Universal Acclaim

After the welcome banquet ended, everyone left without lingering.

After all, the Four Little Ones still had to return to school for evening self-study.

Lin Mo himself did not care much about evening self-study. He was only going back to hand out the two large boxes of pastries he had bought from Tianjing’s Xingxiang Village. These things were all about freshness. Although Lin Mo could preserve them indefinitely, to everyone else, handing them out that very day made them welcome gifts. Handing them out the next day, however, made them leftovers.

The impression they gave was completely different.

So when Lin Mo appeared at the entrance of Class Eight carrying two heavy cardboard boxes, everyone inside, who had been listlessly flipping through their books, looked up in unison.

“Hey, everyone. I’m back.”

The classroom was quiet for less than half a second.

“Whoa!!!”

The cheers nearly blew the roof off.

“The World Champion is back! You’re awesome, Lin Mo!”

Strictly speaking, the Olympiad did not officially have a “champion,” but since Lin Mo had ranked first overall individually, calling him the champion wasn’t exactly wrong.

The overall level of the Huaxia team at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad had actually declined somewhat. The average strength of the other contestants was a great deal higher than in previous years.

But precisely because Lin Mo was there, not only did he secure first place individually, he also ensured that first place in the team rankings did not slip away.

No one in the class had prepared any flashy fireworks or ribbons, but the combined voices of more than forty students were far more explosive than fireworks.

Someone from Class Seven next door poked his head out to take a look.

“What’s going on in Class Eight? Why are they so loud?”

“Lin Mo is back.”

“Oh. Then never mind.”

The head withdrew.

Even the neighboring class was too lazy to complain. That kind of treatment was truly something else.

After all, Lin Mo’s reputation had grown large enough to transcend the boundaries of a single class.

Lin Mo carried the two large boxes up onto the teacher’s desk and neatly tore open the seals.

“I came back in a hurry and didn’t have time to buy everyone any Wusan practice books.”

The classroom instantly fell silent for a second, and several people’s expressions turned subtly strange.

Honestly, they had genuinely been afraid Lin Mo would do something like that.

“I just bought some pastries from Xingxiang Village in Tianjing. Consider them welcome gifts for everyone.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Mo took out the exquisitely packaged pastries one box at a time and arranged them on the podium.

“Master Mo is awesome! Master Mo, I love you!”

A boy in the back row shot to his feet, his voice cracking. “Dad! I want pastries, Dad!”

The person beside him immediately pushed him back into his seat.

It might not look like it, but everyone had already eaten dinner, and yet a high school student’s stomach was still a bottomless pit.

Besides, mental work consumed far more energy than people imagined. Many high schools did not forbid students from eating candy. The brain needed sugar to function—that was simply scientific fact.

So among high school students, sweets held a status comparable to hard currency.

Lin Mo had always been thorough in everything he did.

He had already divided the pastries into individual portions back in Tianjing. Everyone received exactly the same amount, and even the boxes were identical in size.

As the boxes were passed down the rows, nearly every student who received one said thank you.

It was not mere politeness. They were genuinely grateful.

These days, not many people could achieve truly equal distribution. That attention to detail alone was worth a word of thanks.

After all, people did not fear scarcity as much as they feared unfairness.

“Thanks, Brother Mo.”

“Lin Mo, you’re so thoughtful.”

“Xingxiang Village! This stuff can’t be cheap, right?”

“Why do you care how much it costs? Just eat.”

The voices rose and fell, and the entire Class Eight was as lively as if it were celebrating the New Year.

The commotion carried all the way downstairs.

Li Yan was on duty that day. He was patrolling the second-floor corridor when he heard the uproar from above and frowned, immediately heading upstairs.

Which class was being so bold? Making this much noise during evening self-study?

Then he saw Lin Mo standing on the podium, handing several boxes of pastries to the students in the front row.

Li Yan stopped in his tracks.

Then he turned around and left.

The news that Lin Mo had taken first place in the international competition had already spread throughout the school the previous morning. From the principal to the old security guard at the gate, practically everyone knew.

According to custom, for an honor of this level, Lin Mo could have skipped not only evening self-study but even the final exams.

What was more, Lin Mo’s connections might reach all the way to the heavens.

Li Yan remembered what had happened in the office that day, and his pace quickened.

He really could not afford to offend him.

It was better to go back downstairs and stay there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Mo caught sight of Li Yan’s rapidly disappearing back and realized that Class Eight had indeed gotten a little too rowdy.

He pressed both hands downward.

“All right, all right. This is self-study time. Quiet down a little.”

Lin Mo’s words carried absolute authority, and the entire classroom quickly fell silent.

A moment ago, it had been as noisy as a marketplace. The next, you could hear a pin drop.

Ma Ruixiang sat in his seat, holding his box of pastries and feeling incredibly envious.

As class monitor, he had been telling everyone to quiet down for half a semester, yet the combined effect of all his efforts was not even a match for a single sentence from Lin Mo.

Sometimes, no one had to point out the difference. You could feel it yourself.

Still, Ma Ruixiang was not petty. He tore open the pastry box and took a bite of the date-paste pastry.

Hmm. Pretty sweet.

Forget it. He had gotten to eat pastries brought back by the World Champion. What more could he ask for than the dignity of a class monitor?

Lin Mo glanced at the now-quiet classroom and nodded in satisfaction.

“I’m going to the office for a bit. Go ahead and eat, but keep your voices down. Don’t let the class next door report you.”

Someone whispered, “What are you afraid of? With you here, we’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Lin Mo made an X with his hands. “No taking advantage of my influence, okay?”

With that, he picked up the box and walked toward the other side of the classroom.

The other three girls merely exchanged a glance before returning to their seats to study.

No one was particularly surprised to see Jiang Yunlu appear. After all, Lin Mo was back, so of course she would return too. It was practically a law of nature.

Lin Mo headed toward the office.

If the students in his class were getting a share, the teachers in the office naturally could not be left out either.

However, the teachers’ gifts came in sealed gift boxes of a different size.

There were only a few teachers on duty in the office, so sealed packaging was more appropriate.

The corridor was very quiet, and evening self-study was proceeding normally in the other classes.

Occasionally, a student would poke their head out of a classroom. Upon seeing Lin Mo, they would greet him before ducking back inside.

When Lin Mo reached the office door, he took a look inside with his divine sense.

Chen Xiaoya was there.

She was bent over, grading papers, the tip of her pen flying across the page. She had long since memorized the answers to the fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice questions, so she could determine whether they were right or wrong at a glance.

She rarely graded the application problems in the office. She saved those for class, where she could explain them directly. That both saved time and helped the students understand their mistakes on the spot.

The G2 curriculum was already nearing its end. After that would come a period of systematic review.

Lin Mo knocked on the door.

“Reporting in.”

Chen Xiaoya looked up, the red pen still between her fingers.

When she saw the person standing at the door, the focused expression on her face relaxed. Even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes softened.

“You’re back? Why did you still come to evening self-study?”

Chen Xiaoya set down her red pen and removed her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “First place individually, first place as a team—you took everything there was to take. Congratulations. You’re guaranteed admission to Huaqing.”

Lin Mo smiled and placed a box of pastries on Chen Xiaoya’s desk.

“I’m planning to take the final exams.”