When Disaster Strikes You

Early in the morning,

Lin Mo went downstairs and saw Chu Ling already standing there in casual clothes, holding a bag of breakfast.

When she noticed Xie Yuling behind Lin Mo, Chu Ling immediately approached her.

"Yuling... Xie Yuling, I beg you, please help me. If you can, I'll give you all my New Year's money—I've saved every bit over the years. Please, just let me see my dad one last time."

Xie Yuling stared coldly at Chu Ling.

"Just because I can see them doesn’t mean I can make you see them. And didn’t you think I was just some lunatic?"

Xie Yuling didn’t bother hiding her disdain.

Without caring how dirty the ground was, Chu Ling dropped to her knees and kowtowed to Xie Yuling.

"Please, I just want to talk to my dad one last time."

Lin Mo crouched down beside her.

"How did your dad pass away?"

Chu Ling hesitated before answering, "A car accident. It’s been five days now."

She looked up at Xie Yuling, her eyes pleading.

She wasn’t crying—perhaps she had already cried herself dry.

Her eyes were swollen, dark circles heavy beneath them, a clear sign of sleepless nights and endless tears.

Xie Yuling remained silent, watching her.

Lin Mo shook his head slightly. "Let’s go. We should head to school."

The two walked past Chu Ling, who only lifted her head slightly, watching their retreating figures with nothing but sorrow and regret in her gaze.

If only she hadn’t been so thoughtless back then. If only she hadn’t turned other people’s pain into gossip.

Maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

After that incident, Chu Ling had slowly realized she was being pushed to the fringes of their social circle.

Dark humor could be funny, but someone who joked about the misfortunes of friends and their families? That was just cruel.

So, bit by bit, everyone distanced themselves from her.

Unlike Xie Yuling, who actively kept others at arm’s length, Chu Ling was the one being shut out.

There were no outright rumors, but teenagers could read the room.

Eventually, Chu Ling started high school. No old classmates, a fresh start.

She was relieved. She even began to forget the harm she’d caused, the isolation she’d endured in middle school.

Bury the past and move on—that was her mindset.

The only thing she regretted was saying those things to her classmates back then.

But she never truly believed she’d done anything wrong.

To her, it was just a joke.

Then, a few days ago, the nightmare became hers.

Dazed and lost, she finally remembered Xie Yuling the day before yesterday.

But she no longer had Xie Yuling’s home number. All contact was lost.

She had no choice but to seek her out in person.

But it was clear—Xie Yuling wasn’t going to forgive her.

On the way to school, Xie Yuling glanced at Lin Mo.

"I’d already decided to help her. Why did you stop me?"

Lin Mo kicked a pebble, his tone indifferent.

"When an ordinary person begs for help, you still want to see their sincerity. And this is someone you dislike. It’s only been five days.

Even Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang three times. You think Chu Ling deserves an easy pass after just one or two pleas?"

With that, he walked ahead toward the school.

Back in class, Lin Mo waited until Xie Yuling was seated before entering.

Jiang Yunlu had arrived early today.

She’d been watching the door, waiting for Lin Mo to appear.

"Lin Mo! Happy New Year!"

Lin Mo smiled. "Happy New Year. Looks like you enjoyed your trip abroad?"

Jiang Yunlu sighed. "Don’t even mention it. A sudden blizzard buried the airport. No flights could take off."

Then, she pulled a small box from her desk and handed it to him.

"Here, a souvenir I brought back for you."

Lin Mo took the box. "Mind if I open it now?"

"Go ahead!" Jiang Yunlu nodded eagerly.

Lin Mo resisted scanning it with his divine sense—some surprises were best left intact.

Inside was an exquisitely crafted model of the Atomium.

"I bought this when I visited the Atomium in Belgium."

Lin Mo knew she’d gone to Belgium, but he’d expected something like chocolates.

He examined the model and nodded.

The Atomium was designed based on the structure of an iron molecule.

"Wasn’t the Atomium built for the World Expo?"

Jiang Yunlu nodded excitedly. "Yeah! It’s a bit old now, but riding through those tubes felt so surreal."

She leaned in, pulling up a video on her phone.

The screen showed an orange-lit tunnel, with Jiang Yunlu standing inside what looked like an elevator, gliding through the passage.

Lin Mo pointed at the model’s tubes. "So this is where you were?"

Jiang Yunlu nodded vigorously, though she sighed again.

"Honestly, the most fun part was just the tube elevator."

"Still, back in 1958, this structure would’ve been groundbreaking."

Jiang Yunlu blinked. "My dad said the same thing. He said Belgium pulling this off back then was incredible."

For a moment, she wondered if her father would like Lin Mo.

But she kept that thought to herself.

Then, she pulled out a rectangular box from her bag, labeled in English.

Though Dutch was Belgium’s main language, most people spoke English—it was their lingua franca.

The box had no Chinese, just images and English text.

"Belgian chocolates. Famous stuff."

"I got dark chocolate—higher cocoa content, not too sweet."

European desserts were notoriously sugary—macarons, chocolates, cakes—all loaded with sweetness.

But in Guangdong, the highest praise for a dessert was "not too sweet."

So Jiang Yunlu had picked a 75% dark chocolate—just enough sweetness to let the cocoa’s richness shine.

Lin Mo examined it. "Next time you’re in Germany, grab me some of that ‘God of Gamblers’ chocolate. I’ve always been curious about it."

Jiang Yunlu nodded seriously. "Deal! Next Germany trip, I’ll get you that chocolate."

Lin Mo had meant it as a joke, but she’d taken it to heart.

Several classmates eyed the chocolates enviously, but it was obvious they were meant for Lin Mo alone.

So, whether out of respect or resignation, everyone just looked.

Thankfully, Jiang Yunlu had brought other small gifts to share with the class.