#20gapAI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
Chapter 20: Estrangement
The others in the dormitory followed Lin Mo's gaze and collectively focused their eyes on Tang San as well.
Recalling that Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang and Dean Wang Zongchanghad gone to find Lin Mo together this afternoon, and that Yu Xiaogangwas Tang San's teacher... the crowd's faces immediately showed looks of understanding, and their gazes toward Tang San became complicated.
Wang Sheng's eyes widened even further as he looked at Tang San and asked in an uncertain tone, "Tang San... it couldn't be you..."
Under everyone's gaze, Tang San finally couldn't sit still anymore.
He took a deep breath and stood up from the bed, trying hard to maintain a calm expression, but his eyes flickered, not daring to meet Lin Mo's gaze.
"I told my teacher," Tang San admitted, his voice steady enough, but a hint of nervousness could be detected upon closer inspection.
He paused, "I... I was also concerned about you, Lin Mo."
"Your Spirit has undergone such a peculiar change; I was worried there might be some hidden risks."
He looked at Lin Mo, trying to make his gaze appear more sincere: "My teacher, Grandmaster Yu, is a titan in the Spirit Master theoretical circles and is very knowledgeable."
"I thought that if I let him take a look for you, perhaps he could clarify the root of your Spirit's change, which would also benefit your future development."
"I really had no ill intent; I just wanted to help you out of pure kindness."
Tang San's explanation seemed reasonable, appearing entirely like he was acting for the sake of his classmate.
However, after hearing this, Lin Mo's expression remained as calm as a deep pool, but his gaze toward Tang San held an undisguised sense of scrutiny and questioning.
Lin Mo's gaze was so sharp it seemed as if it could pierce right through Tang San's hypocritical mask, silently demanding: do you even believe your own hollow excuses?
Under Lin Mo's gaze, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, Tang San felt his face burn, and the guilt in his heart felt as if it were being exposed to the scorching sun, with nowhere to hide.
He subconsciously avoided Lin Mo's gaze and slightly lowered his head.
Only Tang San himself knew the real reason best.
He saw clearly that because of the flaws in the Luo San Pao Spirit, his teacher Yu Xiaogang had been stuck at the level twenty-nine Bottleneck for most of his life.
If there were no special opportunities or variables in the future, there was a high probability that Yu Xiaogang would be stuck at level twenty-nine for the rest of his life, never able to Breakthrough to the Spirit Elder Realm.
But this morning, when he saw Lin Mo's successfully hatched Charmander Spirit, which displayed powerful combat strength, a thought immediately popped into his mind.
Lin Mo's Charmander Spirit and his teacher's Luo San Pao Spirit were both extremely rare External Beast Martial Souls!
He believed this might be an opportunity that couldn't be missed.
An opportunity that could allow his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, to find a way for the Luo San Pao Spirit to Breakthrough to the Spirit Elder Realmfrom Lin Mo's Charmander Spirit!
It was with such thoughts and hopes that he decided to violate the agreement reached with Lin Mo and everyone in Dormitory Seven just this morning.
Without hesitation, he informed his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, in detail about the information he knew regarding Lin Mo's Spirit.
In his heart, 'a teacher for a day, a father for a lifetime' was the philosophy he had always upheld.
For his teacher's future, he felt that making a small breach of promise was acceptable, even considering it worthwhile.
Thus, while he showed apology to Lin Mo on the surface, deep down, he didn't truly feel he had done anything wrong.
His starting point, in the final analysis, was for the sake of Yu Xiaogang.
Lin Mo looked at the silent, head-bowed Tang San and slowly nodded, his tone finally revealing a hint of clear mockery:
"So that's how it is. Then I really must... thank you for your kindness."
The intentionally emphasized word 'thank' made this sentence sound full of a different meaning.
"However, I'm afraid I can't afford such kindness, and there's no need for it in the future." Lin Mo's voice returned to a flat tone, "This time, I suppose I trusted the wrong person."
Hearing Lin Mo's words, which were clearly filled with distance and irony, Tang San's body stiffened slightly.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end, not a single word came out... Seeing the stiff atmosphere, Wang Shengquickly stepped out to smooth things over. He slapped his chest hard with a "thud" and said loudly:
"Lin Mo, don't worry! I, Wang Sheng, am not the kind of person who goes back on his word! Since I promised to keep it a secret, I definitely will! You can trust me completely!"
Wang Sheng's words were intended to ease the atmosphere and state his position.
But when Lin Mo heard this, he just turned his head and looked at him with a faint, knowing smile, teasing:
"Wang Sheng, why does that sound... a bit off?"
As soon as Lin Mo spoke, the tense atmosphere in the dormitory immediately loosened.
Even a few Work-Study Students couldn't help but burst out laughing, and even Xiao Wu curled her lips, a slight smile appearing on her face.
Everyone looked cheerful, as if that bit of unpleasantness just now had been put behind them.
However, if one observed closely, they would find that many of them, after laughing, looked at Tang San with a degree of wariness and scrutiny that hadn't been there before.
Xiao Wu also walked over to Tang San, patted his shoulder, and said with clear dissatisfaction:
"Tang San, I'm not trying to pick on you, but you really didn't act honorably in this matter."
She tilted her head at Tang San, "Clearly, when everyone was together this morning, we all agreed to keep Lin Mo's secret."
"How could you decide to tell the Grandmaster on your own without even asking Lin Mo?"
Xiao Wu's mind was relatively simple and direct; she felt that if you promised someone something, you should do it. Tang San's act of taking things into his own hands made her feel uncomfortable, even repulsed.
Tang San's actions could be said to have greatly damaged the goodwill he had painstakingly built up among the people of Dormitory Sevenover the past six months.
Even Xiao Wu, who usually had a good relationship with him, couldn't help but feel a rift forming in her heart at this moment.
After all, these Work-Study Students were still just children; their minds were relatively simple, and their views on good and evil were straightforward, often seeing things as black or white.
On an issue of 'right and wrong' that seemed so clear to them, Tang San's act of 'betraying' their agreement was obviously categorized as 'wrong'.
Feeling the various gazes from around him and hearing Xiao Wu's blunt criticism, Tang San felt his face burning, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
He opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but found that all words were pale and powerless in the face of the facts.
In the end, he just silently lowered his head and sat back down on his bed, no longer looking at anyone.
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