Karma

Lin Mo sat down, watching Fang Jun and the others clean up the flour and glue near the front and back doors.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “You guys are all so childish. Can’t you come up with something more surprising?”

Fang Jun, while using solvent to clean the mouse glue off the floor, glanced at Lin Mo and said, “Don’t get cocky, kid. I’ll be back.”

Xu Sheng, standing nearby, timidly chimed in, “Isn’t that the classic villain line?”

“Then today, I’ll be the big villain!” Fang Jun roared dramatically.

Jiang Yunlu, who had just entered, carefully stepped around the suspicious puddle of flour on the floor and made her way to her seat, visibly relieved.

She turned to Lin Mo and asked, “It’s April Fools’ Day—are you okay?”

Lin Mo smirked. “I’m fine. They can’t prank me. Did they think I haven’t watched Stephen Chow’s movies?”

“Good.” Jiang Yunlu let out a small sigh of relief and pulled out her breakfast box from her backpack.

Today, she had brought homemade golden mini egg dumplings.

She ate two slowly, but her eyes kept flickering toward Lin Mo.

“Ah, I’m full,” Jiang Yunlu said, putting down her chopsticks and eyeing the remaining dumplings. Then she turned to Lin Mo, her gaze hopeful.

“Lin Mo, could you help me finish these? It’d be a shame to throw them away.”

Lin Mo lifted his eyes from his book, glanced at the box she offered, then at her.

“Sure.”

He took it and pulled out a pair of disposable chopsticks from his desk.

Seeing Lin Mo accept the dumplings without hesitation, Jiang Yunlu’s heart leaped with joy. A sweet smile spread across her face, though a faint trace of mischief flickered in her eyes.

Holding her breath, she stared intently as Lin Mo picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks and chewed it slowly.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Jiang Yunlu’s brows gradually furrowed.

This wasn’t right. It shouldn’t be like this.

Yet Lin Mo remained completely unfazed. He even nodded approvingly after swallowing and praised,

“Hmm, did you make these yourself? They’re really good. Delicious.”

Jiang Yunlu was utterly baffled.

She had made them herself—precisely because she had stuffed them with a lethal amount of wasabi for maximum impact.

She distinctly remembered leaving only two normal ones, and she had already eaten those.

Unless… Dad had something to do with it?

Had he seen her making the dumplings this morning and swapped them when she wasn’t looking?

Very possible. Especially since she’d been ignoring him for days after Lin Mo showed up, only softening slightly the day before yesterday.

While Jiang Yunlu’s mind raced, Lin Mo picked up another dumpling—and this time, held it right in front of her lips.

“Ah, open up.”

Jiang Yunlu’s face flushed. She hadn’t planned on eating it, but if her dad had swapped them, then it should be safe.

So she obediently took a bite.

The moment the dumpling touched her tongue, the lingering blush on her face froze solid.

“Mmm—?!”

An indescribable, violent spiciness exploded on her taste buds, rampaging through her mouth before charging straight up her nose and slamming into the top of her skull.

The sheer force of the wasabi overloaded her brain. Tears welled up uncontrollably, and she nearly rolled her eyes back on the spot.

Jiang Yunlu barely managed to cover her mouth, turn away, and spit out the dumpling.

At least she hadn’t swallowed it—that would’ve been even worse.

Coughing, her eyes red and teary, she gasped for breath. When she turned back, she met Lin Mo’s amused gaze.

He was as calm as ever, but his eyes now sparkled with mischief and undisguised amusement.

“I ate all of them without flinching just so you could experience it too.”

Jiang Yunlu was completely stunned. Her mind buzzed, and her finger trembled slightly as she pointed at him.

“Lin Mo… you… you’re ruthless! I put in so much wasabi—how could you eat it without even blinking?!”

At that moment, Lin Jiajun, who had been quietly reading a newspaper nearby, picked up one of the remaining dumplings from Jiang Yunlu’s box and split it open.

“Holy crap.”

Lin Jiajun sucked in a sharp breath. The inside of the dumpling was packed with green wasabi.

“Jiang Yunlu, you’re not holding back, huh? That’s way too much wasabi stuffed in there.”

Lin Mo kept his eyes on Jiang Yunlu, repeating, “Yeah, and I ate them all.”

Under his gaze, Jiang Yunlu grew a little guilty. Considering the sheer amount of wasabi, she had gone overboard.

Sniffling, her tongue still burning, she mumbled, “Okay, okay, I get it… Maybe next time I won’t squeeze in so much?”

“There’s going to be a next time?!” Lin Mo flicked her forehead.

Jiang Yunlu immediately clutched her forehead.

Soon after, Chu Miaomiao and the others arrived in class. Chu Miaomiao had also brought food for Lin Mo—but hers was completely safe, with no hidden surprises.

After all, someone like Chu Miaomiao would never pull such a prank.

April Fools’ Day.

Even teachers weren’t safe.

When Chen Xiaoya entered the classroom, she did so cautiously. If the door hadn’t already been open, she wouldn’t have dared to walk straight in.

Even the chairs weren’t safe—she brushed them off with a folder before sitting down.

Her vigilance was at an all-time high.

Clearly, she was a seasoned teacher.

Normally, no one would prank a teacher… but it wasn’t unheard of.

“I heard that a few years ago on April Fools’, someone kicked open the stall door while Pingtou was taking a dump.”

“For real?”

“Dead serious.”

—System: Edits, edits, edits… Ugh, editing is so annoying! I’m gonna lose it!!!—

Tianyun Century Group.

Jiang Chengshan opened his breakfast box, which contained a single egg dumpling.

“Good thing I was prepared. I pulled a switcheroo—this was meant for that brat, wasn’t it? Well, I’ll be the one eating it.”

Earlier, before heading to the office, he’d seen his daughter making egg dumplings.

Noticing leftover egg mixture on the table, he secretly made one himself. Then, spotting a tube of wasabi in the fridge (he had no idea how long it’d been there), he squeezed a generous amount into the dumpling—completely omitting the usual meat filling.

This way, when that brat bit into it, he’d suffer, and it’d cause a fight between him and his precious daughter.

Meanwhile, he would enjoy the swapped dumpling.

Even if there was only one.

Thinking this, Jiang Chengshan grinned triumphantly.

“Kid, you think you can get close to my daughter? Eat sh—!”

With that, he popped the dumpling into his mouth.

A bloodcurdling scream instantly tore through the office.

Karma’s a bitch, huh?