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

Huang Feng broke the silence. Always outspoken, she asked directly after figuring things out, "He shouldn't be from our school, right? Zhou Mochen... I've never heard of him."

“At least in the second year of high school, there is no one named Zhou Mochen,” Xu Ran in the back seat suddenly said.

Qian Jia also chimed in, "So Su Su, who exactly is this Zhou Mochen? How annoying is he to you? You treat him so badly."

Xu Su was taken aback, "...Is it that bad?"

Qian Jia confirmed, "It's terrible! I've never seen you speak to anyone in this tone before. It sounds like you really dislike him."

So, she had such a bad attitude towards Zhou Mochen...

Even bystanders found the tone irritating; no wonder Zhou Mochen was angered.

It must be really painful to be disliked by someone you like, right?

Can't take it anymore? If you can't, then give up.

Xu Su frowned, ignoring her discomfort. She told herself that she was just feeling a little guilty, after all, Zhou Mochen had never hurt her in this life and had always been really good to her.

Thinking of the man who had hugged her on the playground and seemed to be crying... to be honest, she didn't really want to hurt him anymore.

Perhaps...you could be more careful with your tone next time?

Although she felt a pang of pity, Xu Su remained defiant when pressed by her friends, concluding, "He deserved it!"

"So, who exactly is this Zhou Mochen? Is he pursuing you? Is he from another school? How does he know you? And why do you dislike him so much?" Huang Feng was still the same Huang Feng who was always on the front lines of gossip.

Xu Su pulled out a tissue to wipe her sweat, somewhat helplessly saying, "Huang Fengfeng! Why do you have so many questions? He's not from our school, let's not talk about him anymore, okay?"

Huang Feng grinned mischievously: "Alright, alright, I know you only have Xi Shen in your heart and don't like anyone else. Let's not talk about Zhou Mochen."

“Some of my classmates were curious before, since Su Su was the school beauty, but she didn’t have as many suitors as the other class beauties. Several male classmates said it was because she was too beautiful. They didn’t dare to pursue her when she first entered the school. After Xi Shen won her over, they were even less likely to try to steal her away.”

Huang Feng exclaimed, "So there really are people trying to poach Xi Shen's men. They really have a lot of courage."

"Our Su Su is so popular, Mr. Xi, do you feel a lot of pressure being with her?" Qian Jia suddenly asked the driver.

"..."

What kind of topics are these? Xu Su looked up at Xi Zirong. The boy's jaw was clenched, and he was obviously suppressing his emotions.

Sure enough, answering the phone didn't work.

If he doesn't answer the phone, who knows what he'll imagine...

Xu Su believed she had already kept her distance from Zhou Mochen, and at school she did her best to reject any advances from male classmates.

If he's still not satisfied, she really doesn't know what to do.

The car had already entered the highway, and the route towards Kang County was very remote; we didn't see a single car for half a day.

Qian Jia asked a question suddenly, and Xi Zirong didn't reply for a long time. Just when everyone thought he wouldn't answer, he spoke up.

“Outstanding people always attract more attention, that’s only natural. I know how outstanding the person I like is.” Xi Zirong took Xu Su’s hand and intertwined their fingers. Her voice was firm: “The pressure doesn’t come from the outside world. As long as I can be sure how much Su Su likes me, how can I feel any pressure?”

"..." Xu Su wasn't used to showing affection in front of so many people. She awkwardly pulled her hand away. "Just drive properly, don't drag me along."

Xi Zirong smiled slightly, replied "okay," squeezed her hand firmly, and then withdrew it.

As a die-hard fan of the two of them as a couple, Qian Jia couldn't wait to cheer for Xi Zirong's words.

Her eyes shone brightly as she said decisively, "Su Su definitely likes you. She treats you so well. I could tell back in the first year of high school that she treats you differently. I even made a bet with Huang Feng and won a bottle of Jianlibao."

"A bet? You two are betting on me?" Xu Su's eyes widened.

The words had already slipped out and couldn't be taken back. Qian Jia belatedly covered her mouth and chuckled awkwardly, "It was just a small bet, to add some color to our boring school life."

Huang Feng was suddenly dragged into this and quickly tried to distance herself, saying, "It was Jiajia who insisted on betting with me. She said you like Xi Zirong and will be with him sooner or later. I didn't believe her, so she said she'd bet a bottle of Jianlibao... I lost so much..."

"Could you elaborate? How did you figure out that Su Su treated me differently back in the first year of high school?" Xi Zirong clearly enjoyed this topic, and his voice rose.

Qian Jia said, "From what I've observed, she really approves of you. Of all the male classmates in the class, the first one Su Su remembers is yours."

Xi Zirong glanced at Xu Su, her eyes full of smiles, "Really?"

"...That's because you're the class monitor, so it's normal that I remembered your name first."

Qian Jia added: "Also, Su Su will accept your advances, but she keeps her distance from other male classmates. If she didn't like you, why would she let you tutor her? You were tutoring her in the first semester of her first year of high school, right?"

Xu Su quickly retorted, "No, I really didn't... He insisted on tutoring me, and I really needed to improve my grades, so I couldn't refuse..."

"So Su Su, did Xi Shen catch up with you because of his good grades?" Huang Feng suddenly realized, "Sure enough, Teacher Chen was right, good grades are the key to success in high school."

Xu Su: "...Not entirely."

Although good grades are indeed a stepping stone...

The three people in the back seat all looked over, their faces showing a sense of unease.

Even Xi Zirong herself is very much looking forward to it.

Sitting next to him, Xu Su could clearly feel that the low atmosphere surrounding Xi Zirong because of Zhou Mochen's phone call had completely disappeared, replaced by elation.

“…” After hesitating for a while, Xu Su said, “I can’t really explain it. Anyway, I definitely wasn’t interested in him in my first year of high school. I only started to like him after the math competition in my second year.”

"Oh..." Qian Jia raised an eyebrow, her "oh" lingering on and on, before she chuckled mischievously, "So, you're quite interested in Xi Shen now?"

She emphasized the word 'interest'.

"..." Xu Su turned to look at Qian Jia, patted her head as she leaned closer, and coaxed, "Be good, don't ask anymore."

If someone else had said that, she would have suspected that they were making a sexual innuendo.

Xu Ran didn't know what he was thinking, but he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The three girls all looked over, and he abruptly stopped laughing, saying awkwardly, "...I just find the way you girls interact quite funny."

Huang Feng laughed, "So, what's your relationship like? Has Xi Shen ever talked about our Su Su in the dorm?"

She refused to believe that if someone in the dorm was dating the school beauty, the others wouldn't gossip about it.