Garlic Paste Recognizes Faces

Sunday, the rain had cleared.

But summer in Goat City felt like a steamer basket.

Even after the sun set, the air remained thick with an inescapable mugginess.

Lin Mo’s backpack was heavy—he had brought back all his Olympiad math books, including the ones he’d already read.

He had finished all his practice papers that morning.

The classroom was already lively with many students chatting about their weekends, as usual.

Jiang Yunlu hadn’t arrived yet, but Chu Miaomiao was already there.

Today, Chu Miaomiao had tied her hair into a ponytail, her whole demeanor glowing, unlike her usual habit of keeping her head down.

She instantly drew the attention of many boys.

However, Chu Miaomiao walked straight to Lin Mo’s desk and placed a cake box on it.

"Mom asked me to give this to you. There are cream puffs, meat floss cakes, and snowflake crisps... I made the snowflake crisps myself. Try them and see if they’re good."

By the end of her sentence, she had unconsciously lowered her head again.

Lin Mo reached out and patted Chu Miaomiao’s head. "Thanks!"

"I should be thanking you."

Chu Miaomiao recalled how her mother had woken up that morning looking utterly bewildered.

And when she returned in the afternoon, her expression was still strange.

She didn’t know what had happened, but if Lin Mo said it was nothing, then it must be.

The cream puffs and meat floss cakes were store-bought, but the snowflake crisps were her own handiwork.

Chu Miaomiao believed handmade gifts carried more sincerity.

Nearby, Lin Jiajun, who had been reading a newspaper, set it aside and glanced at Chu Miaomiao before shifting his gaze to the cake box in front of Lin Mo.

"Hey, share some food."

Lin Mo opened the box and handed it over.

Inside were the cream puffs and meat floss cakes, while the snowflake crisps were packed separately.

Lin Mo didn’t open the bag containing the snowflake crisps.

Since meat floss cakes tended to scatter crumbs, the ever-dignified Lin Jiajun picked up a cream puff instead.

He took a bite.

"Not bad. Must be from Master Bao’s."

Lin Mo nodded and grabbed a meat floss cake for himself.

As Lin Mo ate, Chu Miaomiao quietly sat at her desk, pretending to read a novel while stealing glances at him.

Lin Mo finished two meat floss cakes and then tried a piece of snowflake crisp.

The treat was sweet, crispy, and rich in texture.

Admittedly, Chu Miaomiao had a knack for making desserts.

Though, to be fair, snowflake crisps weren’t the hardest to make.

Nearby, Wang Qin watched everything unfold, growing increasingly anxious as she kept glancing at the door.

But Jiang Yunlu never showed up—not even by the end of evening self-study.

After class, Wang Qin approached Lin Mo.

"Aren’t you worried about Jiang Yunlu? She didn’t come."

Lin Mo raised his phone. "I asked. She’s sick with a fever, resting at home. She might not come tomorrow either."

At the start of class, Lin Mo had messaged Jiang Yunlu on QQ:

"Why aren’t you here?"

Jiang Yunlu replied quickly:

"Got caught in the rain last night, now I have a fever. But it’s gone down already."

"Good. More height growth for you."

"You don’t even care about me! [○･｀Д´･○]"

"If I didn’t care, you wouldn’t be chatting with me right now."

"Hmph! (╯^╰) Fine, whatever."

"Rest well. Sleep it off."

"(｡･ω･｡) Okay!"

Clearly, a sick Jiang Yunlu was slightly more endearing.

After reading the chat log, Wang Qin awkwardly stepped back and returned to packing her things.

She thought to herself—Jiang Yunlu never talked like this with her.

What a two-faced girl.

Still, seeing Lin Mo show concern for Jiang Yunlu made Wang Qin think her friend still had a chance.

As Lin Mo finished packing up, Xie Yuling was already waiting outside.

The two had grown completely accustomed to this routine.

But as they walked out the gate side by side, Lin Mo suddenly paused.

Chu Miaomiao was standing at the school entrance, with a few boys trying to strike up a conversation.

Chu Lintian’s car hadn’t arrived yet—was Chu Miaomiao being harassed?

Lin Mo turned to Xie Yuling.

"Wait a second."

Xie Yuling stopped. "What’s wrong?"

"A friend might be in trouble."

Lin Mo strode toward Chu Miaomiao.

Chu Miaomiao had never been good at socializing—in modern terms, she’d be labeled an introvert.

"Hey, just give us your QQ or phone number, alright?"

The boys looked like troublemakers, though Lin Mo didn’t recognize them.

He walked up and placed a hand on the speaker’s shoulder.

With just a slight squeeze—

"Ah! Oww! That hurts!"

Lin Mo’s tone was calm. "Do you want to give them your contact info?"

Hearing his voice, Chu Miaomiao’s eyes brightened, but she shook her head firmly.

Lin Mo released the boy and glanced at the other two.

"My classmate doesn’t want to share her contact details. Stop bothering her. Understood?"

His voice carried a dismissive edge.

The boy who’d been grabbed turned around, ready to throw a punch—but his friends immediately held him back.

Then he finally saw who he was dealing with.

Lin Mo.

The guy who could beat a drill instructor in arm wrestling.

Even in the entire Guangba Middle School, everyone knew his name.

Anyone who picked a fight with him had to first ask themselves: Are you stronger than a military trainer?

The trio instantly backed down.

"O-our bad. We’ll leave now."

Lin Mo added coolly, "If I beat you up for harassing a girl off-campus, even the school admin would praise me for it."

The three fled at lightning speed.

In truth, Lin Mo was bluffing—school authorities were experts at blaming both sides equally.

Unless he became a sect’s holy son, he wouldn’t get away with hitting people so easily.

[Host, becoming a sect’s holy son is no small task. But if you were one, bullying other disciples would be effortless. You could even take female disciples as cultivation cauldrons at will.]

"System, must you pop up out of nowhere? I was getting used to your silent treatment. And please—try not to sound like the Great Love Immortal Venerable, alright?"

This system either stayed silent or spouted the most villainous nonsense.

The author really needed to write less of this rogue AI.

Just as Lin Mo sent the boys running, Chu Lintian’s car pulled up to the gate.

"Lin Mo! You’re here too. Thank you so much for last night."

Chu Lintian didn’t know the details, but when she returned to work today, Zhu Ligang had unexpectedly sent over a contract—with even more favorable terms than before.

Zhu Ligang’s submissive demeanor made it seem like he’d been threatened.

Her intuition told her Lin Mo was involved.

And Ji Boda had voluntarily resigned without demanding a single penny in compensation.

That aligned perfectly with Chu Miaomiao’s account—the two had tried something underhanded and been caught.

But Chu Lintian had no idea where to start investigating.

Perhaps Lin Mo held some leverage over them. If needed, she might have to ask him for it.

Lin Mo outside the car simply smiled and nodded. "As long as Aunt Chu is alright, that’s what matters. I still need to escort the landlord home, so we’ll catch up another time."

Chu Lintian glanced at Xie Yuling standing beside Lin Mo—another strikingly beautiful face with a tall, graceful figure.

This was definitely a formidable rival for Chu Miaomiao!

Still, she nodded politely. "Then let’s talk another time. Thank you for your help last night."

"Don’t mention it. It was no trouble at all," Lin Mo replied with a nod.

By then, Chu Miaomiao had already gotten into the car and was waving at Lin Mo.

"See you tomorrow."

"Sure! See you tomorrow."