Can Smoke, but Don't

6:30 PM.

Lin Mo and Xie Yuling left together for evening self-study.

Day students who lived far away could apply to skip evening self-study, but it wasn’t a big deal—just two hours of quiet study.

Both wore their school uniforms as they walked.

Guangba Middle School had strict dress code requirements: no slippers or casual clothes on campus.

Even Sunday evening self-study was no exception.

"Lin Mo, how did you know I like shrimp?" Xie Yuling gazed at the wine-red sky at dusk.

"The first time we ate at your place, you practically devoured an entire plate of shrimp. If you said you didn’t like them, no one would believe you."

Lin Mo walked ahead, his tone indifferent.

Xie Yuling’s cheeks flushed, but she pretended to scoff. "What if I was just being considerate of you and forcing myself to eat them?"

Girl, tsundere is so outdated.

Still, Lin Mo replied, "Given how skillfully you peeled those shells and the smile on your face, it was obvious you loved them."

Xie Yuling’s face turned even redder. "Fine. Since you know how to please your landlord, I’ll let it slide."

"What, are you waiving my rent?"

She stuck out her tongue.

"No, but since my grades are decent, you can ask me if you’re stuck on anything."

Lin Mo already knew Xie Yuling was a top student—otherwise, she wouldn’t have so many admirers.

A smart, pretty girl? Who wouldn’t like her?

He nodded. "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely ask. But my grades aren’t bad either."

"Oh? A challenge, is it?" Xie Yuling’s voice shifted, adopting a deeper, almost masculine tone—not exactly mature, but convincingly boyish.

Lin Mo hadn’t expected her to be skilled at voice acting. Not bad.

"Hey, kid, not bad at all. Yeah, I’m challenging you. What about it?"

"Then let’s bet on the first monthly exam. Whoever scores lower has to do one thing for the other."

Xie Yuling kept up the voice.

"Deal. But with that talent, ever thought about voice acting?"

In his past life, Lin Mo had moved away after the college entrance exams and never learned what Xie Yuling studied or where she went.

She waved a hand. "Nah, just for fun. If I actually pursued it, my mom would kill me."

This version of Xie Yuling was completely different from before.

But Lin Mo didn’t know—this was the real her from the start.

They soon reached the school gate.

Then Lin Mo heard a shout: "Lin Mo!"

He turned to see Ma Li, the athletic student whose spot as P.E. monitor he’d unintentionally taken.

"Lin Mo, why didn’t you join the basketball team? That three-pointer you nailed last time was insane. With you, we could’ve made nationals."

Lin Mo shook his head. "Just luck."

Ma Li glanced at Xie Yuling and was instantly struck.

Pale skin, an aloof aura.

Around others, Xie Yuling reverted to the untouchable class beauty.

She gave Lin Mo a nod and headed to her classroom.

Ma Li was a jock, but not clueless.

Grinning, he nudged Lin Mo’s shoulder. "Nice, scoring a girlfriend so fast. But what about Jiang Yunlu?"

Jiang Yunlu was gorgeous—the whole class could see she had a thing for Lin Mo.

Lin Mo hooked an arm around Ma Li’s neck and squeezed just enough to make him yelp.

"It's obvious you don’t have reliable sources. Xie Yuling is my landlord."

With that, Lin Mo released his grip on Ma Li.

The hold lasted only a moment, not long at all.

Ma Li rubbed his shoulder, a hint of fear lingering in his movements.

"Lin Mo is really something. No wonder he could overpower the instructor."

Lin Mo headed upstairs and returned to the classroom.

Only about a third of the class had arrived so far.

Everyone was chatting about what they’d done over the weekend—some had played pool, others video games, or visited amusement parks.

The atmosphere in the first year of high school was still fairly relaxed.

Especially since most of the students here were academically strong.

At that moment, Lin Jiajun set down the National Geographic magazine he’d been reading.

He glanced at Lin Mo. "How was your weekend, Lin Mo?"

"Not bad. Played some games, went grocery shopping, cooked. Pretty relaxing."

"Games? Single-player or online?"

"A bit of both. But these past couple days, I’ve been playing this new game called League Heroes—Tencent’s latest release. It’s pretty good."

Lin Mo’s words made Lin Jiajun’s eyes light up.

"I’ve played it too. It’s way more streamlined than Dota, and the graphics are better. Sure, most of the mechanics and skills are copied, but I can tell this game has potential."

Lin Mo nodded slightly.

"The gameplay will probably diverge completely from Dota in the future. You can already see the early signs."

Finding someone who could discuss this still-niche game with him, Lin Jiajun exchanged IDs with Lin Mo.

The domestic servers initially only had Ionia and Bilgewater, so they didn’t have to worry about region issues.

"My rental place just got broadband set up today. It’ll take a few days for the internet to be connected."

Lin Jiajun grinned. "Do I look like an internet addict to you? But yeah, my family doesn’t restrict my gaming time."

Lin Mo didn’t know Lin Jiajun too well. Academically, he was mid-tier, staying in Class 8 after the reshuffle.

He was a steady presence—not particularly close or at odds with anyone.

Yet somehow, everyone seemed to respect him.

People like that were either big shots or just really good at socializing.

Lin Mo could tell Lin Jiajun was the latter.

Ten minutes before class, a group of boys from the back row headed to the restroom.

Lin Jiajun turned to Lin Mo.

"You smoke?"

Lin Mo watched their retreating figures, his spiritual sense following them.

In his past life, he’d been one of them.

"I can, but I don’t," Lin Mo replied casually.

"Same. My dad taught me. Knowing how to smoke makes it easier to break the ice."

True enough, Lin Mo had once bonded with troublemakers from other classes over cigarettes in the bathroom.

But what good did it do for troublemakers to know troublemakers?

Meanwhile, his spiritual sense eavesdropped on the restroom chatter.

"Hey, hey, listen—Chu Miaomiao is actually really cute."

"No kidding. We’ve known that for a while. But doesn’t she have some connection to Lin Mo?"

"Just a connection, not a relationship. Hands off, guys."

"Come on, isn’t this a free-for-all? May the best man win."

They laughed as they debated which girls in class were the prettiest.

Not everyone was fixated on Chu Miaomiao.

But Lin Mo, like a butterfly effect, had altered Chu Miaomiao’s fate—and the direction of their conversation.

He remembered a time when the name on everyone’s lips in that restroom had been Jiang Yunlu.

Of course, these boys had brought it up more than once, but everyone deliberately avoided mentioning Lin Mo.

At that moment, Su Mingzhao walked into the restroom. The group merely glanced at him before flicking their cigarette butts into the toilet and flushing them away.

In this life, they seemed to despise Su Mingzhao even more.