Continue Studying with a Clean Slate

The class period passed quickly, and everyone returned to pack up their things.

The group of students who had gone to try out for the basketball team also came back.

Some looked dejected, while others were brimming with pride.

But the dejected ones were clearly in the majority—Su Mingzhao, however, was among the proud few.

His basketball skills were indeed good, and in his past life, he had made the team, even becoming one of the starting players for the freshman squad.

If Lin Mo didn’t interfere, everything would proceed as usual.

Of course, quite a few others also joined the basketball team—after all, it was just an interest group. Even if they weren’t competing, they still needed people to practice with the main team.

But most were left disappointed.

Ma Li walked alongside his classmates, offering words of comfort.

"It’s just a basketball club, no big deal."

Though his attempts at consolation were feeble, they were better than nothing.

As for Su Mingzhao, he wore a smug expression as he remarked, "It’s just that you guys are terrible. Couldn’t even make a free throw."

"You just got lucky! Stop acting all high and mighty!"

One resentful student suddenly stood up, pointing at Su Mingzhao and shouting.

Su Mingzhao noticed more than one pair of angry eyes fixed on him. If he kept taunting them, he might really get jumped.

So he immediately shut his mouth and turned away, sulking as he packed his things.

Friday evenings for freshmen didn’t require night study sessions, so they could head home right after class.

As for the boarding students, they didn’t have to attend night study either—they could leave campus to wander around, as long as they returned before the dormitory curfew at 11:30 PM.

Saturday was free time.

Being a prestigious high school, the behavioral expectations weren’t as strict as one might think—in fact, they were somewhat relaxed.

The only condition was maintaining decent grades.

But only a handful of students in each class actually lived on campus; most were locals who went home.

Most were already packing up to leave.

But Lin Mo wasn’t in a hurry—he was still finishing his homework.

Only when the classroom had mostly emptied did he leisurely begin gathering his things.

Behind him, Chu Miaomiao was also packing up.

She had spent the entire class diligently working on her assignments.

Only after seeing Lin Mo start did she follow suit.

By now, very few students remained.

The duty monitors had already finished cleaning and were starting to shoo people out.

After all, they still had to close the windows and lock the door.

Once that was done, they left without a second glance.

At the school gate, Lin Mo turned to Chu Miaomiao and pointed to a pavilion inside the campus. "Wait for me there. I’ll be back soon."

But the moment he turned to leave, a pair of hands grabbed his arm.

Lin Mo looked back to see Chu Miaomiao with her head lowered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No! I’m scared!"

Only then did Lin Mo remember—though Chu Miaomiao seemed fine on the surface, the incident had left its mark. After a moment’s thought, he relented.

"Then come with me. Just stay quiet and watch, no matter what happens."

Chu Miaomiao nodded vigorously, then followed him cautiously.

Lin Mo circled around, his spiritual sense locked onto the classroom.

Sure enough, a figure appeared, prying open the window of Class 8.

Back in the day, Lin Mo had studied these windows—they were designed so that if they weren’t unlatched from the inside, they couldn’t be opened from the outside.

But by now, the locks were worn out.

A firm sideways push was all it took to force them open.

The figure slipped inside effortlessly.

Immediately, he hurried toward the cabinets at the back of the room.

Carefully sliding one open, a blue folder tumbled out—the one containing the class funds.

"I’m sorry, Mai Zirong… I’ll pay you back," he muttered, stuffing the folder into his bag.

"So it’s you. Why steal a few hundred bucks?"

The figure whirled around to see Lin Mo standing by the window, arms crossed, with Chu Miaomiao silently beside him.

"Lin Mo?! Chu Miaomiao!"

"Zhang Yuzhong, are you in some kind of trouble?" Lin Mo’s tone held no mockery or provocation—just genuine concern.

The reason he hadn’t revealed the hiding spot of the class funds earlier was that, by the end of the semester, the money would mysteriously reappear on Mai Zirong’s desk.

That was why Lin Mo wanted to know who had taken it.

Zhang Yuzhong—a tall, dark-skinned boy from the countryside.

He had come from out of town to study at Guangba High.

But his grades were excellent, ranking in the top five of their class. By sophomore year, he’d even made it into the advanced science track.

For a high-achieving student to risk stealing money…

If it wasn’t some twisted impulse, then it had to be out of desperation.

And since he returned the money later, it meant something must have forced his hand.

A case of borrowing rather than outright theft—there had to be more to the story.

"Give me a reason that convinces me, and I’ll pretend I never saw this."

Lin Mo stood firm, watching Zhang Yuzhong.

Zhang Yuzhong fidgeted, at a loss for words.

But after some hesitation, he finally spoke. "My parents and younger siblings need money for food. I’ll pay it back—I’ve got a weekend job at a construction site. I can return it."

He wasn’t lying. He did pay it back later. But this would likely remain a stain on his conscience, a secret shame.

Lin Mo thought back—in high school, people didn’t pay much attention to who had money and who didn’t. He hadn’t noticed Zhang Yuzhong’s situation back then.

But his spiritual sense could discern truth from lies—Zhang Yuzhong’s emotions, expression, and body language betrayed no deception.

It was a reason Lin Mo could accept.

Stealing wasn’t right, but he wasn’t a judge. There was no need for legalistic moralizing.

After a moment’s consideration, Lin Mo pulled out two hundred yuan in cash.

"Put the money back. Take this—consider it a loan."

Zhang Yuzhong froze, stunned.

"You… you’re not turning me in?"

"What’s the point? Ruining your life helps no one. You’re better off staying clean and focusing on your studies."

At those words, Zhang Yuzhong’s eyes reddened, guilt written all over his face.

"I… I…"

Lin Mo climbed through the window and pressed the money into Zhang Yuzhong’s hand.

"Is this enough?"

"More than enough!" Zhang Yuzhong even tried to return one of the hundred-yuan bills.

"Keep it. Better to have some extra, just in case. Don’t push yourself too hard—your studies matter most. The school has financial aid for students in need. Talk to the homeroom teacher about it."

Zhang Yuzhong opened his mouth, then scratched his head. "I didn’t know."

And it made sense—unless the teacher brought it up, most students wouldn’t.

His gaze flickered toward Chu Miaomiao, still standing silently by the window.

"Don’t worry. She listens to me. She won’t say a word."

Lin Mo opened the classroom door.

"Let’s go. Everything will be fine."