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

Xi Zirong looked down at the hand that was holding her arm, then glanced at Xu Jiandang beside her, gave him an extremely polite smile, and, not wanting to put Xu Su in a difficult position, nodded to her: "Okay."

He reached out and grasped Xu Su's hand, whispering, "Don't pick it up anymore. It's cold, you should go home early too."

"..." Xu Su was speechless. Did this person think she was a part-time scavenger?

Xu Su didn't waste time explaining and only breathed a sigh of relief after Xi Zirong left.

Turning around, Xu Su looked at Xu Jiandang, who was still gesturing beside her, and had no idea what he was gesturing. She didn't expect to understand sign language so quickly.

She bent down, picked up the snakeskin bag, handed it to Xu Jiandang, and shouted into his ear, "Uncle, I'm going home now. You should go home early too."

Xu Jiandang has a hearing impairment; he can only be heard if someone shouts into his ear. He stopped gesturing, clearly understanding, and hesitantly took the bag, giving Xu Su a smile she couldn't quite describe. He waved, then turned and staggered away.

It was a smile that showed worry about getting her into trouble, mixed with a hint of timidity.

Xu Su felt a lump in her throat, and for no apparent reason, she felt like crying...

A hand landed on her shoulder, and the aroma of roasted chestnuts mixed with roasted sweet potatoes wafted over. Turning her head, she saw that Zhou Mochen had returned sometime earlier.

He clearly knew about Xu Su's family situation. He looked down at her carefully, frowned, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Not far away, several students from No. 1 Middle School were still there. Xu Su waved the hand off her shoulder and whispered, "Don't touch me..."

Zhou Mochen pursed his lips and looked at her without saying a word.

Xu Su quickly got into the car, secretly praising herself for being clever in getting Xi Zirong to leave so fast.

Who would have thought that the usually shy boy would hug her in public today...?

Thankfully, Zhou Mochen didn't see them...

In his past life, he saw someone hugging her. What did he do back then?

Xu Su clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and refused to recall the memory.

When Zhou Mochen got into the car, he saw the girl with a cold face, looking unapproachable.

If someone familiar with Zhou Mochen saw Xu Su now, they would probably sigh and say, "This girl really looks like Zhou Mochen."

This was an unconscious resemblance between her and Zhou Mochen, formed from their years of living together day and night in her previous life.

With her hand grasped, Xu Su heard Zhou Mochen's voice: "How about I go and find out who stole your uncle's things?"

Xu Su suddenly opened her eyes, surprised that he had actually inquired about what had just happened. Fortunately, judging from his expression, he hadn't heard that she had just been hugged by a boy...

Startled, Xu Su felt a sense of relief and rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "And then what? You use all those methods on a lowly person who steals scraps?"

The sarcasm in her words made Zhou Mochen's face turn cold: "Whom am I on? Can't you speak properly?"

Xu Su pulled her hand away from his grasp, annoyed by their handsy behavior. She turned to look out the car window and said, "No, that's just my temper. I don't know how to speak properly. If you want to hear nice things, don't come to me."

The car was silent. Zhou Mochen didn't say anything more. After a while, Xu Su turned her head and urged, "Drive! It's getting dark, can't you see?"

She was bossy and extremely impatient. Zhou Mochen had never been treated like this before. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure it, then started the car.

Just as Xu Su was marveling at how good this person's temper was getting and thought the matter was about to pass, she heard the sound of screeching brakes.

Zhou Mochen parked the car on the side of the road. He turned his head and looked over. His voice rang out in the quiet car, hoarse and strained: "I like you, but that doesn't mean you can trample on me. Xu Su, don't treat me like this."

Winter days are short and dark. After school ended at 5 p.m., I spent so much time on Xiasheng Road that it's already past 6 p.m. The sky inside and outside the car is gray and hazy.

Inside the dimly lit car, Zhou Mochen's fierce gaze could be vaguely seen, indicating that he was already enraged.

trample..

Xu Su pondered the word... and felt that this person's choice of words was really brilliant. These days, she had indeed been acting like a spoiled brat.

Are you getting impatient? Have you realized she's not that likable?

Xu Su suppressed her joy and looked back at him, still speaking in a spoiled tone: "Then you don't have to like me, Zhou Mochen, don't look so aggrieved."

She seemed completely unfazed.

She doesn't yet know how to cherish other people's sincerity.

Zhou Mochen looked at Xu Su, his heart filled with bitterness... As he thought about it, his cold face gradually softened, as if he had suddenly shed all his anger.

She's still young, and he's five years older than her. Why is he arguing with a little girl?

Then, Xu Su discovered that the atmosphere inside the car, which had been extremely tense, had actually improved.

She was fully prepared to have a fight and drive Zhou Mochen crazy.

It would be best if he hated her and never wanted to like her again.

Unexpectedly... he managed to soothe himself?

Zhou Mochen suddenly leaned over, scooped the little girl up in his arms, and whispered to her with his face turned to the side, "Xu Su, you can make me angry all you want, and see if I really can't bear to do anything to you."

The man's voice was hoarse, sounding somewhat aggrieved and pained.

Caught off guard by being embraced tightly, Xu Su didn't even have time to react before she felt the warm breath from his voice lingering around her ear, making her feel like she was about to explode.

Before she could refuse, Zhou Mochen ruffled her hair again, then decisively released her, his face devoid of any emotion. "If you deliberately make me angry again, I'll hug you once more. Xu Su, you should think it over..."

Xu Su was furious. She grabbed the blanket covering her legs and threw it at him: "Zhou Mochen, you shameless person! Who deliberately made you angry? You're the one who's prone to anger. If you're not happy, don't come looking for me. I didn't force you to come!"

"Hmm." Zhou Mochen picked up the thin blanket covering him, his handsome face showing a clenched jaw, but his voice remained calm: "It was my insistence."

Xu Su's expression changed, wary that this person was about to act crazy again. However, after Zhou Mochen finished speaking, he did not make any other move, but simply started the car.

With only five days left until the Chinese New Year, the Xu family had already officially moved into their new home some time ago and even held a housewarming party, inviting all their relatives to celebrate in the new house.

However, Xu Su was at school at the time and did not go back.

The new home was closer to the No. 1 Middle School than the old industrial area. Soon, the car arrived near the new welfare housing allocated to the Xu family. Xu Su breathed a sigh of relief and was about to get out of the car when she was called back.

Zhou Mochen handed over the roasted sweet potato and roasted chestnuts that he had queued for a long time to buy, and he had returned to normal: "Here, they're still hot... I'm sorry, I was a little out of control just now."

Xu Su was somewhat taken aback by the sudden display of weakness from someone who was used to being assertive.

Her silence, however, filled Zhou Mochen with panic, making him mistakenly believe that she was about to hold another grudge against him in her heart.