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

Xu Su still remembers how persistently the boy insisted on leading her to the infirmary last year.

Xi Zirong paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "If I tell you, can you answer my previous question?"

Xu Su nodded, "You go first."

They found a bench and sat down. The spot was rather secluded, with few classmates around. Xu Su looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and urged, "There's no one here. Go on."

Xi Zirong paused for a moment, then said somewhat awkwardly, "During military training."

Xu Su looked surprised: "I remember we didn't talk at all during military training. The boys and girls were separated in the group, and we were far apart. You like me already?"

Her eyes were full of curiosity, and her question was so direct that Xi Zirong couldn't help but turn her head to the side to avoid Xu Su's gaze.

Feeling that this wasn't sincere enough, he quickly turned his head back, looking at her with a flushed face.

He said seriously, "I noticed you before, then you came to ask me for leave, and then I don't know why, I couldn't help but observe you. Until you got sick, I couldn't help but want to take care of you. You can't just rely on drinking water to get through it."

Xi Zirong's words were firm and earnest, and Xu Su laughed as she listened. She leaned closer and said, "Love at first sight? Xi Zirong, I've heard that all love at first sight is lust at first sight. Do you really like my face?"

Xu Su didn't pay much attention to the details that followed; she only remembered the first sentence: "So he noticed her before she asked for leave."

Xi Zirong had been teased like this several times in recent days, so he wasn't too flustered this time, although he still looked like a respectable man who had been teased.

But he didn't flinch. Instead, he leaned closer and took Xu Su's hand, his expression completely frank: "I like you, not just your face, I like everything about you."

More than a decade later, a popular joke circulated online, saying that love at first sight is more reliable than love that grows over time. Even if you like someone at first sight and the relationship breaks down later, if you put aside all grudges and look at them again, you will still be moved.

Xu Su:...

She felt like she was being teased instead.

Xi Zirong squeezed her hand and asked, "It's your turn to answer, Su Su. What do you like about me? When did you start liking me?"

The boy's face was still a little red, and his eyes were full of anticipation.

"..." Being stared at like that, Xu Su felt a long-lost sense of unease.

She reached out and covered Xi Zirong's face, "Don't stand so close to me and look at me like that."

Xi Zirong was extremely obedient. He lowered his gaze, straightened his posture, and urged, "Speak, Su Su, don't be a liar."

"..." Xu Su paused for a moment, wondering if it was inappropriate to admit to her perverse sense of humor.

Xu Su hesitated for a long time before speaking: "Yeah, you look quite endearing when you blush."

"....?" Xi Zirong was taken aback. "What?"

Xu Su glanced at him and said matter-of-factly, "Don't you know you blush a lot? I find it very strange, and you're quite good-looking, so I can't help but want to tease you."

Xi Zirong was taken aback by this answer. His expression shifted several times before he finally asked, "Is this why you always like to tease me? Su Su, do you have a bullying fetish?"

The bullies he was referring to were, of course, those spoiled young men in TV dramas who harass women in the street.

Xu Su pouted and muttered, "I don't tease just anyone, Xi Zirong. I only like seeing you blush. I don't like anyone else."

Why would I play tricks on you instead of other people?

“…” Xi Zirong looked at her, feeling that something was off about what she said.

The academic genius is indeed an academic genius; he still knows how to grasp the key points. He said, "Blushing is a natural reaction; I can't learn it. Is there anything else you like about me, Su Su? Tell me one that I can improve on, okay?"

Why is this person so obsessed with this...?

I'll try my best to improve so she'll like me more...

Xu Su was speechless for a moment, then said, "You're fine as you are. There's no need to try anything. Xi Zirong, don't be so humble."

"Don't be so humble..." Xu Su had said this to him a long time ago.

Now, as he continued, Xi Zirong was momentarily stunned. "I'm not being humble. I just want you to like me a little more. I always feel that your affection is too shallow. I'm not good enough."

Isn't this humiliation? Xu Su sighed inwardly, wondering how someone with such good Chinese grades could not even understand this.

It's probably because of insecurity in the relationship that one tries so hard to win the other person's affection.

Xu Su felt a pang of sympathy for his unease, reached out and pulled the boy closer, and said solemnly, "I like you as you are now, and it's you who softens my heart now, Xi Zirong. You're perfect. There's no need to change anything, and no need to try anything, understand?"

This was the first time in Xu Su's two lifetimes that he had confessed his love to someone, and his serious attitude made Xi Zirong unable to hide her smile.

Even after returning to the classroom, the usually aloof boy still had a clear smile on his face.

It was only after this candid conversation that Xi Zirong was finally free from the constant sense of crisis she felt about the relationship, and she even became more patient when explaining problems to Wu Qianqian.

He always felt that Xu Su didn't care about him, which was why she made him tutor other girls, and even when he tutored others individually, Xu Su never looked back at him once.

Judging from his own experience, Xi Zirong knew he couldn't bring himself to let Xu Su study alone with another boy. He couldn't do it, and just thinking about it made him furious.

However, after Xu Su's sincere confession, Xi Zirong told herself that everyone's preferences are different, and Xu Su might not be the kind of person who cares about such trivial matters.

So when he tutored Wu Qianqian, he no longer had a stern face. Although his attitude wasn't the best, he was at least calm and composed.

Wu Qianqian's grades also improved dramatically, and she was able to complete most of the test papers handed out by her teachers with ease.

Xu Su was very pleased to see her progress and often fetched water for the two of them during breaks between evening self-study sessions.

Many students in the class were puzzled by the unusual situation of their study group.

Because Xu Su rarely participated in Xi Zirong's tutoring of Wu Qianqian, most classmates thought that the study group only consisted of Wu Qianqian and Xi Zirong, and that Xu Su was not part of it.

If Xi Zirong hadn't been seen with Xu Su every day, eating together, people would probably have been spreading rumors that Xi Zirong had fallen for someone else and broken up with Xu Su.

Time flew by and it was almost the end of January; the weather was unbearably cold.

During evening self-study, Xu Su took the three people's water cups to get hot water.

On the way back, Xu Su ran into Qian Jia. Because the three of them hadn't been eating or studying together lately, and they couldn't chat for long before turning off the lights and going to sleep each night, Xu Su hadn't had a proper chat with Qian Jia in a long time.