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

However, she wasn't shocked that Zhou Mochen brought her food, since he had done that before.

Xu Su was shocked to discover that Zhou Mochen had truly changed in this life. If it were the Zhou Mochen of her past life, he would never have taken the initiative to think of her, worried that her repeated absences would affect her studies, and would have been willing to let her return to school with her injuries.

In his past life, Zhou Mochen would have had even more reason to demand that she stay by his side, preferably under his watchful eye, and never leave him for a moment. He wouldn't have allowed her to go to school with her injuries, let alone go out at all.

What caused his change?

Xu Su made up her mind without much hesitation. Her two years of careful training had been effective, at least she had clearly expressed her dislike for his domineering and forceful nature.

Of course, the most important reason is that she finally began to reciprocate his feelings for the first time in her life.

Her response gave Zhou Mochen a sense of security, so he was willing to give her freedom.

Therefore, his desire for control wasn't as pathological as it was in his previous life, and it wasn't even getting more and more insane...

Having figured this out, Xu Su felt very conflicted...

She knew all along that their situation in their past life wasn't solely Zhou Mochen's fault, but she genuinely didn't want to waste any more effort on him. Instead, she remained an observer, watching him grow increasingly obsessive.

Neither of the two men present knew what Xu Su was thinking.

Despite Shen Chen's teasing, Zhou Mochen remained unmoved. He placed two pieces of food on Xu Su's plate and, seeing her eat them naturally, seemed quite pleased.

Only then did he have a moment to glance at Shen Chen, and calmly said, "Even food can't shut you up. When are you going back to the capital? Don't get in my way here."

The young lady had finally moved in, but now this third wheel had appeared. Zhou Mochen found him increasingly distasteful and directly ordered him to leave, "You just took over Shen's Group, how come you have time to come here? Go back tomorrow."

His voice was unyielding, and even Xu Su felt it was a bit cold-hearted... How could he be so dismissive?

As the expelled guest, Shen Chen was even more provoked by Zhou Mochen's behavior of prioritizing women over friends. "I'm not going back. Why would I go back to the capital if I don't teach those people a lesson today?"

Shen Chen snorted coldly, "How come I never realized all these years that you're the kind of person who would abandon your brothers for a woman..."

The way he looked at Xu Su was as if he were looking at Daji from the Shang Dynasty.

"..." Feeling a little uncomfortable being stared at like that, Xu Su couldn't help but tug at Zhou Mochen's hand, thinking that Shen Chen had stood up for her today. "Zhou Mochen, how can you kick your friend out like that?"

Her voice was soft and sweet, as if she were being coquettish.

Having heard the girl's usual cold and sarcastic tone so often, Zhou Mochen was so surprised by the sudden change that he felt flattered.

His heart softened terribly, and he only wanted to do whatever she wanted. He squeezed the little girl's hand and coaxed her with a gentle laugh, "Okay, I'll listen to you, baby."

"..." Shen Chen looked at the two people across from him who couldn't stop showing off even while eating a meal, and he couldn't stand it anymore. He put down his chopsticks and left the restaurant.

Xu Su was also a little embarrassed, "Could you please stop calling me baby... I'm not used to it."

How come a perfectly normal domineering CEO, who was also a person of absolute authority in his past life, can so naturally call someone "baby"?

Unexpectedly, Zhou Mochen insisted on this form of address. While continuing to serve her food, he said, "Then you'll get used to it slowly. I've said before, you can try to be with me and let me spoil you."

He put down the chopsticks he was using to serve her food, his face expressionless. "Whether you've truly come to your senses and are willing to give me this chance, or for some other reason, Xu Su, now that you've given me a response, don't expect me to let go, understand?"

Zhou Mochen is such a smart person. How could he not sense Xu Su's sudden change in attitude? But he wasn't in a hurry to figure out the intricacies. As long as things were developing in a positive direction, that was enough.

His almost desperate feelings had been responded to, and that was enough. As for what triggered her change of attitude towards him... there was plenty of time; he would figure it out eventually.

"...What other reason could there be?" A familiar sense of oppression washed over her, and Xu Su's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't stand seeing him like this and couldn't help but retort, "Zhou Mochen, don't be so pathetic. You're not used to me being nice to you, are you?"

Her words were quite harsh, but Zhou Mochen wasn't angry at all. Instead, he smiled good-naturedly and said, "Then you should be nicer to me and stop calling me by my full name."

"Sweetie, will you call me brother from now on?" He coaxed, his voice incredibly pleasant.

“.....No.” Xu Su refused decisively, completely unaware that this person had such a quirk. Could it be a hidden trait of his?

Does he like being called "brother"?

In her past life, she never gave him a kind look, so she never called him "baby" or "brother" until Zhou Mochen was over thirty.

If she hadn't had a second chance, Xu Su would never have known that Zhou Mochen was actually like this...

~~

After dinner, Xu Su called Teacher Wu and asked for three days off.

This was the first time she had asked for leave since entering high school, and Ms. Wu approved it readily without even asking for a reason.

Instead, she was quite concerned and told her that she could take her time to deal with things and not to be nervous. She added that if she really wanted to study, a few more days wouldn't make a difference.

Teachers know best about students' learning attitudes. Students like Xu Su would never ask for leave at the beginning of their senior year unless they had a real reason to do so.

After speaking with Teacher Wu, Xu Su checked the unread text messages on her phone.

All the messages came from Huang Feng. Xi Zirong only received one missed call, and there were no text messages.

Huang Feng first inquired about how well her wound was bandaged, and then asked if she would come to school tomorrow.

Finally, perhaps unable to contain her gossipy nature, she couldn't help but subtly inquire who Shen Chen was...

After all, Xu Su had always lived and ate at school, and as her best friend, Huang Feng was genuinely curious about where she had met this rich young man who drove a luxury car.

And judging from their attitude, they don't seem like ordinary friends...

Xu Su replied to Huang Feng with a message, saying that the few changes of clothes she brought from her trip back to the countryside, as well as her schoolbag, were in Xi Zirong's car, and asked Huang Feng to help her take them back to her dormitory.

I also told her that she would need to return to school a few days later in order for her wound to heal properly.

After replying to the message, Xu Su opened her contacts and looked at Xi Zirong's number, hesitating for a moment.

Should she return the call?

Seeing your girlfriend kissing another man... no matter the reason, it's a fact.

Given Xi Zirong's jealous nature, Xu Su could probably imagine how he felt at the time.

Will he... cry...?

Or did he feel his pride had been crushed, so after making that phone call, his self-esteem wouldn't allow him to contact her again?

So... should she call back?