This is Cantonese Opera, Not Sichuan Opera

“Lin Mo, I really can’t thank you enough. My parents want to invite you over for dinner to properly show their gratitude.”

As soon as Xu Sheng put down his backpack, he walked straight over to Lin Mo’s seat, determined to thank him properly.

It wasn’t just that Lin Mo had helped him during military training; more importantly, Lin Mo had discovered his illness early.

If it weren’t for Lin Mo, Xu Sheng might not have realized he was sick until the symptoms became severe.

According to the doctor, by then it would have been too late.

So Xu Sheng was genuinely grateful to Lin Mo.

Lin Mo carefully examined Xu Sheng’s head.

Using his spiritual awareness like a CT scan, he checked Xu Sheng’s body. Although Xu Sheng was still a bit weak, he seemed to have truly recovered.

The only thing was that Xu Sheng was wearing a cap to cover the wound on his head.

“No need for dinner. It’s enough that you’re okay. After all, we’re classmates, and more importantly, you trusted me.”

If someone you just met told you they might have some hidden illness, not everyone would believe it.

Besides, Lin Mo wasn’t Bian Que—he wasn’t some legendary doctor who could diagnose illnesses just by walking a few steps.

Honestly, parents really love inviting people home for dinner.

But maybe that’s the best way to show thanks.

Just handing over money feels too tacky, especially since we’re all students.

Inviting someone over for a meal and giving a gift to express gratitude feels more appropriate.

When Lin Mo declined, Xu Sheng simply pulled out two cards from his pocket and handed them over.

“What’s this?”

Lin Mo casually took them and saw two supermarket gift cards, each worth 500 yuan.

Wow, for a moment I thought this was a bribe.

“Keep it. It’s a benefit from my dad’s company. He said if you don’t want to come for dinner, I should just give you the cards directly so you won’t feel awkward.”

Xu Sheng seemed like an honest guy, blurting out exactly what his dad told him to do.

Most students, especially high achievers, tend to be pretty straightforward.

Lin Mo looked at the two gift cards—both from large supermarket chains and valid for five years.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Mo pocketed one of the cards.

“How about this—I’ll take one.”

Then he walked over to Mai Zirong’s seat holding the other card.

“Hey, hey, class monitor.”

Mai Zirong was reading when he heard someone call his title, so he looked up. “What’s up?”

“Xu Sheng’s back. He hasn’t paid the class fund yet, right? This 500-yuan gift card should count as the payment, don’t you think?”

Mai Zirong was momentarily stunned. You could do that?

Still, he reached out and took the gift card from Xu Sheng.

“Uh, I might have to check with the homeroom teacher first.”

With that, he stood up and headed to the office.

Xu Sheng only came back to his senses after Mai Zirong left the classroom.

“Wait, you paid the class fund with a 500-yuan gift card?”

Lin Mo waved his hand. “Hey, that’s nothing. For the school sports meet, the class usually uses the fund for snacks and drinks. It’s all from the class fund anyway—taking from the people, using for the people.”

Hearing Lin Mo’s explanation, Xu Sheng thought it made a lot of sense.

Still, he felt Lin Mo was too generous. That was a 500-yuan gift card—imagine how many snacks you could buy with that.

Lin Mo really didn’t care about the 500-yuan shopping card; he could only sigh at how wealthy Xu Sheng’s family must be.

“All right, you just got out of the hospital, so get some rest. I have the notes from the time you missed school—study them well,”

......

Inside the office.

Holding the 500-yuan shopping card, Chen Xiaoya looked at Mai Zirong with a puzzled expression.

“Lin Mo really said this is for the class fund?”

“Yeah, but can we actually use it?”

Mai Zirong felt that a shopping card didn’t quite seem right for this.

“It should be usable, but you might have to keep detailed records of everything bought with this card.”

Just bookkeeping, not like he was buying a bike himself.

So Mai Zirong nodded.

“Fine, I’ll come with you to the classroom. After all, 500 yuan for the class fund isn’t a small amount.”

Chen Xiaoya clearly remembered that she still owed Lin Mo a word of praise from before.

Finding the missing class fund and now this direct donation of a 500-yuan shopping card—no matter how you looked at it, the whole class should be praised.

Others might not know, but as the homeroom teacher, Chen Xiaoya was aware of Lin Mo’s family situation.

He had handled all the procedures for enrolling in school by himself.

But Chen Xiaoya didn’t want to make a big deal about it in class.

She led Mai Zirong to the classroom.

The once noisy room instantly fell silent.

Everyone cautiously looked at the suddenly appearing homeroom teacher, thinking they probably hadn’t done anything wrong, so the teacher surely wasn’t there to reprimand anyone.

Chen Xiaoya cleared her throat to draw everyone’s attention.

“Just now, Lin Mo donated a 500-yuan shopping card to the class monitor... Let’s give Lin Mo a round of applause to show our appreciation...”

Fang Jun was about to stand up and shout, “Mo Ge is awesome!” but Lin Mo had already stood up and interrupted Chen Xiaoya.

“Teacher, a correction: it was Xu Sheng who handed in the class fund. I’m just the one who paid it on his behalf, so please don’t give me the applause—give it to Xu Sheng instead.”

Lin Mo made the correction because he had accepted the 500-yuan shopping card.

If he took both the money and the credit, that wouldn’t look good.

But Xu Sheng also stood up.

“No way, it’s still Lin Mo’s donation. I’m just happy to contribute to the class fund.”

Xu Sheng was just too honest.

Lin Mo shook his head and said to Chen Xiaoya, “How about this: let’s say Xu Sheng and I donated together, but I’d prefer everyone to give the applause to Xu Sheng. How about that?”

After all, Xu Sheng was the most popular figure in the class, and Lin Mo’s suggestion was met with unanimous agreement.

Many in the class shouted out loud: “Thank you, Xu Sheng!”

“Thanks, Xu Sheng!”

“The Iron Wall of Jiangdong, defending against enemies from a thousand miles away.”

“Whoever invades Da Wu’s lands will be crushed by Sheng for sure.”

Alright, alright, this vibe was just right.

Chen Xiaoya raised her hand, signaling the class to calm down.

“Okay, enough noise. Get ready for class and study hard—don’t forget next week’s monthly exam.”

Hearing “monthly exam,” most students groaned.

“Ah! I just started having fun.”

“Damn the monthly exam, I don’t want to!”

“The monthly exam? That’s nothing, easy as pie!”

Some wailed while others were fired up.

Only Xu Sheng looked utterly confused.

Monthly exam? What monthly exam?

Next week’s monthly exam? If I had known, I would’ve waited to come back to school until after it was over.

Mom, can I apply for sick leave again? My body’s feeling a bit off.

Before he could even whine, Lin Mo had already handed over the notes.

“Here, borrow these for now. It’s no big deal if you barely scrape through the first monthly exam. By the next one, you’ll be able to crush everyone else by a mile—that’s the real thrill.”

Lin Mo patted Xu Sheng’s shoulder reassuringly.

Seeing Lin Mo’s warm and caring expression, Xu Sheng’s eyes welled up.

His voice trembling, he asked, “Why are you so good to me?”

Lin Mo immediately switched to his playful, goofy mode.

“Shut up! This is Cantonese opera, not Sichuan opera! I only allow Black Dragon, Also-Dragon, or Big Elbow to make an appearance here!”

This kind of flamboyant, sassy vibe? Absolutely not acceptable.