Actually, It Still Hurts

Inside the police station.

Lin Mo and Gao Yuanqiang's statements were basically identical.

After recording their statements, the two of them were free to leave.

As for Huang Haoyang, he was definitely going to be detained.

If he only had that first knife and stopped struggling after being stuffed into the trash can, he might not be in such deep trouble.

But pulling out a second knife at a scene with police present, intending to attack someone, was clear-cut attempted murder.

Moreover, both knives had Huang Haoyang's fingerprints on them, proving it was premeditated.

This made the situation incredibly serious.

Lin Mo and Gao Yuanqiang walked out of the police station. Director Huang Zhirong initially wanted to drive Lin Mo straight home, but Lin Mo shook his head and declined.

"There's no need, Director Huang. I want to head back by myself. It's already quite late, you should go back and rest too."

Seeing Lin Mo's insistence, Huang Zhirong could only bid them farewell and drive away.

As for Gao Yuanqiang, he walked home himself, as it was only a few steps away.

Lin Mo picked up his phone, only to find missed calls from Chu Miaomiao.

She probably saw the long essay Gao Yuanqiang posted in the group chat.

Xie Yuling was different. At first, she merely sent a few messages asking if he was home yet.

Half an hour later, she sent another message asking about the attack.

She must have heard the news from Chu Miaomiao.

After all, Xie Yuling's social circle was thin. She hardly knew anyone in Class Seven. She had quite a few admirers, but she rarely added people on QQ.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Mo walked in the direction of his rented apartment.

The night was as dark as ink. In Xie Yuling's room, only a single desk lamp was lit.

Under the lamplight, she sat up straight, eyes tightly shut and brows slightly furrowed, pouring all her concentration into the paper airplane on the desk.

"Focus, make the paper airplane move! Move, move, move!"

She chanted in her heart. Her spiritual power, like a trickling stream, cautiously extended outward, attempting to wrap around the weightless paper airplane.

At first, she pressed her palms together, looking as if she were devoutly making a wish.

Then, imitating the XianXia dramas on TV, she formed a sword sign with one hand and pointed at the paper airplane from a distance.

The paper airplane trembled slightly, as if brushed by a gentle breeze, and slid across the surface of the desk.

But that was all.

Her pushing force was simply lacking.

Fifty centimeters, not a millimeter more.

Xie Yuling let out a deflated sigh and slumped into her chair, feeling more exhausted than if she had just run an eight-hundred-meter dash.

She picked up her phone and habitually checked it. The screen was empty, with no new messages.

Refusing to give up, she opened the school forum, her fingers swiping down rapidly to refresh the page.

It was still the same old stuff.

Occasionally, a few posts with eye-catching titles would pop up, but before she could click on them, they would vanish without a trace upon the next refresh, as if they had never existed.

"What the hell is going on..."

She muttered.

What she did not know was that Director Huang had long since dispatched people to take control of the forum's moderators.

He had just ordered these moderators to delete any posts containing news about tonight's events.

At least until the school officially announced Huang Haoyang's expulsion, they needed to suppress the information.

Therefore, Xie Yuling lost a channel for gathering information.

In truth, Xie Yuling was not worried about Lin Mo; she just remembered the incident involving Huang Haoyang during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

She had not asked Lin Mo for the details back then, never expecting that something would happen now.

So she was determined to find an opportunity to ask him what exactly was going on.

For now, she could only put down her phone and continue training her spiritual power.

Just as she refocused her mind and let her consciousness radiate outward, the paper airplane on the desk suddenly moved on its own without any warning!

It no longer slid across the desk; instead, its wings fluttered, and it lightly and slowly lifted off the surface. It hovered elegantly, as if supported by an invisible hand.

Immediately after, the paper airplane drew a smooth arc in the air and circled once around Xie Yuling's head.

Xie Yuling's eyes widened instantly as she noticed this sudden change.

This spiritual power was delicate, powerful, and carried an aura she was incredibly familiar with.

"The paper airplane from childhood has finally flown back into my hands."

A smiling voice rang out from behind her.

Lin Mo had appeared in the room at some unknown point. He reached out and deftly caught the hovering paper airplane, unfolded it, and in a few swift motions, transformed it into an adorably clumsy paper frog, placing it steadily on the desk.

"Learn to jump before you learn to fly. Always trying to fly right away makes it too hard to practice."

As he spoke, his fingertips twitched slightly, and the paper frog on the desk came to life, hopping forward vividly.

Xie Yuling puffed out her cheeks. "Hmph! Who said you could change my paper airplane?"

"Oh? Not happy about it?" Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll change it back for you."

He feigned reaching out to grab the paper frog, but Xie Yuling, reacting even faster, scooped it up and guarded it tightly in the palm of her hand.

"Tch, why should I let you fold it and then change it back? No way."

"Then I won't."

Lin Mo smiled and, making himself completely at home, walked over to Xie Yuling's bed. He sat right down and then fell backward, lying flat and comfortable.

"Hey! That's a girl's bed!" Xie Yuling was both embarrassed and annoyed.

"You've lain on my bed so many times, what's wrong with me doing it once?" Lin Mo rested his head on his hands, looking as if it were perfectly natural.

The young girl voiced her displeasure, but the corners of her mouth, which were harder to suppress than the recoil of an AK, betrayed her true feelings.

She played with the paper frog in her hand, feeling a sweetness in her heart. Then, remembering the important matter, she quickly pressed on:

"On a serious note, what exactly happened tonight? And Huang Haoyang's family..."

Lying on the bed, Lin Mo stared at the ceiling, his tone as flat as if he were commenting on the nice weather today.

"I did it."

He paused and continued, "I'm a petty person. His mom cursed me, saying I brought death to my parents. So, I taught their family a lesson."

As his voice fell, the room instantly plunged into silence.

The smile on Xie Yuling's face froze bit by bit.

She looked at the boy before her. He was speaking the most chilling words in the most relaxed tone. The ruthlessness hidden beneath that calmness made her heart tremble.

Hearing this, Xie Yuling was stunned for a moment.

She slowly walked to the edge of the bed and, without saying a word, quietly lay down beside him.

Then, she reached out and gently but firmly wrapped her arms around Lin Mo's waist.

She asked nothing, she said nothing.

She simply used this embrace to tell him that no matter what he had done, she was there for him.

The two of them just lay there quietly.

After a long time, Xie Yuling finally spoke slowly.

"Does it hurt?"

"It does. That's why, when I was in the office, I held back from turning that mother and son directly into a paste of flesh."

Xie Yuling pressed tightly against Lin Mo's back. She knew that kind of pain, and she only wanted to help him ease it.