Idle Gossip

A fashionably dressed older woman was even more outspoken:

"Young man, let me tell you, with such a beautiful girlfriend crying her eyes red, if you don't cherish her now, believe me, the moment you two break up, she could walk right out the door and find someone much better! By then, you won't even have a place to cry!"

"If you ask me, there's probably something going on with that female colleague of his! Otherwise, why would he look so guilty?"

The murmurs grew louder, each malicious comment stabbing into the young man like a knife.

Surrounded by the crowd, his face went from pale to flushed, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead. He was so embarrassed that he didn't even know where to put his hands.

The flood of public opinion almost swallowed the young man whole. Every accusation was like a heavy stone, weighing him down until he couldn't lift his head.

Everyone took the girl's side, using the cheapest sense of morality to subject him to a public trial.

Just as the boy was about to drown in their spit, the girl drew strength from the crowd's vocal support. She finally raised her head and looked straight at her silent boyfriend.

"You heard them, didn't you? I don't absolutely need you."

Her voice carried a hint of a tremble, yet she feigned strength. "If you don't love me, there are plenty of others who will."

During the argument, the middle-aged Daoist was currently staring at Lin Mo with a look of utter despair.

His eyes conveyed a clear message: "Look, this is all your fault."

Even Han Lu, who was standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch anymore. She quietly took a step back, distancing herself from Lin Mo.

What on earth was this guy trying to do? Making such a huge scene, how was he going to wrap this up?

Right at that moment, Lin Mo made his move.

He took a step forward, inserting himself squarely between the arguing couple like a sudden wall.

He first glanced at the boy on his left, then at the girl on his right, and finally let his gaze fall upon the crowd of self-righteous onlookers.

Then, in a calm and unhurried tone, he clearly recited the line from the fortune slip that the Daoist had interpreted earlier.

"Do not listen to idle gossip of right and wrong; morning and evening, one should only recite Daoist scriptures."

His voice wasn't loud, but it acted like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing the noisy flames around them.

The buzzing chatter gradually died down, and everyone froze.

Even the girl, who had wanted to continue tossing out harsh words, swallowed them right back down.

The middle-aged Daoist shuddered, suddenly realizing what was going on.

That's right!

At this very moment, in this exact situation, didn't it perfectly correspond to that line from the fortune slip?

Lin Mo looked at the girl. "You think it's all just idle gossip? In truth, all this idle gossip stems from your restless heart. You don't trust him, which is why you chose to believe the right and wrong spoken by others."

The girl was left completely speechless. Her lips parted a few times, but she couldn't utter a single word.

In the crowd, that fashionably dressed older woman wasn't happy. She had spoken up out of the goodness of her heart; how did she suddenly become the one spreading gossip?

She crossed her arms, stepped forward, and retorted in a shrill voice:

"Young man, you can't say that! We're just looking out for this girl! You can tell this guy doesn't care. Can't he tell what's more important between work and keeping her company?"

Hearing this, Lin Mo couldn't even be bothered to look her in the eye and fired right back.

"Oh? So love alone is enough to keep you fed, huh? If he doesn't work, are you going to fund their relationship? Are you paying for their trip here?"

"He's working himself to the bone right now just so he can comfortably stay by her side in the future, isn't he?"

The older woman found an opening and sneered, her volume rising another octave:

"Sounds nice! What do you mean 'for their future'! If he changed girlfriends, would he suddenly stop working hard? Don't dress up your own ambition as a sacrifice for someone else!"

As soon as she said this, quite a few people around them nodded in agreement.

Lin Mo, however, laughed. He finally turned his head to face the older woman directly.

"Lady, your logic is truly fascinating.

Going by what you're saying, a woman has to have children no matter who she's with. So wouldn't it have been the same if you just found some random wild man out there and had a baby with him? After all, giving birth is giving birth."

When you go home, don't tell your husband that you risked your life to have a child for him. After all, if you changed husbands, you'd still have to give birth, wouldn't you?"

These words were both tricky and caustic, like a poisoned knife stabbing precisely into the older woman's heart.

Her face instantly drained of color.

Because... she actually nagged her husband every day, telling him how she had lost half her life just to give him a child.

These words effectively rendered the sacrifice she was so proud of completely worthless!

Her chest heaved violently as she pointed at Lin Mo, stammering "You, you, you" for a long time without being able to curse out a single word.

Finally, she stomped her foot fiercely, turned around, and left. Her high heels clicked against the bluestone pavement, making angry, venting thuds.

Taking a deep breath, the fashionable woman let out a cold snort, stomped her feet, and walked out the door.

The others also stopped making a sound.

After all, when the fortune was being interpreted earlier, everyone was present and heard it loud and clear.

Given the situation, it really wasn't wrong to say that they were the ones spreading idle gossip.

Didn't they just see that older woman run away?

The courtyard, which had been boiling with voices just a second ago, instantly became so quiet that only the rustling of the wind sweeping up fallen leaves could be heard.

For a moment, the atmosphere reached the peak of awkwardness.

The middle-aged Daoist looked at Lin Mo's back. The look in his eyes shifted from helplessness to amazement, finally turning into a trace of unfathomable scrutiny.

This kid actually has some skills.

As for the couple, after experiencing this farce, they continued to stand in silence.

Only this time, the girl was no longer looking at anyone else. Instead, she stared blankly at her boyfriend beside her, who hadn't said a word from beginning to end.

His fists, at some unknown point, had already unclenched.

Lin Mo's gaze swept over the girl's pale face, then he turned around, his eyes falling on the young man.

He raised his hand and patted the young man's shoulder neither lightly nor heavily.

"Brother, do you see it clearly now?"

Lin Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"She doesn't truly love you; she's just selfish. She craves the sweetness between you two but has never thought about weathering the storms together. A relationship like this, where she only wants to enjoy the present without considering the future, is better off ended sooner rather than later."

He paused, a hint of teasing creeping into his tone.

"Once you break up, you can go on your business trips with peace of mind. You'll come back, get promoted and get a raise, become the general manager, take on the role of CEO, marry a rich and beautiful woman, and reach the pinnacle of life. Isn't that better than wasting your time here?"

These words practically spoke right to the hearts of all the working-class people present.

The young man was stunned. The people around them mulled it over and thought, hey, that actually makes sense!

"That's not true..."

The girl's expression completely crumbled, all the color draining entirely from her face. She shook her head desperately, her voice trembling. "It's not like that. No, don't say that..."

Looking at the girl's tottering appearance, the young man finally made a move.

He took a deep breath as if using up all the strength in his body. Then, meeting everyone's gaze, he spoke.

"You are wrong."