Lin Mo had discovered an unfortunate truth. Being useful was dangerous. The moment people discovered you could do something, they started asking you to do more things. It began on Monday morning. “Lin Mo.” He looked up from his breakfast. Professor Zhang stood beside his table. “Yes?” “Do you have a moment?” Lin Mo immediately became cautious. “No.” Professor Zhang blinked. Xu An nearly choked on his drink. Lin Mo calmly continued eating. Professor Zhang looked amused. “I haven't even said what I wanted.” “You were going to ask me to do something.” “I was.” “See?” Professor Zhang laughed. “It won't take long.” Lin Mo sighed. “What is it?” “The library computer project.” Lin Mo's expression went blank. “I knew it.” “You submitted the proposal.” “Yes.” “The university wants you to explain the technical section to the company representatives.” Lin Mo slowly put down his chopsticks. “No.” Professor Zhang raised an eyebrow. “No?” “I'm a student.” “Exactly.” “Students shouldn't explain things to companies.” “Why not?” “Because companies have employees.” Xu An covered his mouth. Professor Zhang sighed. “You're unusually difficult to persuade.” “I prefer the word cautious.” “I'll give you extra credit.” Lin Mo became silent. Professor Zhang smiled. “Thought so.” --- Two days later, Lin Mo found himself sitting inside a small meeting room. He hated everything about it. The chairs were uncomfortable. The air conditioner was too cold. There were six adults sitting around the table. And there was a large screen at the front. Lin Mo looked at it. His presentation was displayed. He had made it at two in the morning. It wasn't pretty. But it worked. Professor Zhang introduced everyone. Then Lin Mo heard a familiar name. “Mr. Shen.” Lin Mo looked up. Shen Yichen was sitting at the opposite end of the table. Black suit. Calm expression. Perfect posture. Lin Mo stared for a second. Then looked away. Of course. Of course he was here. This was becoming ridiculous. Shen Yichen looked at him. “Student Lin.” Lin Mo nodded. “Mr. Shen.” A few people looked between them. Professor Zhang seemed surprised. “You two know each other?” “Met once,” Lin Mo said. Shen Yichen nodded. “Twice.” Lin Mo looked at him. “When was the second time?” “The university gate.” “Oh.” Right. That counted. Apparently. --- The meeting began. For the first ten minutes, Lin Mo barely spoke. Then one of the company representatives asked a technical question. Lin Mo answered. Another question. He answered that too. Soon, the room became quieter. People stopped looking at the slides. They started listening to him. Lin Mo didn't notice. He was simply explaining the system. “The current problem isn't only the hardware.” He pointed toward the screen. “The network structure is outdated. Even if you replace every computer, you'll still have delays during peak hours.” Someone asked, “What would you change?” “The network first.” “And the computers?” “Upgrade them gradually.” “Why?” “Budget.” A few people exchanged looks. Lin Mo continued. “If you replace everything at once, the university spends more money than necessary.” One representative asked, “Wouldn't a complete replacement be more efficient?” Lin Mo shook his head. “Technically, yes.” “Then why not recommend it?” “Because efficient doesn't always mean sensible.” The room went quiet. Shen Yichen looked at him. Lin Mo continued speaking. “Students aren't running a company. The university has a budget. If you spend all the money fixing one problem, another department will have no money left.” Professor Zhang nodded slowly. “That was also my concern.” The meeting continued for another half hour. Eventually, the company representatives agreed to revise the project plan. Lin Mo leaned back. Finished. He was free. Or so he thought. Shen Yichen spoke. “Student Lin.” Lin Mo looked up. “Yes?” “Your proposal is practical.” “Thank you.” “I'd like to ask you something.” Lin Mo became alert. “What?” “Why computer science?” Lin Mo blinked. He had expected something complicated. That wasn't complicated. “I like computers.” Shen Yichen waited. Lin Mo waited too. “That’s it?” “Yes.” Another pause. “You don't want to start a company?” “No.” “Research?” “Not particularly.” “Work for a large company?” “Maybe.” “Maybe?” “If the salary is good.” For the first time, several people around the table laughed. Lin Mo looked confused. “What?” Shen Yichen's expression softened slightly. “Nothing.” --- After the meeting, Lin Mo escaped. He walked down the corridor with the determination of a man fleeing a disaster. Then someone called him. “Lin Mo.” He stopped. Shen Yichen caught up. Lin Mo turned. “Is there something else?” “I wanted to give you this.” A business card was held out. Lin Mo stared at it. He didn't take it. Shen Yichen raised an eyebrow. “You don't want it?” Lin Mo considered his options. Taking it meant future contact. Not taking it meant he might look rude. He accepted it. “Thanks.” “You can contact me if you have questions about the project.” Lin Mo looked at the card. Then at Shen Yichen. “Can I contact Professor Zhang instead?” Shen Yichen was silent. Lin Mo suddenly felt that perhaps he had gone too far. Then Shen Yichen smiled faintly. “You can.” Lin Mo relaxed. “Great.” He put the card into his pocket. Then left. He didn't notice Shen Yichen watching him go. --- That night, Lin Mo returned to his dorm. He emptied his pockets onto the desk. Keys. Phone. Earphones. A receipt. Some coins. And the business card. He picked it up. Shen Yichen. There was a phone number. An email. Nothing else. Lin Mo stared at it. Then put it into a drawer. Out of sight. Out of mind. Problem solved. He opened his laptop. A message from Gu Wen appeared. «Gu Wen: Are you free tomorrow?» Lin Mo replied immediately. «Lin Mo: Yes.» Then another message came. «Gu Wen: Library?» «Lin Mo: Sure.» Lin Mo smiled. Much better. The library. Books. Gu Wen. No businessmen. No protagonists. No trouble. He closed the laptop. Then remembered something. “Wait.” He opened the drawer. Looked at Shen Yichen's card. Then closed it again. “No.” He had a feeling that card would become troublesome. So naturally— he decided never to use it. That decision lasted exactly six days.

The Problem With Being Useful