Chapter 8

After leaving the principal’s office, Lin Mo sat on a chair in the corridor, calm and patient, waiting.

5 minutes…

10 minutes…

A good half hour passed, and there was still no sign of activity from the office.

The chairs in the corridor were the usual plastic ones. If you sat on them for too long, they made your back very uncomfortable.

Moreover, with Lin Mo’s bad back, he could only stand up to move around from time to time before sitting down again.

At first, he could scroll through TikTok short videos, read his favorite online novels, and check his chat groups.

But when his phone’s battery was down to 10%, all he could do was sit in the chair and space out.

But in reality, the situation was entirely within his expectations.

50 minutes…

1 hour…

1 and a half hours…

Waiting is a tedious affair.

Lin Mo hadn’t slept the night before, and now he was struggling to keep his eyelids from drooping.

He dozed off in a daze, slept for a while, but was soon awoken by the soreness and swelling in his waist.

He continued waiting until nearly four in the afternoon when there was finally some noise from the adjacent office door.

Lin Mo stood up from the chair.

But it wasn’t Principal Li Meihong who came out; rather, it was a female teacher that Lin Mo did not recognize.

Lin Mo bowed slightly, almost humbly, and asked with a smile, “Hello, may I ask if Principal Liu is done with her work?”

The female teacher smiled apologetically and shook her head, “I’m really sorry to have kept you waiting so long.”

“The principal asked me to tell you she’s very busy right now and has two more meetings to attend.”

“Perhaps you could go back first and come another day?”

Oh.

Lin Mo was no child; it was clear to him that Liu Meihong was deliberately dragging things out, hoping he would take the hint and leave.

These people were all cordial on the surface, offering no clear faults to latch onto.

But in reality, their inherent scorn and disdain were already concealed in every one of their glances and subtle movements.

Stalling was their magic trick; passing the buck was their way of handling things.

You couldn’t even lose your temper, lest not only would your issue remain unresolved, but new troubles would also arise.

They had a firm grasp on social niceties.

Although he was very annoyed inside, his face still wore a kind smile, “No problem, I have a parent-teacher meeting tonight, so waiting a bit longer is fine.”

“Please tell the principal to focus on her work first; work is more important!”

The female teacher frowned slightly and said indifferently, “Alright then, thank you for waiting a while longer.”

“However, even if you continue to wait, the principal might not have time to see you.”

After speaking,

the female teacher turned and went back to the office, not sparing Lin Mo another glance.

….

In the office.

Hearing the door open and watching a beauty product live stream, Liu Meihong didn’t even lift her head as she asked, “Has he left?”

“Not yet.” The female teacher said with disdain, arms crossed, loathingly responding, “He’s like a mangy dog; kicking him out doesn’t make him leave!”

“They don’t think about it, with so many students’ parents, if everyone came to you with a problem, how could you manage!”

“Okay, remember, no matter the occasion, don’t belittle students or their parents. If someone records it and posts it online, you’re finished.” Liu Meihong said casually, waving her hand, “If he wants to wait, let him wait. When he gets tired, he’ll leave naturally.”

“Come here and help me decide which eyebrow pencil looks better.”

The female teacher came over eagerly, glanced at the products in the live stream, and said, “I think these eyebrow pencils are too poor—only 79 yuan; they definitely won’t be effective.”

“I just bought two from the counter a few days ago; I’ll bring them for you to try when I come to work tomorrow.”

…

Time trickled away, moment by moment.

Lin Mo had already waited for nearly three whole hours.

Even the most patient person would feel some irritation after being made to wait for an entire afternoon.

But Lin Mo didn’t. He was calm, as he had anticipated this.

“Why is it so hard to just solve a problem properly?”

“Do they really have to bully people like this?”

“Then I don’t need to hold back anymore.”

Lin Mo glanced at his phone, which had only 3% battery life left, quickly opened his contacts, found the principal’s number, and sent out a text.

[Aile Fitness Center, Coach Li, Wednesday night at nine. ——Lin Mo.]

[Message sending… Sent successfully.]

After seeing the successful send notification, Lin Mo stretched lazily, trying to find a comfortable position, and slowly closed his eyes.

…..

In the office.

“Principal, you really shouldn’t buy makeup recklessly. You and I have the same oily skin.”

“My husband just came back from France not long ago, and he brought back lots of foreign cosmetics. I’ll bring them for you tomorrow when we go to work, so you can try them out.”

“I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!”

The female teacher was very good at flattering, and nearly every sentence she uttered brought a knowing smile to Liu Meihong’s face.

Buzz… Buzz buzz…

Just as Liu Meihong was about to respond, the phone on her desk buzzed with vibration.

Liu Meihong picked up the phone without thinking, unlocked it with her fingerprint, and began to read the new message.

[Aile Fitness Center, Coach Li, Wednesday night at nine. ——Lin Mo.]

The brief message immediately caused Liu Meihong’s mouth to hang open, her eyes to bulge, and her body to tremble as if she had seen the apocalypse.

The flatterer teacher quickly shut her mouth, watching this scene in astonishment.

She had never seen the principal show such an expression.

“How… ”

“How could anyone know about this?”

Her affair with the fitness center’s coach was not known to anyone.

And the careful Liu Meihong never left any evidence behind. Even when booking hotel rooms, she never used her own identification.

Usually, she would have the coach book the room, then she would quietly make her way through a secret passage.

The reason she was so cautious wasn’t entirely to keep it from her husband. More importantly, her status was very special.

If the affair were to leak,

without saying anything else, her career as the principal of a public school would certainly be over!

Liu Meihong’s breathing grew ragged. She then noticed the signature at the end of the message.

[Lin Mo.]

“Lin Mo?!”

“Who is Lin Mo???”

Liu Meihong furrowed her brows tightly, trying to recall every name in her memory.

But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t remember who Lin Mo was.

“No!”

“If the person left their name, they must want me to know who they are.”

“I definitely know this person!”

“Lin Mo… Lin… Lin… Lin Xiaoxiao…”

Suddenly,

Liu Meihong violently remembered, just a few hours ago, a student’s parent had come to see her.

His name… was Lin Mo!