Locking away my heart and love! Going back to 2000 to be a top student again.

Xu Weiping and his wife had long been aware of Zhou Mochen's existence, and they estimated that even if Xu Suye did not return home, they would not have any objections.

However, if their daughter really doesn't come home at night, they might start demanding more money.

Xu Su knew perfectly well what kind of parents she had, and Zhou Mochen knew even more about her family situation.

Although Zhou Mochen really wanted the girl to stay here and not go back to her parents' place to suffer, he held back.

Even if he had no ulterior motives, his words were still ambiguous.

Zhou Mochen casually steered the wheel, thinking to himself that he would protect the little girl sooner or later, and no one should be allowed to cause her any trouble.

When they got home, it was already past 8 p.m. The Xu family of three were watching TV in the living room.

When Xu Su returned, Chen Shulan got up and asked her a few questions with concern. After learning that she had eaten, she did not ask where she had eaten.

Xu Su roughly understood that Zhou Mochen must have given her some hints through someone again.

Something suddenly came to mind.

Xu Su asked, "Did my dad get a job change?"

Chen Shulan was taken aback, her hand pausing as she took the schoolbag. Then, a look of surprise appeared on her face: "The old factory director just let slip a little today that he was going to transfer your dad to the workshop as a director. How did you know? Su Su, where did you get the news?"

Xu Weiping also stood up abruptly, her face full of excitement: "Daddy's good daughter, Daddy knew that such a good thing as becoming a director would never fall to a nobody like me. I'm only doing this because of my daughter!"

Textile factories are large factories with tens of thousands of employees. Even a small workshop director is in charge of several hundred people, and countless workers with connections and powerful backers are eyeing them.

Xu Weiping was just a manual laborer. He had no management skills, low emotional intelligence, and was bad at handling people. The couple had worked in the factory for more than ten years, going from employees to veteran employees, but their positions had not changed at all.

They don't really get to decide whether something is good or bad.

As a result, after their eldest daughter was brought back to their side, good things happened to them one after another.

First, last year when welfare housing was allocated, their family beat out many more senior and higher-ranking employees to get a new three-bedroom apartment.

Now, the old factory director has hinted that the workshop director position that became vacant this year will be given to Xu Weiping.

For the Xu family, this was like a windfall.

The couple had thought about it before, and it might be thanks to their daughter, but they didn't dare to say it outright. They never expected their daughter to ask about it on her own initiative.

Xu Su was surprised that she had guessed correctly.

In her past life, she remembered that not long after the start of her second year of high school, Xu Weiping was promoted. From then on, her status in the Xu family rose sharply, and her parents' attitude towards her could be described as fawning, even more exaggerated than it is now.

Looking back now, Zhou Mochen probably revealed his thoughts directly to his parents without reservation, instead of being ambiguous and leaving them to guess, as is the case now.

Looking at the excited and surprised expressions on her biological parents' faces, Xu Su felt utterly bored.

She gave a stiff smile. "I was just guessing."

Xu Weiping wanted to ask more questions.

Xu Su interrupted, "I'm going to wash up. School starts tomorrow, so I need to get up early. I'd better get some rest."

~~~

July 16th, sunny, extremely high temperature.

Early in the morning, Xu Su packed her things for boarding school and left.

In the car, Zhou Mochen prepared breakfast for her: a nutritionally balanced sandwich and a bottle of yogurt.

We finished eating just as we got off the bus.

Zhou Mochen said with some melancholy, "I'll be living at school again, Su Su. I've found it really hard to see you."

"..." Xu Su took out a tissue to wipe her lips, glanced at him, and said, "Watch the news more often, work hard to build our country, and don't get caught up in petty romances every day."

This was the first time Zhou Mochen had been lectured like this. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud: "I know, I'm working hard. Why do you think I came to Changshi? Isn't it to contribute to the economic development here?"

It's more than just adding a helping hand; to exaggerate a bit, it's practically single-handedly boosting the economy of Changshi!

This era was a time of great opportunity for rebuilding and development, and cities across the country were eager to attract wealthy businessmen from all over to invest. They were especially keen on foreign and Hong Kong businessmen, believing that money was king.

As long as real money is injected, policies in all aspects can be relaxed, and some provinces and cities with faster development are changing rapidly.

Xu Su didn't know exactly how much money Zhou Mochen had invested in Changshi, but she knew that the project he invested in would indeed become a landmark building in Changshi ten years from now.

He has a keen eye and was able to identify a very remote piece of land in the old industrial area in the north of the city. His ability is one factor, but the amount of money he invested is also a factor.

Zhou Mochen's willingness to invest in Changshi, a little-known inland city, is probably partly due to the fact that it's his maternal grandfather's hometown. Otherwise, a place like Changshi would really be unremarkable.

However, if he hadn't come to Changshi to invest, he naturally wouldn't have met her.

After saying a reluctant goodbye to Zhou Mochen, Xu Su carried her luggage back to her dormitory. Qian Jia had arrived yesterday.

She was munching on a piece of bread when she saw Xu Su come in. She rushed over and hugged Xu Su, saying, "I've missed you all so much, it's been half a month."

Xu Su smiled and patted Qian Jia's shoulder: "Let go first, I'm still carrying things."

Qian Jia began recounting the fun things that happened at home during the summer vacation. She said that her uncle's family was building a house, and she helped out for a few days, eventually turning into coal.

Xu Su looked at her and noticed that Qian Jia had indeed gotten a bit darker and thinner in the two weeks since they last met.

Not long after, Huang Feng arrived late, and another lively scene ensued.

Huang Feng had a very fulfilling summer vacation. She attended tutoring classes and took swimming lessons. She also mentioned that she went to Beijing with her brother to watch the flag-raising ceremony.

Qian Jia was very envious. She had lofty ambitions: "I must go to university in Beijing. My first choice is Peking University! I want to watch the raising of the national flag every day!"

After speaking, she looked intently at Xu Su, trying to find a sense of recognition.

Xu Su: "......"

In her previous life, she attended university in Beijing. In this life, Xu Su's initial plan was to avoid Beijing to avoid running into Zhou Mochen.

But now that she's already entangled with Zhou Mochen, it seems that going to the capital or not doesn't matter anymore.

She reasonably suspected that even if she went to university in the Northwest, Zhou Mochen would probably go with her.

Starting today, all three of them are high school sophomores, and which university they plan to apply to has become a topic of daily conversation.

Xu Su remained silent, but Huang Feng couldn't hold back any longer. She said, "I also want to go to university in Beijing. My first choice is Q University, but I don't think I'll be able to get in."

They all had their own goals, and Xu Su chimed in, "You're all going to take the exam for Beijing, so I'll take it too. I don't want to be separated from you. I'll take whichever school I can get into."