The Money Theft Incident

The fight didn't happen.

But a theft incident occurred in the class instead.

Mai Zirong was visibly agitated, pacing around restlessly, even dumping out the contents of his backpack.

"Where is it? Where did it go?"

His deskmate asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's gone! The class funds collected today—they're gone!"

"What the hell?!"

It was only the first official week of school. As the class treasurer, Mai Zirong had collected the funds to buy new cleaning supplies and other shared items.

But now, the money had disappeared.

"You saw it too—I kept all the money in a blue folder. It was very noticeable.

I even checked it before class, but after P.E., it was gone."

The class fee was ten yuan per person, so with forty-nine students, it totaled four hundred and ninety yuan.

The money had only just been fully collected today, but the moment it was all gathered, it vanished.

For Mai Zirong, this was a huge sum.

Without hesitation, he headed straight for the teacher's office.

At a time like this, he had to turn to their homeroom teacher, Chen Xiaoya.

Soon enough, Chen Xiaoya arrived.

She was frustrated—why did she have to deal with something like this?

But there was no choice. She had to call everyone back to the classroom first.

Lin Mo and Jiang Yunlu returned a bit later because they had been putting away equipment.

The moment he stepped inside, Lin Mo roughly guessed what had happened.

He hadn’t remembered earlier, but seeing this scene now, he recalled the theft of class funds during the first week of school.

Jiang Yunlu, however, had no idea what was going on. She cautiously returned to her seat and quietly asked Wang Qin, who had come back earlier.

Only then did she learn what had happened.

Jiang Yunlu then relayed the incident to Lin Mo.

Exactly the same as before. If he wasn’t mistaken, the next step would be...

Ma Ruixiang stood up.

"Teacher! I have a suggestion. It might be a bit invasive, but it’s the fastest way."

Chen Xiaoya looked at Ma Ruixiang and nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Let’s have one boy and one girl search everyone’s bags. Usually, a thief would either keep the money on them or hide it in their bag."

The method made sense, so most people agreed. Those who didn’t dare to object stayed silent.

After all, speaking up might make them look suspicious.

Once the decision was made, Chen Xiaoya assigned a girl and Ma Ruixiang to search the bags.

As for their own bags, Chen Xiaoya would search them personally.

Even the desk compartments were included in the search.

When Ma Ruixiang reached Lin Mo’s seat, he said politely, "Bro Mo, mind moving aside?"

Lin Mo casually stepped aside.

In his past life, Lin Mo had been a quiet kid in the back row, so Ma Ruixiang had been somewhat bossy with him.

But this time was different—probably because acting too arrogantly might get him punched.

Lin Mo’s backpack hung beside his desk. Ma Ruixiang quickly checked it, then inspected the desk. No money, no blue folder.

Four hundred and ninety yuan might not sound like much, but since some people paid with two five-yuan bills or ten one-yuan bills, the stack was quite thick.

It should have been easy to spot.

Yet, after searching every desk and bag in the class, the money was nowhere to be found.

Even Mai Zirong’s desk was checked multiple times.

As for Lin Mo, he had already scanned the classroom with his spiritual sense and knew where the money was hidden.

But he was more interested in finding out who the thief was.

Thinking back, he had a few suspects in mind.

So, Lin Mo didn’t reveal the money’s location.

He simply watched as Mai Zirong’s hopeful expression dimmed.

Mai Zirong sighed and slumped into his seat.

"Could it have been someone from another class?"

But without evidence, they couldn’t exactly demand cooperation from other classes.

In situations like this, most people had no choice but to accept the loss.

Chen Xiaoya frowned.

Guangba was an established school, but precisely because it was old, many facilities took time to update.

There were no surveillance cameras in the classroom, and the hallway cameras seemed to be broken.

She’d have to report this to the higher-ups. Otherwise, with all these messy incidents, the homeroom teachers wouldn’t be able to handle it.

"Mai Zirong, come with me. Let’s leave it at this for now. We’ll discuss it further during Monday’s class meeting."

Seeing no other option, Chen Xiaoya decided to take Mai Zirong away first.

Leaving him in the classroom would only make him a target.

Ten yuan per person wasn’t a huge amount in 2012, but combined, four hundred and ninety was no small sum.

She wondered if she should front the money herself for now.

But if the thief wasn’t caught, it would only lead to more trouble.

After Chen Xiaoya left, Class Eight, no longer under supervision, grew lively again.

Everyone started cursing the thief.

But since interest group sessions were about to start, they didn’t linger long before leaving the classroom.

Jiang Yunlu also picked up her badminton racket and headed out. Before leaving, she glanced at Lin Mo.

"Are you really not joining the badminton team?"

"Nah. It’s fun, but it’s not part of my plans."

Seeing his resolve, Jiang Yunlu didn’t push further and left for the badminton courts in the gym.

Goat City had a strong badminton culture, and many schools had dedicated courts to train players.

From what Lin Mo knew, Guangba not only had a badminton gym but also a swimming pool above it.

There was even a weightlifting team on the other side.

Truly well-rounded.

At the moment,

only a few students remained in the classroom.

Lin Mo stayed behind—he wasn’t interested in any clubs, and studying or solving problems suited him just fine.

Looking around, he saw about a dozen others still in the room.

But they were all the quiet, reserved types.

Including Chu Miaomiao.

Chu Miaomiao glanced left and right, saw no one nearby, and walked over to sit in Jiang Yunlu’s seat.

"My mom asked me to ask you—when are you free to come over for dinner?"

Lin Mo blinked.

"Huh? When did I agree to eat at your place?"

"My mom said she wants to thank you properly. If eating at home isn’t convenient, we can go out. Just tell me what you’d like."

Though the girl usually kept her head down, her gaze now was steady as she looked at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo waved it off.

"Then I’ll just come over after school. I need to head home afterward anyway."

He had to return home to pick up his computer and other things.

He’d already mentioned this to Auntie Zheng and Xie Yuling yesterday.

But then, remembering something, Lin Mo turned to Chu Miaomiao.

"By the way, do you want to go back first after school, or wait for me?"

Chu Miaomiao, who had just taken out her phone to text her mom, paused. After a moment, she said, "I’ll tell my mom not to pick me up. I’ll wait for you."

Lin Mo nodded. That worked—mainly because he wanted to catch the thief.