Lin Shu did not respond, raising a hand to pinch her son's ear.
Before she could apply any pressure, Lin Mo let out a loud, miserable yelp. "Ow, ow, ow, easy."
Lin Shu's face chilled. "I haven't even used any force. What are you yelling for?"
"Mom, won't the act of you twisting my ear ultimately result in me screaming in agony?"
"Yes."
"And that result has already been achieved."
Lin Mo once again deployed his masterful bluffing tactics. "You've both spared your strength and gotten the desired result. Surely, this is the best of both worlds."
While speaking, he stealthily removed his mother's hand and retreated a step without leaving a trace.
Lin Shu wore a half-smile. "Xiaomo, your eloquence has really improved lately, hasn't it?"
"However, do you really take me for someone who's so easily fooled? Your analysis just now missed a crucial link."
"What link?"
"You didn't feel the love your mother was giving you."
At these words, Lin Mo sensed grave danger. Out of self-preservation, he blurted out loudly, "Violence is the wrong way to educate, Mom. We must conquer people with virtue."
"Conquer people with virtue?"
Lin Shu smiled meaningfully. "That's easy to handle."
A minute later, she came back holding a half-meter-long bronze spoon. A sticky note was pasted onto the handle, with a single large character written on it:
*Virtue!*
Lin Mo's legs trembled, his voice pitching high with panic. "Mom, where did you dig that thing up?"
Lin Shu smiled faintly. "Does it matter?"
Lin Mo swallowed hard. "Let's not be rash. Impetuosity is a demon; it's both a pair of handcuffs and foot shackles, a lifetime supply of regret pills you can never finish eating!"
Lin Shu chuckled. "I'm not being rash. I'm just curious whether your head is harder or the spoon is."
Lin Mo made a bitter face. "I came home a little late, is this really necessary?"
Holding the bronze spoon, Lin Shu sat down on the sofa, her gaze landing on the iron can in her son's arms. "What's in your arms?"
"Money."
"What money? Whose money?"
Faced with his mother's interrogation, Lin Mo had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain. "This is..."
"That little girl's money, right?"
Lin Mo was immensely surprised.
Logically speaking, the secret of this iron can was known only to him and An Youyu.
"Mom, how did you know?"
Lin Shu's face remained cold. "Your head teacher called me today and said you were privately raising money at school, allegedly to buy stocks, and even promised others they were guaranteed to make a profit. Is any of that true?"
This was the real reason she was angry!
"Oh? You found out."
Lin Mo's expression didn't show a hint of panic.
Such a calm and collected reaction actually caught Lin Shu somewhat off guard. "Knowing about something like this, why aren't you scared at all?"
"Why should I be?"
Lin Mo sat down opposite his mother, placed the iron can from his arms onto the coffee table, and countered, "Mom, how did you know the iron can belonged to my little ex... my classmate?"
"I guessed."
Lin Shu didn't bother to hide it. "Coming home this late, you were definitely walking that little girl home again. Besides, who brings a giant iron can like that to school?"
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the iron can definitely came from that little girl. Combine that with your behavior of secretly raising money at school during the day, and it's easy to put two and two together."
Lin Mo clapped his hands. "Spot on, absolutely brilliant deduction. Mom, if you became a detective, you'd probably be the next Sherlock Holmes."
"Don't try to change the subject."
Lin Shu's eyes were filled with heavy questioning. "That little girl supports herself through school, how much money can she possibly have? You even dared to swindle her money—has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"
Looking at the iron can on the coffee table, Lin Mo pictured An Youyu's face in his mind. "The iron can contains Little Yuer's entire net worth, and she gave it to me of her own accord. Even if I were to deceive everyone else in the world, I would never deceive her. And even if I deceive her, it's only to give her a better future."
Yesterday's events had been just like that.
If he had told An Youyu directly about the agreement between him and his mother, the girl's imagination would have run wild.
Not knowing was actually better.
Lin Shu's expression turned extremely odd. "You speak with such practiced smoothness, I never noticed you were this silver-tongued before. Did you suddenly achieve enlightenment?"
Chapter 34: A Clear Conscience Makes for Peace of Mind
"I got enlightened in a dream, took me twenty-three years!"
"Pfft—"
Lin Shu obviously didn't believe her son's ghost story. "Hurry up and return the money to the little girl."
Lin Mo countered, "Mom, why aren't you asking me why I'm raising money? Normally, that should be what you care about most."
Lin Shu brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "What's the use of caring?"
"You have your own thoughts and awareness now. Besides, you're turning eighteen soon. If I have to police your every move, how are you ever going to grow up?"
Lin Mo leaned back slightly, his hands resting on his knees. "What if I lose money on these stocks?"
"If you lose it, I'll cover you."
Lin Shu straightened up and mused, "Xiaomo, I need to let you in on something."
Lin Mo raised an eyelid. "I'm listening, go ahead."
After a moment, Lin Shu's voice drifted leisurely into the air. "Mom is laying her cards on the table. Our family is rich."
Lin Mo's mouth dropped open in utter astonishment.
At that moment, he didn't know what to say.
For as long as he could remember, he had thought their life was hard.
To keep his mother from worrying about finances, he tried his best to be thrifty, never spending money unless he absolutely had to.
Just like now—most of his classmates had mobile phones, but he had never once asked his mother to buy him one.
Lin Mo lowered his expectations for everything and resolved never to bother his mother with anything he could handle himself.
Yet now, his mother suddenly dropped the bombshell that the family was rich?
This joke...
Wasn't funny at all!
Lin Shu pulled a throw pillow from beside her and hugged it to her chest, a guilty flash passing through the depths of her eyes.
"If you're short on money in the future, as long as it's for a legitimate purpose, you can always come to Mom."
"Mom!"
"Hm?"
Meeting her son's gaze, Lin Shu instantly felt even guiltier, though she forced a look of calm composure. "What's with that look? Aren't you happy the family has money?"
It would have been better if she hadn't said that, but the moment she did, the resentment on Lin Mo's face deepened.
"If I remember correctly, ever since Mom got divorced, you constantly lectured me about not spending money carelessly, and whenever you bought me clothes, you always got the cheapest ones."
"Ever since I started high school, plenty of kids in class had phones, but I never once told you I wanted anything. You raised me all on your own, which was already hard enough, and I didn't want to make things too tiring for you."
"And now you tell me the family has money? Does that mean all this time, your son was just making a fool of himself playing the dutiful pauper?"
Finishing that, Lin Mo felt he hadn't vented enough and added, "Since the family has money, why put up the facade of being dirt poor?"
"Ahem—"
Lin Shu raised a hand to cover her face. "Well... can we not talk about it?"
"No, you have to explain clearly."
The mother and son effectively swapped positions.
Silence descended upon the living room.
After two or three minutes, Lin Shu finally cracked under the oppressive atmosphere and raised her hands in surrender.
"Fine, fine, I'll talk, okay?"
Lin Mo stretched out a hand, as if saying: *Please proceed with your performance.*
Lin Shu poured a glass of water and took a feigned, composed sip. "The reason I put up the facade of being poor was mainly because... well, people say boys should be raised poor while girls should be raised rich, and I was a first-time mother with no experience..."
Her voice trailed off into a murmur, her guilt growing heavier by the second.
Lin Mo: "..."
Talk about a reason!
He shook his head in mental exhaustion, slowly digesting this piece of news.
"The money isn't from Su Wenyang, is it?"
"Of course not."
Hearing the name "Su Wenyang," Lin Shu's face chilled instantly.
"If I had wanted his money, I could have easily taken half his assets during the divorce. I didn't want it back then, and I certainly won't want it now."
"As long as it has nothing to do with Su Wenyang."
Lin Mo breathed an inward sigh of relief. With the worst-case scenario eliminated, his mood lifted considerably.
Watching his changing expression, Lin Shu chuckled wryly. "How come you seem to hate him even more than I do?"
"I do!"
Lin Mo nodded.
No need to say much—a single word was enough to express all his emotions.
Lin Shu's heart quivered. She stood up, walked around the coffee table to sit beside her son, and took his hand, her eyes filled with apology and heartache.
"Xiaomo, I'm sorry."
She had brought Lin Mo into this world, yet failed to give him a normal home.
Without a father's love, it was ultimately incomplete!
"Mom, you have nothing to apologize for. Su Wenyang is the one who owes you an apology."
"Of course he owes me one..."
Lin Shu's eyes reddened as boundless grievance welled up in her heart.
She had given up everything to be with Su Wenyang.
Facts had proven that she had lost thoroughly!
Adjusting her emotions, Lin Shu forced a smile, unwilling to show her vulnerable side in front of her son.
"What's done is done. Let's not talk about these unhappy things. Let's talk about something happy."
"Something happy?"
Lin Shu patted her son's hand. "For example... money. Didn't you want to buy stocks? Wait here."
She stood up and went back to her bedroom. When she returned to the living room, she was holding a bank card.
The next second, the bank card landed in Lin Mo's hand.
"Return the money you raised. You can use whatever's in here however you like—it doesn't matter if you lose it."
Lin Mo tossed the bank card between his fingers. "How much is on here?"
"One million."
Lin Mo fell silent for a long time before squeezing out a sentence: "Mom, you really took raising a son in poverty to the absolute extreme."
The current situation was completely different from his past life.
In his past life, by the time he reached middle age, his mother had never mentioned any of this.
He had firmly believed the family was dirt poor.
To give his mother a better life, he had always worked exceptionally hard.
That had been the source of all his drive.
Yet now...
"Did Mom hide it that well?"
Lin Shu's eyes carried a smile. "I put a lot of effort into making sure you were raised poor."
Lin Mo's gaze shifted slightly. "Mom, do you really think my son is praising you?"
"Isn't he?"
Lin Shu retorted.
Lin Mo rolled his eyes and lifted the bank card in his hand. "Is this all the money we have?"
"Are you kidding?"
Lin Shu waved her right hand dismissively. "This is just a little pocket change. My savings are much, much more than you think."
Lin Mo's mouth twitched as he took a deep breath. "Consider this money a loan from you. I'll pay back the principal in ten days."
"As for the money raised at school, I can't return it. If it only involved my own interests, your son would drop it in a heartbeat."
For this whole affair, Gu Fan had been running around working his fingers to the bone; he couldn't let him do all that work for nothing.
"Do as you like."
Lin Shu didn't dwell too much on that matter.
Even if her son lost every cent of the money he had raised, it wouldn't make a dent to her.
She had raised this boy step by step, and no one knew him better than his own mother.
This kid never did anything without being sure of it!
"If you need money again in the future, just come to Mom. But remember one thing: absolutely no breaking the law."
After giving her instructions, Lin Shu's gaze fell upon the iron can. "That little girl gave you her entire net worth, and you just accepted it with such a clear conscience?"
Lin Mo picked up the heavy iron can, his gaze shifting thoughtfully as his voice turned gentle.
"A clear conscience makes for peace of mind."
Chapter 35: A Boost in Intelligence
Simple words, yet they struck straight to the soul.
Lin Shu weighed his words for a moment before tentatively asking, "Xiaomo, what's been going on with you lately?"
Lately, her son had been giving her a sense of unfamiliarity.
"I'm doing great."
Lin Mo hugged the iron can from the coffee table. "Mom, I'll need to use your ID information to open an account with Guoxin Securities in a moment."
"Sure."
Lin Shu readily agreed, then asked, "Xiaomo, how much are you planning to buy? And when did you learn how to play the stock market?"
Lin Mo looked at the iron can. "Everything except what's in here."
"I don't understand the stock market, but I know this stock will definitely make money. Mom, if you trust your son, you can buy a little along with me. It won't disappoint you."
Lin Mo didn't know much about stocks.
In his past life, he had rarely paid attention to them.
After his rebirth, his memories regarding the stock market were also quite limited.
The stock he intended to buy this time was none other than the one that left the deepest impression on him: the "Eight-Day Myth"!
Lin Shu frowned. "One million is already a lot."
Hearing this reply, Lin Mo wasn't surprised and didn't try to persuade her further.
After bustling about for over an hour, they successfully bought nearly one million shares of Zhiyi Technology through the official Guoxin Securities platform.
With everything done, Lin Mo closed the computer, took out his study materials, and resumed reviewing.
It wasn't until past one in the morning that he lay down in bed and opened the Cultivation Shop.
Compared to last time, there were four more light orbs in the shop this time.
Seeing this, Lin Mo asked internally, "System, the more cultivation value I have, the more things I can redeem, is that right?"
"Yes."
The System's reply was extremely concise.
Lin Mo inspected them one by one, finally resting his gaze on the last light orb.
*Intelligence +20*
Price: 200 cultivation value
The System had previously mentioned that intelligence points had a very low drop rate in the shop, and that intelligence could enhance his capabilities in all aspects.
Though the other items were quite good, they were one-time consumables; compared to a permanent boost in intelligence, they fell short by more than just a little.
"Redeem Intelligence +20."
"Redemption successful. Consumed 200 cultivation value."
As the prompt chime faded, a current of electricity surged through Lin Mo's mind, followed by a tingling sensation in his brain.
It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling—it felt as though tiny ants were crawling around inside his skull.
Fortunately, the sensation lasted only a brief moment.
Ten-odd seconds later, Lin Mo opened his eyes. His dark pupils were deeper now, possessing a gaze that seemed to hold the power to see right through human hearts.
The System's voice sounded. "Host, your luck is truly incredible. The probability of an intelligence point appearing in the Cultivation Shop is %, and you've managed to encounter it two times in a row. With luck like that, you should go buy a lottery ticket."
"I bought stocks."
"Stocks?"
"They're both paper slips anyway."
"..."
Early the next morning.
Lin Mo pushed the window open, and the fresh, moisture-laden air rushed in to meet him.
Against the distant horizon, trailing streaks of golden light, the sun rose.
Down in the flower beds, crystal-clear dewdrops on the unblossomed buds were as pure as diamonds, and everything that met the eye radiated vibrant vitality.
Taking in this sight, Lin Mo was in a pleasant mood. He stood by the window for a moment before hearing footsteps coming from outside his room.
Stepping out, a wisp of food aroma drifted into his nose, and a faint smile surfaced on his face.
Everything was good, but not yet good enough.
Because...
There was one seat missing at the dining table.
Lin Mo made his usual detour around Baiyu Residential Area and walked to school with An Youyu.
As soon as they stepped into the classroom, the buzz of heated discussion reached their ears.
"This time's top student in the class is probably going to be Zhou Wenhao again."
"Not necessarily. Zhao Tiantian has the ability to compete for it too."
"Seriously, can't we think bigger? What's the point of gossiping about our class when we could talk about whether we can snatch the top grade ranking from Class 1?"
"Talking about that topic? Isn't that just asking to be tortured? Just how freakish is Zhuang Qian from Class 1? Don't you guys know?"
...
Arriving at his desk, Lin Mo had barely let his weight settle onto the stool when his arm was nudged.
Gu Fan placed three stacks of money wrapped in paper in front of Lin Mo. "Brother Mo, this is the cash I withdrew last night."
Lin Mo glanced at it, slid the money under the table, peeled back the outer paper, and pulled out a stack to place in Gu Fan's hand.
Gu Fan was dumbfounded. "Brother Mo, what's the meaning of this?"
"Returns."
"I haven't even made money yet, where are returns coming from?"
"It's only a matter of time. Might as well give it to you in advance while I have cash on hand."
Lin Mo tucked the remaining twenty thousand yuan into his schoolbag. "Take it since I'm giving it to you. Don't act all coy, or I'll start cursing."
Gu Fan scratched his head. "Getting the money right now feels a bit unreal."
"Don't want it? Then give it back."
"I want it, I want it, I want it!"
Seeing Lin Mo reach out, Gu Fan hastily tucked the cash away, then seemed to realize something. "Brother Mo, isn't this a bit too much?"
They had raised a total of fifty thousand yuan. According to the doubling rule Lin Mo mentioned yesterday, the profit would be fifty thousand.
With a 10% cut, that should be five thousand yuan, yet Lin Mo had given him ten thousand.
"Such a fuss over nothing."
As Lin Mo uttered those words, Gu Fan smiled knowingly and dropped the subject.
Lin Mo tapped the desktop. "Know who Zhuang Qian is?"
"Of course I do. The top-ranking academic goddess who's hogged first place in our grade since freshman year. Being in the same graduating year as her is pure suffering."
Gu Fan looked puzzled. "Brother Mo, why'd you suddenly bring up Zhuang Qian?"
Before Lin Mo could speak, Gu Fan went right on talking to himself. "Zhuang Qian is indeed exceptional—great grades, decent looks too. But An Youyu isn't bad either; her grades might not be great, but she's cursed with a face that could topple nations."
Lin Mo's fingers tapped rapidly against his thigh. "Topple nations?"
"Naturally! To be honest, even those female celebrities in the entertainment industry can't hold a candle to An Youyu. I've seen plenty of pretty girls, but An Youyu is definitely the prettiest one—hands down, no exceptions!"
Facing Gu Fan's endless stream of praise, Lin Mo's eyes revealed a hint of something profound.
Gu Fan suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck and offered a dry laugh. "Don't misunderstand, friendly forces, friendly forces!"
Lin Mo smiled.
It was a harmless, innocent smile, yet it made Gu Fan's hair stand on end.
He shivered and dared not linger on the topic any longer. "Brother Mo, why did you suddenly ask about Zhuang Qian?"
"Nothing."
Lin Mo picked up his pen and went back to plowing through problem sets.
Gu Fan gave a hehe chuckle, his smile leaking wretchedness. "Could it be..."
Halfway through his sentence, he remembered the terrifying smile Lin Mo had just given him and instantly shut his mouth.
Lin Mo couldn't be bothered to entertain Gu Fan. With that kind of time, he'd rather solve a few more practice problems.
Seeing this, Gu Fan—having been well-behaved for all of three seconds—grew itchy again and bumped Lin Mo's shoulder. "Brother Mo wouldn't happen to want to have his cake and eat it too, would he?"
"Hm?"
Dangerous light sparked in Lin Mo's eyes. "Are you durable?"
Gu Fan swallowed hard and shook his head frantically. "Not durable at all. I feel like I'm not durable in the slightest."
"It doesn't matter what you feel! What matters is what *I* feel!"