After staying home for two days, he went downstairs for a run every day.
Each run covered over ten kilometers.
Relying solely on himself to condense his Qi Sea was far too slow—honestly, it’d be faster to just take a Qi-Nourishing Pill.
"System, oh System, you know what they say—'all medicine is somewhat toxic.' These Qi-Nourishing Pills aren’t poisonous, right?"
[Host, you misunderstand! Would this Invincible Cultivation System ever harm its host? The inherent pill toxins have long been purified, guaranteed safe for consumption and absolutely delightful.]
Lin Mo was quite satisfied.
Now, his spiritual sense could last longer and had expanded to a range of thirteen meters in diameter.
Because of this, he discovered that the auntie living downstairs was having an affair with Old Wang next door.
The auntie’s husband was a decent man, honest and kind.
Just last night, while the husband was away, Old Wang and the auntie got together again.
But unexpectedly, the husband came back.
Old Wang scrambled out onto the balcony and clung to the outer wall, gripping a pillar for dear life to avoid falling.
The husband had only returned to grab something—if Old Wang could just hold on a little longer, he’d be fine.
Watching this scene, Lin Mo focused his spiritual sense and formed an invisible hand to tickle Old Wang.
Just that one touch made Old Wang burst into laughter, instantly exposing him to the husband.
Back in 2012, the law still supported divorce for infidelity.
Though the husband was a gentle man, he didn’t hesitate to divorce the auntie upon seeing the situation.
He even kicked her out immediately.
As for Old Wang, his own household was in chaos—he had no energy to spare for the auntie.
After all this, Lin Mo simply found the human world too noisy. He practiced his spiritual sense until exhausted, then fell into a deep sleep.
......
Sunday afternoon.
Lin Mo packed his things and headed out.
He still had dinner at Xie Yuling’s place in the evening.
Xie Yuling’s father had also passed away a few years ago.
When Lin Mo learned of this, he felt they shared the same sorrow, which was why he had wanted to get closer to her.
Little did he know, Xie Yuling’s heart was far stronger than his.
His own fragility only made her distance herself further once she realized his intentions.
But in this life, Lin Mo seemed to have done nothing special, yet his relationship with Xie Yuling had improved significantly.
Though it wasn’t entirely nothing—at least he knew how to maintain boundaries now.
He’d also pulled off some impressive feats in front of their classmates, which naturally drew attention and built his image.
Lin Mo had once reflected that his past self was probably just too weak.
Arriving downstairs, Lin Mo went to the market and bought some shrimp. Xie Yuling loved seafood, but Auntie Zheng was Buddhist—while she ate meat, she refused to kill living creatures herself.
So their household rarely bought seafood.
If they wanted live fish, shrimp, or chicken, Xie Yuling had to be the one to purchase them.
Carrying a large bag of seafood, Lin Mo rang the doorbell.
The inner door opened quickly. At home, Xie Yuling had let her hair down instead of tying it into a ponytail.
"You’re here," she said, quickly opening the door.
She wore a black top, though today she’d swapped her usual shorts for a standard middle-school uniform pants.
Most people repurposed their old middle-school pants as pajamas or crafting material after graduation.
"Come in."
Lin Mo stepped inside.
Though he had memories of this place, he pretended to be reserved as he handed the bag of shrimp to Xie Yuling.
She paused, then took it.
The thick plastic bag unmistakably contained seafood.
Still, when she opened it, she couldn’t help saying, "Lin Mo, Mom invited you for dinner. Why did you bring food?"
Lin Mo clicked his tongue.
"Because I wanted to eat it, so I figured I’d bring some for Auntie Zheng to cook. You don’t mind, right?"
Xie Yuling glanced at the shrimp. "I’ll cook them. Mom won’t kill anything."
With that, she headed to the kitchen.
The moment she entered, Auntie Zheng’s voice rang out.
"Oh my, why did he bring food when he’s coming for dinner?"
She hurried out of the kitchen, still talking.
"Lin Mo, you’re our guest—you didn’t need to bring anything!"
Lin Mo nodded. "Auntie Zheng, it’s my first proper visit. I had to bring something. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I brought shrimp. Besides, I’ve been craving it."
Auntie Zheng poured him a glass of water.
"Ah, this girl didn’t even get you water."
Lin Mo politely accepted it.
"No troubles at school, I hope? If anything comes up, just ask Yuling. You’re classmates."
"No troubles. Besides, we’re in different classes—no need to bother her."
"Ah, but you’re neighbors upstairs and downstairs..."
"Mom! Your chicken!"
Zheng Yuan jolted up. "Oh right, my salt-baked chicken!"
She dashed back into the kitchen in a flurry.
Soon after, Xie Yuling brought out sliced starfruit and watermelon.
"Have some fruit. Dinner will still take a while."
Lin Mo nodded, resisting the urge to look around. He picked up a star-shaped starfruit slice with a toothpick.
"Hey, this is pretty good."
"It’s from the ones you bought last time."
Lin Mo turned to Xie Yuling.
"Don’t tell me Auntie Zheng wouldn’t let you eat them, saving them for my visit?"
Xie Yuling rolled her eyes—gracefully.
"Overthinking it. Starfruit tastes better when ripened."
"Do you like starfruit?"
"It’s... fine."
She glanced at Lin Mo, noting he wasn’t looking at her.
"Anyway, I don’t like apples. With starfruit, I prefer biting into the whole thing."
With that, she walked back to the kitchen and tossed a whole starfruit at Lin Mo.
He caught it with both hands.
This one hadn’t been trimmed—biting into it directly wasn’t practical.
Lin Mo beckoned Xie Yuling over.
"Want to see a magic trick?"
Instantly, her curiosity was piqued.
"What trick?"
"Bet I can cut this starfruit without a knife."
Lin Mo looked at her confidently.
Xie Yuling shook her head without hesitation.
"No way."
"If you don’t believe me, why not hand me a knife?"
After a pause, Xie Yuling finally caught on and went to fetch a fruit knife.
But by the time she returned, Lin Mo was already eating a starfruit.
On the table lay five trimmed edges and the fruit’s top and bottom.
"Didn’t believe me, huh? Well, I proved it."
Lin Mo grinned.
Xie Yuling approached.
"You definitely had a knife on you!" She wasn’t fooled.
Lin Mo chuckled. "This Xie classmate is quite sharp."
In truth, he’d used his spiritual energy as a blade.
But this? Just a little joke.
Soon, rich aromas wafted from the kitchen.
Inside, Zheng Yuan called out, "Yuling, come cook the shrimp."