Chapter 5: Mo Yixia
Time quickly came to noon. Mo Yixia refused Han Zhou's help and heated the dishes from the refrigerator by herself, bringing them to the dining table.
The meal was abundant and clearly prepared with care. Han Zhou was indeed a bit hungry. He took off his mask, picked up his chopsticks, and asked curiously, "You don't eat with your mask on, do you?"
Mo Yixia glanced at him, turned the brim of her baseball cap to the back of her head, and silently took off her mask.
This was the first time Han Zhou clearly saw her face.
He knew this girl wouldn't be ugly; after all, some people look beautiful even if you only see their eyes. What's more, a tear mole adorned the corner of her right eye, like a star guarding the moon, adding a touch of charm.
Many people's appearance often improves when they wear a mask, but becomes somewhat ordinary when they take it off. However, Mo Yixia was different. The moment she took off her mask, Han Zhou felt a sudden brightening of his eyes.
Like her mother, Mo Yixia's features were also exquisite. However, the former relied more on makeup, while she relied entirely on natural beauty: bright eyes and white teeth, a delicate nose and cherry lips. The tear mole perfectly complemented her features, like a princess from ancient times quietly lifting a corner of her carriage curtain, with a cool temperament that made it hard not to stop in front of her carriage.
The most beautiful girl Han Zhou knew at the moment was Guzheng, after all, she had a charm of eight points. But the former was more a beauty of youthful vitality, becoming more attractive the more you looked; while Mo Yixia was the type who was exceptionally stunning at first glance.
Her charm should be at least eight points...
Han Zhou sighed inwardly, but on his lips, he joked, "I take back what I said earlier. With you looking like this, even surveillance cameras at home might not be enough protection."
He planned to try completing the daily task first, but his intuition told him this girl would be difficult to make laugh.
Mo Yixia ate elegantly. She showed no reaction to his words, only lowering her head to remind him, "It's best not to talk while eating. If you must, remember to keep your head down like me. That way, the cameras won't see your mouth movements. If my mom knew you said something like that, she might make you pack your bags and leave tomorrow."
Han Zhou's expression froze. He almost forgot about that. So he silently lowered his head, "Surveillance and anti-surveillance, what exactly are you two mother and daughter researching..."
"My mom doesn't know, but I secretly learned a bit about micro-expressions and psychology, so I could tell yesterday that you were very interested in me."
She has time to learn all these miscellaneous things, I think you're quite idle...
Han Zhou gave a wry smile and grumbled, "You and your mom weren't secret agents living in an occupied zone before, were you?"
Mo Yixia didn't lift her head, eating her rice in small bites, "In short, you have the idea of getting close to me, and I just happen to need you to provide cover for me. So, to some extent, we have common interests."
"I don't deny that... But aren't you curious why I want to get close to you?"
"Why else?"
Mo Yixia paused for a moment, looked up at him, then said nothing more, only humming a few lines softly.
But Han Zhou's face darkened, and he instantly understood what she meant, because she had just sung "I Want to Fall in Love."
He shook his head inwardly. It seemed this guy's psychology wasn't refined enough, but it wasn't surprising that she misunderstood. After all, he hadn't really hidden his eagerness yesterday, so it was natural for her to think that way.
He shrugged, "You sing quite well."
Mo Yixia didn't speak, but silently pushed a plate of steamed perch in front of him.
Han Zhou was stunned. Could this mean she wants me to eat more fish heads to boost my brain?
Mo Yixia picked up some greens and ate them in small bites, explaining, "I don't like fish, and I don't want to waste it, but my mom always makes fish, and I can't not eat it. So, I'm entrusting this plate of fish to you."
【Daily Task Two (Mo Yixia): Get ten 'likes' from the target 1/10, can earn 1 point】
This works too?
It seems getting this guy to say 'like' should be much easier than making her laugh...
Han Zhou silently nodded to show he understood. He also disliked waste, but he quite liked eating fish.
However, just then, Mo Yixia across from him added another sentence.
"Oh, and eating fish can also boost your brain."
...
Eating seemed to be a precious period of leisure time for Mo Yixia, so she kept hinting at Han Zhou to eat slower and longer, preferably establishing the persona of a long-term big eater on the very first day.
The last sentence wasn't a hint; she said it directly.
However, the two couldn't possibly stay glued to the dining table forever. After lunch, Mo Yixia put on her mask and put away the dishes, then slowly made her way to the desk. Unlike her previous calm demeanor, she was clearly somewhat reluctant at this moment.
Han Zhou chuckled to himself, thinking that even the most formidable "agent" feared doing homework. Thinking this, he picked up the test papers on the table, looked at them, and asked, "Are these the test papers you have to finish this afternoon?"
Mo Yixia was silent for a long time, and only after a while did she reply, "I originally thought they were all for you to do, but I didn't expect you to score so well that only one was enough, so the rest all became mine."
Han Zhou heard the resentment in her tone and quickly explained, "You can't blame me for this. You told me to answer the questions carefully."
He had also put his mask back on at this point, and after roughly estimating the number of test papers, he frowned, "But this is too many, do they all have to be finished today?"
"You don't necessarily have to finish all of them, but you have to approach them with an exam-taking attitude. In my mom's words, it's 'do as much as you can, with all your might.'"
Other children might still harbor hopes like "I can play after finishing ten pages of homework today," but for Mo Yixia, this was an unheard-of luxury. What she always heard was 'do as much as you can,' but this 'much' never had a precise quantity.
As she recalled, her high school life consisted of nothing but doing problems, not even as good as a donkey with a carrot to chase. Even the air was monotonous; she didn't know what to look forward to.
Looking down at her feet, the trash can was filled with used pen refills, densely packed, like people whose souls had been drained.
"Even a high school senior shouldn't be under such intense pressure..."
Han Zhou muttered, then asked, "Speaking of which, didn't you want me to help you get some free time? So, how am I supposed to help you?"
Mo Yixia had already started working on the test papers. Without lifting her head, she said, "Just like during dinner, try to drag it out as long as possible. You have good grades, so even if you're a big eater, my mom won't say anything. Instead, she'll say that people with quick minds consume more energy, and so on."
Han Zhou's mouth twitched, "Helping you is one thing, but I'm not really a big eater. But is that all? How much rest can you get from just eating..."
As he spoke, he had already sat down on a chair not far from the study, picking up a book and flipping through it. Because of his mask, if you didn't hear their voices, you wouldn't know the two were talking.
Mo Yixia said, "You also heard my mom say that classes start tomorrow. There's a twenty-minute break in the morning and twenty minutes in the afternoon. The rest of the time is for studying. There are cameras in the room, so trying to slack off under my mom's nose isn't realistic. Being able to steal some leisure time during meals is already good... But if you're bored, you can chat with me."
Why would I be bored...
Han Zhou sighed inwardly. He truly sympathized with this girl, so he asked, "I'm a bit bored right now, so what do you want to talk about?"
Mo Yixia thought for a moment and said, "Talk about your mom, okay?"
Han Zhou's mouth twitched. Although he knew she didn't mean it, he still felt like the sentence sounded like an insult...