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

At that time, Xu Su took pleasure in provoking Zhou Mochen, and would often tease him during their daily interactions. So, she was far from being willing to beg him not to fire her cousin.

Zhou Mochen showed no mercy to his cousin-in-law, Zhang Yingying, and even blacklisted her throughout the capital, forcing her to return to Changshi to live.

The ruthlessness of his methods made Xu Su believe that he was punishing her again, since Zhou Mochen always liked to use these methods to teach her a lesson.

Sensing Xu Su's gaze, Zhang Yingying looked up at her older cousin and gave a somewhat awkward smile.

Xu Su smiled back and asked, "Just started junior high this year?"

Zhang Yingying nodded, "Yes, I'll attend No. 2 Middle School."

Xu Su was surprised for a moment, then suddenly realized that Zhang Yingying's junior high school was right next to her own.

The Second Middle School is also a key middle school in Changshi. Compared with the Xu family boys, who either dropped out of school or went to technical schools, the girls in the third generation are all outstanding.

Apart from Xu Su's grades declining later and her barely getting into an undergraduate program, the two sisters, Zhang Yingying and Zhang Tingting, were both admitted to key universities in Beijing.

Xu Su encouraged her, "Study hard." Then she looked at Zhang Tingting and said, "You too, you must study hard."

Even though they are of the same generation, their tone is like that of an elder.

Zhang Yingying was taken aback by her tone, but nodded silently. Her thin, bony appearance was hardly recognizable as the radiant and confident urban woman she would become more than a decade later.

No one at the women's table drank alcohol, and they finished eating quickly.

At the men's table, the three Xu brothers rarely gathered together, and since Old Master Xu himself was a drinker, the meal lasted exceptionally long.

After sitting for a while, Xu Su said goodbye, took the bus back to school, and then rode her bicycle home.

After arriving home, Xu Su thought for a moment and then opened the red envelopes. She had a good memory and could tell which of the five red envelopes in her hand was from whom.

The red envelopes given by her grandparents all contained twenty yuan, her uncle's red envelope contained ten yuan, and her aunt's red envelope also contained twenty yuan. To Xu Su's surprise, the red envelope given by her eldest uncle, who was born mute and whose hearing was also affected, contained a full fifty yuan.

Uncle Xu Su was born disabled and had no job or income. He made a living by collecting bottles from night market food stalls and selling them. Coincidentally, Xu Ruyue's husband's family collected recyclables, and he would take the bottles and recyclables he collected to his brother-in-law's place to sell.

Although Xu Ruyue's husband wasn't very good to his wife, he wasn't completely wicked. He wouldn't deliberately cheat his disabled brother-in-law by shortchanging him whenever he came to sell scrap.

Xu Jianguo lives with his parents and has no worries about food or clothing. But what kind of life will a bachelor with no income who makes a living by collecting recyclables live once they are gone?

Will his two younger brothers really take care of their disabled older brother?

Xu Su felt the fifty yuan in her hand was heavy. In her previous life, her grandparents were still alive until she was reborn.

Uncle has never had much of a presence in the Xu family. Even the red envelope he gave her was taken away by Chen Shulan before Xu Su even opened it in her previous life, who said it was to be kept for her food expenses.

Therefore, she never knew that the gift her uncle gave to his eldest niece was the most among all their relatives.

When Chen Shulan and her husband returned that evening, they indeed asked about the red envelope.

Xu Su obediently took out the red envelope and handed it over. Chen Shulan did not suspect that her daughter would hide the money. Although she favored boys over girls, she also trusted her daughter's character.

Hearing that her uncle had given her fifty yuan, Chen Shulan and her husband were quite surprised.

Xu Weiping was deeply moved and repeatedly said that although his elder brother was mute, he was still sensible and knew how to distinguish between close and distant relatives.

~~~~

The weekend is over, and it's time to go back to school on Monday.

As soon as Xu Su entered the classroom, she noticed that the atmosphere was different from usual. Her classmates, whom she already knew, kept looking at her furtively.

Xu Su touched her face but didn't feel anything. She quietly asked her deskmate Luo Huayang, "Is there something dirty on my face?"

Luo Huayang clearly knew the inside story. After stammering for a moment, he leaned closer in and whispered, "Everyone in the class is saying that the class monitor and you are dating."

Xu Su was taken aback. How come she didn't know that she was dating Xi Zirong?

I immediately thought of yesterday afternoon when I walked with Xi Zirong all the way and got on a bus. I must have been seen by one of my classmates.

It's surprising that in this day and age, with limited entertainment options, teenagers are still so gossipy and have such vivid imaginations. If male and female students get even a little close, unfounded rumors will spread.

Xu Su felt somewhat helpless. She and Xi Zirong didn't usually communicate much, and they had just happened to walk together yesterday.

If this rumor reaches Teacher Wu's ears, what will happen if she has to call the parents?

She solemnly explained, "That's not true. If you hear anyone say that again, you can tell them for me that I'm not dating Xi Zirong."

As the person involved, Xu Su couldn't openly explain everything, but she also couldn't let the news spread unchecked.

Who is Xi Zirong? He is the apple of the eye of all the teachers, and anything that affects his learning is their number one enemy.

Xu Su didn't want to be remembered by Teacher Wu.

Huang Feng brought up this topic while eating lunch in the cafeteria.

Xu Su solemnly repeated that Huang Feng had attended No. 1 Middle School in junior high and knew many classmates and friends. Her clarification was effective.

After a couple of days, Xu Su stopped feeling those gossipy gazes.

During the lunch break, Huang Feng, Qian Jia, and the other girls gathered together. As teenage girls, they talked about the same things all the time.

The conversation quickly shifted from which teacher's lectures were easier to understand to the handsome men and beautiful women in each class.

Actually, during military training, everyone had heard a thing or two about the outstanding freshmen in each class.

For example, Xu Su was crowned the new school beauty of No. 1 High School and also served as the class beauty of the Rocket Class.

It is said that the selection of the school beauty in previous years was somewhat controversial, but this year Xu Su was selected as the school beauty by the unanimous approval of the boys in more than 20 classes in the first year of high school.

The most famous students in the Rocket Class this year, besides Xi Zirong, a renowned academic genius since junior high school, are Xu Su, the "school beauty" who came from a county town.

That's why so many people paid attention to them, both openly and secretly, when rumors circulated a couple of days ago that they might be dating.

Now that everything is clear, Qian Jia and the others are curious about what kind of person Xu Su likes.

After all, she had no interest in Xi Zirong, so it was hard to imagine anyone else who could catch her eye.

At this age, high school students are already secretly dating and have learned what it means to like someone.

Huang Feng had told her that there were three couples in the top-performing class alone. Xu Su had secretly been following them, but they were all still at the stage of helping each other with their problems. That's probably what love is like for top students.

If Huang Feng hadn't said they were a couple, Xu Su would never have guessed.