Chapter 340: Chapter 338: "Are You Raising Me Like a Sheep?

Xu Su, startled, quickly pushed his hand away. "If you keep going this far," she warned sternly, "I’m not coming with you anymore! Your attempts to seduce me are useless. I’m not falling for your pretty-boy routine!"

"How was I going too far?" The darkness in his eyes quickly dissipated as Zhou Mochen put on an aggrieved expression again.

At that moment, he had been like a completely different person. She had yelled. She had pleaded.

But he simply wouldn’t let her go!

Even while he was whispering sweet nothings to coax her,

his actions were making it very clear he had no intention of listening.

’Just thinking about it is infuriating!’

Zhou Mochen whined playfully as he snuggled up and hugged her. "I’ll be more careful in the future. But Susu, you really do need to work out."

’He was already planning to find someone to create a fitness plan for her once they got back to Beijing.’

She had spent three years of high school burning the candle at both ends. Forget working out; she barely got enough sleep. It’d be a miracle if she were in top shape.

Xu Su was utterly speechless.

’And now she couldn’t help but think about her past life...’

’Ugh!’

’No, don’t think about it. The him from my past life wasn’t any better!’

Still grumbling to herself, Xu Su cautiously climbed into bed, only to be immediately scooped into Zhou Mochen’s arms.

"Susu, don’t be afraid..." His warm lips pressed against her brow as he patted her back, gently coaxing her. "I won’t be like that again."

His voice was impossibly gentle.

Xu Su held his arm, actually falling for his act. She closed her eyes contentedly, her earlier anger forgotten, and snuggled obediently in his embrace, falling fast asleep.

When she woke up the next day, Shen Chen had already flown back to Beijing.

Xu Su examined the faint, nearly invisible mark in the mirror and decided to return to Kang County to see her grandmother the next day.

After lunch, Zhou Mochen took Xu Su’s hand. "Want to come out with me this afternoon? The Central Plaza project is nearly finished. We can go check out the site."

"It’s almost done?" Xu Su blinked. A part of her wanted to see Zhou Mochen at work, but...

She pointed to the hickey on her neck. "It’s not too obvious, is it? People won’t be able to tell, right?"

"You can’t tell unless you’re looking closely." Zhou Mochen brushed her long hair aside, planted a kiss on the mark, and soothed her warmly, "You’re mine. No one would dare to look at you that closely. Don’t worry."

’Who would dare stare at her neck?’

Xu Su thought about it and figured he had a point.

She got up and changed into a loose, light-green top with black jeans and a pair of white sneakers. After twisting her long hair up into a bun, she saw how bright the sun was, so she put on sunscreen and a touch of lipstick before heading out.

’Since it’s a construction site, flats and long pants are definitely more practical.’

The Central Plaza was located in the old district, the same area where the Xu Family had lived when Xu Su first arrived in Chang City three years ago.

The factories in that industrial zone had all been incorporated into the plaza’s commercial district. Xu Su hadn’t been back here in more than two years.

Now, tagging along with Zhou Mochen, she looked at the well-ordered commercial streets and residential areas that were already taking shape, and at the towering plaza structure. She couldn’t find any trace of the scenery she remembered.

As the car passed a row of high-rises, Zhou Mochen glanced outside. "Susu, this is where I first saw you."

"Huh?" Xu Su followed his gaze. "This used to be the old textile factory?"

Three years ago, right after she was reborn and had returned to Chang City, she had spent many days delivering meals to Xu Weiping at that textile factory. Back then, the buildings in this industrial zone were only four or five stories tall at most, and they were all old and run-down.

It was completely transformed now.

What would become Chang City’s most prosperous commercial district was already taking shape. It was a shame that in her past life, Xu Su had never returned here, so she never got to witness the crowds it would eventually draw.

She remembered that in her past life, the Xu Family owned several commercial buildings in this area. Why else would it be said that they’d sold their daughter? They must have reaped considerable benefits from Zhou Mochen right from the start.

She remembered being forced to go and plead with Zhou Mochen. At that tender, naive age, how could she possibly have understood the role her own parents were playing?

By the time she was older and had figured everything out, she could no longer forgive them. And while she never retaliated, she gradually distanced herself from the Xu Family, never even contacting them during the holidays.

Xu Weiping and his wife probably knew what they’d done was disgraceful, or perhaps Zhou Mochen had warned them off. In any case, the Xu Family never came looking for her in Beijing to cause trouble.

But by that time, the Xu Family was far from a poor, working-class household. They owned over a dozen properties and storefronts. Even when Xu Yang later became a degenerate gambler, he couldn’t manage to lose it all.

Right up until Xu Su was reborn, Xu Yang was only twenty years old—an idle good-for-nothing well-versed in womanizing, drinking, and gambling. Yet the Xu Family remained a middle-class household in Chang City.

All of it had been bought by selling her off. The mere thought made Xu Su’s teeth ache with resentment.

’If I had known, I shouldn’t have let them off so easily in my past life. The best way to repay the Xu Family would have been to have Zhou Mochen take back everything he’d given them and send them packing right back where they came from.’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

When the car stopped at the main entrance of the plaza, Xu Su was still grinding her teeth.

The rear door was pulled open from the outside by Huang Chao. Zhou Mochen led Xu Su out of the car by the hand, but when he saw her face, he was puzzled. "What is it now?"

Xu Su shot him a look, huffed, and said nothing.

A group of ten or twenty people were standing at the plaza entrance, and it was impossible to tell how long they’d been waiting. Upon seeing them exit the car, two middle-aged men at the front of the group walked over, their faces wreathed in smiles.

Zhou Mochen listened to his subordinate’s introductions while leading Xu Su inside.

The high-rise before them was already complete. Though they called it a construction site, the permanent elevators were already operational. It was empty at a glance, but the decor was magnificent. It probably wouldn’t be long before the grand opening.

Someone was assigned to lead the way, showing the big boss the results of their work firsthand and reporting on their recent progress.

At the beginning of their report, the engineers were a bit nervous, but they grew more confident as the discussion turned to their areas of expertise.

Zhou Mochen casually flipped through the blueprints and documents in his hands, asking a question from time to time. His tone was level, and he didn’t seem particularly strict.

Xu Su listened silently from the side, not understanding most of the technical jargon. Besides, she had seen all sorts of bizarre and creative plazas and skyscrapers in her past life.

A new building like this wasn’t anything special to her. After watching for a little while, she was simply bored.

’Watching Zhou Mochen is more interesting.’

Usually, the man was a complete fool for love around her, acting so silly he seemed almost... cheap. Even though Xu Su knew his status, she could never truly feel the distance created by their different social classes when she was with him.

But now, as the center of everyone’s attention, absorbed in his work, his calm and casual demeanor gave him a truly lofty and nonchalant air.

It was as if nothing could faze him, even though in the eyes of his subordinates, Young Master Zhou had remained in Chang City for three years specifically for this project.

Every one of them was practically buzzing with nervous energy, desperate to do their absolute best and make a good impression on the Crown Prince.

By the time they reached the third floor, Xu Su’s feet were starting to ache. She tugged on Zhou Mochen’s arm and pointed to a nearby chair. "I’m not going any higher. I’ll just wait for you all here, okay?"