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

Infected by the boy's enthusiasm, Xu Su felt her throat tighten and she couldn't speak for a moment. She slowly closed the book, unable to continue reading.

After barely managing to calm herself down, Xu Su said softly, "He likes me too, Xi Zirong. He likes me even more than you do, do you understand? As long as I'm willing to like him, he'll do anything for me."

Xu Su knew very well that as long as she was willing to love Zhou Mochen, Zhou Mochen would be willing to do anything for her, regardless of the past or present life.

Even if they ended up in that situation in their past life, Xu Su never denied Zhou Mochen's feelings for her.

Compared to his love for Xu Su, how could Zhou Mochen possibly lose?

Xu Su closed her eyes and sighed, "Xi Zirong, I'm serious, please don't like me anymore."

Stop liking me, stop being so nice to me.

Xu Su isn't truly heartless; how could she remain unmoved by the boy's sincere heart?

But she couldn't move...

Before she could even process the guilt of hurting the boy's sincere feelings, another phone call came in.

This time, it's another party involved in the topic... Zhou Mochen...

Xu Su glanced at the time quickly; it was 11:40. She hadn't expected to chat with Xi Zirong for so long.

Could Zhou Mochen already have a backup phone?

Xu Su was anxious and, without even saying goodbye to Xi Zirong, ended the call with him and answered the call that Zhou Mochen had interrupted.

A deep voice rang out the next second: "Xu Su, who were you talking to on the phone just now?"

The atmosphere was tense, and even through the phone call, Xu Su could sense his anxiety and anger.

Xu Su reacted quickly, "Qian Jia, you met her at the milk tea shop that time. She said she wanted to spend New Year's Eve with me."

Before she could finish speaking, a male voice on the other end of the phone pressed on: "You haven't replied to my messages all day, and you've been calling this Qian Jia the whole time? Xu Su, what did you promise me before I left?"

If Zhou Mochen were speaking in this tone normally, Xu Su would have stopped responding long ago, but she felt inexplicably guilty now.

She really didn't dare let Zhou Mochen know that she had just been on the phone with a boy, so Xu Su explained in a gentle tone, "I just got home. I went to my grandfather's place early this morning, and after I got home I received a call from Qian Jia, so I didn't have time to reply to your message."

"Zhou Mochen, can you please not be so fierce?"

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, just as Xu Su was feeling a little apprehensive, she heard him say, "Go back."

It was clearly not meant for her, so...?

"Zhou Mochen, you weren't really planning to come to Changshi overnight, were you?"

Looking at the night view of Beijing outside the car window, Zhou Mochen's eyes showed fatigue, and his voice was cold: "Xu Su, guess what I would have done if you hadn't answered my call just now and I had gone to Chang City?"

Xu Su's hands clenched involuntarily; she didn't need to guess...

Since meeting Xu Su, Zhou Mochen had almost gotten used to the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with liking someone.

He didn't want to experience that feeling of panic, anxiety, and tension again, like he did tonight.

His resolute features were reflected in the car window. Zhou Mochen looked away with a hint of self-loathing. "Don't keep me hanging on, and don't ignore me. Xu Su, you can argue with me, you can make a scene, anything is fine, but don't let me lose contact with you."

Zhou Mochen, you're really something, spending the whole day waiting for someone's reply to the point of losing your appetite and being completely distracted.

Even towards the end, he began to feel nervous and worried that something might have happened to Xu Su.

Xu Su remained silent for a long time, feeling somewhat lingering fear.

“Speak, Xu Su, make a sound for me. I haven’t seen you for three days. Talk to me.”

Only Zhou Mochen could utter such a commanding tone and such extremely humble words.

The driver in front heard everything. He had served the Zhou family for many years and this was the first time he had seen such a scene. Even with his years of professional experience, he couldn't help but glance at the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye.

Xu Su was also somewhat taken aback by his commotion. She truly hadn't expected him to get so anxious after just one day without replying to messages. The Zhou family had their own private jet; of course, he could fly to Changshi overnight...

It's really coming to this...

"...What do you want me to say, Zhou Mochen? You're scaring me."

A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone, devoid of any warmth: "It's good that you're scared, Xu Su. I've spoiled you too much."

Then came the sound of a car door opening.

Xu Su judged that this person should have gone home. She wondered what he had said to his parents about not celebrating the New Year and preparing to fly to Changshi overnight.

Does that mean if the girl he likes doesn't talk to him for a day, he has to go back and check on her?

As Xu Su was lost in thought, she heard Zhou Mochen's voice: "Call my name, Xu Su. I want to hear your voice."

A completely imperative tone.

Xu Su dared not provoke him now. She had finally tamed the lion and made him submit; she couldn't afford to stir up his ferocity again.

She gently called out to him, while listening to what he was saying.

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Mochen seemed to be walking.

Xu Su knew the layout of the Zhou family's residence and judged that he had almost entered the gate. Then she heard the voices of her parents-in-law from her previous life.

Compared to more than ten years later, Zhou's parents are now only in their fifties, and their voices are still very strong.

Thinking back to her past life, she had just turned twenty and reached the legal age to get a marriage certificate when Zhou Mochen said he wanted to marry her. Having watched too many TV dramas, Xu Su was hoping that his parents would come out to stop him, but in the end, she had to refuse him herself.

They waited until they graduated from university, and when they could no longer refuse, they finally got married. The wedding went smoothly from beginning to end.

Later, I learned that Zhou's parents had married early but had difficulty having children. They were over thirty when they finally had Zhou Mochen, their son. They felt that they could spoil him no matter how much they loved him and couldn't bear to let him have his way.

On the other end of the phone, Zhou's mother seemed overjoyed to see her son, who was about to fly to Changshi, return, occasionally interspersed with Zhou's father's voice.

Xu Su could only hear intermittently, but soon she heard a clear sound of a door closing.

It seems Zhou Mochen has calmed his parents down and gone back to his own room.

Xu Su was still slowly calling his name.

Zhou Mochen listened to the phone call without saying a word; it was extremely quiet.

Finally, Xu Su realized that this couldn't go on, and said, "Zhou Mochen, I'm sleepy."

After a few seconds of silence, the man spoke: "Xu Su, there are only three minutes left until the New Year. In the last three minutes of 2005, if you say something nice to me, I will forgive you for not replying to my messages for a day but talking to someone else on the phone."

"..." This person is dreaming. You can tell from his voice that he has already calmed down. What's the point of coaxing him?

Xu Su turned the tables and said, "Zhou Mochen, you just threatened me again."

This time, the silence on the other end lasted even longer. When Xu Su looked at the time on her phone and it reached 23:58, the voice on the other end of the phone finally came again: "Two more minutes."