Lin Mo looked up from gnawing on a chicken drumstick, "Huh?"
Shen Ji'an nearly laughed at Gu Jingzhou's antics.
Just listen to what this guy was saying!
Gu Jingzhou couldn’t think of any other reason why Lin Mo would willingly sit with Ji'an.
"Then why are you eating the food he got you and sitting with him?" Gu Jingzhou demanded.
Lin Mo, Gu Jingzhou, and Shen Ji'an were already the center of attention.
Now, everyone stopped eating and gathered around to watch the drama unfold.
"What’s it to you?" Shen Ji'an shot Gu Jingzhou a sharp glare, his eyes flashing with irritation.
Who did this guy think he was, questioning his sister like that?
No one was obligated to answer just because they were asked.
Lin Mo hadn’t planned to respond—Gu Jingzhou was being way too nosy.
But remembering she’d added him on WeChat to find her fourth brother, she finally said, "Because he’s my younger brother."
Gu Jingzhou’s eyes widened in disbelief. "No way! You’re so pretty, and he’s so… not. How could you possibly be siblings?"
Zhang Shuo blinked his small eyes.
He never would’ve guessed these two were related.
Their looks were just too different.
But damn, Gu Jingzhou really went for the jugular! Ji'an was probably about to punch him!
Yet Shen Ji'an remained completely unbothered. He calmly slid another drumstick onto Lin Mo’s plate. "Eat up, sis."
His sister’s beauty was his pride!
So what if he wasn’t much to look at?
Zhang Shuo gasped in admiration. "Ji'an, you’ve got nerves of steel!"
Lin Mo, however, was furious. "Watch your mouth! Judging someone’s appearance like that is rude!"
Gu Jingzhou choked on his words but still refused to believe it.
There was no way Lin Mo could be related to some lowlife like him!
They couldn’t be blood siblings!
Whispers broke out around them.
"They can’t be real siblings, right? They look nothing alike!"
"Maybe he’s just some thug who latched onto her because she’s pretty?"
Shen Ji'an usually didn’t care about being called ugly, but hearing those comments made his gaze drop.
His sister was the most beautiful girl in the world. His second and third brothers were decent-looking too. But him? He stuck out like a sore thumb.
No—he had to get hotter!
He couldn’t drag down the family’s aesthetic!
Lin Mo went back to eating her drumstick.
Gu Jingzhou plopped down beside her. "Here, have one of mine."
Lin Mo shook her head. "No thanks."
Gu Jingzhou frowned. "Why won’t you take mine? I thought you liked me?"
"Pfft—"
Zhang Shuo couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Gu Jingzhou shot him a death glare.
Zhang Shuo swallowed his giggles, though his chubby shoulders still shook silently.
Lin Mo realized her earlier WeChat request must’ve given him the wrong idea.
She met Gu Jingzhou’s eyes and said firmly, "Sorry if adding you on WeChat led to misunderstandings, but I don’t like you."
Gu Jingzhou: "…"
He refused to accept it. "If you don’t like me, why’d you go out of your way to add me and message me every day?"
Some things were hard to explain. Lin Mo rubbed her nose and deadpanned, "I was planning to sell you health supplements."
Gu Jingzhou was so mad he could’ve farted on the spot.
Humiliated beyond belief, he stormed off with a face as dark as a decades-old wok.
The crowd had feasted on enough drama for the day.
So Lin Mo didn’t like Gu Jingzhou after all!
He’d been delusional this whole time!
But her "health supplements" line sparked interest. Several people eagerly approached her.
"Lin Mo, what kind of supplements are you selling? Add me on WeChat—I wanna know more!"
"My brain’s been sluggish lately. Can I take them?"
"My grandpa’s on bed rest—perfect timing! Add me too!"
Lin Mo: "..."
By the pond behind the cafeteria.
Shen Jing had calmed down a little, but she still couldn’t believe that Lin Mo was actually alive.
Hadn’t she died in a car accident?
Objectively speaking, their families didn’t get along, so she shouldn’t have remembered Lin Mo so vividly.
But when she was little, she had gone to the company with her father. Back then, she was too young to understand and ended up tearing up some important documents.
One of the executives actually scolded her!
Feeling wronged, she threw a tantrum and demanded her father fire that executive.
Then a girl walked in and slapped her. "Stop crying!"
She would never forget that slap.
No one had ever hit her before.
She was only five years old—did that girl have any idea how much damage that slap had done to her fragile little heart?
Her father had been standing right there.
But instead of defending her, he said, "Lin Mo, if you hit her, you can’t hit me, okay?"
After that, she never went to the company again.
Later, when Lin Mo died, she was overjoyed—and so was her father.
Not long after, her father became the company’s CEO.
But when he mismanaged the business, he had no choice but to ask Shen Yihan to take over.
Who would’ve thought Shen Yihan would send her father to prison!
The whole family was evil! Absolutely rotten!
At least her father was out now.
She pulled out her phone and called him.
He answered immediately. "Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Did the cafeteria food disappoint you again? Missing home-cooked meals?"
Shen Jing shrieked, "Dad! It’s terrible! Lin Mo has come back from the dead!"
Time passed quickly during study hours.
Because Shen Ji’an’s foundation was too weak, he had gotten permission from the homeroom teacher to skip evening self-study and instead work on basics at home.
So when evening self-study ended, Lin Mo was the only one riding back in the family driver’s car.
Shen Yihan had offered to pick her up himself, but Lin Mo refused.
He’d be better off using that time to make more money!
The weather was unpredictable—clear in the daytime but gloomy by evening.
A storm was brewing.
When the car pulled up to the villa’s entrance, she stepped out and was about to message Xie Guanyan.
"Lin Mo!"
A familiar voice—one Lin Mo really didn’t want to hear—rang out.
Lin Mo rubbed her temples and saw the figure stepping out of a sports car.
"How did you find this place?" she asked.
"I had someone look into it. Have you eaten dinner yet? I brought you some late-night snacks!"
A light drizzle began to fall.
The driver had already left, and Lin Mo didn’t have an umbrella.
Gu Jingchuan grabbed one from the car and rushed over, holding it above her head.
Only then did he notice Lin Mo’s ponytail and the blue-and-white uniform of No. 1 High School.
It was like time had rewound eleven years.
Gu Jingchuan’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes brimming with tenderness. "You’re so beautiful, Lin Mo."
"Thanks, but I don’t want the snacks. Take them back," Lin Mo said.
Suddenly, the rain intensified.
Heavy drops pounded against the umbrella.
Gu Jingchuan tilted it further toward Lin Mo.
"Lin Mo, I really love you. I swear I’ll never cause any more scandals—I’ll keep my distance from all women. Let’s get back together, okay?"
Lin Mo shook her head. "We’re done."
Without warning, Gu Jingchuan shoved both the umbrella and the snacks into her hands.
Then, like a madman, he stumbled back and dropped to his knees in the pouring rain.
"Lin Mo! Please take me back! I love you!"
Not many people lived in this villa area yet.
Around the time Lin Mo usually returned from school, headlights appeared on the road.
Xie Guanyan had been waiting in the garden early.
When the drizzle started, he hurried back inside to grab an umbrella.
As he stepped outside, he heard movement in the distance, and the rain had grown heavier.
Worried that Lin Mo might not have an umbrella, he didn’t wait for her message.
Holding his umbrella, he quickened his pace toward the villa’s front gate.
The moment he opened the door, he saw Lin Mo walking through the pouring rain toward Gu Jingchuan, who was kneeling on the ground.
