Chapter 19: Chapter 19: What’s the Use of a Girl Studying So Much?

Zhou Mochen pulled the car over just ahead of the bus stop. Once parked, he got out, opened the trunk, and handed Xu Su her luggage.

Seeing that the girl still looked a little unwell, he asked, “Is your home far from here? Do you need me to take you to your door?”

Xu Su shook her head, taking the heavy bucket and the overstuffed bag. “Thank you, but that’s not necessary. My parents don’t let me associate with strangers.”

She turned to leave. She hadn’t thought much of it before, but now she felt a little embarrassed seeing the rolled-up straw mat in the bucket. It was starting to unravel.

“You seem… afraid of me?” Zhou Mochen’s voice came from behind. “Can you tell me why?”

This time, Xu Su didn’t pretend she hadn’t heard. She turned around, her expression exceptionally serious, and said, “I’m sorry. It’s not just you. The truth is… I have a severe phobia of men.”

Zhou Mochen frowned, clearly not understanding the unfamiliar term.

“You might not be familiar with the symptoms of this condition. For instance, just talking to you right now makes me feel extremely afraid and uncomfortable.”

Xu Su gave a polite smile. “If it’s all the same, I’d rather not have contact with any men, including you. May I go now?”

Without waiting for his answer, Xu Su grabbed her luggage and hurried away.

On the way home, Xu Su gritted her teeth in frustration. ’I don’t get it! I was so determined to stay away from him, yet I ran into him even earlier than in my last life!’

’Judging by his attitude just now, and knowing him as I do, he’s definitely interested in me!’

’Fucking pervert! I even cut my hair this short, and he still won’t leave me alone!’

At the same time, she was glad she’d been quick-witted enough to come up with the phobia excuse.

’Now that he thinks I have such a serious condition,’ Xu Su thought, ’he’ll have the sense to stay far away, right?’

’As long as we don’t see each other every day like we did in my past life, he’s so busy he’ll probably forget all about me in a few days.’

’The most important thing is to live in the dorms when school starts next year. I can’t be his neighbor!’

Lugging her bags, she panted her way up to the fourth floor, only to see that her family’s front door was open. It seemed they had guests.

Just as she had that thought, a middle-aged man in work clothes stepped out of the apartment. His face was covered in dust. He looked at Xu Su, then asked the person behind him uncertainly, “Is this… my eldest niece?”

Xu Weiping was right behind his younger brother. Seeing his daughter was back, he introduced her with a smile, “This is my eldest girl, Xu Su. Her maternal grandma gave her the nickname Susu, so you can just call her Susu.”

Then he turned to Xu Su. Seeing her hands full of luggage, he took the bags from her while instructing, “This is your little uncle. Go on, say hello.”

Xu Su had actually recognized her uncle at first glance, but in this life, she was supposed to be meeting him for the first time. She waited for Xu Weiping’s introduction before smiling and saying, “Hello, Little Uncle.”

Xu Weiguo nodded repeatedly. “Second Brother, your mother-in-law did a great job raising her. She’s a good student and has blossomed into such a fine young woman. I heard from Sister-in-law that she got into the rocket class at City No.1 High School, right?”

After receiving confirmation, Xu Weiguo’s smile grew even more sincere. “My factory director’s son also studies at City No.1 High School, but they had to pull a lot of strings to get him in. Even after spending all that money, he only made it into a regular class. You can’t get into the rocket class with connections; the students in there are the real cream of the crop in Chang City.”

For the past few days, Xu Weiping and Chen Shulan had been basking in the glory of their daughter being the top scorer in all of Kang County. Now, hearing his brother’s words, Xu Weiping put on an air of nonchalance, but he couldn’t hide the smile spreading across his face.

“Don’t praise her too much, she’ll get a big head. Her teacher said good grades in middle school don’t mean much. It’s the college entrance exam that counts.”

But speaking of the college entrance exam, Xu Weiping frowned as if remembering something. “Besides, what’s the use of a girl studying so much? In the end, she’s just going to get married, have children, and run the household.”

Xu Su’s expression didn’t even flicker. She had heard those words so many times in her past life that she was sick of them.

In truth, the Xu Family had no intention of sending their daughter to college. No matter how much potential she had, they were just raising her for another family.

This was a deeply ingrained belief for the couple, Xu Weiping and Chen Shulan.

Xu Weiguo obviously knew his second brother very well, and he wholeheartedly agreed with his views.

A daughter’s good grades brought the family honor, that much was true, but it would be a far greater cause for celebration if a son’s grades were as good.

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Xu Weiguo made a bit more small talk with a smile before preparing to leave.

As luck would have it, Chen Shulan returned just then with Xu Yang, who had a new backpack slung over his shoulder. It looked like they had been out buying school supplies. Seeing her brother-in-law about to leave, she quickly invited him to stay for dinner.

There was another round of polite refusals. He insisted on leaving, saying that dinner was already prepared at his home, and with the hot weather, it would spoil if they didn’t eat it soon.

Before he left, Xu Weiguo spoke specifically to Xu Su. “I came in a bit of a rush today, so I didn’t prepare a gift for our first meeting. This weekend is your grandpa’s sixtieth birthday. The whole family will get together, and your uncle will have a big red envelope for you then.”

Hearing this, Xu Su finally remembered. This had happened in her past life, too—Mr. Xu’s sixtieth birthday. That day had been the first time in her memory that she met her relatives from her father’s side of the family.

Mr. Xu and his wife had raised three sons and one daughter to adulthood. Xu Weiping was the second son. He had an older brother, Xu Jianbang, as well as a younger brother and a younger sister.

Her eldest uncle, Xu Jianbang, was born mute and was also hard of hearing, though he could understand if you spoke loudly. Now in his forties, he had never married and got by on financial help from his two younger brothers and by collecting and selling scraps.

Her younger uncle, Xu Weiguo, worked at the Benda Dye Factory next to the textile mill. He was exposed to pungent, harmful dyes every day, so his health had never been very good.

His wife ran a small stall selling flatbreads at the entrance of the elementary school in the industrial district. The couple earned every penny the hard way. They had two sons; the older was in seventh grade, and the younger was in fourth grade at the same elementary school as Xu Yang.

When you compared the circumstances of the three Xu brothers, Xu Weiping’s family was actually the best off. After all, both he and his wife had jobs, and they had even been allocated an apartment by their work unit. It might have been small, but it was company housing.

In Xu Weiguo’s family, on the other hand, only he had a stable job. His seniority wasn’t high enough, so he had missed the prime time for housing allocation. His entire family was still squeezed into the old Xu family residence.

The youngest child of the Xu family was a daughter named Xu Ruyue. In Xu Su’s memory, her youngest aunt was strikingly beautiful. Even in her thirties, after having two daughters, you could still see traces of her youthful looks. Yet, she had married a lame scrap collector who resented her for not bearing him a son and would constantly either beat or curse her.

In her past life, after seeing her aunt get berated, Xu Su had angrily asked Chen Shulan why such a beautiful woman would marry a man like that.

It was as if she’d touched a raw nerve. Chen Shulan had given her a stern lecture, warning her not to get into a relationship too early or be fooled by a man, otherwise she’d have her legs broken.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep