Chapter 185: Do You Have Anything to Say?

’It’s all my fault for being such a coward.’

After bitterly mocking herself for being a coward, Chu Mengyao finally looked at Su Yuqing and said, "Treat him well."

Su Yuqing froze for a moment, then a bright smile spread across her face as she nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Can I still come hang out with you guys in the future?" Although Chu Mengyao could give up on her crush, she couldn’t quite let go of a gaming buddy.

"Of course, you can," Su Yuqing replied with a graceful smile.

Chen Mo, who was walking ahead, noticed Su Yuqing was no longer with him and immediately turned around, only to see a surprising scene.

Chu Mengyao and Su Yuqing, who had been strangers just moments ago, had somehow become the best of friends.

Chu Mengyao now had her arm linked with Su Yuqing’s, and the two were walking together at the back of the group.

Chen Mo immediately shot them a puzzled look.

In return, he saw them exchange a smile before turning to give him an unreadable one.

Unable to figure out what they meant, Chen Mo decided to ignore it.

Meanwhile, in the group, Qu Danwan observed Chen Mo and the others, thinking that Zhou Hao’s circle of friends was actually quite decent and respectable.

They were a group of good-looking people who spoke eloquently and behaved normally.

It wasn’t one of those shady circles where she would feel out of place.

The day of gaming had brought her many new experiences and a lot of fun.

It also solidified her idea of possibly dating Zhou Hao.

’If he has a group of friends like this, Zhou Hao himself can’t be a bad person.’

Although rumors at school painted him as a school bully, as she got to know him, Qu Danwan had basically come to understand the truth about him.

She knew he probably wasn’t a bad person. Now, by getting a clear picture of his circle of friends, she could ensure there was nothing in his social life that would upset her father. For Qu Danwan, this meant there was hope for her and Zhou Hao to continue seeing each other.

Zhou Hao kept his eyes on Qu Danwan the entire time. After all, she only knew him in this group, so he naturally had to be mindful of her feelings.

He didn’t want her to feel unable to fit in because she was surrounded by strangers.

Seeing Chen Mo walking alone up ahead, Qu Danwan couldn’t help but become curious about his and Zhou Hao’s friendship.

"How did you two meet? On the surface, you don’t seem like the type of people who would ever cross paths." Now that she was more familiar with Zhou Hao, Qu Danwan spoke much more directly.

"Old Mo? It was actually pretty similar to how you and I met," Zhou Hao said, recalling the memory.

"Me?"

Qu Danwan immediately remembered the scene of her first encounter with Zhou Hao.

Back then, Zhou Hao had been surrounded by several people. She had rushed forward with her phone, having already dialed 110 for the police, and scared them away.

She hadn’t expected that Chen Mo and Zhou Hao had met under similar circumstances.

"Except he was the one surrounded, and I saved him." Zhou Hao chuckled as he recalled the scene. ’Actually, Chen Mo didn’t need my help back then.’

He glanced at Chen Mo’s physique—slim when clothed, but solid muscle underneath.

Everyone else thought Zhou Hao was the one protecting Chen Mo at school. Only Zhou Hao himself knew that, most of the time, Chen Mo didn’t need his protection at all.

If a real fight broke out, Chen Mo could definitely hold his own.

That day, Chen Mo was being extorted by five guys. When Zhou Hao saw it, he stepped in to stop them.

He did it because Chen Mo had once bought him a drink after they played basketball at school.

Zhou Hao was a very loyal guy. Even though they weren’t close, he believed in repaying even the smallest kindness in spades.

So he stepped in to help.

He single-handedly fought off three of them, while Chen Mo faced the other two alone.

Most people had never seen Chen Mo’s solid build. With his slim appearance in clothes and his handsome face, he looked more like a weak scholar with no fighting ability.

Of course, this was also because Chen Mo had never gotten into a fight at school.

Ever since he was a child, his grandfather had taught him to train his body. He also enjoyed practicing some basic martial arts. Though he wasn’t a professional, his solid physical foundation meant that even with a superficial knowledge of fighting, his blows packed a serious punch.

He just never used that strength to bully the weak or his classmates.

So, naturally, his classmates had no idea how well Chen Mo could fight.

This was also why most students didn’t take Chen Mo’s fighting ability seriously.

Any respect they showed him was really just out of respect for Zhou Hao.

The only one who knew Chen Mo could actually fight well was Zhou Hao.

He had been able to hold his own against two thugs.

That was what had made Zhou Hao see him in a new light.

It was normal for a big guy like him to fight off three people. But for Chen Mo, who looked much leaner, to hold his own against two was impressive.

After that fight, Zhou Hao and Chen Mo became much better acquainted.

However, while the fight felt good at the moment, Zhou Hao was a little scared afterward, worried that the thugs would come back for revenge.

But later, Zhou Hao discovered that no retaliation ever came.

It wasn’t until later that a friend of his with connections told him that group had been chewed out by their boss, apparently for messing with someone they shouldn’t have.

That was when Zhou Hao realized that Chen Mo’s background wasn’t so simple either.

At first, he thought they weren’t the same kind of people and had even intentionally kept some distance.

He was afraid Chen Mo might suspect he had ulterior motives for getting close.

But Chen Mo treated him as a true friend. As time went on and they got to know each other better, they became good friends who truly admired one another.

Hearing Zhou Hao recount the story of how their bond deepened, Qu Danwan’s opinion of him rose even higher.

’He really is just as I thought—loyal and willing to stand up for his friends. He’s a really great guy.’

At this moment, the look Qu Danwan gave Zhou Hao was incredibly tender.

Zhou Hao himself was oblivious, still telling stories about him and Chen Mo.

After all, Chen Mo was one of his few true friends, and a friend he could proudly show off to others.

He naturally couldn’t help but talk a little more about him.

Today’s gathering was, for the most part, a success for everyone involved.

Since the LARP venue had served food, everyone already had something in their stomachs. So this time, they just found a random Haidilao, had a little more to eat, and then went their separate ways home.

After saying goodbye to Chen Mo and Su Yuqing, although Chu Mengyao tried to act as if she didn’t care about anything, the loneliness in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Watching their departing figures side by side made her heart ache even more.

As for Su Yuqing, walking beside Chen Mo, she glanced at him several times as if she wanted to say something but held back, ultimately not saying a word.

"You keep looking at me. Is there something you want to say?" Chen Mo had already noticed and asked with a smile.