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

"I'm really curious what Lao Wu and he talked about in the office that day." Huang Feng is always keen on gossip. "It's obvious that Xi Zirong likes you. Look, when other people encounter problems, they have to ask him for help, but with Su Su, he takes the initiative to help her."

Qian Jia asked curiously, "Speaking of taking the initiative, I heard that Xi Zirong highlighted some important points for you a couple of days ago?"

Many students at the No. 1 Middle School in the city live and eat at the school. Compared to day students, they are better able to get first-hand information and be on the front line of gossip.

Xu Su was taken aback. Thinking about the topic of highlighting key points, she didn't know how to answer for a moment. She smiled awkwardly and said, "I guess so."

The day before yesterday, Xu Su went back to the classroom after dinner during evening self-study. Although her total score in the midterm exams had improved, she did not do very well in math and physics. She planned to find example problems where she lost points and work on them.

There were only seven or eight people in the class at that time. Not long after Xi Zirong came in, she passed by Xu Su and sat directly in Chen Huiyu's seat, and even asked her for the test paper.

He looked like he was about to explain the wrong answer to her.

Although Xu Su really wanted to improve her grades, she couldn't let the rumors of early romance spread. When she saw this person sitting down next to her and leaning in right in front of several classmates, she was terrified and naturally refused to show him her test paper.

Then Xi Zirong returned to his seat, took out his math, physics, and chemistry textbooks, and wrote and drew on them for a long time, so long that Chen Huiyu came over before he gave his three books to Xu Su.

Xu Su didn't take it, so he just put it on her desk and told her to look through it and see if it was helpful.

During the three-hour evening self-study session, these three books sat on Xu Su's desk for a full two hours before she finally opened them. There was no way she could resist the allure of Xi Zirong's notes.

Xu Su sighed, this person understood her needs so well. If she could get into the top three in her grade in the final exam, she could get the top scholarship in the school.

When school starts next year, she wants to pay her own accommodation fees so that she won't need Xu Weiping and his wife's consent and can live on campus directly.

The scholarship difference between the top three and top ten in the grade is a full 500 yuan. The dormitory fee for a semester at the No. 1 Middle School in the city is 400 yuan. If you can get into the top three, you can cover the dormitory fee.

She had put in her best effort to study, but could only rank at the bottom of the top ten in the entire grade, even when she was giving it her all and could not afford to make the slightest mistake.

The students who make it into the top ten of the grade are all hardworking and talented. While you are studying hard, they are also studying hard. It is really difficult for Xu Su to get into the top three in the final exam by relying on his own hard work.

At this point, any effective help can have a significant impact on the rankings. Gaining just a few more points could mean moving up a few places.

The book that Xi Zirong sent had detailed annotations on some important formulas, and also circled many types of questions, indicating their likelihood of appearing on the exam paper. All of this was based on his own judgment, and the handwriting was very fresh, indicating that it was all drawn on the spot.

In other words, he didn't do these "exam highlighting" exercises in class during the first few months of the semester; these were things he specially drew on the spot for his own benefit.

After the idea flashed through Xu Su's mind, she found a note on Xi Zirong's chemistry book.

The note contained much more text than last time: "[What questions did you get wrong on your midterm exam? I'll find some example problems for you to work on. The book highlights all the key points for this semester; you can focus on those. Memorize the formulas that are likely to appear on the final exam. By the way, are you choosing humanities or sciences?]"

Her handwriting is beautiful, leaning towards semi-cursive script, neat yet with a touch of unrestrainedness, which is just like Xi Zirong's gentle and unassuming personality, very pleasing to the eye.

Xu Su had seen Zhou Mochen's signature before; the strokes were sharp, the handwriting was very messy, but it was still beautiful.

Just like with the previous note, there was no reply, and Xu Su crumpled it up and threw it on the path outside the school.

Therefore, Qian Jia's information and the facts are different. Xi Zirong did not highlight the key points for her, but directly gave her her own textbook, which is still on her desk.

Xu Su tried to return the book, but the other person refused. There were always people in the classroom, and she didn't want to get entangled with Xi Zirong in front of everyone, so she left the book for several days.

In fact, Xu Su was also curious about what they had talked about in Teacher Wu's office that day, and why Xi Zirong did not restrain his 'intentions' at all afterward.

Rumors about their early romance were rampant, but this person didn't know how to avoid suspicion, giving them test papers, books, and passing them little notes all the time.

This was the first time in all of Xu Su's lives that she had been so openly 'showed affection' during her high school years.

She didn't know how to react. He hadn't confessed directly, and she couldn't just go up to him and say, like she had with Zhou Mochen, "I don't like you," could she...?

Xu Su felt a little embarrassed when she thought about that scene.

Time passed slowly but surely, and Xu Su's attitude changed the course of the rumors surrounding her and Xi Zirong.

The rumor that they were dating has changed to 'Xi Zirong, the top student in the first year of high school, is pursuing Xu Su in their class.'

......

By mid-December, the new welfare housing that the textile factory had promised to allocate to the Xu family had finally been obtained, and simple renovations had begun. Chen Shulan had been going to the new house to supervise the construction whenever she had free time, preparing to move in before the end of the year and spend the New Year in her new home.

The decorating style of that era was extremely simple. The Xu family was just an ordinary working class. They simply painted the house white, laid floor tiles, installed lights and some necessary furniture, and then ventilated it to let the smell dissipate. That was about it.

Xu Su leaves home before everyone else is awake each morning and returns home after everyone is asleep. She has never voiced any opinions or shown any concern about these matters.

However, Xu Weiping and his wife seemed determined to maintain their relationship with her, and for two consecutive weekends, when they waited for her at home, they specifically asked her what her requirements were for the decoration of the new home.

What could Xu Su possibly ask for? Having her own room already solved all her needs. Besides, she had already decided that she had to live on campus next semester, and she wouldn't even want to go back to her new home on weekends. How many days could she stay there then?

Seeing their insistence, I reluctantly mentioned that I wanted to install a water heater so that it would be convenient to take a shower.

Zhou Mochen never appeared in any of these developments. After promising not to interfere with Xu Su's studies before the college entrance examination, he kept his word and disappeared, allowing Xu Su to finally relax after their extremely tense nerves met again.

She was truly terrified of Zhou Mochen from her past life, his endless desire for control, and the suffocating feeling of being forced to stay by his side after she became an adult, a feeling she never wanted to experience again.

Ten days before New Year's Day, Mr. Wu suddenly decided to hold a New Year's Eve party in the class. His exact words were, "In the three years of high school, only the New Year's Day of the first year has time for you to have fun. In order to make your memories of high school more colorful in the future, let's celebrate this time."