Chapter 52

Chapter 52

The next morning, something quite magical happened at the entrance of the experimental class at No.1 High School.

These students, who were always considered the top scholars in the school, were lined up at the entrance of the experimental class, creating an impressive scene. The key point was that among them was Xi Shen, who was supposedly already admitted to a university and had left the school, as well as a certain school bully frequently mentioned in recent news.

"Happy?" Chen Mo leaned against the wall and asked, "You all got called at five-thirty in the morning, but no one woke up. Now you're being gawked at like monkeys here. Feels great, doesn't it?"

"Stop scolding us, Brother Mo."

"That's right," Jiang Xu said with a smug smile, "We’re fine, but Qi Lin, what’s with that big bump on your forehead? Did you sleepwalk and meet up with your wife, then roll off the bed?"

"Get lost!" Qi Lin kicked out.

Speaking of which, Qi Lin was also confused.

He couldn’t figure out how he had offended someone surnamed Xi to be so badly pranked.

He saw Xi Siyan turn his head and say something to Chen Mo.

They stood quite close together. Logically, Chen Mo and Xi Siyan had been getting along well this year, so there was nothing unusual about it. But at that moment, Qi Lin inexplicably recalled last night when he opened the door and vaguely saw two figures on the sofa, closer than usual.

Imagine, in the middle of the night, why were they so alert?

Thinking about Chen Mo’s orientation.

Qi Lin’s expression cracked, filled with disbelief. He subconsciously thought Chen Mo had taken a fancy to Old Xi. After all, based on Chen Mo’s past behavior, once he decided to do something, he wouldn’t wait.

Qi Lin looked back and forth between their faces.

Old Xi’s cold face showed nothing, so was it Chen Mo forcing it or forcing it?

Teacher Xiang Shenglong came up with his lesson plan and immediately shouted, "Qi Lin! What are you doing with your neck stretched so long?! Are you bravely preparing for execution?! Do you think you did nothing wrong?!"

Qi Lin felt wronged but dared not argue under Lao Xiang’s glare.

Lao Xiang was furious this time. These promising students not only sneaked out at night but also drank themselves drunk and arrived late, caught by Director Lai at the school gate early in the morning! It was sheer lawlessness.

Lao Xiang slapped his lesson plan loudly in his hand.

"Tell me, where did you all go last night?"

Chen Mo raised his hand: "At my place."

"Your place?" Lao Xiang was about to curse, but upon realizing it was Chen Mo speaking, he swallowed his harsh words.

After all, Chen Mo moving out of the dormitory was approved by him personally.

The incident involving Chen Mo had been so publicized that not only students but many teachers knew about the student in his class whose adoptive parents were in jail for breaking the law and whose biological parents were wealthy but favored Yang Shule in the parallel class.

Such a tumultuous situation would undoubtedly put immense pressure on a teenager.

Every teacher secretly inquired about Chen Mo, fearing that this dark horse might break down mentally.

Seeing Chen Mo return to school as usual, Lao Xiang was relieved and didn’t dare scold him.

But to maintain some authority, he gave a symbolic criticism.

Those two sentences, "This is not right" and "How could you drink? What if something happened?" were so gentle they sounded more like concerned inquiries, making others twitch their lips.

Later, Lao Xiang still scolded everyone else, but Chen Mo received no such treatment. Lao Xiang aimed to make each person deeply repent and feel guilty towards heaven and their parents.

Finally, he called Xi Siyan to the office.

The others, dejected, still worried.

"It’s over, Old Xi is definitely getting scolded!"

"Well, duh. Although Brother Yan is now an external member, Lao Xiang hasn’t appointed a new class leader yet. Leading the violation without getting scolded would be strange."

"Shouldn’t affect Old Xi’s admission, right?"

"What? That serious?"

Ten minutes later, after the first class ended.

Chen Mo pretended to deliver math papers to the teacher and went to the faculty office.

He wasn’t worried about Xi Siyan’s admission; he just felt more responsible for last night’s events and planned to explain to Lao Xiang.

But when he reached the door, he didn’t push it open immediately.

Because the first sentence he heard was from Lao Xiang.

It wasn’t about last night’s violation but about Xi Siyan’s future plans. Xiang Shenglong said, "My suggestion is to study abroad. Given your current situation, I’m not worried about you finishing high school and taking the college entrance exam. However, the time and effort you’ve invested in competitions are significant. Domestic universities are good, but studying abroad offers better options for further education and professional choices, which are currently the most suitable for you."

Inside the half-open office door.

Xi Siyan leaned against Xiang Shenglong’s desk, standing face-to-face, without much of a teacher-student vibe.

More like friends.

Xi Siyan shook his head: "In the past, I would have chosen that."

"So why not now?" Lao Xiang asked calmly.

Xi Siyan smiled but didn’t answer.

For some reason, Lao Xiang suddenly remembered the school forum.

He wasn't unaware that the student before him was a regular and had consistently topped the rankings. This year, another one had joined the ranks, attracting just as much attention as Xi Siyan.

It was normal for good-looking boys with excellent grades to receive a lot of attention at school.

This was what youth should look like.

However, Lao Xiang was incredibly shrewd.

He didn't say anything about it, but that didn't mean he was unaware that Chen Mo had publicly come out at school long ago. He also knew about the messy rumors involving Xi Siyan, the former student Yang Shule, and Chen Mo. On the contrary, a competent head teacher would be aware of any slightest stir in the class, understanding many things clearly.

But this clarity did not extend to the rumors turning out to be true.

Xiang Shenglong's lips twitched stiffly, his face showing suspicion as he blurted out, "Don't tell me it's because of Chen Mo?"

Seeing Xi Siyan's slight surprise, Xiang Shenglong knew he had guessed correctly.

His face instantly turned dark as the bottom of a pot.

"Damn brat!" Xiang Shenglong grabbed a folder from the desk and threw it at Xi Siyan.

Pointing at him, he raged, "I thought you were mature! Do you even know what you're doing?! I warn you, Xi Siyan, whether you're in or out of the country, you'll always be my student. As long as I'm your head teacher, I won't let you mess around!"

Xi Siyan caught the folder and raised an eyebrow. "Are you discriminating against sexual orientation?"

"Discriminate your sister!" Lao Xiang's image as a teacher crumbled completely. "What does this have to do with sexual orientation? If I were homophobic, I'd kill you first! You think Chen Mo is like you, with a good family background, able to do whatever he wants without consequences. It hasn't been easy for him to get where he is today. Many teachers at school keep a close eye on him, afraid he might lose his composure. And here you are, causing trouble at a crucial time! I swear, if anything happens to Chen Mo before the college entrance exam, I'll hold you accountable!"

Xi Siyan laughed softly at this point.

Xiang Shenglong fumed, "You still have the nerve to laugh?! When did this start between you two?"

"I can't give you an explanation."

Xi Siyan seemed relaxed, almost unbelievably so given the situation. He understood why Lao Xiang was angry and hit the nail on the head, speaking with unexpected seriousness: "I understand his struggles better than anyone. Would I harm him? We haven't talked."

Lao Xiang breathed a sigh of relief but still didn't believe it. "Really?"

"Really." Xi Siyan reassured him, waiting for him to relax before joking, "Even if we had, do you think I'd tell you?"

"Xi Siyan!"

Chen Mo entered at that moment.

He was worried Lao Xiang might be angered to death.

Knocking twice on the door, Xiang Shenglong composed himself before saying, "Come in."

Chen Mo walked in naturally. "I came to deliver the math test papers."

"Chen Mo, she's not here; just put them on the table," Lao Xiang said, noticing it was him and glancing between the two before pointing to Fu Ling's desk.

As Chen Mo passed by Xi Siyan, they exchanged a glance.

Xi Siyan mouthed: Did you hear?

Chen Mo nodded.

Xi Siyan: It's fine.

Chen Mo nodded again, indicating he wasn't bothered.

Being outed to his head teacher was no different from being outed to others.

What he cared about wasn't the part of the conversation about him, but rather Xi Siyan's decision to stay in the country because of him.

Would Xi Siyan take a different path in life because of him?

Such a significant turning point in someone's future made Chen Mo question whether he could bear the responsibility.

The outcome could be positive.

But he hesitated, precisely because he had experienced it before and thus doubted himself.

He knew himself too well.

Selfish, autocratic, making decisions based on feelings.

Especially after getting a second chance, he valued his inner feelings more. Deep down, he had an impulse to live his relationship with Xi Siyan as if it were a last hurrah, regardless of tomorrow. But in reality, their situations were not equal, which was unfair to Xi Siyan, who only had one life.

So, leaving the office,

Chen Mo asked, "Are you really not planning to go abroad?"

"It's the same here." Xi Siyan glanced at him. "For me, the outcome wouldn't change no matter where I study. So of course, I choose what I want."

Chen Mo understood exactly what he meant.

Suddenly, he said, "Why don't you move out first?"

Xi Siyan looked at him intently.

Chen Mo: "To adapt to some distance, to cool our heads. No, to cool both our heads?"

Xi Siyan remained silent for a moment before laughing out loud.

"Alright." He said lazily, with no objections.

And Chen Mo, who impulsively wanted to kick him out, scratched his head.

Feeling he was irredeemably becoming a jerk.

Xi Siyan returned home.

Chen Mo's life remained the same, revolving around two points without any changes.

In the following period, Xi Siyan indeed rarely appeared at school, but he wasn't completely absent. He had various forms and documents to sign. On Wednesday afternoon, during the second self-study period, someone spotted him in the office building. For the experimental class, a group of knowledge-thirsty study maniacs, this was a rare opportunity, and they got Xi Siyan to explain problems on stage for most of the class.

"What are you thinking about? Don’t zone out."

When Xi Siyan tapped the table, it was precisely when Chen Mo was being dragged up to join the crowd by Lao Gou.

Surrounded by students, Xi Siyan specifically called his name.

Chen Mo snapped back to reality and rolled his eyes, "I know how to solve this problem."

"Then why don’t you explain it?" Xi Siyan glanced at him sideways.

The people around them sensed an unusual atmosphere.

One after another,

"Xi God, explain this problem to me, this one."

"When will you be back at school next time?"

"Mo Ge, since Xi God is busy, why don’t you explain it to me?"

Chen Mo thought it was just an ordinary day, except that Xi Siyan came to school for an hour and left soon after.

After class, he went to get some water.

A few people gathered around the water dispenser.

"Are Chen Mo and that guy having a disagreement?"

"You know what I mean, right? The atmosphere seemed so strange."

"Something must have happened."

"Could it be a breakup???"

Chen Mo walked up, and under their startled gazes, he calmly filled his cup with water.

Turning back, he said, "No, haven’t you seen two guys arguing before?"