On a Stormy Night, the Campus Belle Knocked on My Door Seeking Shelter
Chapter 40: Let’s Make a Bet

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Let’s Make a Bet

Only after Chen Mo gave her a subtle nod did Su Yuqing compose herself. She stood up and walked to the classroom door.

As soon as she stepped outside, her mother could be seen saying something apologetically to the homeroom teacher.

The teacher then tactfully returned to the classroom.

This left only Su Yuqing and her mother talking outside.

Chen Mo watched as Su Yuqing, standing not far from the doorway, remained completely silent while her mother was the only one speaking.

After talking for a while, her mother seemed to snap some final words at her before turning and leaving abruptly.

Su Yuqing’s mood had improved considerably this morning, but it was obvious when she returned that her spirits were low again.

Upon returning to the classroom, she looked up at Chen Mo. When she saw him give her a knowing smile, her expression began to brighten a little.

"Yuqing, what did your mom want?" Zhao Yuanyuan, ever the gossip, immediately asked with curiosity.

"It was nothing, just some family matters," Su Yuqing said dismissively, forcing a smile.

"This is grown-up business. Kids shouldn’t be so nosy," Chen Mo teased Zhao Yuanyuan.

"Oh, really? In that case, this ’kid’ wants to buy some snacks, so the ’grown-up’ can pay," Zhao Yuanyuan joked, holding her hand out to Chen Mo.

"After the morning reading session, I’ll take you to the school store and you can go wild. For now, be a good girl and read your book," Chen Mo said with a smile, lightly tapping her outstretched palm with his book.

"Thanks, Brother Mo! Love ya!" Zhao Yuanyuan giggled and made a heart shape with her fingers at him.

Even though she was joking around, she could still keenly sense that something unhappy had transpired between Su Yuqing and her family.

Zhao Yuanyuan shot a worried glance at Su Yuqing but restrained herself from asking any more questions.

The homeroom teacher simply glanced in their direction but didn’t interfere.

Just before the morning reading session ended, Chen Mo suddenly walked up to the teacher’s podium and whispered something to the homeroom teacher.

The homeroom teacher gave Chen Mo a surprised look.

"At your age, you should be prioritizing your studies." Chen Mo’s grades were above average, he was popular with his classmates, and he was good-looking, so his teacher was generally quite fond of him.

If any other boy had come up asking to sit next to the class beauty, the homeroom teacher would have likely chewed them out on the spot.

"Teacher, how about we make a bet?" Chen Mo had anticipated this response, so he simply smiled at her.

"Let’s hear it." The homeroom teacher was curious about what sort of bet Chen Mo had in mind.

"The mid-term exams are this week, right? If I can score in the top ten of the entire senior class, you’ll agree to my request."

Chen Mo’s proposition immediately snapped the teacher to attention.

After all, he was talking about the top ten in the entire grade level—not an easy feat by any means.

Forget an average student; even for a top student, breaking into the top ten out of all five senior classes was an incredibly difficult task.

"I admire your courage. You don’t need to aim for the whole grade level. Let’s just say our class. If you can score in the top ten of our class, I’ll agree to your request," the homeroom teacher said, smiling cheerfully at Chen Mo.

In truth, Chen Mo’s homeroom teacher, He Xiaoyun, wasn’t as old-fashioned as other teachers who treated student relationships like the plague.

In her mind, dating was fine, as long as it didn’t interfere with one’s studies.

In fact, if a relationship motivated a student to study even harder, that was something she actively encouraged.

She had seen plenty of students who motivated each other and ultimately improved their grades together.

So, if Chen Mo was willing to bet his academic improvement for a "romantic advantage"—like sitting closer to the girl he liked—it actually earned him brownie points in her book.

She greatly admired the idea of converting the budding emotions of adolescence into motivation for learning.

"Pinky promise," Chen Mo said with a smile, holding out his pinky to He Xiaoyun.

He Xiaoyun hooked her pinky with his, but instead of letting go, she held onto his hand and asked with a smile, "You’ve only said what I have to do if you succeed. What about if you fail? What will you do then?"

"I’ll be at your mercy," Chen Mo said with a grin, pressing his thumb against hers to seal the promise.

"Don’t blame my pointer for being merciless if you try to back out of it," He Xiaoyun said, smiling as she picked up a thin bamboo stick from the podium with her other hand.

In reality, the bamboo stick had never been used to hit anyone; it was just a pointer for things high up on the projector screen.

Having sealed the deal with his teacher, Chen Mo returned to his seat, satisfied.

Although he still had the foundation from his past, it had been many years, and Chen Mo felt it was necessary to review everything again.

So, he immediately picked up his English textbook and began studying the vocabulary list for the morning reading.

This made his deskmate stare at him as if he’d seen a ghost.

"Holy shit, Old Mo, what did you say to Sister Yun? You came back like you’re under a spell. Since when did you get infected with studying? Don’t scare me, bro."

"Yellow Hair, you should learn from Brother Mo. You’re always slacking off, and half the semester is already gone," Zhao Yuanyuan retorted to Chen Mo’s deskmate, Huang Mao.

His nickname, "Yellow Hair," wasn’t because he had yellow hair; it was simply a pun on his name, Huang Mao.

"I was born with an off-the-charts IQ. I don’t need to try," Huang Mao said smugly.

Chen Mo glanced at him with a smile.

’This guy’s IQ really isn’t low.’ He remembered that in the previous timeline, his own diligence had rubbed off on his friend, who had started studying hard and ended up with excellent grades.

He had even gotten into a top-tier university, it seemed.

As for what choice he would make this time around, Chen Mo still didn’t plan to interfere.

’If someone truly wants to do well, the motivation has to come from within. Mere words don’t have much of an effect. It’s best to let things take their natural course with him.’

He couldn’t quite remember if Huang Mao and Zhao Yuanyuan ever got together in the end. He just recalled that both of them were tight-lipped; neither would be the first to confess.

He never did hear any news about them becoming a couple.

Then again, in the previous timeline, Chen Mo had his own hands full. He didn’t have the spare energy to keep track of other people’s love lives.

When the morning reading session ended, Chen Mo kept his promise and led Zhao Yuanyuan and Su Yuqing to the school store.

On the way, Chen Mo looked at Su Yuqing, who was still in low spirits from her mother’s visit. "Yuqing," he said, "remember what I told you this morning. Stop overthinking it. We’ll sort this out after school this afternoon."

As he spoke, Zhao Yuanyuan pricked up her ears, desperately trying to listen in, but Chen Mo just placed a hand on her head and gently pushed her away.

"Okay." Su Yuqing took a few deep breaths and finally gave Chen Mo and Zhao Yuanyuan a bright, genuine smile.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder, ’What could Chen Mo possibly do to resolve something like this?’