Chapter 5

By the time he arrived at Future Star Primary School on his electric bike, it was already 7:50 in the morning.

The crowded streets were full of parents dropping off their children, as well as vendors selling all kinds of breakfast.

“Xiaoxiao, we’ve arrived at the school.”

“Xiaoxiao?”

Lin Mo, receiving no response, turned his head to look and discovered that Lin Xiaoxiao had her head down, breathing steadily, having fallen asleep in the added seat.

Lin Mo couldn’t help but sigh upon seeing this.

Those living near the school could wake up at seven-thirty and still have time for breakfast before going to school and attending class.

But for migrant workers like them renting houses, to save some money, they mostly choose to live in the more distant suburbs.

Money was saved, but the price was that the child had to sleep one hour less than others every day.

For adults, it wasn’t much,

but for a child who was still growing, adequate sleep was very necessary!

Sleep earlier? But then there was homework to do at night, and primary school students have a lot of homework. If the homework wasn’t done well or grades didn’t keep up, the teachers at school wouldn’t look favorably upon them.

“As long as I follow the content written in the Intelligence System, find Li Xiaoru’s lost dog, and if everything goes smoothly, I should be able to get a reward of 30,000.”

“Once the money is in hand, I’ll go back and discuss with my wife about renting a place near the school, so Xiaoxiao won’t have to get up so early and can sleep a bit more every day!”

Lin Mo was making plans for what to do next and, feeling sympathy, gently nudged his sleeping daughter: “Xiaoxiao, we’ve arrived at school.”

“Uh..ah..” Lin Xiaoxiao woke up startled, opened her weary eyes, mechanically nodded her head, then trudged toward the school mumbling, “Bye-bye, Daddy, be careful on the road.”

Lin Mo watched his daughter’s retreating figure, hastily admonished, “Slow down, don’t run, watch out for cars!”

“Got it!”

“You go to work now!”

Lin Xiaoxiao verbally complied obediently, but her pace did not slow down at all.

“This child!”

Lin Mo sighed helplessly, mounted his electric bike, and prepared to head to the location mentioned in the system intelligence where the pet dog was lost.

This was also why he had volunteered to take Xiaoxiao today.

And just as he was about to leave, a pure white BMW 5 Series with a Rakshasa A license plate, stopped at the school gate.

Two people got out of the car.

One was a woman in her early 30s, wearing a cardigan and over it, a pricey-looking white coat,

and a small chubby boy in neat and tidy school uniform.

Lin Mo recognized them as Zhang Ziyue, the boy who often bullied his classmates, and his mother who worked at Six Fan Gate.

Having encountered them, Lin Mo thought he might as well try to negotiate with them.

“If it can be resolved peacefully, there’s no need to go looking for Principal Liu Meihong mentioned in the Intelligence System.”

Lin Mo’s request was simple,

just wanted the other parent to educate their child not to bully his daughter anymore.

Having made up his mind, Lin Mo parked his electric bike, walked up to the woman with a meek expression and politely asked, “Excuse me, are you Zhang Ziyue’s mother?”

Zhang Ziyue’s mother sized up Lin Mo and asked warily, “What do you want?”

“Hello, I’m Lin Xiaoxiao’s father.” Lin Mo politely extended his hand.

“Lin Xiaoxiao?” Zhang Ziyue’s mother ignored Lin Mo’s extended hand and turned to her son, asking, “Son, do you know Lin Xiaoxiao?”

Zhang Ziyue nodded: “A girl in our class. She’s from out of town and always tattles to the teacher. I really dislike her.”

Lin Mo’s brows furrowed involuntarily, and a fire of anger ignited within him.

Any responsible father, upon hearing someone insulting his daughter, could never remain utterly unmoved.

But Lin Mo was there to solve the problem, so he still restrained his anger and tried to speak calmly, “Zhang Ziyue, you might not like Lin Xiaoxiao, but is that a reason to bully her? As a boy, it’s not very nice to bully a girl, right?”

Zhang Ziyue had not yet spoken.

His mother quickly shielded her son and said discontentedly, “It’s not your place to educate my child, is it?”

Lin Mo waved his hand and took a step back, saying, “Zhang Ziyue’s mom, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not here to educate your child but to hope that we parents can all pay attention to our children’s behavior at school.”

“The kids are still young. If he develops the habit of bullying classmates now, it will be hard to change when he grows up.”

Lin Mo’s cheeks forced a polite smile.

Zhang Ziyue’s mom looked at her son and asked, “Did you bully your classmates at school?”

“No!” Zhang Ziyue’s answer was very certain.

“Mom knows. Go to school.”

After watching Zhang Ziyue leave, his mom said impatiently, “You heard him just now, my son wouldn’t bully anyone.”

“And besides, get your facts straight.”

“It’s normal for kids to roughhouse, what do you mean by bullying?”

“If your child is so precious, why not just keep him at home and not have him school here, huh?”

After rolling her eyes, Zhang Ziyue’s mom got into her BMW and, without giving Lin Mo another look, she stepped on the gas and sped away.

As he watched the car disappear from view, the politeness and courteousness faded from Lin Mo’s face, leaving only a cold chill.

It appeared that a peaceful resolution to this problem was now impossible.

However, as for how specifically to handle it, and how to use the intelligence about the principal’s affair, Lin Mo still needed some time to think it through.

“First, let’s find the pet dog, and while at it, think carefully about how to solve my daughter’s problem.”

……

Lin Mo mounted his electric bike and, after a ride of about fifteen minutes, arrived at the intersection of Jiefang Road and Development Road in North City District.

It was now around 9 am, and the road was busy with lots of cars and people.

According to the intelligence, Li Xiaoru’s dog was under a manhole cover at the intersection of Jiefang Road and Development Road. However, Lin Mo was unclear about the specific location, as the intelligence didn’t specify.

But no matter,

he would find it even if he had to search slowly!

To prevent theft, most manhole covers in Rakshasa City were made of concrete and were extremely heavy, with hardly any edges to leverage.

Opening a manhole cover was no easy task.

Fortunately, as a construction worker, Lin Mo had all sorts of construction tools on his electric bike.

And he didn’t need to open the manhole completely. Just shifting it slightly and shining a flashlight down to see if there was a pet dog would suffice.

No time like the present!

Lin Mo found a short crowbar and began to shift the manhole covers one by one at the intersection of Jiefang Road and Development Road.

In the process, many passers-by curiously watched what he was doing.

Some even made bizarre comments, implying he was from Henan Province.

This made Lin Mo very embarrassed.

But for the sake of 30,000 yuan, Lin Mo could only pretend to be a maintenance worker, prying one manhole cover after another.

Finally,

after more than an hour’s work, with his whole body soaked in sweat and reeking of sewer smell, Lin Mo found a pet dog, its original color indistinguishable, under a dark corner manhole cover with a gap.

“Woof… wuff-wuff…”

At the same time, the pet dog also noticed Lin Mo above, began frantically circling at the bottom of the manhole cover, barking, wagging its tail, as if pleading for Lin Mo to save its life…