Chapter 333: Chapter 332: "What Mistake of Principle?

But in reality, it wasn’t confidence Zhou Mochen lacked; it was love.

He lacked Xu Su’s blatant, undisguised favoritism. He needed a tremendous amount of her love to fill his insecure heart.

’The more love I have from Xu Su, the better!’

The severely love-deprived Zhou Mochen smiled gently at his lover. "Susu, you have to be even better to me. You have to keep liking me this much. Then I’ll be more confident."

"...Alright."

His temper was so good these days that it left her completely defenseless. How could Xu Su possibly bring herself to yell at him? She could only fall back into her habit of coaxing him. "I promise you, I’ll always like you, and only you. My love will never stray."

As she coaxed him, the sweet nothings came effortlessly. "Even if I meet a man more handsome than you in the future, my heart will be set on you. No matter who I compare you to, you’re the only one I want. So, Zhou Mochen, can you please try to be a little more confident? And not so controlling?"

’Let’s just have a healthy relationship. No matter how much I like him, I can’t stand a life where my every move is controlled. A day or two is one thing, but we’re supposed to be together for a lifetime!’

Xu Su wrapped her arm around his and leaned her head against him. "You have to believe that it’s true I’ll always like you."

"You’re not lying to me?" Overjoyed by her coaxing, Zhou Mochen cupped Xu Su’s face and pressed his forehead against hers. "Susu, you have to keep your word."

"Mhm..." Xu Su looked up and gave him a peck. "I absolutely will. As long as you don’t cross any major lines, I promise I won’t leave you!"

Zhou Mochen furrowed his brows. "What kind of major lines?"

"What else could there be?"

Xu Su nestled back into his arms and began to list her triggers. "First, don’t give any girl who’s interested in you a chance to get close. I will absolutely not accept ’mistakes’ like drunken one-night stands. You are mine from head to toe. Mine, and mine alone!"

She enunciated the last few words with heavy emphasis.

Ever since the incident with Gu Yue, Zhou Mochen had gained a profound understanding of her possessive streak. He agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"Alright. I promise I’ll always belong to my Susu, and no one else."

Gently stroking the girl’s long hair, Zhou Mochen promised softly, "Don’t worry. The people around me know their place. No one can get near me without my permission, man or woman. There’s absolutely no way an ’accident’ could happen."

From Zhou Mochen’s perspective, this reminder was completely unnecessary.

Before he met her, he hadn’t had the slightest interest in other women. Now that he had her, how could he possibly give anyone else a chance to get close? It wasn’t like his life was too perfect and he was looking to ruin it.

Zhou Mochen sighed inwardly. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and his love for her was completely pure, yet she’d still throw a tantrum at him from time to time. How could he dare let himself slip up and give her an excuse to break up with him?

Xu Su didn’t care what he was thinking. She nodded and continued, "Second, don’t be like you were a few days ago, giving me that cold, indifferent attitude when you’re angry. I can’t stand the silent treatment. If you do it again, I’ll get genuinely angry."

Zhou Mochen lowered his gaze, wanting to explain himself, but after seeing the unyielding look in her eyes, he could only say resignedly, "Okay. It was my fault. It will never happen again."

Seeing that he knew when to back down, Xu Su huffed in satisfaction, then thought for a moment. "Third, anything like what happened in the private room last night..."

"There won’t be a second time," Zhou Mochen interrupted. "If I’m ever such a bastard again, Susu, you can punish me however you want."

Xu Su raised an eyebrow. "Does that include breaking up with you?"

"..." Zhou Mochen was struck speechless.

’She really knows what the worst punishment for me is...’

After a long moment, under Xu Su’s teasing gaze, he finally pursed his lips and nodded. "I’ll never do that again. Please don’t be angry anymore, okay?"

Xu Su’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to actually agree to that punishment.

’This guy has really changed...’

Before, he wouldn’t even let her mention it, but now he could calmly nod in agreement.

"Any other demands? Just say them all at once." Zhou Mochen wrapped an arm around her shoulder and lowered his head to kiss her. "Don’t worry, Susu. I will never give you a chance to leave. All those major lines you talked about, I won’t cross a single one."

Xu Su thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I can’t think of any others right now. That’s all for now. I’ll add more later if I think of any."

"Okay!" Zhou Mochen agreed readily, then immediately asked, "I’ve agreed to so much for you. Can I make a request, too?"

"What is it?" Xu Su watched him warily.

Zhou Mochen smiled, meeting her gaze. "Stop throwing tantrums at me for no reason. Stop torturing me from now on. Can you do it just to take pity on me?"

Ahem...

"I’m not torturing you, that’s just me liking you..." Xu Su explained awkwardly. "Think about it. Why don’t I throw tantrums at other people? Isn’t it because I like you?"

As she spoke, her voice suddenly filled with confidence. "It’s because I like you that my standards for you are stricter! It’s because I like you that I want you to coax me..."

Zhou Mochen stared at her fixedly, then let out an "Oh," and said with an unreadable expression, "So that’s how it is."

Xu Su felt a little guilty under his gaze and hastily looked away. "Let’s not talk about it anymore. Time for bed!"

’Of course, a vile capitalist like him is impossible to manipulate!’

She had just lain down when Zhou Mochen cupped the back of her head, pressed her into his embrace, and held her tight. His lips drew close to her ear as he coaxed her softly, "My sweet girl, throw a tantrum if you want to. Just don’t ignore me. As long as you stay curled up in my arms, I’ll give you whatever you want."

’This lovesick fool!’

A mixture of warmth and exasperation welled up in Xu Su’s chest. She looked up from his embrace and, with a SMACK, planted a kiss on his chin.

She gave him a stern warning: "Zhou Mochen, don’t you dare try to seduce me again. Not tonight. Even if I want to, we can’t!"

Her words made Zhou Mochen fall silent for a moment before he suddenly burst out laughing. After she shot him a glare, he quickly suppressed it, but he continued to chuckle quietly for a long time while kissing her forehead.

Xu Su truly couldn’t figure it out for the life of her; she had no idea how he could find that so amusing.

Just as she was starting to get angry from the embarrassment of being laughed at, Zhou Mochen finally reined in his smile and leaned over her.

Xu Su turned her head to dodge his kiss and quickly tried to push him away. "We really can’t. I’m a little sore."

"But what are we to do if my Susu wants it?"

He couldn’t hide his smile at all. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and tempted her in a low voice, "I promise I won’t do anything. I’ll just kiss you..."

’Just kiss you...’

How could anyone refuse that?

By the time Xu Su snapped out of her daze, her nightgown had already been pushed up to her waist...

She glanced down, then quickly reached for the headboard and turned off the lamp.

’Looking at this is way too embarrassing...’

In the darkness, with her vision blurred, her sense of touch became even more acute.

A mist gathered in Xu Su’s eyes and her mind went blank. She flailed a hand up, trying to grab onto something, but Zhou Mochen caught her wrist, lacing their fingers together.