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

Pushing through the crowd, Xu Su quickly walked to the middle-aged man who was standing on the street wailing. Without showing any disgust at his dirty appearance, she took his arm and asked anxiously, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

Xu Jiandang, her uncle, was mute and had poor hearing. He usually made a living by collecting recyclables on the streets. Xu Su had only ever seen him once in her life, on the day of her grandfather's 60th birthday.

At that time, the mute uncle gave her a 50-yuan red envelope. Although Chen Shulan took it back later, it was still hard-earned money that a disabled bachelor with no children had saved little by little by picking up bottles and cans.

In both her lifetimes, Xu Su received far too little familial affection, and she would remember even the smallest bit.

Xu Su understood this sentiment.

But at this moment, her uncle stood helplessly on the street, wailing and crying, surrounded by onlookers who pointed and whispered among themselves.

Xu Jiandang was of sound mind. When he saw Xu Su, even though they had only met once, he recognized her. He called out "Ah...ah..." twice, but Xu Su couldn't understand him.

Seemingly feeling that crying in front of his niece was too pathetic, Xu Jiandang raised his arm to wipe away his tears, regaining some composure.

Some of the onlookers who knew the whole story started chattering at Xu Su.

"Little girl, do you know him? Poor thing, he had a whole sack full of jars he'd picked up, and he'd just left them here for a little while, and some damned bastard stole them. What a tragedy..."

"And he's mute, stealing from a disabled person—what a despicable scoundrel, he deserves a terrible death."

A middle-aged woman came out of a snack shop next door. She seemed to know Xu Jiandang. She hurried over, carrying a small half-bag of empty aluminum cans, and handed them to him. "Brother, don't cry. Your crying makes me feel bad too. The person who stole your things will definitely have a bad New Year... Take these, and don't cry anymore..."

Although the weather was cold, many of the onlookers who were shopping were holding mineral water or beverage bottles, and the shop owner led the way, handing out bottles to them one by one.

Some thoughtful people would bend down and politely place the bottle at Xu Su and Xu Jiandang's feet, but most of them were less meticulous. They would finish their water, throw the empty bottle over there, and while they might have meant well, the action was extremely disrespectful.

When Xu Jiandang saw so many people giving him empty bottles, his face, which had just been wailing, showed a grateful and ingratiating smile. Using the bag given to him by the snack shop owner, he began to bend down and pick up the trash that others had thrown on the ground, one by one.

Xu Su frowned as she watched from the side. She wanted to tell him to stop picking them up, but she knew that this was her uncle's livelihood, and she couldn't stop him or show any disgust.

Finally, Xu Su even took the initiative to help him pick them up. An empty can was thrown into a shallow patch of sewage. Xu Su reached out to pick it up, but a familiar hand appeared in his sight and beat him to it.

Xu Su straightened up and saw Xi Zirong's slender fingers crushing a soda can, his face expressionless, standing next to his bicycle watching her.

Xu Su then remembered that not only her grandparents lived on Xiasheng Road, but Xi Zirong's family also seemed to live in this area. It seemed that Xi Zirong had just seen her picking up trash on her way home by bicycle.

Even... Xu Su saw several familiar faces in the crowd, some from the same class and some from different classes, who should all be students from No. 1 Middle School living on Xiasheng Road.

However, these classmates clearly knew her and had witnessed the school's most beautiful girl picking up trash along the street after school, accompanied by a disabled relative.

Their expressions were a mix of emotions: some were shocked, some were watching with amusement, and some were even laughing.

Xu Su wasn't a real sixteen-year-old girl, so she didn't feel ashamed of the situation. Her expression remained normal as she reached out to Xi Zirong, saying, "Give it to me."

Xi Zirong didn't give it to him. He took two steps, threw the can in his hand into the snakeskin bag next to him, turned to look at her, and seemed to want to say something. After his lips moved, he took a step closer to her without saying a word, and then directly reached out and hugged Xu Su into his arms.

His right hand pressed directly against the back of Xu Su's head, while his other hand wrapped around her waist, holding her in a position where it was difficult to break free.

...Xu Su felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, and then he embraced her.

Xi Zirong was very tall, and Xu Su was held right at his chest. The boy's clean and pleasant scent was very close to her, but Xu Su's first thought was that Zhou Mochen should be back soon.

If he sees me being hugged by a boy... this won't be over today...

All the progress made in recent days has been wasted.

Sensing the girl's resistance, Xi Zirong took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly: "Don't move... let me hold you..."

Xu Su's face was pressed against his chest. She tried to push him away several times but couldn't. She was having trouble breathing and mumbled in his arms, "Let go first... Xi Zirong! My uncle is still standing here!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the hand around her waist loosened, and Xu Su abruptly broke free: "Xi Zirong, what's wrong with you! Who gave you permission to hug me!"

She almost suffocated!

Xu Su glared at him angrily, but saw that Xi Zirong's face was flushed red, as if he was the one who had been forcibly hugged.

Xi Zirong seemed to only then realize what she had done, her face turning red to her ears, and she stammered, "I...I'm sorry, Xu Su, I just..."

He was just too heartbroken. Seeing the girl he liked bending over to pick up trash, surrounded by so many people, picking up other people's unwanted garbage... he... felt so bad.

After picking up the last bottle, Xu Jiandang walked over, gesturing with his hands and making noises.

"Holy crap, Xu Su's dad in the top class is mute? No way, does their family have a gene for disability?"

"Is that her dad? He doesn't look like him. Xu Su is so pretty, she was the school beauty..."

"Nonsense! If it wasn't her father, would she be collecting recyclables for strangers? That's not how you do charity!"

"What is Xi Zirong doing? No matter how beautiful she is, her family has a history of disability. Aren't they afraid of giving birth to a mute child?"

"Wow, that's so bold! He just hugged me right away..."

Xu Su had good hearing and overheard the conversation of the students watching from a distance. They seemed to have arrived late and hadn't heard her call out "uncle" at the beginning.

Moreover, she had her head buried in Xi Zirong's arms just now, and her voice wasn't very loud, so it's estimated that only Xi Zirong herself heard that Xu Jiandang was her uncle...

Xi Zirong frowned, and was about to walk towards the group of talkative students when Xu Su grabbed her arm: "You should leave now, Xi Zirong. I don't want my uncle to misunderstand..."

Xu Su didn't want to pay any attention to her classmates' chatter. All she wanted was for this matter to end quickly, and she hoped to get back to her car before Zhou Mochen returned.