126: High Cold School Prince Forced Love 10

"Shen Mo!" Wen Ci's face flushed instantly.

Shen Mo calmly adjusted his glasses, "Continue with the problems. I've circled the ones you got wrong yesterday."

On the surface, this was a perfectly normal tutoring scene: the serious Student Union President helping a struggling student with her homework.

But under the table, Shen Mo's knee was pressed firmly against Wen Ci's leg, giving her no chance to escape.

Wen Ci pretended to study the problems diligently, but secretly filled her scratch paper with hearts.

Shen Mo suddenly pulled away the scratch paper, raising an eyebrow at the dense scribbles.

"It seems you have a lot of free time," he said slowly, tearing up the paper. "Add ten more problems."

Wen Ci let out a wail and, while he wasn't looking, snatched his fountain pen and drew a crooked heart on the back of his hand.

Shen Mo froze, looking down at the still-wet ink design, a rare crack appearing in his expression.

Just as Wen Ci thought he was about to get angry, Shen Mo suddenly grabbed her hand and meticulously drew a symmetrical heart in the same spot.

"Satisfied now?" His voice held a helpless indulgence.

Wen Ci's eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled, about to say something, when footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

Shen Mo quickly moved her off his lap, and they instantly returned to a normal distance.

The door was pushed open, and Lin Xi stood at the entrance, holding a stack of documents, her gaze sweeping between the two of them.

"Shen Mo, this is the budget for next week's event." Lin Xi's voice was a bit stiff; this was her first time actively approaching Shen Mo since her rebirth.

She longed to see some different expression towards her on his face.

But there was nothing.

It even made her feel worse.

Because she noticed the heart on the back of Shen Mo's hand; it was clearly drawn by someone else, and Shen Mo, who was always so particular about cleanliness, had actually allowed such a thing to happen.

A pang of pain shot through Lin Xi's heart.

Shen Mo didn't even lift his head. "Put it on the table."

Lin Xi bit her lip, placed the documents down, but didn't leave. "Regarding the volunteer arrangements, I have a few suggestions..."

"Get out," Shen Mo interrupted her coldly. "It's not working hours right now."

Lin Xi's face instantly turned pale.

She looked at Wen Ci, a hint of jealousy flashing in her eyes, then finally turned and left, closing the door with a 'bang'.

Wen Ci mused, "She seems to like you."

Shen Mo pulled her back into his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It has nothing to do with me."

"But..." Wen Ci gave a mischievous smile, about to say more, but Shen Mo pinched her chin and turned her face.

"Focus," he gently bit her lower lip. "Your eyes can only hold me."

When the lunch break bell rang, Shen Mo reluctantly let go of Wen Ci.

He straightened her wrinkled collar and then took out an exquisite hair tie from a drawer.

"Use this," he said, taking off Wen Ci's original hair tie without argument and replacing it with the black hair tie that had a small lock pendant. "Don't take it off."

Wen Ci touched the hair tie, then suddenly remembered something. "What about the old one...?"

Shen Mo had already put the plain hair tie into his chest pocket. "Confiscated."

Wen Ci was both annoyed and amused. "Shen Mo, you even have to control this?"

Shen Mo didn't answer, merely rubbing his thumb over the red marks on her wrist from being tied with a tie yesterday, his gaze dark and unreadable.

*

During the afternoon's physical education class, Wen Ci was playing badminton with her classmates.

Her athletic ability had always been poor; with one too-strong swing, the shuttlecock flew directly out of bounds.

"My shuttlecock!" She ran after the shuttlecock out of bounds, only to see a slender hand steadily catch it.

Shen Mo had appeared by the side of the court at some point, holding her shuttlecock.

The surroundings instantly quieted, everyone staring in surprise at Dr. Shen, who never participated in sports activities.

"Shen Mo?" Wen Ci jogged over. "How did you..."

Shen Mo handed her the shuttlecock, his fingertips brushing her wrist almost imperceptibly as they exchanged it. "Just passing by."

Wen Ci noticed his gaze on her cheeks, which were flushed from exercise, and couldn't help but smile. "Want to play a game?"

A collective gasp went around.

Everyone knew Shen Mo never participated in such activities.

To everyone's surprise, Shen Mo was silent for a few seconds, then actually nodded. "One game."

This game instantly became the focus of the entire school.

Shen Mo's movements were elegant and precise, each shot landing exactly where Wen Ci could reach it but still had to exert herself.

When Wen Ci finally won a point, she jumped up happily, while Shen Mo stood opposite her, the slight upward curve of his lips visible only to her.

By the sidelines, Lin Xi gripped a bottle of mineral water so tightly that the plastic bottle made a groaning sound under the strain.

She watched Shen Mo, who had incredibly appeared on the court, watched as his eyes held only Wen Ci's figure, and her chest felt as if a wound had been torn open.

"Why..." she murmured to herself, "In my previous life, you wouldn't even play with me..."

*

Lin Xi truly realized she had made a mistake.

A huge mistake.

How could she have fallen for a hooligan like Zhang Yang? She once thought being with such a person was the 'freedom' she desired.

But now she knew, this was not it at all.

Being with Zhang Yang, he not only never spent money on her, but he always spent her money!

If it were Shen Mo, such a thing would never happen.

Being with Shen Mo, he had plenty of money; she wouldn't need to pay at all.

Those possessive tendencies she once found suffocating now made her yearn for them.

During her period, she was in terrible pain, and Zhang Yang completely ignored her, but in the previous life, Shen Mo would urge her to stay warm, eat well, and take care of herself before her period. At the time, she felt her freedom was restricted, but now, looking back, she realized she never had period pain then.

Her diet and daily life were all very well managed by Shen Mo.

But she had been so ungrateful, even wanting to stay away from him.

Lin Xi was about to cry.

How could she have been so foolish?

She didn't want to continue living such a tight life.

Without Shen Mo, she could no longer buy whatever she wanted; her living expenses were so meager. In her previous life, she relied entirely on Shen Mo to live so comfortably.

Now, she had to budget carefully, living very frugally, and even spending money on that guy Zhang Yang.

And now she no longer wore the expensive, exquisite clothes and shoes from her previous life, nor did she use the latest electronic products. If it were her previous life, Shen Mo would have bought them all for her, without her even needing to lift a finger.

The more she thought about it, the more she regretted it. She must have been crazy to want to stay away from such a good thing.

Having experienced it now, she finally understood that the so-called 'freedom' she wanted in her previous life was actually such a hard life!

Without money as a guarantee, what kind of freedom could there be?

She was going to win Shen Mo back!