novelODS Chapter 37: Afraid of his brothers suffering, and also afraid of driving a Land Rover.
Chapter 37: Afraid of his brothers suffering, and also afraid of driving a Land Rover.
Lin Mo and Rita strolled along, laughing and joking.
It wasn't until half an hour later that Rita glanced at the time on her phone and said:
"It's getting late. Let's go back to the parking lot. I'll take you back to the base to sleep first."
"Okay, we really should go back and catch up on our sleep. We have training tomorrow." Lin Mo nodded and walked side by side with her toward the parking lot.
To reach the parking lot, you need to walk along a path paved with bluestone slabs.
As Rita walked, she asked, "Brother Mozi, are you streaming again tomorrow? How about we continue duoing?"
Just as Lin Mo was about to answer, Rita suddenly slipped.
"what!"
She gasped in surprise, instantly losing her balance and falling forward uncontrollably.
Lin Mo, who was walking beside him, reacted quickly and instinctively opened his arms and stepped forward to catch it.
The next second, a soft, delicate body crashed solidly into Lin Mo's arms.
In the midst of the haste, Lin Mo's hand seemed to have grasped a soft spot.
His hand silently moved down and wrapped around her slender waist. Through the thin fabric of her clothes, he could clearly feel her amazing elasticity and warm body temperature.
Rita gripped Lin Mo's arm tightly with both hands, and after her initial panic, her face turned red at a visible speed.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Lin Mo looked down and, because of the extremely close distance, he could even clearly see Rita's long eyelashes trembling slightly.
As a normal, vigorous young man, Lin Mo couldn't help but feel a slight flutter in his heart.
Rita stared at Lin Mo, the sound of his heartbeat gradually quickening in her ears.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
It was unclear whether it was Lin Mo's heartbeat or her own.
The two of them stood there stunned for a few seconds.
The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.
Just as Rita was so embarrassed she didn't know what to say, Lin Mo's carefree voice suddenly came from above her head:
"Sister Ta Zi, if you want to take advantage of me, just say so. It's not like I won't let you. It's the middle of the night, and you're doing this on purpose. It's really embarrassing."
These words shattered the previously romantic and awkward atmosphere.
Rita's blush turned into anger.
She shoved Lin Mo's chest away, broke free from his embrace, and spat, "Stop being so conceited! Who wants to take advantage of you! Shameless! I just slipped on a stone!"
"Oh, so you're going to deny it after you've taken advantage of me!" Lin Mo teased, rubbing his arm. "Who was hugging me so tightly just now? I almost couldn't breathe."
"You still dare to talk back!" Rita angrily raised her small fist and punched him again, trying to hide her inner panic. "I already told you I twisted my ankle and lost my balance!"
"Okay, okay, you twisted your ankle." Lin Mo put away his joking mood and asked with concern, "How are you? Is it bad? Can you still walk? Do you want me to carry you there?"
Rita bent down and tried to move her ankle.
Although it was a little painful, fortunately Lin Mo caught it in time and didn't injure any bones, it was just a slight twist.
"It's okay, it's not serious, you can walk."
"If you can walk, that's fine. If you can't, please don't force yourself. Although I'm not as tall as you, I can easily carry you, a petite woman."
"Get lost! I'm as light as a feather!" Rita rolled her eyes at him and tentatively took two steps forward. Although she was a little awkward, she was actually fine.
Lin Mo felt a slight sense of regret.
The two walked to the parking lot in silence, neither mentioning Lin Mo's "Devil's Claw" move.
Even after getting into the car and sitting in the driver's seat, Rita's cheeks were still slightly flushed.
[Ding! Intimate physical contact detected between the host and the mission target. Current progress: 35%]
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lin Mo listened to the notification in his mind and looked at Rita beside him, who was staring straight ahead and pretending to be driving seriously. A smile appeared on his lips.
Although Lin Mo's earlier jokes eased the awkwardness, they couldn't make it seem like nothing had happened.
Just like Rita at this moment, she was focused on the road ahead, her hands gripping the steering wheel. Although she appeared calm on the surface, her slightly reddened earlobes betrayed her true feelings.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit quiet, Lin Mo took the initiative to break the silence:
"Hey, Sister Tako, won't your foot be swollen tomorrow morning?"
Rita didn't turn around, but simply said, "I'm in great physical condition! This little sprained ankle is nothing; I'll be bouncing around again after a good night's sleep."
"That's good." Lin Mo smiled. "I'm counting on you, my 'big brother,' to carry me to the top of the Rift tomorrow. Our duo queue is all thanks to you, Sister Tazi."
Hearing Lin Mo attribute the credit to her again, Rita felt smug and haughtily snorted, "Since you accompanied me out for barbecue tonight, I'll reluctantly let you play a few more rounds tomorrow."
"It's a deal!"
Soon, the car came to a smooth stop outside the gate of the EDG base.
"Sister Ta, drive carefully on the way back, and send me a message when you arrive." Lin Mo got out of the car and waved to her.
"Okay, go on in now, goodnight, Mozi." Rita rolled down the car window to say goodbye, then stepped on the gas and drove into the night.
After watching the Mercedes' taillights disappear completely, Lin Mo turned and walked into the base.
Exhausted, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
……
Lin Mo slept exceptionally well and didn't even have a dream.
When he woke up rubbing his eyes, it was already 12:30 pm.
After quickly washing up, Lin Mo put on the club's slippers and pushed open the door to the training room.
"Whoosh—"
The moment he pushed the door open, the training room, which had been filled with the sounds of mouse and keyboard clicks, suddenly became much quieter.
Immediately afterwards, Lin Mo felt five or six pairs of eyes fall on him at once.
Meiko, Scout, Zet, and A-Guang all stared at him with strange looks.
The factory manager, sitting in the very center, was looking at him with a half-smile, a wicked grin on his face.
Lin Mo roughly understood.
The factory manager must have revealed that he and Rita went out for barbecue!
"Uh... Good afternoon, everyone. Have you all eaten?" Lin Mo coughed twice and walked to his seat, pretending nothing was wrong.
"What are you eating? We're full from all the gossip!" Meiko couldn't contain her gossip spirit any longer and slid over in her gaming chair. "Wow, Mo! You've been keeping a low profile! You always seem so honest, but you quietly pulled off a big heist!"
"Exactly!" Ah Guang chimed in, "I heard from Mingkai that last night, in the middle of the night, Rita personally drove her Mercedes to the base gate to pick you up for a late-night snack? Is that true?!"
Although Scout's Chinese wasn't very fluent, he nodded repeatedly and gave Lin Mo a thumbs up.
Lin Mo glanced helplessly at the factory manager!
"Stop guessing, everyone." Lin Mo pulled out a chair and sat down. "It's not as complicated as you think. We're just acquaintances online!"
"Last night I was streaming on the Chinese Super Server and happened to connect with her, so I made a bet with her. I said if I could carry her to ten consecutive wins, she would have to treat me to a nice meal."
"And what happened? Ten consecutive wins! You all know me, I've been poor since I was a kid, do you think I'd pass up a free lunch?"
"I kept pestering her on WeChat until Sister Ta had no choice. Plus, she was hungry herself, so she reluctantly agreed to drive over and take me to a roadside stall for a quick meal."
Lin Mo slightly distorted the facts, saying that he had asked to go himself, to avoid Rita being criticized.
Upon hearing Lin Mo's explanation, the factory manager and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.
Meiko patted his chest dramatically: "You scared me to death! I knew it! How could Rita possibly come looking for you in the middle of the night on her own? Turns out it was you who begged and pleaded with her!"
"That's good, that's good. The world is still normal." The factory manager chimed in, "I thought our LPL goddess really had a crush on you. Her millions of male fans must be heartbroken!"
"I knew Mingkai must have been mistaken!" A-Guang said. "Xiao Mo may be a tiny bit better looking than me, but he's nowhere near as popular as a warm, caring guy like me!"
Seeing his teammates breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Mo couldn't help but laugh: "Yeah, yeah, so brothers, don't worry."