The Miserable Genius

Coming out of the office, Lin Mo and Tong Dong didn't bring a teacher along.

After all, Xu Haoming had to stay in the office to wait for other students to hand in their exam papers.

"Let's go, we'll head to your place to get your things," Lin Mo said, patting Tong Dong on the shoulder.

"Are we not calling a teacher?" Tong Dong looked at Lin Mo in confusion.

"No need. There aren't any unexpected situations I can't handle."

Bringing a teacher was only to ensure proper procedure and legitimacy.

But thinking about it carefully, in Yangcheng, Lin Mo himself was the highest authority of legitimacy.

Besides, with him around, even if Tong Dong were stabbed to death, he could still save him.

With this in mind, he led Tong Dong out of the school.

Director Huang was already gone. The security guard at the booth saw Lin Mo from afar, greeted him, and then let them pass.

"So, you're doing alright living at school?"

Tong Dong nodded.

"It's fine. Although the cafeteria isn't open during summer break, my scholarship is enough for me to eat near the school."

Tong Dong was a very easy person to provide for.

While Lin Mo felt the cafeteria food tasted like cardboard, Tong Dong didn't care at all, as long as it filled his stomach.

However, there were many people like that—having little material desire for food, just needing to be full.

Guangtai Residential Compound, where Tong Dong lived, was neither too far nor too close to Guangba High School.

Walking there took a solid half-hour.

Following behind Tong Dong and watching his familiar, steady pace, Lin Mo thought to himself that this guy probably treated this daily commute as his workout.

Half an hour later, the two stood at the entrance of a mid-range residential area with decent landscaping and buildings.

Lin Mo looked around; the place was much better than he had expected.

He frowned. "Is your family renting this place?"

Given the kind of deadbeat his father was, if he actually owned a house, he probably would have sold it for booze and meat long ago.

Tong Dong shook his head, his tone flat. "No, it's my uncle's. He knows my dad is unreliable, so he let us borrow the place. Otherwise, a piece of trash like my dad wouldn't even have a roof over his head."

Lin Mo nodded. Makes sense. This uncle was a sensible man.

They entered the elevator and wobbled their way up.

Ding.

Tong Dong walked up to one of the doors and pointed at the faded, whitened 'Fu' character pasted on it.

"I pasted this two years ago. If I don't change it, he definitely won't bother to."

As he spoke, he fished a key out of his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it.

Click.

The door opened.

A sour, rotten smell mixed with dust and cheap alcohol rushed at their faces.

Lin Mo rarely used the phrase 'four bare walls', but the sight before him truly refreshed his understanding of it.

The living room was completely empty. Aside from an old TV in the corner, there was only a square table missing a leg, propped up by a brick.

"There used to be a sofa set, but later... you know." Tong Dong gave a self-deprecating smile.

Yeah, makes sense. It fit the man's character perfectly.

"Are you sure your things are still here?" Lin Mo scanned the room. The place looked like it had been ransacked.

"They should be."

Tong Dong said, walking straight to one of the bedrooms and pushing the door open.

This room finally looked like someone actually lived in it.

There was a bookcase against the wall with a complete set of the 'Legend of Divine Weapons' comic series neatly stacked on it. However, from the condition of the books, it was obvious they had been read over and over again.

Lin Mo was somewhat surprised. "He didn't sell these books?"

"In the past, he looked down on these, thinking they wouldn't sell for much. But now, I don't know."

Tong Dong took a deep breath. "So this time, I plan to take them all with me."

He dug out a somewhat worn backpack from the cabinet and carefully packed the comic books inside, his movements gentle, as if treating some rare treasure.

Lin Mo's divine sense had already silently enveloped the entire house.

He saw that in the other bedroom, apart from a few crumpled pieces of men's clothing, there wasn't the slightest trace of a woman's presence.

He remembered Tong Dong mentioning earlier that his parents wouldn't let him go to Hong Kong.

"Are your parents... divorced?" Lin Mo asked directly.

Tong Dong's packing paused for a second, then resumed normally. He didn't even look up.

"Yeah, divorced. My mom later married someone in another city, so we rarely see each other anymore."

At first, Lin Mo had genuinely thought Tong Dong had a happy family.

It wasn't until Tong Dong's father came to make a scene that he realized this wasn't the case.

What made Lin Mo admire him was that, under such circumstances, Tong Dong still lived well, studied hard, and even became a top student. It was practically a miracle.

It seemed he hadn't been affected at all.

After packing the books, Tong Dong squatted down and pulled out a dust-covered shoebox from the deepest part under the cabinet.

The shoebox was very old, the kind that looked like it held secrets at first glance.

Lin Mo's vision pierced through the cardboard, and his heart skipped a beat.

It was empty.

Tong Dong himself obviously felt it too.

When his fingers touched the shoebox and he prepared to pull it out, the light weight made his heart sink heavily.

However, in many cases, people trust their eyes more. Even if they already have a guess, they hope to confirm it with their own eyes.

But that's just how people are—they won't give up until all hope is gone.

Even with the worst possible guess in mind, they insist on seeing it for themselves to completely give up.

He placed the shoebox on his lap and, with trembling fingers, lifted the lid.

Inside, it was completely empty.

The jade pendant that was the only memento his mother left him, along with the letters she had secretly sent over the years, were all gone.

Tong Dong's hands loosened, and the shoebox, along with his last bit of hope, fell lightly to the floor.

"It's gone."

His voice was very soft, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

Lin Mo looked at his devastated state, stepped forward, and kicked the empty shoebox aside.

"What was originally inside?"

"A jade pendant, and some letters."

Tong Dong slowly looked up, his eyes hollow.

Lin Mo's tone lacked sympathy; instead, it sounded like he was analyzing a case.

"The letters were probably sold as scrap paper. You won't be able to get them back."

"That jade pendant your mom left you, was it valuable?"

Tong Dong was stunned, clearly not keeping up with Lin Mo's train of thought.

He answered subconsciously, "I don't know... it looked okay."

Lin Mo's eyes sharpened, and a cold smirk formed on his lips.

"If the material was decent, then it definitely wasn't sold as trash."

He patted Tong Dong's shoulder with a firm grip.

"Let's go. I'm taking you to collect a debt from your dad."

"Huh?!" Tong Dong looked up at Lin Mo.

He was at a loss, not even believing they could get the jade pendant back.

"The letters are probably gone for good, but there's still a way to get the jade pendant back. So, do you want to find it or not?"

Naturally, Lin Mo wouldn't make the decision for Tong Dong, but when necessary, he still needed to give him a push.

Tong Dong froze for a second, then nodded heavily and grabbed the hem of Lin Mo's shirt.

"Thank you, Lin Mo. I think in this world, not many people would be willing to help me with this."

The reason being, Tong Dong felt he didn't have many friends.

After all, the aura of being a top student made many people keep their distance.

Coupled with Tong Dong's slightly introverted personality.