Lin Mo, who was fastening her seatbelt, turned her head at these words. "Huh?"
Zhao Ziling immediately noticed the odd tone in her voice and pouted. "Lin Mo, do you have another best friend out there? Am I no longer your number one?"
In the past, Lin Mo would always agree when Zhao Ziling asked to sleep over.
Her words made Lin Mo pause.
Truthfully, Lin Mo had been more worried that Zhao Ziling might have already found better friends over the years.
That was one of the reasons she hadn’t reached out.
Another reason was that she was still a student.
Their circles were different now.
Reconnecting would only lead to awkwardness.
But seeing her again, Lin Mo knew—Zhao Ziling was still the same Zhao Ziling!
Lin Mo’s peach-blossom eyes curved into a smile. "No, it’s not that."
Zhao Ziling stared at her. "Then what’s with the ‘huh’? Don’t you want to sleep over? I won’t disturb your studies!"
That was a bit of a lie.
After eleven years apart, they’d probably talk until at least 3 a.m.
But she’d try to control herself!
Lin Mo shook her head. "It’s not about studying."
Disturbing her studies wasn’t the issue.
Even if she stayed up all night and skipped school tomorrow, it wouldn’t affect her grades.
They hadn’t had time to talk properly when they met at noon.
"Then what’s the reason?" Zhao Ziling asked.
The car window was down, and the evening breeze brushed against them, carrying a slight chill.
Lin Mo gave her a rough summary of what had happened since she returned.
In short—if she were living at her own place, Zhao Ziling staying over wouldn’t be a problem.
But the issue was, she was currently renting a room in Xie Guanyan’s house.
The fact that he’d agreed to rent to her at all was already generous. There was no guarantee he’d be okay with her bringing someone else to stay.
"Xie Guanyan? As in Xie Guanyan, the CEO of SS Capital? The one I know?" Zhao Ziling’s eyes widened.
Lin Mo nodded.
Zhao Ziling’s lips curled up. "I’ve seen him a few times—he’s ridiculously handsome! So you two were friends in high school?"
Lin Mo shook her head. "Not friends. Rivals. I had to beg shamelessly for him to agree to rent me a room."
At the mention of rivals, Zhao Ziling remembered.
"Oh, the guy who stole your top rank in school, right? Wow, you two really have fate!"
Lin Mo pulled an orange from her bag, peeled it, and handed half to Zhao Ziling. "More like a cursed fate."
Zhao Ziling ate the orange and narrowed her eyes. "I know about him. The Huo family does business with him. Refined, elegant—the kind of unattainable man every socialite in Beijing wants to claim."
"Just among the people I know, at least eight or ten are into him! Everyone knows he’s filthy rich, insanely good-looking, and keeps to himself. Guys like that are practically extinct these days!"
"But even though he seems polite, he’s actually hard to get close to. Once, Jiang Wan, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, chased him for ages. At a banquet, she confessed to him in front of everyone—and he rejected her. When she started crying, he just smiled and said, ‘Go cry outside.’"
Lin Mo’s peach-blossom eyes blinked in surprise.
She’d only ever seen Xie Guanyan within the confines of the villa.
She’d never witnessed that side of him.
Of course, she’d always assumed he had plenty of admirers.
But hearing Zhao Ziling describe it gave her a strange feeling.
The orange was a bit sour. Lin Mo murmured, "He’s kind of heartless."
Zhao Ziling laughed. "Obviously. A self-made man who climbed to where he is now? No matter how gentle he seems on the surface, he’s ruthless underneath. Even Huo Tingshen admires his methods."
"Anyway, I’ll take you home first. We can ask him. If he says no, we’ll just have to wait until the weekend to hang out."
Lin Mo really did want to catch up with Zhao Ziling, so she nodded. "I’ll send you the address."
Zhao Ziling waved her off. "No need. I remember where you live."
The red sports car roared to life.
Lin Mo had been so absorbed in talking that she hadn’t checked her phone, which had buzzed several times.
Now, she opened it.
On WeChat, she saw multiple messages from her younger brother, Shen Ji’an.
[Sis, bad news—someone exposed you on the school forum.]
[No idea who did it.]
[Don’t go looking, and don’t click any links in the group chats.]
Lin Mo frowned, her jade-white fingers typing: [Shen Ji’an! Shouldn’t you be in tutoring right now?]
Shen Ji’an: […I saw it during my break.]
Tutoring was exhausting. He’d just wanted to unwind with his phone for a bit.
Now he was so angry he could barely function.
Lin Mo exited their chat and saw another message from Zhang Shuo.
[Miss Lin, you’re definitely not some old hag!]
Old hag?
Lin Mo was confused.
She didn’t reply yet. Instead, she tapped into her class group chat, where messages had piled up to 99+.
Her jade-white fingers scrolled through the screen.
She found the forum link and clicked it.
It was an anonymous post.
Title: [Shocking! New transfer student Lin Mo is actually a 29-year-old mentally impaired old hag!]
Body: «Multiple sources confirm that Lin Mo is already 29 years old. At 18, she was in a car accident, later pulled from the water and left in a vegetative state. After lying in bed for eleven years, she’s now back in high school!»
«Eleven years in bed—do you really think she’s normal now? She’s practically brain-dead! Probably can’t even write her own name on exams! This will drag down our school’s average scores and rankings!»
«And a 29-year-old woman, reeking of old age, has no right to sit in class with us 17- and 18-year-olds. It’s disgusting!»
«We should kick her out of school and restore purity to our campus!»
The post had been made that afternoon, and the comments had already piled into the hundreds.
At first, many people didn’t believe it.
After all, rumors had spread about a stunning new transfer student, and plenty had gone to see Lin Mo for themselves.
She looked far too young to be 29.
But soon, someone dug up proof—Lin Mo was the top-scoring college entrance exam candidate who’d supposedly died in a car crash in 2014.
Photos from back then surfaced, and it was undeniably her.
Eighteen in 2014 meant she’d be 29 now.
Eleven years in bed, with someone possibly maintaining her appearance—her face hadn’t changed much.
But her brain? Definitely damaged.
So, in no time, a wave of support rose to drive Lin Mo out of school.
RandomUser1: [So creepy. I snuck a peek at her today—never thought she was a 29-year-old hag!]
CatLover22: [I can’t tolerate our school’s ranking dropping. I worked so hard to get into this place!]
LateToTheParty: [Get out already! Pretty or not, she’s too old!]
QuietObserver: [I’m a freshman, and I support kicking Old Lin out!]
