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

From his perspective, the person who could promote him from a porter for over a decade to a workshop supervisor and take a liking to his daughter must have some kind of powerful background.

At the very least, she's a direct descendant of the old factory director, right? If his daughter really gets related to the old factory director's family, she'll be living the dream. Xu Weiping would be absolutely delighted.

However, Xu Weiping still wanted to put on a fatherly air. His tone was admonishing but not stern: "You are a student. You should focus on your studies. Don't play on your phone all day and cause your grades to drop."

The way you say that makes it sound like you care a lot about your daughter's grades.

Xu Su smirked, her eyelids never leaving her phone screen, and casually replied with an "okay."

The text message was from Zhou Mochen. He had taken a picture of the national flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square and sent it via MMS, along with the text: "[When are you coming to Beijing with me for a while?]"

Xu Su did not intend to reply after reading it.

When it was lunchtime, Xu Su received several text messages.

Zhou Mochen would routinely ask her trivial questions such as whether she had eaten or where she was spending the New Year.

Huang Feng's message was a blessing text message; judging from the text, it was most likely written by her herself.

There were also several New Year's greetings from other classmates who knew Xu Su's phone number.

The last message was from Xi Zirong. As her boyfriend, his text wasn't so subtle: "[I miss you so much, Su Su. Haven't seen you for two days. Are you at your grandpa's house now? Can I come see you this afternoon?]"

Xu Su replied to each message one by one, including Zhou Mochen's.

It wasn't until Xi Zirong's text message that she agreed to meet him at the Xinhua Bookstore across from the Xiasheng Road bus stop that afternoon.

Not long after finishing her meal, Xu Su said goodbye to Chen Shulan, told her she had an appointment with a classmate, and then left the Xu family's old house.

While browsing through a world classic in the bookstore that had nothing to do with studying, Xu Su had only read a few pages when a hot drink came into view. She looked up and saw Xi Zirong sitting opposite her, smiling at her.

The boy wore a black jacket, which made his red lips and white teeth stand out, giving him a youthful look. Several girls in the bookstore couldn't help but steal glances at him.

Xu Su picked up the hot drink he brought and was about to drink it when Xi Zirong snatched it away. He carefully checked the temperature of the milk tea with some concern, and finally said decisively, "Wait a while before you drink it, or you'll burn yourself again."

"..." Xu Su felt that this person had the talent to be a mother. She reached out her hand and said, "Here, take this. My hands are cold, it will warm them up."

Xi Zirong grabbed her hand, stood up and said, "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Xu Su put the book back in its place and asked him in confusion, "Where are we going to play?"

Xi Zirong held her hand tightly the whole way, and in less than ten minutes, they arrived at the entrance of an arcade. The boy turned his head and asked, "Have you been here before?"

Arcade?

Xu Su shook her head: "No."

...Isn't he supposed to be a top student? Instead of studying at the bookstore, he's bringing his girlfriend to the arcade on a date?

As it turned out, this was indeed the case. Xi Zirong seemed to really intend to take Xu Su to play all the games she hadn't played in over a decade.

Despite being portrayed as a genius student, she's incredibly skilled at every game in the arcade.

He exchanged two hundred game coins and took Xu Su to play games along the way, including racing, fighting monsters, and shooting basketball, all of which Xu Su had never played before.

Xi Zirong was proficient in everything, and he taught her how to play the game step by step, just like teaching her a homework problem.

Finally, I passed by the claw machine.

Xu Su glanced at it a couple more times, and Xi Zirong immediately pulled her over.

Only one of the three claw machines was empty; the other two were occupied by couples.

Xi Zirong had probably never touched a claw machine before, and this thing finally stumped him. After his twentieth failure, he finally managed to grab a Rascal doll.

Xu Su took the doll he handed her, pouting, "The cost of this is enough to buy two or more of these 'Rogue Rabbits'..."

His words revealed considerable disdain for Xi Zirong's skills.

In the short time that followed, a young couple at the claw machine next door had already won five plush toys.

You can redeem a large plush toy now.

Xi Zirong: .....

He touched his nose, somewhat embarrassed. "How about we just buy it directly?"

Even if he tries until tomorrow, he might not be able to catch five little dolls.

Xu Su shook her head: "Forget it, even if you buy it for me, I can't take it home."

After leaving the arcade, it was almost 5 p.m. Xu Su put the Rogue Rabbit toy in Xi Zirong's hand, saying, "You keep it. It would be hard to explain if I took it back."

Xi Zirong glanced at the little rabbit and smiled: "Then I'll bring it back to school on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year and give it to you."

"Row."

The thought of parting made Xi Zirong reluctant. His eyes were misty as he held Xu Su's hand tightly. "Are you going home alone again tonight? Shall I take you home?"

Xu Su shook her head: "No need, my parents are coming back with me."

Xu Weiping and his wife value her so much now, fearing that their image as loving parents is not three-dimensional enough, they would never let her go back to sleep alone.

Xi Zirong felt regretful and wanted to hug her, but the streets were crowded with people, and she was afraid of upsetting Xu Su, so she held back.

Xu Su urged him several times to let go, saying she needed to go home for dinner. Xi Zirong had no choice but to let go, standing there looking aggrieved as he watched Xu Su walk away.

Xu Su: "..."

She didn't know why Xi Zirong, who was usually a quiet and reserved person, had become so clingy.

~~

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Su and Huang Feng made an appointment to go shopping, mainly to choose a suitable birthday gift for Xi Zirong.

When Xi Zirong invited other classmates, she specifically said that they didn't need to bring gifts, but Xu Su was different. Even though Xi Zirong didn't lack anything, she still wanted to give him something.

From shoe and clothing stores to book and stationery stores, and then to various toys and Lego sets, Xu Su eliminated one by one the things a boy might like.

Finally, we went into a jewelry store.

Xu Su immediately took a liking to a pair of silver rings. The design was very nice, with only a small four-leaf clover carved on the bare ring face, adorned with a few small diamonds.

These small diamonds aren't real diamonds, just some ordinary sparkling diamonds, but they're really beautiful.

Xu Su was instantly smitten.

Xu Su could roughly estimate the size of Xi Zirong's fingers. After determining that it was the right size for him, she asked about the price and finally bought both rings.

The whole process was smooth and quick, taking less than ten minutes in total, and cost 580 yuan.

Huang Feng, who was standing beside her, was a little surprised. "Su Su, you're so generous! You didn't even try to bargain? This is our tuition for a whole semester!"

Xu Su was taken aback; she truly hadn't expected that bargaining was an option...

Now that the money has been paid... Xu Su smiled, "It's rare to find a suitable gift, so I just bought it. It wasn't too expensive."

Looking at her smile, Huang Feng could smell the sweet and sour scent of love: "I used to think you weren't that interested in Xi Shen, that it was all his enthusiasm, but now it seems I was too one-sided. You're really good to him."