Chapter 76: It’s Actually Pretty Accurate
With no work worries to distract her, Su Yuqing finally picked up her textbook and started to study.
The first class ended quickly.
During the break, Chen Mo stepped outside for some fresh air and witnessed an unexpected scene.
He saw Zhou Hao cornering three girls.
Zhou Hao rarely interacted with girls, let alone bullied them.
Curious, Chen Mo moved a little closer.
Before he could even get close, he saw the three terrified girls nodding furiously before they all scattered.
Just then, Zhou Hao turned and noticed Chen Mo nearby, a look of embarrassment immediately spreading across his face.
"Haozi, you’re quite the tough guy now, huh? Throwing your weight around with girls," Chen Mo teased.
"It’s not like that," Zhou Hao said, annoyed. "This afternoon after school, they made Danwan fall down the stairs. She twisted her ankle and scraped her skin, and they just ditched her and ran off. It was too much, so I couldn’t resist threatening them a bit."
"What was it about?"
"Something about them falsely accusing her of snitching to a teacher. I’m not too clear on the details."
"You said this happened after school? How come I didn’t see anything?" Chen Mo was surprised. He and Su Yuqing had stayed at school for a little while, but he hadn’t heard any commotion coming from Class One.
"It happened not long after you and Su Yuqing went downstairs," Zhou Hao said without thinking.
"Huh? Where did you see us? I passed by your classroom and didn’t see you," Chen Mo said, looking at Zhou Hao in surprise.
Zhou Hao immediately scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Well, I was waiting for a girl in the classroom, and I was afraid it’d be awkward if you saw me, so I hid when I saw you two coming."
Chen Mo gave a speechless smile at his words.
The guy was tall and well-built, but his personality was surprisingly timid.
"So, since you saw Qu Danwan get hurt, I’m guessing you didn’t just stand by and do nothing."
"Of course not! It was my duty to help a fellow student in need," Zhou Hao said with a righteous air.
"You sound pretty proud of yourself. You didn’t try to cop a feel, did you?" Chen Mo said with a teasing, sidelong glance at Zhou Hao.
"No way! I’m a perfect gentleman, a real man! I’d never do something like that! I just carried her to the school infirmary and helped get her wound cleaned up, that’s all," Zhou Hao said, waving his hands frantically.
"Well, congratulations. After all that, I bet your relationship with her has progressed quite a bit," Chen Mo said with a small smile.
"I don’t know about that, but we did talk. At least now I’m not as nervous around her as I was before," Zhou Hao said with a happy chuckle.
"By the way, did you do that thing I asked you to?"
"I forgot. I was so busy with her situation this afternoon that it completely slipped my mind." Zhou Hao paused, then laughed. "I’ll head over tonight after evening study hall."
"It’s not that urgent. Just go whenever you have time. But keep in mind, it takes a while for the police to take a tip, investigate it, and plan their actions. It’s best if you get this done before Qu Danwan’s father finds out about you two. First impressions are everything. They color how most people view you from then on.
For example, if you make a bad first impression on Qu Danwan’s father, it’ll be much harder to change his mind later, even if you do good things. What might have taken one good deed to win his approval will now take ten.
So you need to make sure your first impression on her father is a good one. That way, even if he hears something negative about you later, he won’t be so quick to believe it. He’ll at least give you the benefit of the doubt," Chen Mo said seriously.
"Damn, Old Mo, you’re like a psychology master or something! That was a real eye-opener. I’ll go first thing tomorrow after school lets out for lunch," Zhou Hao said, laughing and clapping Chen Mo on the shoulder.
After he finished talking with Zhou Hao, Chen Mo noticed Su Yuqing and Zhao Yuanyuan huddled with a group of girls, looking at a book about astrology.
When she saw Chen Mo come back, Su Yuqing glanced at him, her face flushing slightly.
"What are you guys looking at?" Chen Mo asked, leaning in curiously, only to be promptly pushed away by Zhao Yuanyuan.
But with the sharp observational skills he’d honed over many years as a detective, he still caught it, even with just a fleeting glance.
On the desk they were all gathered around, next to the astrology book, was a notebook. In it were his and Su Yuqing’s birthdays, and he also saw the birthdays of Zhao Yuanyuan and Huang Mao.
The name of the corresponding zodiac sign was written next to each birthday.
It was clearly that favorite pastime of teenage girls: using astrology to check a couple’s compatibility.
Chen Mo didn’t pay it any mind and sat back down in Zhao Yuanyuan’s seat.
Soon, the bell rang for class, and Su Yuqing returned to the seat beside Chen Mo.
Chen Mo noticed that as soon as Su Yuqing sat down, she started fiddling with her phone.
She used to be interested in Chinese metaphysics, but now she was unexpectedly looking up information about the twelve zodiac signs.
Chen Mo saw that she was looking up the personality weaknesses for her own sign, Gemini.
The phone screen read that Gemini women experience significant mood swings, and this instability can make them more susceptible to depression when under pressure.
They love novelty and adapt well to new environments, but this also means they tend to chase new experiences at the expense of their own inner needs, leading to an accumulation of mental stress.
Gemini women are independent and self-reliant, disliking dependency on others. This trait can lead them to bear hardships alone rather than seek help, which can worsen depressive feelings.
They often place a high value on relationships and enjoy communication and interaction. However, when faced with alienation, conflict, or losing touch with others, they can feel lonely and dejected, increasing their risk of depression.
Gemini women have a tendency to compare themselves to and compete with others, wanting to succeed in every aspect of life. When they feel they can’t meet their own expectations, they are prone to negative self-judgment and feelings of failure, which can lead to depression.
Su Yuqing felt that several of the points hit close to home, and she couldn’t help but feel that astrology was amazing.
Seeing her earnest and amazed expression, Chen Mo couldn’t help but smile.
’Astrology mostly just describes common human emotional responses,’ Chen Mo thought. ’It’s easy for people to relate to such general statements, which is why they seem so accurate.’
Chen Mo was just about to tell her not to take it so seriously when he saw her start searching for a second zodiac sign.
That sign, of course, was his own. Chen Mo had been ready to offer a rational explanation, but when he saw the description of his own sign’s characteristics, even he couldn’t help but subconsciously think, ’Hey, this stuff might actually be pretty accurate.’