Chapter 362: Chapter 361: "Zhou Mochen, your standards are so high.

Luo Shaofeng knew how to take a hint. He made a few more awkward remarks before temporarily abandoning his attempts to suck up to them.

He was afraid the loss would outweigh the gain and he’d end up offending them instead...

’It’s better to take things slow.’

Under the dinner table, Xu Su’s hand was held in a firm grip. She could clearly feel the anger radiating from the person beside her.

It made sense. In Zhou Mochen’s eyes, after Xu Su had been so badly hurt last year, letting Luo Shaofeng off easy was already an act of extreme generosity. He never expected to be pestered by this flea a year later. How could he not be annoyed? And yet, he had to tolerate it...

The only person who could make Zhou Mochen this restrained was Xu Su. No matter how furious he was, he had to hold it in.

After dinner, night had fallen. People in the countryside were rather superstitious, believing that traveling after dark with a baby could attract evil spirits. The two uncles strongly urged Li Tingting and her family to stay the night. It wasn’t like they had anything to rush back to anyway; they could stay and have fun for a few more days before leaving.

Holding her baby, Li Tingting smiled and agreed.

They had come specifically for Xu Su and her boyfriend, so of course they couldn’t just leave after a single meal. They had to at least get on their good side.

Xu Su saw right through them. While they were out for a walk that evening, she told Zhou Mochen they were going back to Chang City the next day without him even having to ask.

In her previous life, she had hated the way Xu Weiping and his wife fawned over Zhou Mochen. They were her parents, after all, and she had just found it mortifying.

But now, faced with Luo Shaofeng and Li Tingting acting the same way, Xu Su didn’t feel embarrassed. She just hated seeing Zhou Mochen swallow his anger just to leave a good impression on her grandmother and uncles.

Besides, the college entrance exam scores were due to be released in a couple of days.

Once she submitted her university applications, it would be time for her to return to Beijing with Zhou Mochen.

At this thought, Xu Su swayed Zhou Mochen’s arm. "Huang Feng and Qian Jia are also going to Beijing early. I already told them they can stay directly at my place—you know, in the house you gave me."

Zhou Mochen hummed in agreement, nodding without the slightest objection. "Whatever you decide is fine."

Xu Su then said, "I want to live there too."

"Absolutely not," Zhou Mochen stopped in his tracks, his expression dead serious. "Susu, you have to live with me."

"I’m still so young; I don’t want to start living with you so soon," Xu Su pouted, trying to sweet-talk him. "A relationship should progress like a relationship, Zhou Mochen. Who just moves in together right off the bat?"

Back then, if it hadn’t been for the incident with Xi Zirong, she never would have agreed to move out of her dorm and live with him out of a sense of guilt.

"No." Zhou Mochen lowered his gaze to look at her, refusing once more. "Xu Su, you have to live with me. I can’t be away from you."

’I can’t be away from you...’

An arm tightened around her waist. Before Xu Su could say a word, she was pulled into an embrace. Zhou Mochen lowered his voice, coaxing her gently, "Sweetheart, just listen to me on this. Let’s not be apart. I can’t go through another period of not seeing you for months on end."

"But we can see each other anytime! I promise, I won’t let you go months without see—"

"I said no! I have to see you every single day!" Zhou Mochen cut her off, his voice cold. "Xu Su, you’re trying to find another way to get away from me, aren’t you?"

"..." Xu Su took a deep breath, struggling to suppress her own flare of anger. "So, your plan is for me to live with you forever? I’m only nineteen! Does dating you mean I have to be tied to you for life? I can’t have any personal space at all? I can’t even go live with my best friends?"

"For other people, life is just beginning after high school, but for me, I can already see my entire future mapped out?"

Xu Su was clearly annoyed. "And it’s not like my request is unreasonable, is it? I just want to live with my best friends for a bit. I don’t want to start living with you so soon."

"Why don’t you want to live with me?" Zhou Mochen asked after a moment of silence. "Have you gotten sick of living with me? Is that why you’re resisting so much?"

"I just want a little personal space," Xu Su said, unsure how to explain it.

Across two lifetimes, both her past and present, she had barely experienced any true freedom since becoming an adult.

Her past life was a given. Zhou Mochen had set his sights on her since her first year of high school. She never even found out what methods he’d used to keep Xi Zirong away from her; she’d never had any contact with him at all.

In this life, after the incident with Xi Zirong, she ended up living with him a full year earlier than in her previous life. She hadn’t tasted a single breath of freedom, prematurely entering a world built for two at the tender age of eighteen.

Their relationship was good, sure, but Xu Su also wanted to experience the life of a normal girl her age.

Zhou Mochen was completely incapable of understanding these thoughts of hers.

In his eyes, the girl had simply grown tired of him after a year of living together. She was young, restless, and couldn’t settle down. She wanted to go out and see the world.

’Personal space?’

’What exactly does she want to do with it?’

Zhou Mochen sneered internally.

"Xu Su, I’ve never restricted your freedom. If you want personal space, you can go see them whenever you want."

His tone was calm as he said, "You just have to remember that I must always come first in your heart, no matter what. Don’t give me a reason to worry. At the very least, let me see you every day."

’This conversation is going nowhere...’

Xu Su sighed in resignation, offering a rare concession. "Even if I live with you during the summer break, what happens when school starts? I’ll have to live in the dorms."

"Don’t worry, I’ll let you live in the dorms," Zhou Mochen said. "Just remember to send me your class schedule when you get it."

The implication made Xu Su’s eyes widen. Staring at him in the bright moonlight, she said, "Zhou Mochen, I’m starting to think you’re a little obsessed. Can you really not rest easy unless you’re watching my every move?"

Zhou Mochen hummed in acknowledgement, openly admitting it.

His voice was devoid of warmth as he said, "Xu Su, you should reflect on yourself and ask why I’ve become like this."

’You should reflect on yourself...’

Xu Su fell silent. ’Why should *I* have to reflect on myself?’

’Is he trying to gaslight me?’

’He is, isn’t he?’

Aside from the time with Xi Zirong, when she had no choice but to be honest with him under his tyrannical pressure, Xu Su felt she had given Zhou Mochen the greatest possible sense of security ever since they had gotten together for real.

Over the past year, placating him had become second nature to her. She never once hid her feelings, reserving all of her passionate and focused affection for him alone.

Just like now. Even though she was furious that he wouldn’t let her live with Huang Feng and the others for the summer, she was still willing to back down and accept his domineering demands.

Xu Su was frustrated and exasperated, yet she couldn’t bring herself to lash out at him. It seemed her heart ached for him more and more...

’Am I being gaslit?’

Zhou Mochen had no idea what was running through her mind. Seeing that she hadn’t spoken in a while, he cupped her chin, bent down to look at her, and said, "Susu, you have to treat me a little better, understand?"

"I’m not good enough to you already?" Xu Su shot back.

"Not enough," Zhou Mochen said, watching her quietly. "You could be even better. At least make me feel like you truly can’t live without me."

"Can’t live without you?" Xu Su blinked. "I..."

She hesitated for less than two seconds before a smile blossomed on her face, reflected in his slowly narrowing eyes. "Zhou Mochen, you have such high standards."