Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 63 - 62: "This Must Have Cost 10 Yuan, Right?
"If you want to gossip, do it in private. Don’t let me hear you, and more importantly, don’t look at me with those strange stares. I’m not missing any arms or legs compared to you. We’re all human, and we’re all classmates. It’s better for everyone to be a little kinder."
Many of the students in the crowd of onlookers avoided her gaze when she looked over.
Suddenly, a round of applause came from the classroom doorway. Teacher Wu was standing outside the wall of people, apparently having heard everything Xu Su said.
"Xu has a good point. A school is a place for teaching and nurturing character. It’s not enough for you to just learn from textbooks. If your morals are corrupt, you’re a lost cause."
He had a stack of exam papers tucked under his arm, and after freeing both hands to clap, he delivered this speech.
His words made many of them blush with shame.
Even Fu Zichen and her friends, who had originally thought they’d done nothing wrong, lowered their heads and said nothing.
"Alright, stop standing around here." Teacher Wu waved his hand. "Go back to your own exam rooms. The test is about to start. You’re all almost adults, so your sense of right and wrong should be well-formed by now. As for bad-mouthing your classmates, I don’t want it to happen again."
’Ah...’
’So Teacher Wu is proctoring Class 12?’
The students who had been watching the commotion scattered in all directions. Although they weren’t in the honors class, Teacher Wu didn’t just teach math to the honors class. On top of that, he was the head of the entire first-year grade.
Even if they weren’t Teacher Wu’s students, their own teachers were under his supervision. His authority was deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds.
Huang Feng’s assigned exam room was in Class 12. Seeing Xu Su about to leave, she let go of her arm and leaned in to say, "Don’t let this affect you, okay? You’ve worked so hard for these finals. Let’s aim for second place and show those people how amazing you are."
None of the first-year students ever dared to dream of taking the first-place throne from Xi Zirong. The highest goal was to get second place to prove themselves.
"..." Xu Su wasn’t really affected. She was touched by her two friends’ support, but now wasn’t the time for sentimental words. She just nodded, told them to do well on their exams, and returned to her own exam room.
After her initial anger subsided, Xu Su composed herself and focused on the second exam of the morning: Political Science. It ran from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m., a total of seventy-five minutes.
After this test was lunchtime, and the physics exam would start at one in the afternoon.
As soon as the bell rang at 11:15, Xu Su handed in her paper on the dot and was the first to leave the classroom.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw a familiar figure leaning against the corridor wall not far from the classroom door.
It was Xi Zirong. He’d been there for who knows how long. He started walking toward her as soon as he saw her.
The area was swarming with students who had just finished their exams, and it was very crowded.
Xu Su frowned, led the way out of the academic building, and only stopped when she reached a more open area. She then turned to the boy who had followed her. "Do you need something?"
Xi Zirong seemed to have already heard about what happened in Class 12. He glanced at her expression first, and seeing that she had no intention of talking about it, he didn’t bring it up.
He said, "Are you not going to the cafeteria to eat again today?"
His subtle reminder made Xu Su remember that she still owed him a meal.
She pouted. ’Why is he so hung up on this meal?’
Thinking of all the questions on the exam that he had predicted, Xu Su started walking and said, "Let’s go. I’ll treat you to a meal."
This was the first time since the school year started that Xu Su hadn’t eaten with Huang Feng and the others.
Mainly, it was because a boy was with her—and not just any boy, but the well-respected class president of the honors class. Xu Su was afraid it would make her friends uncomfortable.
At this time, the second and third-year students hadn’t finished their classes yet, so only first-years were in the cafeteria. Xu Su looked at the boy beside her. "What do you want to eat?"
First High School’s cafeteria was huge and offered a wide variety of dishes. The main staples included noodles, rice, and various types of congee. Everything was clean and sanitary, and the prices were very reasonable.
After all, most of the students who boarded at the school came from the surrounding counties and rural areas. Only a minority came from well-off families.
Xu Su now had a weekly living allowance of fifty yuan, which was more than enough to live comfortably. She said, "You don’t have to save money for me."
Unfortunately, the image of a sick Xu Su counting out loose change one coin at a time, saying she didn’t have money for medicine, was seared into Xi Zirong’s mind. Besides, he had just seen her collecting recyclables yesterday afternoon.
If he weren’t afraid of upsetting her, Xi Zirong wouldn’t have let Xu Su pay for this meal at all.
In the end, Xi Zirong only ordered a plate of fried noodles. He had noticed long ago that Xu Su loved them and had secretly ordered them a few times himself.
The fried noodles cost one and a half yuan. After Xu Su paid, she expected him to order something else, but she saw Xi Zirong, looking like that was enough, already carrying his tray to find a table.
"..."
Watching the tall, thin boy, Xu Su was silent for a moment. Then she went back, bought two fried chicken legs and two bottles of soda, and carried her tray to the seat opposite him. She picked up one of the chicken legs with her chopsticks and placed it on his fried noodles.
Xi Zirong looked up at her.
Xu Su placed a bottle of soda by his hand. "I told you not to save money for me. When you do this, it makes me lose face."
Not even counting the effort he put into tutoring her, just the cost of printing all those practice sheets was an unknown amount. Xu Su felt that treating him to a single meal was already taking advantage of him.
Thinking about how she had put food on his plate, Xi Zirong first smiled, but then he hesitated. "This must have cost ten yuan, right?"
He had a pained expression, as if he felt the sting of the expense.
If Xi Zirong hadn’t personally told her that his family spent two thousand yuan on a single thermos, Xu Su would have suspected his family was even poorer than hers.
She shot him a glance, knowing he was feeling pained on her behalf. Xu Su was speechless for a moment before saying, "Just eat. I can still afford one meal."
Xi Zirong glanced at her again, said no more, and lowered his head to start eating his noodles.
Neither of them liked to talk while they ate.
After they finished eating, Xi Zirong took a packet of tissues from his pocket and handed it to her.
..., Xu Su took it, pulled one out, and handed the rest back. She wiped her lips, and they walked out of the cafeteria side by side.
At this hour, many students were coming and going at the cafeteria entrance. Some who recognized the two of them would turn back to look.
Xu Su walked quickly, only slowing down once they were a little farther from the crowd at the cafeteria.
Xi Zirong had kept pace beside her. He glanced at the time and said to the girl next to him, "There’s still an hour and a half. It’s cold outside. Should we go rest in the classroom for a bit?"
His tone was perfectly natural. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Xu Su looked up at him. Seeing the lingering tenderness in the boy’s eyes, she looked away, feeling that he was only sinking deeper and deeper.
She decided there was no time like the present to make things clear with him.
Xu Su stopped walking. She gathered her thoughts for a moment before speaking. "The final exams will be over today. Xi Zirong, thank you for tutoring me all this time. I also treated you to the meal I promised."
Xi Zirong’s eyes suddenly tightened. He already anticipated what she was about to do.
"From now on, let’s just be good classmates. If there are any problems I don’t understand, I’ll take the initiative to ask you. But... I don’t need you to give me one-on-one, detailed explanations anymore. Just treat me the same way you treat any other student."
