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

Her agitation was not concealed at all. Xi Zirong's body stiffened slightly, her lips pressed into a straight line, as if she had been suddenly stabbed and dared not move.

After saying those words, Xu Su finally realized that her attitude had been hurtful, but she refused to try to coax him anymore.

The two remained locked in this stalemate for a long time. Finally, Xu Su gave in first and couldn't help but try to break free of the hand around her waist again.

Xi Zirong paused for a moment, but finally let go of her hand. He kissed her forehead and smiled gently, "You go first, I'll go later."

It wasn't appropriate for the two of them to come and go together. Xu Su nodded expressionlessly, quietly opened the door, and went out.

Once the thought of breaking up arises, it's hard to get rid of.

If you've decided to break up, there has to be a reason.

But Xu Su had never broken up with anyone, and for a moment she couldn't even think of a legitimate reason.

You can't exactly tell someone, "You like me too much, it puts too much pressure on me, and I don't want you anymore," can you?

I certainly can't say that I've found myself falling for someone else.

Xu Su couldn't quite imagine how Xi Zirong would react if she told him she had discovered she liked someone else.

The Xi Zirong of the past might have cried, gotten angry, had a girlfriend who fell in love with someone else, and felt the rage of having his pride crushed.

Now... Xu Su was a little surprised by his reaction.

She had to admit that the boy had grown up too fast, and she could no longer fathom his thoughts.

Is turning eighteen really a turning point for boys?

Xi Zirong used to be so nice. I would blush just looking into her eyes, and I was happy just holding her hand.

Unlike now, his gaze towards her grows increasingly deep, as if he wishes he could hold her in his arms 24/7...

Xu Su rubbed her forehead; her headache was starting again.

She didn't want her and Xi Zirong to become enemies because of their breakup.

If we can't be lovers... maybe we can still be friends?

...Okay, being friends might be a bit difficult...but even if we can't be friends, Xu Su doesn't want to become sworn enemies with Xi Zirong.

Therefore, even if you have to break up, it's best to do it gracefully so that you can only have sweet and beautiful memories in the future.

Xu Su had very little dating experience, and she couldn't come up with a reasonable reason for breaking up, no matter how hard she tried.

Fortunately, this isn't the place to break up; we can discuss everything once we get back to school.

She and Xi Zirong disappeared for so long, and when she came back, her lips were abnormally red. Apart from Chen Ni and Chen Dong, who were unaware of her relationship with Xi Zirong, Huang Feng and Qian Jia raised their eyebrows and smiled mischievously.

Xu Ran glanced at it once and didn't dare look again, inwardly marveling at Xi Shen's incredible life—good grades, a good family background, and now even his romance was so sweet...

Xu Su felt her face flush from their laughter and became increasingly angry with Xi Zirong, not even glancing at him all day.

Tomorrow is the last day of summer vacation, and also the wedding of Xu Su's older cousin.

While enjoying the cool evening air, Xu Su leaned against her grandmother and listened attentively as her aunts talked about her eldest cousin's wedding.

Xu Su's aunt married into the neighboring Li family village. Her older cousin, Li Tingting, is twenty-eight years old this year, exactly ten years older than Xu Su.

Li Tingting failed her high school entrance exam and went to work in Shenzhen when she was a teenager. She only had a few days off during the Spring Festival, but she could only stay for a few days before having to return to the city to work.

Ever since Li Tingting turned twenty, Chen Shumei and her husband have been trying to find a partner for their daughter. However, the people they know in the village are all from rural areas and are all poor and have similar circumstances.

If you really marry into that family, after marriage you'll either have to tend to a few acres of barren land and make a living from the fields, or the couple will have to go out to work, and any children you have will be left-behind children.

Li Tingting entered society at a young age and knew the saying that poverty-stricken couples face endless sorrows. Naturally, she was cautious about marriage. Every year when she returned home for blind dates, she didn't find a suitable partner arranged by her family, and she dragged it out until she was twenty-eight.

At this age, being unmarried in the countryside means being considered a true "leftover woman." Chen Shumei and her husband had been extremely anxious for several years, fearing that their daughter would marry someone from another place.

So this year, they directly stopped Li Tingting from leaving Pengcheng and demanded that she find a job in Kang County. The amount of money didn't matter; finding a good partner was the most important thing.

Perhaps it was fate. Li Tingting had only been working in Kang County for a little over six months when she found her marriage partner, who was also a local from Kang County.

The man has an urban household registration, owns a house in the county town, and has three sons. Chen Tingting married the eldest son, who works at the telecommunications bureau.

In those days, this was indeed considered a good marriage for a daughter from a rural family.

My aunt said that the groom's family also has a relative who is a minor official in some bureau, which sounds pretty impressive.

Finally, her aunt said with envy, "Tingting married so well, my eldest sister can finally relax. Now that she's married, she just needs to wait to hold her grandson."

Xu Su: "...Grandson?"

The two aunts exchanged a glance, hesitated slightly, as if there was something they were reluctant to say in front of their niece's classmates.

Seeing their expressions, Xu Su understood everything.

It's probably because her older cousin got pregnant out of wedlock. No matter what era it is, it's never a very respectable thing for a young woman to get pregnant out of wedlock, especially in a relatively remote and feudal rural area.

Xu Su didn't think that being pregnant out of wedlock was shameful or that it would necessarily lead to unhappiness.

But... she clearly remembered that her older cousin got divorced a few years later.

Although the specific reasons are unclear, even though she was far away in Beijing at the time, she heard that when her older cousin got divorced, her two aunts, as her maternal relatives, went to her cousin's husband's house and made a scene. In short, the divorce was very undignified.

Xu Su was unaware of the specific details. There was a significant age gap between her and her older cousin. Since she was old enough to understand, her cousin had already gone out to work. They weren't from the same village, and she had only met her a few times in all her years. In her memory, her cousin was a gentle older sister.

But no matter how gentle Xu Su was, she couldn't just directly advise someone against getting married.

Tell the bride-to-be to call off the wedding, since she'll be divorced in a few years anyway.

Isn't this just asking for trouble? Besides, she's pregnant now.

After much deliberation, Xu Su decided to let things take their course. She was able to do her best to prevent her cousin Chen Ni from being deceived by the young man with yellow hair because Chen Ni listened to her, and the two sisters had grown up together and had a deep bond.

However, she was rather unfamiliar with her cousin Li Tingting and didn't dare to offer advice rashly, so she could only let things take their course.

The groom's family is from Kang County, and the wedding will also be held in Kang County. As the bride's uncle and maternal grandmother, the entire Chen family will be there to support her.

Xu Su had been repeatedly told by her aunt to be a bridesmaid. A couple of days ago, Chen Shumei even called to confirm. It was the first time her daughter was getting married, and she was afraid that something unexpected might happen.

In Chen Shumei's words, they couldn't let their son-in-law's family look down on them and really think that their family were all peasants.

My niece is beautiful and got into a top high school in the city. Isn't it a great honor for her to be my daughter's bridesmaid?