Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 88 - 87: Xu Su Holds a Grudge
In fact, Xu Su had already realized Zhou Mochen’s feelings for her back then, and she had been avoiding him for a very long time.
But, after Chen Shulan urged her, she still went...
In her past life, a debt of two hundred thousand had driven Xu Su into a corner, leaving her no choice but to go and beg Zhou Mochen for help.
And now, Zhou Mochen had just donated five million without a second thought.
Xu Su felt deeply conflicted. She couldn’t forget the memories of her past life.
That was why she hated Zhou Mochen and didn’t want to like him.
But in this life, Zhou Mochen hadn’t done a single thing wrong.
From the moment they met until now, Zhou Mochen had been undeniably good to her.
Xu Su had been treating Zhou Mochen more kindly lately, but every time the tension between them eased, images from her past life would flash through her mind.
Xu Su held a grudge.
~~~
On the last day of June, Xu Su woke up very early. After washing up, she was about to put on her watch when she suddenly remembered she would be seeing Zhou Mochen at school that day. She froze.
Then, she put the watch into her small bag instead.
The watch was quite expensive for her current circumstances. If Zhou Mochen were to ask where she got it, Xu Su would have a hard time explaining.
And if she could avoid it, Xu Su preferred not to lie.
She went to the cafeteria with Huang Feng and Qian Jia. Each of them had a bowl of black rice porridge and a tea egg.
Halfway through their meal, many of their classmates started trickling into the cafeteria. Xi Zirong walked in from outside with a group of boys.
He spotted the three of them immediately. A moment later, he came over carrying two flatbreads and a few bottles of drinkable yogurt.
Xi Zirong had been treating them to drinks from time to time these past few days, so Huang Feng and Qian Jia were no longer as intimidated by him.
Seeing him holding so many yogurts, Huang Feng said with a grin, "Mr. Class President, treating us to yogurt again?"
Qian Jia burst out laughing. "I heard some people in class are joking that whenever you buy drinks now, you always buy a four-person serving. Is that true?"
Xu Su silently took a sip of her porridge, her deadpan expression almost cracking.
’A four-person serving...’
’Besides Xi Zirong’s own portion, wouldn’t that be just enough to split evenly among the three of them?’
Teased by the two girls, Xi Zirong didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable. He placed the yogurts on their table.
Xi Zirong ignored Huang Feng and Qian Jia’s suggestive glances, looking directly at Xu Su. He asked, "Do you have any plans for summer vacation? For the two-week break, are you signing up for a prep course or just studying on your own at home?"
Xu Su was a little taken aback by the way he acted as if no one else was around. ’His skin has gotten even thicker,’ she thought.
His gaze was fixed on her, expectantly waiting for an answer.
After a moment of silence, Xu Su replied, "I’m going back to Kang County for the summer vacation."
Xi Zirong paused, remembering that Xu Su had tested into their school from Kang County. He nodded. "Okay. Well, if you have any questions about your studies, you can message me or just call me directly."
’Is this guy addicted to being a teacher?’
He had undeniably played a huge part in her academic improvement, so Xu Su wasn’t about to burn that bridge. She nodded. "Okay."
Xi Zirong added, "So if I message you, you’ll reply, right?"
Xu Su couldn’t help but glance at Huang Feng and Qian Jia, whose faces were flushed red with excitement.
Even at the tables nearby, students from other classes were surreptitiously listening in.
Xu Su turned back and looked up at Xi Zirong. He still wore that same expression, as if they were the only two people there.
"..." Xu Su had to hand it to him.
She couldn’t stand the atmosphere any longer and gave a quick, perfunctory nod. "Okay, okay, okay. Don’t you have to take roll call early? You should hurry to the athletic field and wait."
Xi Zirong chuckled and said, "Okay."
Then he sauntered off.
The moment he was gone, the two girls beside Xu Su could no longer contain themselves and began to interrogate her frantically.
Qian Jia said, "And you still claim you’re not together? After a conversation like that, there’s no way I’d believe you’re not a couple."
Huang Feng nodded furiously and mimicked Xi Zirong’s tone in a squeaky voice, "’So if I message you, you’ll reply, right?’"
Xu Su had been teased by them so much lately that she was completely used to it.
However, the walls had ears here. She didn’t have Xi Zirong’s mental fortitude to discuss such topics as if no one else was around.
Xu Su finished the last of her porridge, polished off her tea egg in a few bites, grabbed the yogurt Xi Zirong had given her, and stood up. "Hurry up. We have to assemble on the athletic field."
On the way to the athletic field, Xu Su drank her yogurt while enduring their interrogation.
Finally, she surrendered. "It’s the same thing I always say: if I ever actually get together with Xi Zirong, you’ll be the first to know."
Xu Su herself wasn’t sure how her relationship with Xi Zirong had reached this point.
’Maybe it started the first time my heart softened toward him.’
Then came the drinks he handed her, the key points he underlined in her textbooks just for her, the way he’d lean over from time to time to explain a problem, and how every time her gaze unintentionally drifted toward him, she’d find his eyes already waiting to meet hers.
....
Xi Zirong was the type to take a mile if you gave him an inch, and he had slowly eroded the distance between them.
And so, without even realizing it, Xu Su found that they had indeed grown much closer.
It gave her a headache.
Fortunately, the vacation was about to start. She decided to escape to the countryside for two weeks of peace and quiet.
’I’ll ignore them both, Xi Zirong and Zhou Mochen.’
Thinking of her grandmother, and of Chen Ni and Chen Dong, Xu Su’s mood brightened considerably.
The athletic field was especially crowded this time. With over seventy classes across three grades, and aside from the much smaller number of graduating third-years, nearly the entire first- and second-year student bodies were present.
The third-year students, especially the boarders, had already moved out of the dorms after the college entrance exams. If they weren’t there to receive a scholarship, there was no reason for them to make a special trip up from their hometowns in the surrounding counties.
Only a few students from each of their classes had shown up, and they were basically all top students there to collect an award.
With no drill instructors to correct their formations and the teachers and school leaders yet to arrive, the students were all gathered in small groups, chatting.
The late June weather was hot and unbearably muggy.
Xu Su found a spot to cool off under a tree. Worried that Xi Zirong might follow, she shot him a pointed, warning glance.
Xi Zirong rubbed his nose sheepishly and obediently stayed put.
After a little while, people began setting up the main stage—the school leaders couldn’t be expected to stand, after all.
As Xu Su chatted with Huang Feng and the others under the tree, she felt a scorching gaze fixated in her direction.
Xu Su’s head snapped up toward the stage, where she saw Zhou Mochen, who was already seated.
....
’It’s like he has a superpower,’ Xu Su thought, ’the ability to pick me out of a crowd of thousands in an instant.’
Fearing that others might notice something was amiss, Xu Su quickly averted her gaze.
Just then, Teacher Wu arrived. He straightened their formation and barked, "Everyone, stand properly! Look sharp! Stop being so sloppy."
All the classes snapped into their disciplined, military-training posture.
On the stage, the principal began his speech. The loudspeakers carried his voice far across the field, just loud enough for every student to hear.
After several school leaders took turns giving their remarks, Xu Su expected Zhou Mochen to go up and say a few words as well.
But unexpectedly, the man remained low-key.
Soon, the main event began: the awarding of the scholarships.
