My Mom Told Me to Go Home for Dinner

Campus life returned to a state of complete normalcy.

The drumbeat of finals grew louder and louder. The third-year students were like tightly wound clockwork; not a trace of relaxation could be found on their faces.

The first-years had also officially entered their review cycle, and the sound of turning pages seemed a few degrees more urgent than usual.

Lin Mo alone was the anomaly.

He transformed into a "Gold Medal Tutor," explaining difficult problems to anyone willing to swallow their pride and ask. Almost all the subject teachers were willing to give Lin Mo free rein; he was even allowed to do his own thing during major core classes.

After all, he already knew everything that needed to be learned, so the teachers simply turned a blind eye.

It was Friday morning.

No sooner had Lin Mo sat down than Jiang Yunlu leaned over.

"What's up?"

Since Monday, Jiang Yunlu had been acting hesitant, as if she had something to say but kept holding back. This hesitation had lasted all the way until Friday.

Jiang Yunlu clenched the hem of her school uniform. As if summoning every ounce of strength in her body, she finally squeezed the words out.

"Lin Mo, tonight... I'd like to invite you to my house for dinner."

How sincere, how earnest.

Lin Mo turned to look at Jiang Yunlu, blinked, and a playful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Are you sure? Is Old Jiang actually going to be happy about me walking through his front door?"

Hearing that nickname, Jiang Yunlu couldn't help but recall the scene from the previous night when she had finally decided to tell her father about inviting Lin Mo over.

"Dad, I'm inviting Lin Mo to have dinner at our house tomorrow. Is that okay?"

In the living room, Jiang Chengshan was watching the financial news on the sofa. Hearing his daughter's words, the hand holding his teacup froze in mid-air.

Jiang Chengshan took a deep breath. If they weren't at home, he absolutely would have taken a massive, lung-filling drag of a cigarette.

He set down the teacup, trying hard to make his expression look kind and approachable.

However, looking at the hopeful look in his daughter's eyes, he couldn't help but say, "Actually, coming over for dinner isn't a problem, but for hosting a guest, it's really better to eat out. How about we treat him to that Teochew private kitchen? Dad can make a reservation for you right now."

This speech was watertight, displaying the smoothness of an old veteran.

However, Jiang Yunlu was impervious to his tactics. Ever since she found out last week about everything Lin Mo had gone through with Chu Miaomiao and Xie Yuling, she felt it was unfair.

Especially after seeing what Xie Yuling posted on her WeChat Moments.

Yes, WeChat's marketing efforts were very strong in Guangzhou, so many young people had actively started using it. At least, before it evolved into a tool for controlling corporate wage slaves, the app's reputation was still quite good.

It was precisely because she saw those posts that Jiang Yunlu decided she had to invite Lin Mo to her home, no matter what.

She held her phone up to Jiang Chengshan's face, her tone carrying a hint of grievance she hadn't even realized herself.

"Dad, look. They all get to go out and play with Lin Mo. I also want to... get to know him a little better."

Jiang Chengshan looked at the young man in the photo—someone both familiar and strange to him—and his gaze grew complex.

But at the very least, his fist hardened.

What is this stinking brat trying to do?

During their negotiations before, the kid had talked a big game, acting like he was going to dig up Jiang's precious cabbage. And now, here he was, entangled ambiguously with two other girls.

One was Chu Miaomiao, the other was Xie Yuling.

Jiang Chengshan knew exactly who they were.

This Lin Mo was like a vortex; he always managed to turn everything upside down.

But his daughter's eyes were full of hope, like a clear spring, making it impossible for him to voice a refusal.

After a long silence, Jiang Chengshan finally admitted defeat and sighed heavily.

"Alright, fine."

He leaned back against the sofa, as if he had made a momentous decision, and added, "A guest is a guest. Naturally, I, as your father, will host him personally."

Although he had lost the upper hand last time, this time, no matter what, he was going to show Lin Mo exactly who was boss.

Her thoughts pulled back to the classroom.

Jiang Yunlu straightened her back, looking as if what she had received from her father last night wasn't just permission, but an imperial decree.

"My dad agreed! He said... warm welcome!"

Looking at Jiang Yunlu's expression, Lin Mo could easily deduce the answer.

Old Jiang absolutely did not say that.

The murmurs in the front row gradually subsided, but every word had been like a small stone accurately tossed into the lake of Chu Miaomiao's heart.

She lay prone on her desk, motionless, resembling a sleeping doll. Only her slightly twitching ears betrayed that she was focusing all her attention.

When the final syllable fell, Chu Miaomiao scooted backward. Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, perfectly obscuring her face.

Her hands, hidden beneath the desk, were trembling slightly as she whipped out her phone. The cold light of the screen illuminated her nervous face.

She opened her pinned chat with Xie Yuling, her fingers flying across the keyboard. She typed out the intelligence she had just gathered, word for word, and sent it over, adding a horrified emoji at the end.

The phone vibrated almost instantly.

Xie Yuling's reply was brief and powerful: "Then you go too!"

Chu Miaomiao shook her head violently, then remembered that Xie Yuling couldn't see her.

She could only respond with a string of ellipses.

Sitting in Class 7, Xie Yuling couldn't help but sigh. She suddenly felt that such a demand was abrupt and helpless.

She was being unreasonable.

In that instant, she suddenly understood Jiang Yunlu's mindset from the previous week.

She looked at their small alliance group chat. There were still two years before they would leave Guangba High School.

After careful consideration, she typed into the chat box: "Forget it. We've had our turn; it's only fair to let her have hers."

After all, they had agreed before the alliance was formed not to interfere with each other's actions.

Jiang Yunlu had executed this rule very well; she hadn't interfered, nor had she disrupted their itinerary.

Fairness was the foundation of the alliance's existence.

In the end, Xie Yuling put down her phone.

Upon receiving this message, Chu Miaomiao's heart, which had been hanging in her throat, finally settled back into place. Her whole body relaxed.

She pursed her lips. If Xie Yuling wasn't coming, she didn't dare go either.

With the problem solved, curiosity took the upper hand again.

Quietly, bit by bit, she lifted her head from behind the fortress of stacked books, wanting to steal a glance at Lin Mo's reaction.

Her gaze barely cleared the obstacle when it collided head-on with a pair of smiling eyes.

Lin Mo had turned around at some point, resting his chin in one hand, watching her with great interest. That look clearly said:

I saw every little move you just made.

Chu Miaomiao's cheeks burned instantly, the blood rushing straight to the top of her head.

Like a startled rabbit, she slammed back down onto her desk, wrapping her arms tightly around her head, wishing she could dig a hole and crawl into it right there and then.

Jiang Yunlu also noticed Chu Miaomiao's behavior.

She took her phone out from under her desk and opened the alliance group chat. There wasn't a single word in it.

Jiang Yunlu stood up with a smile and crouched down beside Chu Miaomiao. "Miaomiao, do you want to come along?"

Chu Miaomiao peeked at Lin Mo, then shook her head vigorously.

"No, my mom called me to come home for dinner."