A Few Things About the Landlord's Daughter

The trash bin was located at the street corner after walking downstairs for a while.

So Lin Mo felt it was necessary to accompany Xie Yuling there.

After all, he wasn’t sure where the butterfly effect might stir up a storm.

"It’s so late, and you’re buying so much food? Can you even sleep after this?"

Xie Yuling glanced at the spicy hotpot in Lin Mo’s hand.

"Ever heard the saying, ‘A growing lad eats his father poor’? I’m at that age where I need to eat more to grow."

Xie Yuling was slightly shorter than Lin Mo, though she didn’t need to tilt her head up to look at him.

Hearing this, Xie Yuling let out a scoff.

"The only reason you beat the instructor in arm-wrestling was because you eat so much, wasn’t it?"

"That’s because I’m just that good."

"Yeah, sure. ‘Good.’"

......

Back in her room, Xie Yuling felt something was a little off.

She had been getting a bit too close to Lin Mo lately, though he gave her a different vibe compared to other guys who approached her with all sorts of ulterior motives.

As a girl, she could always tell.

For example, back in middle school, there was a boy who added her on QQ.

After her father’s accident, when she was feeling down, that boy would constantly check on her.

He’d ask why she wasn’t coming to school—was she sick?

He’d say he’d taken notes for her and offer to bring them over.

That boy sat right next to her in class.

She knew he liked her. Everyone knew.

But at the time, she just found it annoying.

Yet Lin Mo wasn’t annoying. At first, she thought he was, but then… why did that change?

Was it because she learned both his parents had passed away? Or because he didn’t look at her with that same intense gaze?

Xie Yuling couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Well, whatever. This kind of neighborly relationship wasn’t bad.

Lights off, time to sleep!

Lights off, time to cultivate!

Even though daily tasks came with rewards, cultivation was still essential.

Especially after Lin Mo had used his divine sense earlier to eavesdrop on the disgusting conversation in the security booth—it only reinforced his resolve to keep training.

Tuesday, early morning.

Lin Mo opened his door, a trash bag in hand.

Just then, he spotted the girl coming downstairs.

"Lin Mo, good morning."

"Morning. Why are you up so early?" From what he remembered, she usually had breakfast at home and rarely left this early.

But Xie Yuling was straightforward.

"My mom didn’t feel like getting up, and I didn’t want noodles, so I decided to grab breakfast outside. There’s a good place I know—wanna come?"

Lin Mo nodded seriously.

"Sure. I just moved here, so I’m not familiar with the area yet."

Heh. As if I’m not a local myself.

They headed downstairs, walking deeper into the urban village.

Xie Yuling led Lin Mo to a stone-grilled rice noodle shop.

Ah, so it’s this place.

It was only then that Lin Mo remembered—in his past life, Xie Yuling had been the one to bring him here the first time too.

Back then, she hadn’t been as warm as she was now, though she wasn’t exactly cold either.

But maybe because he’d been too much of a simp, or his gaze too fervent, she’d eventually distanced herself.

After sitting down, Lin Mo asked directly, "Any recommendations?"

"The pork liver rice noodles. The liver here is super tender, no weird taste at all."

Lin Mo nodded and ordered a double portion with pork liver and minced meat.

Again, growing boys had big appetites.

Xie Yuling went for the meat-and-egg rice noodles.

Just as they were about to dig in, a voice piped up beside them.

"Oh? Lin Mo, you’re eating here too?" Fang Jun’s voice rang out.

Lin Mo looked up and smiled. "Yeah, you here for breakfast too?"

"Yep. The rice noodles here are great."

Fang Jun glanced at Xie Yuling, finding her familiar. After a moment, he said, "You’re from before…"

Xie Yuling reverted to her usual cold demeanor, giving a slight nod without a word.

Fang Jun then turned back to Lin Mo, a teasing glint in his eyes.

Lin Mo could practically read the words in his gaze: You sly dog.

No, no, it’s not like that.

So Lin Mo took the initiative to explain.

"My landlord’s daughter. We ran into each other this morning, so we’re having breakfast together. You can join us."

His casual, open attitude actually made Fang Jun a little embarrassed.

After all, back in their class, plenty of guys had liked Xie Yuling—all of them struck out.

Glancing at the two bowls of rice noodles, Fang Jun shook his head.

"Nah, I’ll sit separately. Don’t wanna make you guys wait for me."

With that, he took a seat nearby and ordered a portion of minced-meat rice noodles.

Lin Mo and Xie Yuling finished up and left shortly after.

Fang Jun sneakily pulled out his phone and snapped a slightly blurry photo.

Lin Mo noticed the sneaky move but didn’t mind much.

The two walked side by side, though with enough space between them to make it clear they weren’t particularly close.

Still, it was within the range of a friendly distance.

Lin Mo with his single-strap backpack and Xie Yuling entering the school together didn’t draw much attention.

Once upstairs, they went their separate ways to their classrooms.

As Lin Mo took his seat, a shadow loomed over him.

Looking up, he found his vision mostly blocked by a certain… top-tier artifact.

"Uh…"

"Actually, I wanted to ask—since you know the story, what exactly is Ming Fei’s deal?"

Hearing the question, Lin Mo shrugged helplessly. "I don’t think even the author figured that out."

By the time Lin Mo had been reborn, the IP was already ruined.

"Honestly, it was fine up to the third installment. Everything after just got worse."

His words seemed to dampen Chu Miaomiao’s mood.

"Oh… okay."

She started heading back to her seat but suddenly turned around.

“So… did that girl, Eri, really have to die?”

Lin Mo nodded, then shook his head.

"She didn’t have to. The author just chose to kill her off."

"Jiang Nan really isn’t a good person."

"Yeah, I think so too." Lin Mo agreed emphatically.

Still, the girl remained hopeful for the upcoming physical book releases.

Chu Miaomiao returned to her seat, while Lin Mo began expanding his divine sense, letting it spread outward.

"Hey, let me tell you about this game—it’s seriously fun."

"Oh? What game could possibly hook you like that?"

"You don’t get it. It’s called League of Heroes."

"Pfft. Isn’t that just a rip-off of DotA?"

"Nah, it’s similar in gameplay, but the mechanics are totally different. If you’ve played DotA, you’ll pick it up fast."

In the corner, students were still discussing the latest trending game.

Everything felt so ordinary, so normal.

But the day had only just begun.

Lin Mo didn’t hate studying anymore.

If you could actually learn something, why would you hate it?

Morning reading started soon after. First period was Chinese, and everyone had their textbooks ready.