Lin Mo was momentarily puzzled when she heard those words.
She slightly lifted her chin, her beautiful peach-blossom eyes fixed on the man.
The man was exceptionally handsome, dressed in a white hoodie as he sat there, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his jade-like wrists.
At that moment, he was wiping away some spilled soup from the dining table, his movements slow and deliberate, exuding an inexplicable domestic charm.
Lin Mo blinked.
She often praised Xie Guanyan’s cooking skills—did he think she was just buttering him up?
If so, he was truly being modest.
“Not at all, my standards have always been high.”
Xie Guanyan finished cleaning the table and adjusted his glasses with a single finger, masking the darkness in his eyes.
“They could be even higher—not just when it comes to food.”
Especially when it comes to judging men.
He didn’t voice that last thought.
Lin Mo slurped up a mouthful of sticky instant noodles and chuckled, “Lao Xie, you’re really showing your age—starting to sound like a dad.”
Xie Guanyan: “……”
Xie Guanyan had always known that despite her youth, Lin Mo had an unshakable core. Others’ opinions rarely swayed her.
That was what made her affection so precious.
Gu Jingchuan didn’t deserve it at all!
Noticing Xie Guanyan’s momentary pause, Lin Mo, feeling obliged after eating his food, explained, “What I mean is, I genuinely think your cooking is amazing. Even if you don’t believe it, that’s how I feel.”
Modesty was a virtue, and she wouldn’t mistake his humility for mediocrity.
“Oh, by the way, my younger brother said he wants to learn cooking from you so he can make food for me later. Do you have time to teach him recently?”
This only further proved how skilled he was.
Yet the words made Xie Guanyan’s fingers tighten around his chopsticks. Without thinking, he replied, “No time.”
The answer wasn’t surprising—he’d already mentioned earlier that he was swamped with work.
Lin Mo nodded. “Alright, let me know when you’re free.”
Xie Guanyan lowered his thick, long lashes and said nothing.
After finishing their late-night snack and brushing their teeth, Lin Mo lay in bed.
She opened her phone and saw a WeChat message from the “Buddha of the Capital Circle”:
[Sis, telecom scams are rampant lately—don’t answer unknown calls. An employee at the company lost 100,000 yuan today after picking up a scam call. Be careful.]
Lin Mo frowned deeply at the message.
Seriously? Scamming techniques were this advanced now?
Since childhood, she could never bring herself to harm money, betray money, waste money, miss out on money, abandon money, lose money, neglect money, backstab money, or discard money!
[Got it, I won’t answer unknown calls.]
Just as she was about to exit WeChat, another friend request popped up.
Lin Mo was speechless. What kind of nonsense was Gu Jingchuan up to now?
Wasn’t her ignoring his previous friend requests clear enough?
This time, the note read: Can we meet? I know you want to see me too!
Meet his ass!
Who gave him the confidence to assume she wanted to see him?
Lin Mo chose to ignore the request again, but her mind drifted back to what Xie Guanyan had said during dinner.
“Lin Mo, your standards shouldn’t be set too low.”
At the time, it hadn’t registered, but now the realization hit her like a bullet between the eyes.
Her standards really had been too low.
Why had she ever agreed to Gu Jingchuan’s confession back then?
Now, the more she thought about him, the more mediocre he seemed!
Right—from now on, she’d raise her standards for boyfriends!
After playing on her phone for a while, drowsiness crept in.
Before falling asleep, she realized she’d discovered yet another one of Xie Guanyan’s virtues.
He was humble.
Soon, the girl’s breathing steadied as she drifted into sleep.
Completely unaware that her bedroom door had been cracked open just a sliver, a pair of dark, obsessive eyes watching her intently from the shadows.
The next day was Monday.
As soon as Lin Mo woke up, she saw a WeChat message from Shen Yihan:
[Sis, I need to make an emergency business trip today—there’s an issue in Jingnan, and Jiang Tang’s coming with me. Maybe don’t visit Fourth Brother today? Wait till I get back and we’ll go together.]
Stretching her limbs in bed, Lin Mo typed back with her fair fingers: [It’s fine, I’ll drop by Third High School. Leave Fourth Brother’s matter to me—don’t worry.]
[I mean, don’t worry.]
Shen Yihan, waiting at the airport, saw the two messages.
His left hand fiddled with the black Buddhist beads on his right wrist.
[Alright, call me immediately if anything happens. I’ve already sent a secretary to pick you up.]
Of course, Fourth Brother was more important than work—but given the urgency, the Jingnan matter couldn’t wait.
After freshening up, Lin Mo went downstairs and, as always, found the beautiful man busy in the kitchen.
Sometimes, it struck her as almost magical.
No matter when she came down, this was the scene that greeted her.
Breakfast wasn’t fully ready yet—just in progress.
Within minutes of her arrival, a hot meal would be served.
Today’s breakfast was chicken soup wontons, the familiar flavor blooming on her taste buds.
She almost wanted to ask Xie Guanyan how he managed to make it taste exactly like the chef from Gu Jingchuan’s household.
But that would be far too tactless!
Besides, she didn’t want to bring up Gu Jingchuan at all.
After breakfast, Lin Mo got into the car with Shen Yihan’s secretary.
The secretary was a young woman with dimples and a sweet smile.
“Good morning, sis! I’m Zhang Nan.”
Lin Mo smiled back. “Good morning, I’m Lin Mo. To Third High School, please.”
Meanwhile, Gu Jingchuan had been trying to track Lin Mo’s whereabouts.
He’d initially reached out to the paparazzi in the capital—those people were everywhere, and since Lin Mo had once trended online with Shen Yihan, they’d surely have leads.
But the moment the paparazzi heard the name “Lin Mo,” they all refused, no matter how much he offered.
Gu Jingchuan knew Xie Guanyan was behind this.
Who he was guarding against was obvious.
A wealthy, powerful pervert was truly terrifying!
Left with no choice, he hired a private investigator at a steep price—he had to find Lin Mo.
Finally, after waiting most of the morning, he received the investigator’s update:
[Lin Mo is at Third High School in the capital.]
