Quadruple split.

Chapter 2621 is also true
In the end, Mo Tan, Anthony Dabus, and Ji Xiaoge, who was unwilling to live a life of widowhood (?), simply said goodbye to the others and set off for the Anka branch of the Gold Coin Merchants Association, where they very decisively transferred the 400,000 gold coins provided by [Clown Card] to the corporate account of [Summer Special Research].

Less than twenty seconds later, Dabus received a message that Principal Qian, who had been waiting at the Academy City branch, had confirmed receipt of the payment and immediately informed Tianxingdao, instructing him to quickly bring Dabus and those ogre babies back, as the principal would personally host a banquet to welcome them back.

"Uh... that principal is really a man of character."

On the way to the airship platform, Ji Xiaoge clicked her tongue and sighed, then asked Dabus with some curiosity, "But why did he tell Teacher Tian instead of contacting you directly, Dabus?"

Dabus coughed awkwardly and shook his head, saying, "Actually, Qian Xiao and I have been a little strained lately. On the one hand, it's because he was very opposed to the 'Summer Research' program that he personally started, and on the other hand, he felt that Anthony was a burden. Then there was the suspension incident, so... sigh, I guess he's in a pretty awkward position now and doesn't know what to say to me."

"The adult world is really tough."

Ji Xiaoge sighed ambiguously, then casually tossed two rice balls to Anthony, whose eyes were sparkling, before asking, "But judging from what you just said, you don't seem to be very resentful?"

Dabus laughed and shook his head, saying, "What do I have to complain about? Take the Summer Research Project for example. The reason I opposed it was because I felt that the project took up a lot of children's holiday time, and I was worried that it would become an arms race-like extracurricular activity that would drive everyone crazy."

Ji Xiaoge blinked and asked curiously, "And now?"

"Now I feel that the Summer Research Program is more like a summer camp. The important thing is that almost all students gave very positive feedback on the program, which is actually very rare."

Dabus shook his index finger, then said with a somewhat subtle expression, "And then, as the person in charge of the [Summer Research Program], Mr. Tian's time allocation and course arrangement are just right. Not only will he not put too much academic pressure on everyone, but he can also allow these students who basically stay at home during the summer vacation to do various social practices, such as working at the large library, which can broaden their horizons and expand their thinking."

"Pfft."

Ji Xiaoge chuckled and turned to Mo Tanle, saying, "Every time we talk about education, Dabus is like a completely different person."

"And you can also objectively evaluate colleagues you don't like."

Mo Tan laughed and said with a smile, "Such excellent teachers are rare these days."

"Hey, you two, stop joking with me."

Dabus gave the two of them a light slap on the head, both amused and exasperated, and said irritably, "Putting aside that guy surnamed Tian, ​​I have no problem with the Summer Research Program that President Qian started. And to be fair, although he's a bit opportunistic, he's never put any benefit in his own pocket. He's always thinking about getting more resources for the school or improving the students' grades. He's really great."

Knowing full well that Principal Qian's original intention in establishing the "Summer Special Research Program" was mostly to improve the college entrance examination pass rate, and that the reason why the program could become both educational and entertaining and a win-win situation was mostly due to the person in charge, Teacher Tian, ​​Mo Tan smiled without saying anything and did not 'remind' him of this.

Ultimately, since Dabus has realized that his subjective impression of Teacher Tian is biased, he probably knows it in his heart even if no one says it. As for being unforgiving... that's normal. After all, the other party is his perceived 'love rival'. Even if Dabus is magnanimous, he probably won't give Tianxingdao a good look for the time being.

And at least in matters of the heart, he doesn't seem to be a very generous person...

"Then there's the matter of Anthony."

Dabus turned to look at the 'brother' next to him who was devouring a rice ball, enjoying it so much that it caused a commotion, and said with a wry smile, "To be honest, most of the kids over there are middle school students, and many of them have never even left Academy City. They're not very accepting of the cannibal race. It's not their fault. If I had to be in the same class as a classmate who might grab me and eat me when he was hungry when I was in school, I think I would have panicked too."

The winged beauty, who always doted on Anthony, pouted and complained, "But the [Innocent Realm] is just a game, you won't actually get eaten, so what's the big deal!"

"First of all, although [Innocent Realm] is a game, its realism is exaggerated to a frightening degree."

Dabus shook his head and said earnestly, "Moreover, teenagers are actually very easily influenced in the process. Let alone the 'Innocent Realm,' which is as realistic as another reality, even things like movies and novels can easily leave psychological shadows or traumas on today's children."

Ji Xiaoge shook her wings and muttered listlessly, "Is it really that serious? I don't remember being that fragile when I was little."

"It has nothing to do with whether something is fragile or not; it's that we can't take risks with this kind of thing."

Dabus sighed and said helplessly, "In other words, even if only one in a million children might be traumatized by Anthony, we have to treat that one in a million probability as a ten thousand percent probability."

Mo Tan nodded slightly and turned to comfort the dejected Ji Xiaoge, saying, "Better safe than sorry. I think Dabus is right. But the problem is solved now. Once the cannibal class is established, Anthony will not only be able to study with his new friends, but the children who will take the initiative to communicate with them should not be the type to be traumatized. It's a win-win situation."

"That makes sense, and Dabus can also go back to work where Teacher Chen works, so it should be a win-win-win situation."

The winged beauty, who was particularly easy to coax, nodded vigorously, and then said to Anthony Dabus with a bitter expression, "Only the world where our adventurer team was injured has been achieved, even though we only reunited with you a few days ago."

"Sister Pigeon, don't be sad, Anthony, I'm not leaving."

Seeing Ji Xiaoge put on a pitiful look, the simple-minded Anthony immediately offered words of comfort.

"I'm also quite conflicted. After all, when I was suspended from my post, I was prepared to work with you guys in action games and separate my work from the game. Unfortunately, plans don't always go as expected."

Patting Anthony on the head, Dabus coughed lightly and said seriously, "However, as Tian said before, the [Summer Special Research] is almost over, and there should be a lot of free time for the [Weekend Research] afterward. So after the Ogre Tutoring Class gets on track, I should still have a lot of time to work with everyone... probably."

"Hmph, just a rough estimate?"

Ji Xiaoge first crossed her arms and hummed twice, then shook her head happily and said, "But forget it, it's good enough to have something to look forward to. Besides, Dabus, your beloved Teacher Chen is still at school. Well, although it's a bit of a pity that we can't play together, it's nothing compared to your life's big event."

"This..."

Dabus scratched his head, his big face slightly flushed, and said, "Because that guy surnamed Tian is targeting me and Xiao Chen with his scheduling, we probably won't have many chances to meet in the game. But after talking with Mo, we've decided to be more proactive outside the game."

"Eh?"

Ji Xiaoge was immediately stunned and asked in bewilderment, "What were you two talking about?"

"Some issues related to mindset in relationships."

Unaware of the constant glances and frantically flashing messages from Mo Tan, Dabus, who rarely held back in front of these 'online friends,' chuckled and sighed, "Honestly, if it weren't for Mo's words that woke me up, I might still be struggling with myself."

"A word to the wise?" The young woman raised her eyebrows and asked in a rather subtle tone, "So, he shared a lot of dating tips with you?"

"Hmm, more or less."

Dabus chuckled and gave Mo Tan a grateful look: "I can only say that he reminded me of many things I hadn't thought of before... uh!?"

Finally, Dabus noticed Mo Tan's lifeless gaze and instinctively shut his mouth.

Unfortunately, it was too late!
"So that's how it is."

Ji Xiaoge casually turned Mo Tan's stiff head, which was facing Dabus, to face her. She revealed a complex expression that looked like a smile, but was so gloomy that it almost suffocated Mo Tan. She said, word by word, "So our little brother Mo is a love master after all?"

"I think this is a misunderstanding."

Mo Tan raised his hands, his face ashen, and said with a bitter smile, "Dabus's situation is a case of those involved being confused while bystanders see things clearly. If you had come with us to meet Teacher Tian that day, you would probably understand too."

"Hmph, so it was just 'probably'..."

Without turning her head, the winged beauty flapped her wings, swallowing Dabus's explanation back into her stomach. After a long silence, she suddenly stood on tiptoe, smacked Mo Tan's chin with her head, and waved her little fist, saying, "You'd better behave yourself from now on, you know that!"

"……Yes."

Knowing full well that this was not a solution and that it would inevitably lead to disastrous consequences, but still unable to escape his current predicament, Mo Tan obediently raised his hands.

To be fair, the person he is in now is quite different from the indecisive "self" under his absolutely neutral personality. If he could, he wouldn't mind making a clean break and putting an end to this relationship that seems like a joke with no future in sight.

After all, neither he nor Ji Xiaoge could really treat this online relationship like a joke.

But Mo Tan couldn't do that, because unlike Yu Chen, who had already seen through a lot, Ji Xiaoge, who had finally mustered the courage to express her feelings and had already backed down to the point where she couldn't back down any further, and who had left plenty of room for maneuver because she didn't want to feel like she was being aggressive... was really easy to hurt.

It's important to understand that for Ji Xiaoge, who grew up under the almost unconditional protection of her father and sister and suffered greatly because of her outstanding appearance, it takes immense courage to open up about her feelings. In fact, if it weren't for Mika's "helping hand" that made her realize her feelings, Ji Xiaoge would probably still be subconsciously avoiding these emotions.

More importantly, Ji Xiaoge could vaguely sense that 'Mo' did indeed have a good impression of her.

This wasn't blind confidence, but rather that she genuinely could sense things from the smallest details. After all, being able to think in a single thread most of the time didn't mean Ji Xiaoge lacked sensitivity.

That's precisely where the problem lies.

If Mo had no feelings for Ji Xiaoge, then the latter most likely wouldn't have made that impulsive, direct confession that day.

Or, to put it another way, even if Ji Xiaoge still confessed, Mo Tan could reject him with a clear conscience, nipping the feelings in the bud and turning them into a bittersweet memory that the girl might occasionally recall years later.

The problem is that if 'Mo' in the [Innocent Realm] were to say that he doesn't like Ji Xiaoge, the only consequence would be that he would be instantly killed by [Knight's Spirit: Honesty], turning him into a virtual man who can't even beat a pigeon.

So, faced with the other party's relentless and uncompromising direct offensive, Mo Tan had no choice but to surrender to the girl's declaration that "you are mine," thus beginning their online romance.

He couldn't refuse, because it would hurt Ji Xiaoge's feelings.

Mo didn't have the burdens of indecisiveness, looking back and forth, or being unable to let go—these are the things only cowards have. The reason he didn't make the 'right' choice was entirely because he didn't want to hurt Ji Xiaoge.

It wasn't an excuse, nor was it an attempt to shirk responsibility. Over this period of time, Mo made almost no attempt to conceal or explain his unusual behavior. Instead, he fully revealed to the other party his current predicament of being forced to be mysterious and unable to even guarantee his basic online time.

Based on this, Ji Xiaoge completely accepted everything that Mo had shown her.

Not a single complaint, not a single hint of resentment.

All of this made Mo clearly realize that the girl was willing to give a lot for their online relationship, which was supposed to be a joke but was actually something she cherished.

and so……

When Ji Xiaoge placed herself on the scales, facing Mo alongside the imaginable hardships and struggles.

Everything before that is no longer important.

When Ji Xiaoge's happiness has become part of Mo's 'principle', any conclusion that contradicts it, any option that would make the girl sad, will be rejected by him without hesitation.

Indeed, Mo would not hesitate for a moment when faced with the right choice.

But making choices that do not harm anyone is also his right, just, principled and bottom line.

Just as the world is never simply black and white...

The same applies to silence and justice.

Disregard justice.

The same is true.

Chapter 2612: The End

I've been too busy lately and haven't been able to write the promised Innocent Academy side story. Therefore, I'm issuing this statement to postpone it to July, and I promise to write an extra Innocent Academy story in August as interest.
P.S.: The weather has been scorching hot lately. With global warming, I hope everyone can go somewhere cool and stay there.