The Maiden's Prayer

The things Chu Miaomiao wrote in middle school were utter nonsense.

By high school, her writing was downright painful to read.

And in college...

Well, the "College Arc" hadn't been written yet.

Still, Chu Miaomiao gazed at Lin Mo with hopeful eyes.

Lin Mo read her notebook carefully, taking his time before finally setting it down.

"It's better than mine, but still far from the standard. Keep working at it, Miao Miao."

He gave her shoulder a gentle pat.

Not wanting to discourage her, he added,

"You've got plenty of time to grow, and I can tell you have talent for this."

The girl glanced at the black notebook in Lin Mo's hands, then looked up at him.

"Really?"

Lin Mo nodded firmly. "Really. And no matter what, you’ve got to try, right?"

How would you know if you never took that first step?

No sooner had he spoken than someone threw their arms around him.

A warm, soft presence pressed against his chest.

Lin Mo stiffened—despite being mentally thirty years old, he still froze in situations like this. Some things just didn’t change with age.

Before he could push her away,

Chu Miaomiao pulled back on her own.

"Thank you, Lin Mo. Thank you for appearing when I needed you most."

Her voice trembled slightly. "I’ve wondered... what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there? Maybe I’d be dead by now."

Being introverted didn’t mean lacking emotion.

Introverts just kept their feelings locked away.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t feel.

Outside, Chu Miaomiao never let it show.

But here? This was her domain.

And so, the dam broke.

She tilted her head up, and Lin Mo looked down at her.

In that instant—

She struck.

A quick peck landed on his cheek before she wriggled free and bolted for the bathroom.

Lin Mo could’ve dodged. If it had been Geng Xiao, he’d have moved faster than the Flash—hell, he might’ve reset the universe for good measure.

But with Chu Miaomiao?

...No need.

The scent of her lingered in the air.

That soft, warm pressure had been... nice.

Lin Mo licked his lips, his divine sense sweeping out.

Inside the bathroom, the red-faced girl crouched on the floor, grinning and flustered.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Mo walked over and knocked.

"Don’t hide in there too long. I’m heading home—see you at school on Sunday."

A muffled voice replied,

"Sunday it is. Be safe."

As the front door clicked shut, Chu Miaomiao finally exhaled in relief.

"Why... why couldn’t I control myself?"

She smacked her cheeks lightly.

"Will he hate me now?"

......

Pleased with how things had gone, Lin Mo returned home swiftly.

After paying respects to his parents’ memorial tablets, he lay down—not to rest, but to cultivate.

Even at the Foundation Establishment stage, training was non-negotiable. Though honestly, the Qi-Nurturing Pills from the System’s daily quests weren’t doing much for him anymore.

He’d stockpiled a bunch.

Might as well snack on them like candy.

Still, life was good.

......

Sunday afternoon.

With Auntie Zheng out and no one to cook, Xie Yuling knocked on Lin Mo’s door instead.

She knew he’d already returned to the rental.

The door creaked open.

"What’s up?" Lin Mo asked, controller in hand.

It was already past two in the afternoon when he arrived here. After dinner in the evening, he could head straight to night study—efficiency at its finest.

"My mom went out today, so I’ll have to figure out dinner on my own. Wanna join?"

"Sure."

Lin Mo checked the time—it was almost five.

"Let’s finish this round, then we’ll go."

Lin Mo quickly wrapped things up, changed into his school uniform, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and headed downstairs.

"Where should we eat?"

Ah, the dreaded question again.

Lin Mo glanced around at the familiar surroundings before suddenly asking, "Hey, have you ever tried the food at the backstreet near the school?"

Hearing this, Xie Yuling perked up.

"Oh! I’ve never had the duck blood and vermicelli soup there. I’ve passed by a few times and wanted to try it."

With that, Xie Yuling was already making her way toward the school.

Lin Mo shook his head helplessly and followed.

Truth be told, that duck blood and vermicelli soup wasn’t very good. In two months, the place would go out of business.

But whatever—they might as well eat it.

Xie Yuling had wandered around the school’s backstreet a few times before, but since she usually had all three meals at home, she only ever snacked outside.

When she was alone, she never dared to eat too much, afraid her mom would scold her if she came home with less of an appetite.

But today was different—her mom was out having fun.

So the moment they sat down, Xie Yuling ordered a bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup, with extra tofu puffs.

Lin Mo didn’t mind either way. He just ordered the soup plain, no extras.

"You’re eating so little?" Xie Yuling asked curiously.

"Not really. Since we’re here, I’ll grab some other stuff too."

Just then, another person walked into the shop.

"Lin Mo?"

Lin Mo looked up—it was Wang Qin.

Wang Qin glanced between Lin Mo and Xie Yuling, her expression darkening.

In her eyes, Lin Mo was undeniably a scumbag.

Lin Mo could tell exactly what she was thinking from her face.

So he just gave a slight nod before stepping outside to find something else to eat.

A scallion pancake, some fried chicken, and a serving of beef offal—that ought to do it.

By the time he returned with his haul, the duck blood and vermicelli soup had already been served.

Lin Mo took a bite of the pancake, then slurped up some noodles.

"It’s so bland," Xie Yuling muttered under her breath.

Lin Mo nodded and pushed the beef offal toward her. It was smothered in garlic chili sauce.

"Use this for flavor."

Lin Mo was fine—he’d braced himself for this. But Xie Yuling practically relied on his garlic chili sauce to get through the meal.

After they finished eating, Wang Qin, still sitting behind them, was done as well.

"Let’s go. We can head to class for night study. It’s a bit early, but with the monthly exams next week, extra review time is important."

"Yeah." Just then, Xie Yuling’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out to check.

"Ugh, my mom’s already back. She brought food too. We didn’t even need to come out for this."

Clearly, Xie Yuling had already blacklisted this duck blood and vermicelli soup place.

"Save it for a late-night snack. Let’s go."

With that, Lin Mo started walking toward the school.

Still inside the shop, Wang Qin turned her head to watch Lin Mo’s retreating figure, her brows furrowed.

"So they weren’t out on a date? Did I misunderstand? Are they really just landlord and tenant?"

However, Wang Qin still didn’t quite want Jiang Yunlu and Lin Mo to end up together. After all, while Lin Mo was popular among people, he was even more popular with admirers. If they really got together, wouldn’t Jiang Yunlu be drowning in jealousy every day?

But Wang Qin had no way to talk Jiang Yunlu out of it. After finishing the remaining rice noodles, she decided she wouldn’t come back to eat this again.

It was bland and tasteless—she needed some stinky tofu to spice up the flavors in her mouth.