Chapter 89: The Eyes See, The Heart Rejoices
Seeing the completely drained look on Zhou Hao’s face, Chen Mo couldn’t help but laugh.
It was true that ordinary people felt stressed going to the police station.
Even if you went with the best intentions, the moment an officer pulled you aside for questioning, you’d feel an inexplicable nervousness.
And Zhou Hao was just a middleman for the information.
All the information he had came from Chen Mo. He had stayed up all night memorizing it before going to the police station to submit the tip.
He already lacked confidence to begin with, and then he was subjected to a barrage of questions. Naturally, his state of mind at the time wasn’t great.
"All right, since they’re done with the questions, there’s nothing else for you to do. Don’t be nervous. Just wait for the call to collect your reward, and that’ll be that," Chen Mo said, smiling as he patted Zhou Hao’s shoulder.
"How long does it usually take to get the reward?" At the mention of the reward, Zhou Hao perked up.
He wanted to buy a small gift for Qu Danwan soon, and he also wanted to buy his mom some nice food to help her build up her strength.
"That usually depends on how fast they move. If your tip is forwarded to the police station in the target area this afternoon, the officers there will first confirm its accuracy. Then, the local police department will most likely move in for the arrest the very next day."
"That’s pretty fast."
"If things move quickly, you could get it in a few days, maybe ten at most. If it’s slow, it could take anywhere from one to three months."
"It can really take that long?"
"It’s perfectly normal. Don’t worry. Since we’re students making the report, they’ll want to encourage us, so they’ll probably process the payment sooner."
"Really?"
"Relax. As long as they catch the guy, I’m guessing we’ll get paid within a week."
"That’s good."
"Don’t worry about it. Just go home and wait a few days."
Chen Mo smiled, finished what he was saying, and headed back to the classroom.
Zhou Hao’s mind was now buzzing with excitement. He started thinking about what kind of gift he would buy for Qu Danwan once he got the money.
Back in the classroom, Chen Mo also began to consider his plans for the future.
’It’s not right to keep using my parents’ money.’ With ten years of experience ahead of everyone else in the world, it shouldn’t be too hard for him to create his own opportunities and earn his first pot of gold while still in high school.
This was especially true since Chen Mo had access to far more information than the average person.
’But everything requires start-up capital.’
’I need to get some initial funds together.’
Back in the classroom, the afternoon’s lessons were still focused on review.
The midterm exams were this week, after all, and the entire week was typically dedicated to reviewing and consolidating everything the students had learned over the first half of the semester.
For Chen Mo, it was a perfect opportunity to solidify his own understanding, so he naturally paid close attention during class.
He wasn’t the only one listening intently. For the first time ever, Huang Mao had also kicked his usual slacker habits and was starting to pay serious attention in class.
So, the power of love is truly a great thing.
The budding romance of adolescence doesn’t necessarily have to be a stumbling block on the path to maturity.
It can also become a powerful force driving them to strive forward.
This was the very philosophy He Xiaoyun had always abided by.
It wasn’t a problem for students to be in a relationship. The important thing was that it didn’t cause them to neglect their studies.
For cases like Chen Mo and Huang Mao, He Xiaoyun wholeheartedly approved of them being in relationships.
’Who hasn’t gone through puberty themselves? Who hasn’t experienced the innocent crushes of their school days?’
’Everyone’s human. It’s only natural to understand what’s reasonable and in line with human nature.’
The afternoon classes flew by. After all, the more intently you listened, the faster time seemed to pass.
In what felt like no time at all, the final bell rang.
For dinner that day, Chen Mo took Su Yuqing out to a restaurant.
He wanted to keep Su Yuqing away from her bedroom door as much as possible.
’Now that I’ve found a problem with the door, I have to get it fixed as soon as possible.’
He hadn’t prepped anything for lunch, so if he started cooking dinner from scratch, it would take a while. Su Yuqing would get bored waiting, and she’d very likely end up wandering back to her room.
Su Yuqing didn’t have much of a reaction when Chen Mo told her they were eating out for dinner.
However, Chen Mo hadn’t actually thought about what they should eat. He had just casually mentioned wanting to eat out and then started wandering around the neighborhood with her.
Along the way, Chen Mo suddenly noticed Su Yuqing’s gaze lingering on a pizza place.
She had only given a passing glance to all the other shops they’d passed, but her eyes stayed on this one for several seconds.
"Want to have pizza for dinner?" Chen Mo stopped walking and asked with a gentle smile.
Su Yuqing hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"This it is, then."
Chen Mo immediately led her into the pizza place. The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by the rich aroma of cheese and baked dough.
After they sat down, Chen Mo placed the menu in front of Su Yuqing and said with a smile, "Pick whatever kind of pizza you like. You choose."
Hearing this, Su Yuqing took the menu and glanced at it, only to see a long list of all sorts of different pizzas.
Her expression immediately grew awkward. She looked at Chen Mo sheepishly and said, "I’ve never had pizza before, so I don’t know which kind is good."
Seeing her expression, Chen Mo had a flash of understanding. ’Maybe she wanted to try it as a child, but her mother refused. That’s why she’s always been curious about what pizza tastes like.’
Chen Mo smiled and said, "That’s okay. For a first-timer, a fruit pizza is a good place to start."
"Hi, we’d like one mixed fruit pizza and one durian pizza. Both 7-inch, please."
"You got it. It’ll be just a moment for you two."
After ordering the pizzas, Chen Mo added on some appetizers and drinks.
They could snack on the appetizers to pass the time while they waited for the pizzas.
Su Yuqing took small sips of her drink as she slowly began to explain why she had wanted to try pizza.
She was curious about this food that seemed a bit like a savory cake.
She had always wondered what it tasted like.
But pizza was expensive, and when her mother saw the price, she flat-out refused to buy it for her.
But then, when she was a little older, her younger brother wanted pizza, and her mother bought a small one for him.
Her brother ended up eating only one slice. He was fidgeting while he ate and accidentally knocked the rest of it onto the floor.
In the end, the whole thing just got thrown away.
Her mother had deemed it too expensive to buy for her, yet when her brother ate one slice and wasted the rest, their mother didn’t even say a single word of reprimand.
A sharp pang of pain shot through Su Yuqing’s heart just thinking about that scene.
She didn’t say all this to Chen Mo. She only mentioned being curious about the taste of pizza as a child. But seeing the sadness in her expression, Chen Mo knew there was more to the story.
But Su Yuqing’s mood quickly recovered. It was clear she was learning how to regulate her own emotions. She was gradually learning how to control those bad feelings and memories.
This showed that she was truly getting better, step by step. Chen Mo saw this and was overjoyed.