"Who is it?"
It wasn't Luo Botao who answered the phone, but his mother, Qin Xiaorong.
Before moving into an apartment building, Chen Mo's family and Luo Botao's family had been neighbors in a single-story courtyard house, and the two families had always gotten along well. Luo Botao was older than Chen Mo by a little over a month, making them childhood friends in the truest sense.
Even later, when the two families moved into different residential complexes and were no longer neighbors, they still kept in touch frequently.
Chen Mo and Luo Botao were destined to be close; from primary school all the way through high school graduation, they had almost always ended up in the same class.
In his previous life, when Chen Mo traveled far away to Yangcheng to make his own way, Luo Botao was his only remaining friend who stayed in touch.
Later still, after graduating from university, Luo Botao returned to Wen County and passed the civil service examination.
Like most ordinary people, he went on blind dates, got married, and had children, living a quiet and uneventful life without much wealth.
Yet even so, during Chen Mo's most difficult times, Luo Botao—far from wealthy himself—went behind his wife's back and unhesitatingly pulled out all his savings to give him a hand.
He hadn't completely paid back that money even before his rebirth.
During all that time, Luo Botao never once pressed Chen Mo for repayment.
Therefore, in this lifetime, Chen Mo intended to bring Luo Botao along with him to make some money.
And not simply to repay the favor from his past life.
After all, this guy was his true brother.
"Aunt Qin, it's Chen Mo. Is Botao home?"
"Oh, it's Xiao Mo. Botao rushed out right after finishing lunch, saying he was going to his uncle's place to look up some information."
"I got it, Aunt Qin. Thank you."
Hanging up the phone, Chen Mo felt a surge of joy.
*Talk about running into sweet sticky rice falling straight from the sky just when you're fretting over having no one to teach you.*
He had even been planning to ask Luo Botao to come along to his uncle's internet cafe, but the guy had gone there on his own.
So he put on his clothes and headed straight out the door.
***
The scale of Luo Botao's uncle's internet cafe was not large. Because the equipment lagged somewhat behind the pace of updates, business was lukewarm even during the golden summer vacation period.
Thus, after glancing around casually, Chen Mo spotted him not far from the entrance.
The guy was sitting in front of a large, bulky 17-inch monitor playing local-area-network *Counter-Strike*, looking thoroughly gloomy after getting headshot.
Chen Mo walked right up and patted him on the shoulder.
"Xiao Mo, what brings you here? Did you see my QQ message? Hurry up and boot up a machine so we can play a few rounds of 3C."
Chen Mo was in no mood for gaming. He only asked:
"Luobo, where's your uncle?"
"Didn't see him when I got here. He must have gone out. Why are you asking about him?"
"Nothing."
Since the owner wasn't around, he had no choice but to wait.
So he opened a terminal at the counter right next to Luo Botao's and started playing *Warcraft* with him.
Fifteen minutes later.
The gloomy frustration Luo Botao had felt earlier from being headshot in *Counter-Strike* was completely wiped out, replaced by a smug, triumphant expression.
Chen Mo could only feel helpless; having not played games for the better part of a lifetime, he was indeed no match for this guy anymore.
Thinking back to the old days, whether it was *The King of Fighters* or *Warcraft 3C*, when had Luo Botao ever beaten him even once?
Just as Luo Botao was basking in his triumph, two people suddenly walked in through the front door and headed in their direction.
The girl walking in front came straight up behind Chen Mo and spoke.
"Xiao Mo, you're here too."
For Chen Mo, the voice was too familiar to be mistaken. When he turned his head, sure enough, it was Lin Zhitong standing behind him.
Lin Zhitong wore a pure white G-free T-shirt that suited her fair skin exceptionally well, while blue jeans perfectly outlined her slender figure.
She seemed to have applied a light touch of makeup to her face, looking every bit the great beauty.
As soon as she walked into the internet cafe, she drew the gazes of many people.
The person beside her was also no stranger—it was Fang Yongming, the ultimate simpering hanger-on who constantly pestered her.
*It seems that without my involvement yesterday afternoon, nothing major happened after all.*
Too lazy to pay them any mind, Chen Mo turned his head back and prepared to start another round with Luo Botao.
"Zhitong, why did you come to the internet cafe?" Compared to Chen Mo, Luo Botao had a much milder temperament, though he still ignored that simpering hanger-on Fang Yongming.
"The computer at home got a virus and won't boot up. I wanted to look up something and thought of checking out the internet cafe. When I stepped outside, I happened to run into Yongming, so we came together."
Lin Zhitong replied, but her gaze remained locked on Chen Mo. She bit her cherry-red lips and looked as though she wanted to reach out and tap Chen Mo on the shoulder, but ultimately she didn't raise her hand. Instead, she only said:
"Xiao Mo, are you alright?"
"What could possibly be wrong with me? I eat well and sleep soundly," Chen Mo said without turning his head, then urged Luo Botao, who was sitting there not knowing what to do.
"What are you daydreaming for? Hurry up and set up the map."
Lin Zhitong still seemed unwilling to give up, continuing:
"Xiao Mo, did you see the QQ message I sent you?"
"Yeah," Chen Mo replied lukewarmly.
"Then why didn't you reply to me?" Lin Zhitong bit her lip harder.
"There wasn't any need, was there?"
Hearing these words, Lin Zhitong's tender, pretty face flushed slightly, wearing a look of grievance.
"How was there no need? I've already told you what was in my heart. Shouldn't you try to understand me a little?"
Chen Mo had originally intended not to reply to Lin Zhitong with another word, but hearing this sentence still provoked a bitter laugh from him, and he couldn't help saying:
"That's rich. I should understand you? Then who's going to understand me?"
"I... I... I..."
Lin Zhitong's eyes grew somewhat moist, and her face flushed even deeper.
"You were never like this before!"
"Then what was I like before?"
Oh.
Right.
The old me was the one who, even while taking a shower, would throw on clothes haphazardly with wet hair and run out to the living room to answer the phone just because you called me.
The old me was the one who, after training for a whole day, no matter how tired and sleepy I was, would still force myself to stay at the computer and chat with you until you went to rest before I would sleep.
The old me was the one who went all out to do whatever you liked.
Yet.
You turned a blind eye to all of this, which is why you didn't know how to cherish it.
And I, trying my utmost to please you, became the biggest flaw in this relationship.
At this point, the white-knight hanger-on Fang Yongming couldn't watch any longer. He pointed at Chen Mo's back and shouted loudly:
"Chen Mo, can't you be a bit more mature? Just because Zhitong rejected you, you shouldn't act like this. It's a textbook case of turning love into hate."
This time, Chen Mo really was laughed to the point of anger.
*I'm immature?*
If I were any more immature, I'd end up down and out just like in my past life.
*I turned love into hate?*
I accompanied Lin Zhitong for three years—did she ever give me even a shred of true "love"?
What an absolute joke!
Chen Mo sneered and said without looking back:
"Get lost. What business is it of yours? Go do whatever you're supposed to do."
Fang Yongming, having been cursed out, immediately burned with rage, but in order to maintain a facade of gentlemanly poise in front of Lin Zhitong, he kept holding it in without erupting.
"Zhitong, don't pay attention to him. Let's go get a machine."
Lin Zhitong truly couldn't accept Chen Mo becoming so cold all at once.
Three whole years! Leaving aside the daily chauffeuring back and forth, even in ordinary times she was met with cold drinks in summer, warm tea in winter, and little snacks she loved prepared from time to time.
Those things alone had almost exhausted all of Chen Mo's competition prize money, yet he had never shown a shred of reluctance.
She had wanted to say a few more words to Chen Mo, but seeing that the other party wouldn't even look at her, she had no choice but to let it drop for the moment.
She thought to herself: *Being rejected by her in front of so many classmates, it's only natural for Chen Mo to be angry for a moment. Three years of companionship definitely won't snap just like that; once his anger slowly subsides, he'll accompany her just like before.*
Thinking this, Lin Zhitong stopped dwelling on it and prepared to boot up a computer.
Seeing Lin Zhitong leave, Fang Yongming sneered and immediately followed after her, not forgetting to throw in a parting taunt:
"Trifling with things loses one's ambitions."
Chen Mo treated Fang Yongming's words like a fart, too lazy to even acknowledge them, and simply urged Luo Botao:
"Why are you still standing there in a daze? Hurry up and set up the map."
Luo Botao watched Lin Zhitong leave, turned his head, and said to Chen Mo:
"Xiao Mo, do you really not care about Lin Zhitong anymore?"
"How many times do I have to say it for you to believe me?"
"No matter how many times you say it, I won't believe you. Lin Zhitong is your entire youth, after all—how could you possibly say you're giving up just like that?"
Saying this, Luo Botao took on the expression of a sudden flash of insight and said thoughtfully:
"Right, Xiao Mo. I've been reading romance novels lately, and a lot of the male protagonists fail their first few confessions for the exact same reason—mostly because the female protagonist is testing them.
Tell me, did Lin Zhitong reject you because she wants to test you too?"
Chen Mo was beaten by Luo Botao's train of thought; the guy had actually gone and dragged in melodramatic romance novels.
"Luobo, can you please say a little less of this completely useless nonsense?
Test me? Then look at my mouth—isn't it about to curl all the way up?"
"What do you mean?" Luo Botao looked baffled.
Chen Mo smiled and said directly:
"You've got to understand: when chasing a girl doesn't work out, you have to cut your losses in time.
Don't listen to them talk about testing you.
Remember, in our country,
only the Party and the people are qualified to test you!"
Luo Botao shook his head and suddenly leaned a bit closer to Chen Mo, saying with a tone of realization:
"Really! Stop messing around.
Just now I saw Lin Zhitong's face was flushed the whole time, and her eyes looked a bit damp too. I bet she definitely regrets not accepting your confession and is looking for a chance to make up with you."
Seeing Luo Botao speaking with such conviction, as if it were an absolute fact, Chen Mo shoved his big, leaning-in face away.
"There are precious few truths in this world; a woman's blush surpasses a long speech of dialogue.
Yet later on, once rouge was invented, it became impossible to tell whether affection was true or false."