Snowflakes falling North wind howling

The mountain breeze blew gently, carrying a hint of coolness as it fluttered the hem of Lin Mo's clothes.

He was leaning against the railing, gazing into the distance and admiring the beauty of the lake and mountains before him, when a flurry of hurried yet deliberately lightened footsteps came from behind.

Before he could even turn around, a warm, soft, and fragrant body pressed tightly against his back, and a pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist.

Jiang Yunlu gently rested her cheek against his back, feeling his steady and powerful heartbeat. With his unique, refreshing scent lingering at the tip of her nose, her cheeks couldn't help but grow hot.

This was probably the boldest thing she had ever done in her life.

"What are you looking at so intently?" Her voice carried a trace of imperceptible nervousness, the end of her sentence rising slightly as if she were acting coquettishly.

Lin Mo didn't turn around. He merely gave a light chuckle, his tone laced with a leisurely ease.

"Looking at the mountains, looking at the water."

He paused, then slowly turned around, his gaze falling upon Jiang Yunlu's pretty face, which was flushed red from nervousness and shyness.

As their eyes met, the girl's eyes were like a pool of clear spring water, reflecting his silhouette.

The smile in Lin Mo's eyes deepened. He lowered his voice, giving it a magnetic quality.

"And, while I'm at it, looking at you."

Boom!

Jiang Yunlu felt a rush of heat shoot straight from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. She felt like she was about to catch fire. Since when did this guy become such a smooth talker?

She instinctively tried to step back, but Lin Mo's arm around her waist gently pulled her in, bringing them even closer.

"Hmph! So I'm just an afterthought?"

She complained verbally, but her heart was bubbling with sweetness. Tilting her head, she simply leaned shamelessly against Lin Mo's shoulder, greedily soaking in this rare moment of intimacy.

The two embraced quietly, enjoying this fleeting moment of warmth.

Without Xie Yuling and Chu Miaomiao around, Jiang Yunlu deeply cherished this time.

After a while, unable to hold back her curiosity, Jiang Yunlu's muffled voice came from the crook of his shoulder.

"Um... Ning Qingcheng, did something happen to her family?"

She weighed her words and asked cautiously, "She doesn't... seem like a child from an ordinary family. Her temperament is too refined."

Lin Mo's eyes softened. He gently patted her back, as if soothing an anxious kitten.

"Yeah, not an ordinary family."

He didn't tell the direct truth, but instead smoothly recounted a fabricated background: "The Ning family went bankrupt, and her parents passed away in an accident. With no one at home left to take care of her, I brought her back with me."

His tone was flat, as if he were talking about something completely trivial, but hearing it made Jiang Yunlu's heart clench.

She snapped her head up, her eyes filled with shock and heartache as she instinctively covered her mouth.

Such a cute and elegant little girl had actually suffered such a heavy blow.

"Then... does she know about all this?" Jiang Yunlu's voice trembled slightly.

"She knows."

Lin Mo nodded, looking off into the distance as if reminiscing. "When she first arrived, she was completely listless, like a withering flower. But she's very strong. She's slowly moving past it now and has adapted to life here."

Hearing this, Jiang Yunlu's hanging heart finally settled.

So he had arranged everything so well.

She rested her head back on Lin Mo's shoulder. This time, there was a sense of justified reliance in her actions.

This man's shoulders truly seemed capable of holding up the sky for the people around him.

Suddenly feeling playful, Jiang Yunlu extended a finger and drew light circles on his chest, muttering softly, "Why are you so good to everyone?"

Lin Mo looked down at the pouting girl in his arms and only found it amusing.

"Because a good person is just naturally good to the people around them."

Giving himself a good guy card was absolutely not going overboard!

Meanwhile, Zhou Nianqian was leading Ye Qiaolin and the other person out of the campsite.

Behind them, several people followed, carrying fish baskets and fishing rods.

The sunlight was just right, and the breeze was mild—it was the perfect time for fishing.

He had already begun to fantasize about the scene where, after catching a big fish, he would casually show it off in front of Jiang Yunlu.

However, just as he rounded a cluster of trees, the smile on his face froze.

Not far away, on the grassy lakeside, Jiang Yunlu was quietly leaning in a boy's embrace, her profile soft and their posture intimate.

That scene was like an invisible needle, precisely popping all the colorful bubbles of fantasy in Zhou Nianqian's heart.

His mind buzzed, and his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

The world seemed to have been put on mute, leaving only that glaring image before his eyes.

All his fantasies were instantly shattered.

"No!!!"

Snowflakes fluttering! The north wind howling!

Zhou Nianqian staggered, his knees going weak as he was about to faceplant into the ground.

"Old Zhou! Hang in there!"

Ye Minghui was quick on the draw, grabbing him and hauling him up just in time to prevent an intimate encounter with the earth.

Propped up by him, Zhou Nianqian stared blankly into the distance, looking like a statue that had its soul sucked out.

She sighed. At this point, the truth couldn't be hidden anymore.

"That guy is named Lin Mo."

Her voice was flat, as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.

"He's the top student at Guangba High. He didn't lie to me before; he really is the provincial Math Olympiad champion. Plus, in a little while, he's heading to Tianjing to participate in the national team's training camp."

Every word was like a stone smashing into the dead, silent lake of Zhou Nianqian's heart.

He suddenly snapped back to his senses, shoving Ye Minghui away. He turned his head to glare fiercely at Ye Qiaolin, his eyes red with agitation.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!" His voice was hoarse, laced with suppressed anger.

"How was I supposed to say it earlier?"

Ye Qiaolin was also getting a bit annoyed by his attitude. "I just got the news myself! I had to verify it, right? What if it was a mistake?"

This explanation made the anger in Zhou Nianqian's chest stall. Indeed, he was taking his anger out on her.

"Wait," Ye Minghui scratched his head from the side. "Are you two arguing about the wrong thing? The main point is what my sister just said—that Lin Mo is going to Tianjing for a training camp."

Going to Tianjing?

Participating in a training camp?!

These words were like a bolt of lightning, instantly splitting the gloom in Zhou Nianqian's mind.

He froze.

The expression of heartbreak and grief he wore just a second ago began to change at a visible speed.

Despair faded away, replaced by astonishment. Then, a glimmer of light ignited in his eyes, quickly spreading like a wildfire.

"That's right! The training camp!" Zhou Nianqian slapped his thigh, completely coming back to life. "He's going to Tianjing! How long will that take? A month? Two months?"

He had already made up his mind to transfer to Guangba High, so he could be closer to her and get a head start.

And now, Lin Mo, his biggest obstacle, was actually leaving on his own?

This was simply a godsend!

By the time he came back from the training camp, it would be way too late for him!

The sorrow on Zhou Nianqian's face was completely swept away, replaced by an almost ecstatic excitement. He even picked up the fishing rod from the ground and hoisted it back onto his shoulder, as if the person who had just been half-dead with grief wasn't him at all.