relief, she also felt a bit angry.
‘This guy… why did he sound like he didn’t want to talk to me at all?’
(；一_一)…