Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Haven’t You Been Beaten Enough?

The way he looked, as if he were terrified of being misunderstood by his girlfriend, made Xu Su’s heart skip a beat.

“We’ve already broken up. You don’t have to explain any of this to me.” Xu Su stood up, a little embarrassed. She didn’t want to be alone with him. “Xi Zirong, let’s keep our distance at school from now on. It’ll be better for both of us.”

“Let me finish,” Xi Zirong said, reaching out to grab her. “I didn’t move away, so Gu Yunjia just steadied my arm. Other than that, there’s absolutely nothing between us. Do you believe me?”

Startled by the sudden grip on her arm, Xu Su tried to pull away in a panic. “I get it, I get it! Are you done talking yet?”

“Yes, I’ve explained everything I wanted to.” Xi Zirong let go of her hand and watched her quietly. “Xu Su, can you answer a few questions for me?”

Xu Su hesitated for a moment before giving a stiff nod.

“How did you feel when you thought Gu Yunjia and I were kissing?”

“…I don’t remember.”

“Is that so…” Xi Zirong smiled and pressed on. “I remember hearing that person ask why you looked like you were about to cry.”

“You heard wrong.”

“Fine, let’s just say I misheard. I’ll ask one last question.” Xu Su’s stubborn denial only made Xi Zirong’s smile widen. “Are you still planning to go to University B?”

Xu Su was taken aback. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. I just want to know if your plans have changed.”

“…Xi Zirong, have you forgotten?” Xu Su looked down. “We’ve already broken up.”

She wasn’t an idiot; the implication behind his words was obvious. But Xu Su couldn’t let herself get entangled with him again.

No matter who it was for, they shouldn’t have anything to do with each other anymore.

“A breakup? I seem to recall something like that. It was my fault. I was so foolish back then, I couldn’t bear to refuse you anything, not even when you wanted to break up.” He smirked, his voice perfectly calm. “Thinking about it now, I should have followed through on what I said that day at the villa.”

A shiver of fear ran through Xu Su.

“I made another mistake, too. I never made you understand just how much I love you.”

Xi Zirong continued, “I’ve never been a very emotional person, growing up. But my feelings for you were so intense they amazed even me. I may only be eighteen, but I don’t think I’ll ever love anyone else this much in my entire life. And I get the feeling you like me quite a lot, too.”

His tone was firm. “Don’t deny it. If I really got together with Gu Yunjia, you’d probably go hide somewhere and cry.”

As Xu Su listened, her initial shock gave way to a feeling of utter speechlessness…

’Hide and cry, really…’

She forced a laugh. “You’re really confident…”

“It’s not confidence, it’s intelligence. For the past two months in the hospital, I missed you so much. The only thing that got me through was our memories together. I kept going over them, like I was solving a problem, analyzing your every word, your every move.”

He smiled, his eyes shining. “And in the end, I came to one conclusion: you like me. A lot.”

“You don’t actually have the best temper, but you were always patient with me. When we were together, you’d go along with me most of the time, even when my demands were childish and my possessiveness was completely unreasonable. If you didn’t like me a lot, Xu Su, with your personality, you’d never have been so indulgent.”

Perhaps it’s true that you can’t see the forest for the trees. When they were together, Xi Zirong had always been insecure, constantly worried about losing her. He never expected that after they broke up, during his time alone, he would be able to look back on their memories and finally recognize how differently she treated him.

Except for the matter with Zhou Mochen—where she had been too scared and had no way to shake him off—Xu Su had given Xi Zirong all the security she possibly could.

She was even willing to risk her grandmother finding out she was dating just to bring him home.

If that wasn’t liking him, what was?

For someone with Xu Su’s personality, going that far was a clear sign that she truly cherished their relationship.

“…” Xu Su was speechless. ’Why did Xi Zirong get so confident *after* we broke up? And how can he just list off all this evidence for how much I supposedly like him?!’

She didn’t understand what the point of saying all this was now.

The classroom was silent. Outside, the morning announcements had already begun over the PA system. It was too late to go to morning exercises now. Xu Su simply sat back down and looked at the boy opposite her, who had also taken a seat. She rubbed her temples, a headache forming.

“I never denied that I liked you. You were the one who was never willing to believe it.” Xu Su was exasperated. ’I can’t believe he’s only just now certain that I liked him!’

The corners of Xi Zirong’s lips curved into a handsome smile. “In that case, you like me, and I like you. So, Xu Su, I’m not giving up on you.”

’Okay!’

’So that’s the point he was trying to make with all this roundabout talk.’

Her lips twitched. “…Are you misunderstanding something?”

Xu Su looked up at him, her voice serious. “I liked you, which is why I agreed to date you. But then I fell for someone else, so I broke up with you. I thought I made that perfectly clear last time at the villa.”

“We’ve broken up, and I’m with Zhou Mochen now. Xi Zirong, what we need to do is keep our distance. I don’t want my boyfriend to get the wrong idea.”

’I fell for someone else…’

’I don’t want my boyfriend to get the wrong idea…’

Xi Zirong’s eyes narrowed. “You still like me now. It doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it; I can make my own judgment. Xu Su, I won you over once, and I can do it a second time!”

Xu Su had been so impatient with him at first, but in the end, hadn’t she agreed to be with him? Compared to how things started, at least now Xi Zirong was certain she had feelings for him.

’So he’s planning to steal me from Zhou Mochen…’

After a moment of stunned silence, Xu Su laughed in exasperation. “Haven’t you taken enough of a beating? Xi Zirong, did all that time in the hospital not teach you to back down when things get tough? You call yourself smart? Is *this* what you call being smart?”

“He is indeed powerful and influential. But Xu Su, we’re still young, and the future is long. I’ll grow up. I’ll get stronger. Don’t underestimate me.”

“Stop being so childish, Xi Zirong. Don’t act like some prince setting off to slay an evil dragon. No one’s playing out a fairy tale with you here. I only like Zhou Mochen now, understand? You don’t want to be the other man, do you?”

Xu Su’s voice was cold and ruthless, intended to make him give up all hope. “This is the last time I’ll ever be alone with you. From now on, I’m keeping my distance. Let’s just be strangers.”

With that, Xu Su stood up, intending to go outside for some fresh air. She didn’t want to talk to him any longer.

Xi Zirong immediately stood up as well, grabbing her hand. “I only said all this to tell you one thing: don’t forget how much I like you. I know he’s powerful, and I won’t make things difficult for you. But Xu Su, I will work hard to become strong. At least strong enough so that, if one day in the future you want to be with me, you won’t have to shrink back in fear of his power.”

He was still the same gentle and polite boy he’d always been, his eyes incredibly soft. “Can you answer my question now?”

Xu Su froze. It took her a moment to realize which question he meant. She hesitated for a long time, unwilling to answer…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep