Chapter 360: Chapter 359: "Lower Your Head a Little!

This school building was at least twenty years old. It had only two stories, and its broken windowpanes were covered with plastic sheeting. In the winter, the biting wind would leave your hands and feet ice-cold. During the rainy season, if the downpour was heavy enough, the roof would even leak.

There was virtually no decoration—just four white walls, wobbly and dilapidated chairs, and chalkboards in many classrooms that were pitted and uneven.

But even so, it was the only school for the children from the dozen or so nearby villages. Graduating from here meant they could go to middle school in Shuinan Town, giving them a chance at a broader future.

Xu Su had made everyone proud back then by testing directly into a middle school in Kang County. She was the first student from this impoverished village’s elementary school to do so since its founding—an absolutely outstanding graduate.

But many more children never even finished elementary school. They would drop out to work on their family farms after learning just a few characters and basic arithmetic.

This was the true fate for children from poor families, a fate Xu Su herself had narrowly escaped.

Zhou Mochen gazed silently at the school, which didn’t even have a playground. He couldn’t help but picture his Susu studying relentlessly, step by step, to test her way out of here and into Kang County, and then from Kang County into Chang City.

If she had faltered at any one of those steps, she would never have made it to his side.

He would have never met her...

For a moment, his grip on Xu Su’s hand tightened so much it started to hurt.

On the way back, the sky had completely darkened. Zhou Mochen took out a flashlight he had prepared and held Xu Su’s hand as they walked. "Actually, the Zhou Group has several charitable projects," he said, "but most are related to medical care and diseases. We don’t do as much when it comes to donating resources to children in poor rural villages."

Supporting various social welfare foundations was something every major corporation was happy to do, whether it was to build public goodwill, garner positive press, or for certain other benefits.

And an old, established family with deep roots like the Zhou family had been doing charity work for generations—and not just for show.

Zhou Mochen would sometimes even personally review the financial statements for the Zhou Group’s charitable foundations. He took it all very seriously.

But now, he felt a boundless sense of self-reproach. ’How did I never think of building elementary schools in impoverished villages!’

The self-blame came out of nowhere; it was completely irrational.

But his heart simply ached. Seeing this old, broken-down environment and thinking of his little girl—not even as tall as a desk—having to attend class in the freezing wind, he was overwhelmed with heartache.

The heartache led to self-reproach, an irrational blame he placed on himself...

’Why didn’t I think of it sooner!’

"Susu, how about I donate some money so the kids here can have a new school building?" Zhou Mochen’s voice was low. "When we get back to Beijing, I’ll set up a dedicated infrastructure project for children in impoverished mountain regions."

Xu Su hadn’t expected him to say this. At his words, she couldn’t help but turn her head to look at him.

Zhou Mochen was very tall; Xu Su even suspected he might be one-point-nine meters. She wasn’t short herself, but she still had to crane her neck to look up at him.

He held the flashlight in one hand and her hand tightly in the other. His shoulders and neck unconsciously leaned toward her as he walked. In the moonlight, the line from his jaw to his Adam’s apple was clean and sharp. As his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, it was unspeakably sexy.

Noticing her gaze, Zhou Mochen’s lips curved into a smile. "What? Want to kiss?"

"!!!" Xu Su’s heart clenched. She whipped her head forward, staring straight ahead. It took a long moment for her racing heart to calm down. She huffed and warned, "Zhou Mochen, we’re at my grandma’s house. You’re not allowed to be a pervert."

"How am I being a pervert?" Zhou Mochen said with a laugh. "I wanted to be one this afternoon, but you wouldn’t let me, remember? I didn’t even get to kiss you properly."

"..." Xu Su was speechless. "I don’t care! Doing it with words is still being a pervert!"

"Fine, I’ll be a pervert. Can I only be a pervert for you?" Zhou Mochen replied good-naturedly. He led Xu Su until they were a few dozen meters from Grandma Xu’s house, then suddenly stopped. Bending down, he leaned close to her ear, his voice a seductive whisper, "Sweetheart, do you want to kiss me?"

"..." Xu Su felt her recently calmed heart start to beat erratically again. She tried to hold back... 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

She took a deep breath but couldn’t resist any longer. She reached out, grabbed his waist, and said through gritted teeth, "Lower your head!"

Her breathing came in ragged gasps by his ear. Zhou Mochen switched off the flashlight, cupped the back of her neck, and leaned down.

In the darkness, he precisely brought his lips close, stopping less than a centimeter from hers. All she had to do was tilt her head up slightly to kiss him.

He was waiting for her to take the initiative...

Xu Su had no intention of being coy with him. She opened her mouth and bit his lip.

’This damned seducer!’

Country roads these days had occasional passing vehicles. When the third small truck passed by, Xu Su’s eyelids fluttered from the glare of its headlights. Then came a few honks from the horn, and the driver’s deliberate cough echoed in the wind...

Xu Su hurriedly broke the kiss and buried her face in Zhou Mochen’s chest. She waited for the truck to drive off before covering her face with her hands, trying to put some distance between them. "This is all your fault! You seduced me!"

’He just had to tempt me into kissing on the side of the road. What if someone we knew saw us!’

Zhou Mochen wrapped his arm around her waist, not letting her go. His voice was incredibly hoarse. "Can we sleep in the same room tonight?"

"Of course not!" They were pressed tightly together, and he wasn’t trying to hide his arousal. Xu Su pushed him away in annoyance. "What are you thinking? Don’t get any funny ideas. Behave yourself at my grandma’s house. If you really make my grandma unhappy, then I’ll..."

"You’ll what?" Zhou Mochen complained, feigning hurt. "You’re so unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who wants you? Don’t you want me?"

Xu Su choked on her words. After a long silence, she reached out and took his hand. "...I want to, too. But we really can’t, not at my grandma’s house. Can we... do it when we get back?"

"Really?" Zhou Mochen’s voice lifted slightly. "Susu, you want to as well?"

"..."

Mortified, Xu Su pushed him away and stormed off toward the house, not wanting to say another word to him.

"Slow down, the road is uneven. Be careful you don’t fall." Zhou Mochen caught up and took her hand, asking with a low chuckle, "Feeling frustrated? How about I come to your room later? I won’t do anything, just kiss you."

The word "kissing," as he said it just then, was laden with endless ambiguity, making Xu Su’s face flush bright red.

’What kind of question is that!’

She turned and shot him a fierce glare. "You better behave! Otherwise, I won’t sleep with you when we get back, either!"

Zhou Mochen, who had been wearing a teasing smile, froze at her words. He immediately raised his hands in surrender, apologizing pitifully, "I’m sorry, I won’t say any more. Don’t be mad. Don’t punish me like that."

He knew all too well what kind of temper his little girl had developed from being spoiled by him. She was fully capable of carrying out that threat and wouldn’t give a damn about his suffering.

Seeing how readily he yielded made Xu Su’s heart ache for him a little, but she also found it amusing. Unable to resist, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. "Be good. Just endure it for a few days. When we get back, we can do all the positions you like."

’Just a few more days...’

For the next few days, Zhou Mochen’s eyes were bloodshot. He was counting down the days, surviving solely on the promise she had made.

He asked when they were going back almost every single day...