Shen Mo sat on the other side of the large desk, his desk strewn with a book titled “Classical Chinese Literature Finalized.” Having finished the “Complete Works of Lu Xun,” he began a new exploration.
The afternoon passed in the quietude of books and papers, with several paintings of Shen Mo by Hua Jie hanging on the wall of the study, quietly watching over the two of them like guardian spirits affixed to the wall.
If this were the world of “Harry Potter,” the Shen Mos on the walls might flit between frames, occasionally chatting about the books they’d read or bantering about their friend Hua Jie.
After finishing all the papers, Hua Jie handed them to Shen Mo.
The young man, with a red pen in hand, corrected them meticulously; Hua Jie had hardly relaxed when he finished.
Then he pressed on, explaining each mistake.
What was wrong here, why it was wrong, what formula should have been used, the differences between these formulas.
That problem had a flawed approach—where the issue lay and how to correct the thought process.
Shen Mo patiently explained each point, while Hua Jie listened and made notes on the side of the papers.
Once everything was explained, Shen Mo stood up and began pacing around the study, while Hua Jie sat at the desk reviewing the papers again.
She took out a notebook and used the Cornell Note-taking System, dividing the page into three parts.
In the largest space at the top right, she recorded the mistakes and Shen Mo’s explanations. After reflecting on her own, she simplified the notes and wrote them down on the narrow sidebar to the left.
After reviewing everything thoroughly and rethinking it, she summarized her thoughts on the lower horizontal bar.
As she made notes to strengthen her memory, repeating the mistakes to ensure she fully absorbed them, she simultaneously exercised her thinking skills to enhance her efficiency.
After making his round, Shen Mo leaned down to inspect Hua Jie’s notes.
His thick eyebrows arched, he watched her for a while before he could not resist patting her head:
“This method is good, you can keep using it.”
“Thank you.” Hua Jie smiled in reply, finding that looking up at him made her feel like a little baby.
“How do you come up with so many ideas every day?” Shen Mo looked down at the girl, experiencing a similar feeling to Hua Jie’s—
Under his gaze, the girl seemed even more delicate and fragile.
He couldn’t help but ruffle her hair roughly, then revealed a mischievous smile like that of a little boy.
Shen Mo didn’t need to keep a dog; he already had the joy of having a puppy.
After finishing her notes, Hua Jie stood up and started wandering around Shen Mo’s study.
It wasn’t her first time here, but she had never really examined it closely before.
The study was large but crammed with several large bookshelves, desks, and a computer desk, giving it the feel of a British library, filled with an air of erudition.
The shelves were packed with books, some pulled out with dog-eared corners, showing that their owner did not buy them just for decoration.
He had often consulted them.
Then, Hua Jie noticed a bag just opened at the edge of the bookshelf, containing a copy of “New Concept Composition Award-winning Selections”, an issue of “Meng Ya” magazine, and a second-place certificate.
“???!!!” Hua Jie stared wide-eyed, picked up the certificate, and turned around in surprise:
“You?! Won an award?!”
Shen Mo, who was drinking water from a cup, looked up at her and lazily nodded his head.
“Oh my god! It’s like the Olympics of Chinese language competitions! How are you so amazing?! Second place!! That’s too strong.” Hua Jie waved the certificate excitedly.
Shen Mo walked over, snatched the certificate, and casually stuffed it into a row of books on the top shelf that Hua Jie couldn’t reach, saying discontentedly:
“It’s not first place, it’s boring.”
“…” Hua Jie was dumbfounded, wow, this guy is too much, getting second place is not easy either, and he doesn’t seem to care much about writing, just casually getting a second place!
If she could get a third place, she would be jumping for joy.
And he was unhappy about getting second place? As if he had been insulted!
“I heard that just ranking up there gives you a chance to be admitted to a great school without exams!” Hua Jie stared at him excitedly.
The young man turned his head and glared at her.
Hua Jie immediately realized, oh, maybe Shen Mo didn’t need it.
“That’s still very impressive, Shen Mo is really great!” She bounced around him, clapping and spinning in circles like a primary school student.
Shen Mo pressed her head to stop her bouncing.
“I’m dizzy,” he said.
Hua Jie pouted.
Her enthusiasm dampened by his indifference, she clicked her tongue in amazement and continued exploring his study.
Then she noticed another document casually inserted into the bookshelf—a competition notification.
“Are you going to participate in the competition, take the special recruitment route?” Hua Jie shook the document in her hand.
“I’m not participating,” he said without a second thought.
“Why not? I think you would be super strong in competitions,” she said earnestly.
“It’s boring,” Shen Mo took the document from her, glanced at it, and casually threw it into the trash can, “I excel in all subjects, both arts and sciences are my top, if I were to enter a competition, which subject should I choose?”
“…” Hua Jie was stunned, seriously thinking about it, it really was a tough choice.
Curious, was this person born just to make others realize how mediocre they are?
She really wanted to kick him.
“Also, participating in competitions is annoying, there’s also the training camp. The college entrance exam is quite fun, just normal classes and normal exams, we’ll see how it goes,” Shen Mo said nonchalantly.
She knew how his exams went, he was the provincial top scorer.
“Shen Mo, you should change your name,” she suddenly said, looking into his eyes.
“What should it be?” he sat at the desk, arms propped on his knees, body leaning forward, looking up at her.
Like a cowboy at a bar flirting.
Hua Jie lowered her eyes slightly, took a deep breath quietly to resist the unintentional allure emanating from the young man.
“Call it Shen Goudan, Shen Tieshuan or something,” she said with a grin, lifting her head.
“…” Shen Mo’s back stiffened, and he frowned and tilted his head to glare at her.
“You know, such a perfect person is easily envied by the heavens. I think even face blindness can’t cover it up anymore, you really need to change to a more humble name that’s easier to live with,” she said earnestly.
Shen Mo couldn’t help but smile, “Then I don’t need to change my name.”
“?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Since I was a child, too young to remember, I’ve been without a mother, and I have a father who doesn’t even remember how old I am, almost like an orphan. I think I should live to be a hundred years old, a life full of good fortune,” he said with a light laugh, leaning forward again, his eyes clear as he looked at her.
It was as if what he said was no different from any ordinary joke.
“…” Hua Jie froze, suddenly feeling awkward standing in front of the bookshelf.
She couldn’t laugh at all; instead, her eyes, looking into his cat-like eyes, began to well up.
“…” Shen Mo blinked and suddenly realized that the topic he spoke of might actually be quite heavy.
It’s just that he had become numb to it over the years.
For those hearing it for the first time, it would not be so easy to accept as normal.
He straightened up, a bit awkwardly licked his lips, and his long legs shifted forward, touching the wooden floor.
Suddenly, the girl stepped forward, standing between his spread legs.
She stretched out her arms, and in his moment of surprise, gently embraced his shoulders, holding one arm around his arm, her palm gently resting on his collarbone.
Her other arm wrapped over his shoulder, her palm gently gathered at the back of his head.
The embrace was too sudden, and too gentle.
It was as if she was holding a piece of gossamer that wrinkles at a touch, or as if she was handling a fragile treasure.
Shen Mo looked down and to the side, his gaze falling on her ear, which was originally as pale as a shell but now was bright red.
He felt his breath grow hot, his chest throb, and his body rapidly heat up.
Her palms were merely resting lightly on his back, yet he felt his entire spine begin to tingle as if it had been struck hard.
This tingling sensation surged upwards to where her other palm covered the back of his head, electrifying, as if painful and itchy at the same time.
His fingers trembled slightly, as if with a mind of their own, lightly clinging to her waist.
He took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet and enticing warmth of her scent.
His gaze lowered; she was so small that he could easily restrain her with a slight tightening of his arms.
She was so fragile that no matter how he treated her, she had no chance to resist.
His hand suddenly spread wide, hesitating where to settle on her.
His heart beat intensely, as if anticipating the impending storm, filled with both fear and excitement.
Shen Mo felt his mouth go dry again, and subconsciously licked his lips.
The breath he exhaled was scorching, stirring the hair at the nape of her neck, leaving a flushed, roasted-red hue on her skin.
She looked too tempting, whetting his appetite.
It was unclear if he was in her embrace, or she was in his.
Suddenly, the girl spoke.
While gently patting his back and the back of his head, she said:
“Don’t be sad, son, there, there, mommy is here. Cry all you want in mommy’s arms, don’t hold it in.”
His hair was really soft, as fluffy and silky as she had imagined, very nice to touch.
Even nicer than petting Huanhuan.
“?!” Shen Mo.
“!” Shen Mo.
He suddenly tightened his grip, clutching her slender waist firmly, then his fingers tightened, making her scream out.
“Who’s crying?”
“Are you asking for it?!”
“Hey! Let go! It’s going to break!” Hua Jie leaned back, hammering at his arms in an attempt to force him to release her.
However, the basketball-loving young man’s arm strength was formidable; she hammered away to no avail, and her hands began to hurt.
“Taking advantage of me, aren’t you?” He suddenly lowered his head, giving her a headbutt on the forehead.
“Ah ah ah ah!” Hua Jie covered her head with both hands, glaring at him furiously, helplessly crying out.
“Shen Mo! I’m going to tell your dad, you’re bullying me!” she shouted angrily.
Shen Mo glared back, how dare she play the victim first?
“Call me ‘Dad’ once, and we’ll call it even!” He was not letting go.
“Bullshit.” She retorted.
“Who were you calling ‘son’ just now?” he continued to glare.
“You looked so pitiful and needy just now, my maternal instincts just kicked in!” she protested.
“Stop arguing! Call me ‘Dad’! Hurry up!” His hands tightened, no matter how much she twisted or pushed, it was futile.
Hua Jie finally realized the vast difference in strength between them, but still raised her fists in protest.
“Orcs will never be slaves, Hua Jie will never call you ‘Dad’!”
“Grow up! Call me ‘Daddy’! Do you think it’s that easy to take advantage of me?” He was eager to give her another affectionate headbutt.
“I won’t call it!” She clasped his wrists, her face and ears red with exertion.
The hand he had around her waist wasn’t actually causing her pain, but being trapped by him for so long suddenly made her body burn up.
A pervasive sense of uncomfortable shame made her wish she could turn into a bolt of lightning and vanish into any crevice, escaping from his intense and stubborn gaze.
How could she make him let go?
She couldn’t outfight or outlast him; should she tickle him?
Or…
Her gaze suddenly swept back, inexplicably landing on his lips.
A thought sparked through her brain in a flash, making Hua Jie feel even hotter, nearly explosive.
Adults indeed could easily have a hair-trigger, as Hua Jie’s eyes swept repeatedly over his lips, suddenly feeling utterly mischievous.