Lin Mo discovered a serious problem on Thursday morning. He was becoming useful. This was unacceptable. The problem began with a printer. More specifically, the printer in the computer lab. It had been making a terrible noise for nearly ten minutes. “Why does it sound like it's dying?” Lin Mo stood beside it with his arms folded. A classmate pressed the print button again. The machine groaned. Nothing came out. Someone kicked the side. Lin Mo immediately stepped back. “Violence won't solve it.” “You know how to fix it?” “No.” “Then why did you say that?” “Because I don't want to be responsible for what happens next.” The classmate sighed. The printer made another horrifying mechanical sound. Lin Mo stared at it. Then he crouched down. “Move.” “What?” “I'll look.” “You just said you don't know how to fix it.” “I don't.” “Then—” “I said I'll look.” He opened the lower panel. There was a jammed sheet of paper. He pulled it out. The printer immediately started working. Everyone became silent. Lin Mo stared at the paper in his hand. The others stared at him. He slowly stood. “See?” Someone asked, “What did you do?” Lin Mo threw the paper into the trash. “Luck.” Ten minutes later, three people had asked him to fix their computers. Lin Mo regretted everything. “No.” “Just look at mine.” “No.” “My laptop keeps crashing.” “Ask the computer department.” “It's only five minutes.” “No.” “Lin Mo—” “No.” He packed his bag. His classmates watched him leave. One of them whispered, “He's actually pretty good.” Lin Mo heard it. His footsteps became faster. Being good at something was dangerous. Being noticeably good at something was even worse. In the original novel, people who attracted attention rarely had peaceful lives. Lin Mo had no intention of becoming one of them. At noon, Gu Wen found him hiding behind the library. “You're hiding.” “No.” “You are.” “I'm enjoying the scenery.” Gu Wen looked around. There was a wall. A trash can. Two bicycles. And a tree. “What scenery?” Lin Mo pointed at the tree. “That.” Gu Wen laughed. “You're strange.” “Thank you.” “That wasn't a compliment.” “I accept it anyway.” They walked toward the cafeteria. After a few steps, Gu Wen asked, “Did something happen this morning?” “Nothing important.” “You look like you're avoiding people.” “I am.” “Why?” “They wanted me to fix their computers.” Gu Wen thought about it. “Isn't that what you study?” “That doesn't mean I want to work for free.” Gu Wen smiled. “Fair.” Lin Mo glanced at him. “Actually, you're the only person I'll help.” “Why?” “Because you give me notes.” Gu Wen laughed. “So that's my value?” “Extremely high.” “I'll remember that.” After lunch, Lin Mo returned to the library. He had an assignment to finish. That was all. Unfortunately, the computer he was using froze. Lin Mo stared at the screen. The screen stared back. “No.” He clicked. Nothing. He clicked again. Still nothing. Lin Mo leaned closer. There it was. The same network delay he'd noticed during the library project. His expression changed slightly. He opened the system monitor. Checked the connection. Ran a few commands. Waited. The problem wasn't exactly the same as the one he'd noticed before. But it was related. The library's internal traffic was being routed inefficiently during peak hours. Nothing catastrophic. Just annoying. Lin Mo frowned. Then he opened a text file and wrote down the details. He was halfway through making a small adjustment when someone spoke behind him. “You found it too?” Lin Mo froze. He turned around. Chen Yu stood there holding two books. Lin Mo blinked. “Oh.” Chen Yu smiled. “Didn't expect to see you here.” “Me neither.” Chen Yu looked at the screen. “Is the network bothering you?” “Yes.” “You're fixing it?” “No.” Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. Lin Mo pointed at the screen. “I'm complaining about it.” “That looks suspiciously like fixing.” “I'm complaining in a technically productive way.” Chen Yu laughed. “That's a new one.” Lin Mo saved his notes. “I'll send this to Professor Zhang.” “That would help.” Chen Yu glanced at the screen again. “You notice these things quickly.” Lin Mo immediately became cautious. “Bad habit.” “Why?” “I hate waiting.” Chen Yu smiled. “That actually explains a lot.” Lin Mo didn't ask what he meant. He had learned that asking questions often created more questions. Later that afternoon, Professor Zhang received Lin Mo's message. He read it twice. Then forwarded it. The message eventually reached someone outside the university. And from there, it reached Shen Yichen. Shen read the technical notes. His expression remained calm. The problem Lin Mo had found wasn't major. But the method was familiar. He wasn't randomly changing settings. He had traced the traffic pattern, identified the bottleneck, and proposed a low-cost correction. The same way he had approached the earlier problem. Shen leaned back. His assistant stood nearby. “Again?” “Yes.” “That's the second time.” Shen nodded. “Which makes it less likely to be luck.” The assistant looked at the report. “Should we invite him to the company?” “No.” “Why not?” “He doesn't want to come.” The assistant looked surprised. “You're sure?” Shen remembered Lin Mo's expression whenever business entered the conversation. He wasn't interested. Not even slightly. “If we invite him, he'll probably find an excuse.” “And if we don't?” “He'll continue doing what he's doing.” Shen closed the report. “That's more useful.” At six in the evening, Lin Mo was eating dumplings. He had completely forgotten about the network problem. Gu Wen sat opposite him. “You seem happy.” “I got dumplings.” “That simple?” “Yes.” Gu Wen looked at the plate. “Should I buy you dumplings every time you're unhappy?” Lin Mo seriously considered it. “That could work.” “Then you'll have to tell me when you're unhappy.” “No.” “Why?” “Because then you might buy me dumplings.” Gu Wen stared at him. Lin Mo smiled. “You understand the danger.” Gu Wen shook his head. “You're impossible.” Lin Mo happily ate another dumpling. Outside the cafeteria, students passed under the evening lights. The university remained noisy and ordinary. Lin Mo looked around. For the first time since transmigrating, he realized something. He wasn't constantly thinking about the novel anymore. He had stopped comparing every person he met to a character. He had stopped expecting every ordinary event to become part of the plot. He had friends now. Classes. Habits. Places he liked. A routine. A life. Maybe this wasn't the life he had originally planned for himself. Maybe it was better. Lin Mo lowered his eyes and smiled. Then his phone vibrated. Unknown number. He stared at it. His smile disappeared. The message contained only one sentence. You seem to be very interested in the university's network system. Lin Mo's chopsticks stopped halfway to his mouth. Gu Wen noticed. “What happened?” Lin Mo looked at the message again. Then he deleted it. “Nothing.” “Are you sure?” “Spam.” Gu Wen didn't look convinced. Lin Mo put his phone away. His heart was beating slightly faster. He had one rule about mysterious messages. Ignore them. And if they continued— Block them. Simple. He picked up another dumpling. Then he remembered something. He hadn't blocked the number yet. Lin Mo sighed. His peaceful life lasted exactly six hours. “Why is being a salted fish so difficult?”

The Trouble With Being Good At Something