Things couldn't go on like this. Lin Nan walked silently out of the teacher's office, thinking that perhaps he needed to have a face-to-face talk with Lin Mo.
After all, no matter what, he was not her real younger brother.
He was an adult with his own thoughts; he wasn't obligated to live according to the path she planned for him, and she certainly wasn't his guardian.
His actual age might even be older than hers.
Having made up his mind so decisively, he didn't know why his skull throbbed with a dull pain for the rest of the walk.
After somehow sitting through an entire day in the classroom, Lin Nan dragged his stiff body home.
The moment he pushed the door open, a flash of white light flickered before his eyes, and a figure darted in front of him with blinding speed.
“Seriously, you're amazing!”
Lin Nan immediately took a step back, thoroughly startled.
From Monday to Saturday while he was in class, Lin Mo never came home earlier than him. This made it difficult for him not to suspect whether she had disposed of someone outside again and returned home to clean up her tools.
With a tone of probing and a look of surprise, he asked, “Did you... take time off?”
“I asked someone to cover my shift...” Lin Mo was still extremely excited, compulsively picking at her fingers with rigid movements. “I thought someone as amazing as you deserves a reward.”
“So I made a cake... I asked other people, and they said cake is suitable for celebrating.” She turned sideways and gestured toward the table with open hands.
“It doesn't look very nice, though.” Lin Mo smiled modestly. “It took me a little while, but you earned this.”
She opened her mouth, unable to resist repeating herself once more. “Seriously... you're amazing! You did so well! I'm really proud of you!”
Lin Mo's face beamed with obvious delight; rather than an older sister, she acted more like a proud parent.
Lin Nan...
“Then... thank you?”
In a twelfth-grade mock exam at a school in a remote region, he—a secret talent who had high hopes pinned on him from a young age and began researching “artificial suns” at seventeen—had achieved decent marks, and so he received a reward from his sister.
...He didn't feel particularly honored.
He even felt an indescribable sense of embarrassment, because this wasn't something that warranted such a reaction from Lin Mo. He wasn't just some younger brother whose sole achievement was doing well on a twelfth-grade test.
He wasn't even her real brother to begin with.
Could it be that Lin Mo found him an eyesore, or had she figured out his desire to break away from her plans, leading her to poison the cake?
Realizing what he was thinking, Lin Nan froze. Staying around Lin Mo for too long had made him overly paranoid as well.
“Are you not happy?” Sensing his silence, the person in front of him tilted her head slightly, looking at him with confusion.
Hearing her tone dip, Lin Nan instantly snapped back to reality. He was no longer at Helios Corporation. No matter how impressive his true identity was, in Licheng, in this room, he could only be the younger brother—he could only be Lin Nan.
“I'm just a bit touched... overwhelmed, really.” He turned his head away awkwardly and sat at the dining table. “Your masterpiece is almost too perfect. If I hadn't seen the tools in the kitchen, I would have thought you bought it from outside.”
When he turned his head and caught sight of the pile of kitchenware in the sink, the faint smile he had managed to force onto his face froze instantly, hardening like wind-dried plaster.
A familiar putty knife stuck out from a corner of the sink. Its presence felt as absurd as twin tails emerging from a sewer drain; if it were the latter, he would have actually breathed a sigh of relief—it would just be a matter of poor hygiene.
But the former...
What had she used to make the cake?
Could Lin Mo really have stabbed someone outside, then brought the murder weapon back home to make him a cake?
Even if she didn't mean anything by it and paid no mind to the putty knife's function as a murder weapon, it was still a tool meant for plastering walls and repairing pipes!
Was she trying to hint at something...
Like, if he didn't behave and go to school, she would crack open the back of his head just like she killed that man back then, regardless of his status?
Lin Nan closed his eyes in agony. When he opened them again, he had adjusted his composure. He said casually, “We don't have many baking tools at home, so it must have been a lot of trouble to make. Don't bother next time. I'll clean up the kitchen counter in a bit.”
“It was alright. The kitchen where I work has a more complete set of utensils, so I borrowed a few from them.” Lin Mo looked toward the bags piled on the cabinet. “I have to return them tomorrow.”
Lin Mo added, “You don't need to clean the tools on the counter. I noticed last time that there was still leftover plaster on the wall-patching tool, so I let it soak in water. It'll take a while before I can pull it out.”
Hearing the actual purpose of the putty knife in the sink, Lin Nan's heart finally settled back into his chest. He scooped out a small portion of the cake with a spoon and pushed the rest toward Lin Mo.
“Just a little is enough for me.” With a polite demeanor, he scooped a spoonful into his mouth.
“Mm, okay.”
Right now, no matter what he said, Lin Mo seemed ready to agree with him.
Lin Nan felt uneasy. Even if she wanted family companionship from him, she didn't need to throw herself so deeply into the role.
Lin Mo asked, “Is it a bit lacking in sweetness?”
Lin Nan snapped back to attention. “I like this flavor.”
He was already thankful he hadn't died on the spot after eating it.
“Really?”
...
The following days passed in constant trepidation. As long as his grades didn't drop, Lin Mo would give him a reward on time.
Lin Nan felt like Pavlov's dog, but he couldn't actually act like a real high school student, excitedly rushing to show her his grades whenever results came out.
However, there were far too many tests in twelfth grade, big and small. The homeroom teacher conscientiously reported all of his information to Lin Mo, leaving him unable to skip even a single class.
On Sundays, Lin Nan would go out to work and pick Lin Mo up to head home together. When the results of the final mock exam came out, he received a bright little daisy, along with an earnest admonition.
“The Senior Exam is coming up soon. Can you work hard like you usually do?” Lin Mo gripped the strap on her shoulder, her eyes filled with encouragement.
Perhaps because the sun set late today and provided ample light, her eyes were bright, devoid of their usual gloom.
Lin Nan fell into a strange silence before nodding calmly. “I can.”
“Then... can we go to school in another city like the teacher suggested?” Lin Mo asked for his opinion.
Lin Nan hesitated briefly. “Which city?”
“Lengjing.”
Lin Mo knew nothing about the schools in this world. But since it was the teacher's recommendation, she believed it was the right direction—the teacher was more professional than she was.
“Sure.”
Lin Nan agreed. That place was still far from his base of operations.
Going through college all over again... so be it. It wasn't as if it were a blow to his dignity anyway.
An involuntary smile curved Lin Mo's lips, and even her pace picked up.
Staring at her back, Lin Nan suddenly thought to himself:
If she truly had a younger brother, that brother would probably live very happily. No matter how terrible life got, with a family member like her around, the days wouldn't seem so hard to bear...
...
Teaching resources in small places were poor, but with the Senior Exam drawing near, the school seemed to have invited a few famous big shots to give presentations.
Lin Nan often saw school officials guiding several leaders on a tour of the campus. The school officials bowed and scraped before them. The man at the center had an unidentifiable face and a corpulent figure, pointing and gesturing at the honor roll wall while the surrounding school officials burst into hearty laughter.
Beside the leader stood a boy who appeared to be around his age. He looked extremely impatient; among everyone present, he was the only one with his back turned, scrolling on his phone, occasionally slapping away the hand the leader reached out toward him.
During class, the homeroom teacher repeatedly instructed them to be sure to greet the leaders whenever they walked anywhere outside the teaching building.
During this final sprint phase, an entire class period was even set aside specifically to train the students in etiquette and speech—they were taking it ridiculously seriously.
On the day of the presentation, students from the entire grade attended, but Lin Nan didn't even want to listen to classes, let alone some presentation.
Besides, wandering around the playground and school gate carried the risk of encountering random trouble; he didn't want to be forced alongside other students to greet some pompous leaders.
He wouldn't even step outside the classroom door.
However, just because he didn't look for trouble didn't mean trouble wouldn't find him. The homeroom teacher specifically called him to the office.
Thinking Lin Mo had reached out to him and that he could escape this sea of misery today, his mood brightened for a moment.
However, the teacher merely had him stand in the office for ten minutes before telling him to leave.
Lin Nan was utterly bewildered, accompanied by a vague premonition of dread. After returning to his desk, a classmate who knew he had gone to the office assumed he went to check his grades and leaned over to ask him.
Lin Nan didn't say a word, tapping his fingers against the desk while staring at the countdown on the blackboard.
...
The brief interlude in his daily life left him feeling uneasy, but that disquiet vanished once the inspection ended, leaving him unsure whether it had been a mere coincidence or a warning.
...
The final scores were about to be released.
Lin Nan didn't care about his Senior Exam score; he didn't need the test results from a remote little city to prove himself. Lin Mo, on the other hand, was extremely nervous, her mood filled with a strange excitement all day long.
On the day of checking the scores, she repeated to him several times:
“It doesn't matter what score you get, don't be afraid. Any city is fine. If you can't go to Lengjing, we'll just pick a city that isn't as good.”
Lin Nan found it funny. Influenced by Lin Mo, even his awkwardness about taking such an exam dissipated.
This relaxed mood lasted right up until the scores were released. The split second after Lin Mo picked up her phone, an extremely severe premonition of doom struck him out of nowhere.
This foreboding feeling was identical to the one he had on the day of the presentation. He constantly recalled what had happened back then, memories from that day flashing before him like a slideshow of portraits.
Yet he didn't understand: what did the events of that day have to do with his current score?
Why did he feel afraid? Why did he feel terrified?
The premonition continued to drive him to flee backward, away from this room, away from any space where Lin Mo existed.
An unprompted reflex rising from deep within left him bewildered. Lin Nan forcibly pinned himself to the spot, staring in confusion at his legs, which were beginning to go weak.
...It couldn't be that deep down he truly believed he would disappoint Lin Mo, could it?
At that thought, he let out a self-mocking laugh. No matter how low it was, it couldn't be that low. Was he really going to stumble on an exam like this?
Besides, he wouldn't feel at ease in any city other than Lengjing.
Lin Nan raised his numb head, watching Lin Mo reach out to tap the score-inquiry button.
The little voice inside his mind was screaming and roaring, but he forcibly suppressed it.
Her hand swayed slightly, momentarily blocking a small portion of his view.
The snow-white screen flashed before him, and the glaring digit “6” on it made his eyes widen uncontrollably.
Lin Nan's expression froze instantly.
Six hundred something?
Was this a joke? Could there be an error with the score?
Just as he knitted his brows tightly, Lin Mo moved her hand away, revealing the black-outlined digit “6” that was so glaring it almost pierced his eyeballs.
6... 6 points?
Rather than shock or denial, Lin Nan hadn't expected a soft laugh to slip out of his mouth first.
He was so infuriated he burst into laughter.
Bullshit!
Absolute bullshit! Who would have thought the education system here was such a pile of crap!
So this stumble hadn't been caused by his own abilities, but by someone else.
“Hahahahahahahahaha!” A9 was laughing so hard it almost threw up.
Having followed closely beside Lin Mo over these past few months, it naturally knew how much hope she had placed on Lin Nan's test scores.
It had also clearly observed Lin Nan's posture of supreme confidence and having everything under control.
When its enemy was miserable, it was thrilled. Seeing a score in the single digits now, it gloated with malicious glee, laughing until it was out of breath.
What a great swap!
Granted, it knew that in the upcoming plot some unlucky soul's test score would be stolen, but it hadn't known which extra that unlucky soul was.
Now that this victim had turned out to be Lin Nan—this wild card—the plot had been derailed yet again, leaving A9 to take the fall once more.
The cannon fodder character who had stolen his score must have an outrageously high result right now.
That family must have been ecstatic to suddenly spot a powerless, easily bullied nobody with sky-high scores, instantly abandoning their original target and acting without a second thought.
If it were the one who snagged such a bargain, it would be overjoyed too.
It just didn't know how they had the nerve to swap it out like that. Didn't they feel any shame?
Then again, power was truly wonderful—it even served to thicken one's skin.
Villains getting out-villained—brilliantly done!
Unlike the one in shock and the one laughing maniacally, the expression on Lin Mo's face as she sat in her chair gradually faded away. Her face turned dim, shifting from nervous anticipation to darkness, her thumb rubbing against the screen as if trying to cover up that tiny digit.
The three beings in the single room each harbored very different thoughts.
Lin Nan broke into a cold sweat. Moving his limp legs, he took a step back.
Damn it! Why didn't I run just now?!
If he told her the truth—that there was a problem with his score and that someone was manipulating things behind the scenes—would she believe him?
Failing to meet Lin Mo's expectations, would she choose to dispose of him and find herself a new younger brother?
Knowing Lin Mo's volatile, unpredictable temperament, the more Lin Nan thought about it, the more he felt this possibility was terrifyingly high.
Rate on N.U.
