The Stubborn Donkey

Because someone had slandered Lin Mo.

So this fight had to happen.

Hearing this reason, even Lin Mo himself was dumbfounded.

Wait, am I really that charismatic?

Lin Mo knew exactly why Zhang Yuzhong was so fiercely defending him, but to him, that incident had just been a trivial favor.

Releasing Su Jiazhen, Lin Mo looked down at him and said, "You guys don’t need to go. I’ll talk Zhang Yuzhong down."

Su Jiazhen could only nod, saying nothing more.

Lin Mo stood up and, under the collective gaze of Class 13, walked out of their classroom.

Though it seemed audacious, after hearing Su Jiazhen’s words, the students of Class 13 felt Lin Mo’s actions weren’t entirely unreasonable.

Besides, no one had ever heard of Lin Mo bullying anyone.

So, everyone agreed—Lin Mo was a decent guy.

Once outside Class 13, Fang Jun and An Yuexin, who had been waiting, overheard the conversation inside.

They turned to Lin Mo.

"Old Mo, you must’ve helped Zhang Yuzhong before. That’s why he’s defending you like this—and why he didn’t tell us, didn’t want us involved," Fang Jun remarked as he walked alongside him.

Lin Mo couldn’t help but sigh.

"He’s way too stubborn. I don’t think this is necessary at all."

The details of Zhang Yuzhong’s situation weren’t something Lin Mo could easily explain to Fang Jun and An Yuexin.

Who knew when Fang Jun, with his big mouth, might blab about it?

So Lin Mo simply shook his head. "I just lent him 200 yuan for an emergency. He paid me back quickly anyway. It’s really no big deal."

"That just proves Zhang Yuzhong’s a loyal guy. The kind of friend you’d want," Fang Jun said.

As they talked, they returned to their own classroom.

Just then, the preparatory bell rang.

This period was chemistry. Their teacher usually arrived during break, so as soon as the bell sounded, everyone returned to their seats.

Jiang Yunlu slid into her seat and cautiously leaned toward Lin Mo, her voice hushed.

"What happened in Class 13 just now?"

Her dark eyes flickered with concern—clearly, she’d heard about the earlier conflict between Lin Mo and Zhang Yuzhong.

Lin Mo shook his head calmly. "Nothing much. I’ll talk to Zhang Yuzhong again after class."

To Lin Mo, Zhang Yuzhong’s issue wasn’t a big deal.

Then, Lin Jiajun suddenly passed his phone under the desk to Lin Mo.

"Look at this!"

Lin Jiajun’s expression was grim, his brows tightly knit.

Lin Mo glanced at him and took the phone.

It was the school forum.

The post title read: "Don’t Chase Fame Like Lin Mo—Lin Mo, You Fraud!"

Oh great, here we go again.

The haters are leveling up—even using literary references now.

Lin Mo’s face remained impassive as he clicked into the post, scanning the content rapidly.

The original poster claimed with absolute certainty that Lin Mo’s promise to donate at the classroom door was pure bragging.

Their evidence? They’d scoured the "Han Lan Charity Foundation" website’s public records and found no trace of Lin Mo’s name.

For transparency, Han Lan Foundation listed donors’ surnames and amounts—but currently, not a single "Lin" appeared.

Lin Mo kept scrolling.

The post wasn’t highly popular, but dozens of comments had already piled up.

User SixPackFat: "Seriously, OP? Han Lan Foundation has tons of anonymous donors. How can you be so sure Lin Mo didn’t donate? Use your brain."

The OP replied instantly, oozing impatience:

"Then that’s just fame-chasing! Saying one thing and doing another—grabbing good PR first. Disgusting!"

Another commenter chimed in: "Isn’t it unfair to accuse someone without proof? What if you’re wrong?"

The OP shot back: "I’m just warning everyone! Unless he slaps the donation receipt in my face, I’m not deleting this!"

Right then, the class bell rang.

Lin Mo handed the phone back to Lin Jiajun.

"You good?" Lin Jiajun still seemed uneasy.

"I’m fine," Lin Mo said, his tone as casual as if discussing the weather. "I did donate that money."

With that, Lin Mo pulled out his own phone and opened the forum.

He ignored the pointless arguments and went straight to the OP’s profile, checking their post history.

As expected—a brand-new account.

Interestingly, this account’s only activity was in a now-deleted post slandering Lin Mo as a player.

The traces remained.

Good. A veteran hater.

Lin Mo put his phone away without another glance.

The post wasn’t gaining traction anyway. It could be ignored.

The priority after class was still dealing with that stubborn mule, Zhang Yuzhong.

During chemistry, Lin Mo focused on the lesson.

The moment class ended, Fang Jun practically slid along the edge of the teacher’s desk, gripping his phone, and plopped onto Lin Mo’s desk, panting.

"Old Mo, something’s off—someone’s dragging you on the forum again."

Lin Mo didn’t even lift his eyelids, leisurely tucking his chemistry book into his desk before giving a faint glance.

"I saw."

"You saw and you’re still this calm? They’re calling you out by name!" Fang Jun slapped his thigh in frustration—the emperor wasn’t worried, but the eunuch was frantic.

"Don’t worry about that. Go stop Zhang Yuzhong first."

Lin Mo’s gaze shifted past Fang Jun toward the back door.

Before he could finish speaking, a figure clutching a water bottle had already slipped out, head down.

Zhang Yuzhong had deliberately avoided Lin Mo—probably realizing the moment Lin Mo returned to class what had happened.

An Yuexin was already chasing him down the noisy hallway, grabbing Zhang Yuzhong’s arm.

"Stop. Is this stupid fight really worth it?"

Zhang Yuzhong halted, his brows furrowed, trying to pull free but failing.

His expression was resolute. "It is!"

"Lin Mo doesn’t even care. Why do you?" An Yuexin sighed.

"But I do."

"There’s no need. The guy was just mouthing off—it’s not like he was cursing you out. If you actually fight, the only outcome is you getting beaten black and blue," Lin Mo’s voice cut in from behind.

Zhang Yuzhong turned to face him, realizing how he’d been found out.

"I think—"

Lin Mo raised a hand. "I don’t care what you think. Su Jiazhen’s already been told—he won’t show up. So neither should you. Are you really so bored you’d pick a fight?"

He stepped forward, looming over Zhang Yuzhong with an unspoken pressure that made the latter lower his eyes.

"What, is studying too easy lately? Need to vent some pent-up energy?"

Lin Mo’s voice was quiet but razor-sharp. "What’s the point? Will that idiot give you extra credit? Boost your grades?"

"Now, get your ass back to the classroom and hit the books. If you don’t understand something, ask me!"

Lin Mo delivered the entire speech in one breath, leaving no room for argument, then spun on his heel and strode off, his retreating figure decisive.

Zhang Yuzhong stood frozen for a second before slowly raising his water bottle.

"I... I was just fetching water."