Dad Thank Goodness You're Here

"I didn't bring any," the words instantly made Li Yan see red.

"You dare say you didn’t bring those cards back to school?!"

Fang Jun nodded firmly. "I dare say it. I didn’t bring those cards to school today, not yesterday, not the day before, and definitely not the day before that!"

His attitude and words didn’t just infuriate Li Yan—Chen Xiaoya was equally incensed.

She immediately turned to Li Yan and said, "In that case, I’ll go check the classroom."

Hearing this, Li Yan suppressed his anger. He wasn’t an unreasonable man. After all, catching a thief required evidence.

He would believe his students, but not blindly.

If he couldn’t catch them in the act, he’d chalk it up to the student being clever—but if this Fang Jun was caught red-handed, he’d make sure the boy got a disciplinary record and a public reprimand.

Yet Fang Jun watched Chen Xiaoya’s retreating back with absolute confidence.

Seeing the boy’s expression, Li Yan had a sinking feeling.

When Chen Xiaoya reached the classroom, she ordered Ma Ruixiang to search the bags—not just Fang Jun’s, but everyone else’s too.

Unsurprisingly, they found nothing.

Chen Xiaoya immediately called Ma Ruixiang over.

"Have these students really not brought those Three Kingdoms cards back these past few days?"

Though Ma Ruixiang was the class monitor, he wouldn’t falsely accuse anyone.

So he answered truthfully.

"Yeah, they haven’t brought them for a week. They said playing Three Kingdoms Kill was pointless and they should focus on studying instead. They haven’t touched them since."

Hearing this, Chen Xiaoya’s stern expression softened slightly.

If that was the case, the matter could be resolved simply.

When Chen Xiaoya returned empty-handed, Li Yan’s earlier premonition was confirmed.

Before he could speak, Fang Jun cut in, "Teacher, you didn’t find anything, right? Starting last week, we all decided not to bring Three Kingdoms Kill to school anymore. We’re students—our main job is to study.

Sure, I was the one who first brought it, and I admit that. But I never meant for it to spread through the school. The most I could do was make sure our class didn’t play. As for the others, whenever I told them to stop, they just cursed at me."

The others chimed in.

"Yeah, we quit, but kids from other classes kept asking us to play. When we refused, they got mad. And now we’re being blamed as the instigators."

They hung their heads in exaggerated dejection.

Even the homeroom teachers from other classes shot envious looks at Chen Xiaoya.

"Chen Xiaoya, your students are really disciplined. Unlike mine—we found several boxes of those cards in their bags."

Li Yan frowned.

School wasn’t a courtroom. Repentance and reform were valued just as much as punishment.

Chen Xiaoya spoke up again.

"If it were just your word, I wouldn’t believe it. But since the class monitor confirmed you’d said this before, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt this time."

Then she glanced at Li Yan.

Since her class wasn’t at fault, surely the disciplinary head would let it slide?

Li Yan took a deep breath, then waved them off.

"Go back to class. And don’t bring those cards to school again!"

Fang Jun and the others quickly agreed.

Once outside, Chen Xiaoya gave them a few more warnings.

Only after she left did Fang Jun and his friends finally relax.

"Phew! I need to wash off the bad luck with pomelo leaves when I get home!" Fang Jun exclaimed as he dashed back to the classroom.

Inside, Lin Mo was quietly reading an advanced math book.

Fang Jun slid over dramatically and dropped to his knees.

"Dad! We owe you big time! Without you, we’d have been wiped out!"

He looked at Lin Mo with tearful gratitude.

"Relax. People might think I’m the mastermind behind this."

"What about me? No thanks?"

Ma Ruixiang popped up out of nowhere.

"You’re an accomplice," Fang Jun retorted.

Ma Ruixiang was part of the Three Kingdoms Kill crew too.

In fact, most of the boys in class were. But as the monitor, Ma Ruixiang had to cover for Fang Jun and the others.

That’s why they’d rehearsed their lines beforehand—claiming they’d quit to focus on studying.

Still, the real credit went to Lin Mo’s warning.

"Don’t thank me. I just gave you a heads-up. If you hadn’t listened, it wouldn’t have mattered."

Fang Jun wasn’t stupid—he attended Guangba, after all.

The moment Lin Mo warned him, he’d analyzed the situation.

With Three Kingdoms Kill’s popularity, a crackdown was inevitable.

So they’d dialed it back. If they wanted to play, they’d do it off-campus—no risk of getting caught.

Nearby, Jiang Yunlu had pieced things together and leaned in to ask,

"So Fang Jun and the others got off because of your warning?"

Lin Mo nodded. "Just a small tip. ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.’ Even if it wasn’t today, it’d have happened after the holiday. Sooner or later, someone would’ve been caught, and it’d have snowballed."

The reason was simple—too many people were playing. The bigger the crowd, the higher the chance of getting busted.

Jiang Yunlu frowned. "Are those card games really that fun?"

Lin Mo shook his head. "It’s not about the cards. It’s about the people. ‘The greatest pleasure lies in overcoming human opponents.’"

At fifteen, Jiang Yunlu didn’t quite grasp his meaning.

But she perked up and asked, "So, what are your plans for the holiday?"

"Nothing special. I’ve grown taller, so my old clothes don’t fit. I’ll probably go shopping."

Jiang Yunlu almost mentioned her ski trip to Australia.

But after a moment’s hesitation, she held back.

(Geography fun fact: Seasons are reversed in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. While it’s summer here, it’s winter there.)

Instead, she blinked up at him playfully. "Can I come with you?"

Lin Mo glanced at her and chuckled. "Sure, I’ll let you know ahead of time. If you’re free, we can go together."

That one sentence made Jiang Yunlu abandon her plans for an overseas ski trip.

"Great! Just you?"

"My landlord, Xie Yuling, and Fang Jun are coming too. You in?" Lin Mo casually asked Fang Jun, who was chatting nearby.

"Huh? Go where?"

"Clothes shopping over the holiday."

"If Dad Mo calls, I answer!"

Hearing Xie Yuling’s name dampened Jiang Yunlu’s mood slightly. But when Lin Mo invited Fang Jun, she tentatively asked, "Can I bring a friend? She’s an old classmate from middle school."

Fang Jun immediately perked up.

"Oho, is she cute?"

"Yeah, but she has a boyfriend."

Fang Jun instantly straightened up. "A boyfriend? Tsk, tsk. Early relationships are bad. Very bad."

"They’re childhood sweethearts. Super close."

Fang Jun shook his head.

"Too bad. Handsome Brother Jun doesn’t do cuckolding."

With that, he sauntered off.

Jiang Yunlu blinked in confusion and turned to Lin Mo. "What did he mean by ‘cuckolding’?"

Lin Mo shrugged. "Hard to explain. I don’t really get it either."