Chapter 248: Chapter 248: You Have Me, I Won’t Let You Be Left with No Way Out

He was far too calm, as if he hadn’t heard a single word.

The things that had left Xu Su reeling in disbelief seemed utterly unimportant to him…

“What’s wrong?” Xu Su stood frozen in place. Xi Zirong, still holding her hand, looked down at her. He sighed, then pulled her into his arms. “The wind is strong. If you have something to say, you can say it like this.”

Xu Su placed a hand on his chest, pushing herself back a little to look up at him. “You heard all of that, and you don’t feel anything? Gu Yunjia likes you so much.”

“What do you want me to feel?” Xi Zirong met her gaze, his tone perfectly level. “Xu Su, Gu Yunjia was right. She made those choices herself. You don’t need to let it affect you.”

“She used to be my good friend. Even if we aren’t friends now, she’s still our classmate.” Xu Su looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. “Even a stranger would feel some sympathy hearing about something like this. Xi Zirong, is your heart made of stone?”

An arm tightened around her waist, and Xi Zirong pressed her against the guardrail.

“Don’t you know whether my heart is made of stone or not?” he asked softly, leaning down close to her. “Xu Su, what do you want me to do? Pity her? Console her? Or should I go rescue her from this mess and offer myself to her instead?”

“No! But you shouldn’t be acting like this.” Xu Su cut him off loudly, wanting to scold him but unable to find a single reason to.

’It was true. He had never liked Gu Yunjia. It had always been a one-sided crush on her part, with her being the one to pursue him…’

’Gu Yunjia had poured her heart out for him, and now that he knew what she was going through, he could remain completely indifferent…’

Xu Su stared at him quietly for a long moment, a sudden sense of confusion washing over her. “Xi Zirong, are all guys this heartless?”

Xi Zirong paused, his gaze intense. “I don’t know about other guys, but Xu Su, I’ve told you before that I’ve never been a very emotional person. Other than the people I care about, other people and events don’t really affect me. I find Gu Yunjia’s situation regrettable, but that’s all.”

He reached out and gently touched the tip of her nose, red from the cold. He sounded a little exasperated. “I can understand why you’re shocked that something like this happened to someone you know. But it was consensual. No one forced her to take the money. Xu Su, stop thinking about it.”

’Such a clinical assessment…’

’No one forced her to take the money.’

’It was consensual…’

Xu Su’s eyelashes fluttered. Her thoughts drifted far away…

The color had drained from her face. Seeing this, Xi Zirong’s brows knitted together. He unzipped his jacket and wrapped it around her, pulling her into his embrace.

Xu Su didn’t react at all, completely lost in thought…

Xi Zirong nuzzled the top of her head with his chin, a hint of worry in his voice. “What are you thinking about?”

“What if it were me?” Xu Su reached out and clutched the hem of his shirt at his side, her voice distant. “Xi Zirong, what if what happened to Gu Yunjia today happened to me? What if I took money from someone else and then ’consensually’ got together with that person?”

“What did you just say?”

The arm around her lower back tightened fiercely, as if trying to merge her into his own body. A large, warm hand gripped the back of her neck, right over her scarf, forcing her head up. Her gaze crashed into his. His voice trembled as he asked again, “Whose money did you take?”

Xu Su froze, not expecting such an intense reaction. She lowered her gaze to avoid his, her tone laced with cool sarcasm. “I said *if*. If something happened to my family and I was desperate for money with no other choice, I might sell myself, too. The ’consensual’ kind.”

’What was the difference between Gu Yunjia’s current experience and her own in her past life?’

’Other than Zhou Mochen being younger and coming from a more powerful background…’

’Was there really any other difference?’

’In both cases, a family member was in trouble, and they were left with no choice but to do it for the money…’

’Oh!’

’There was one difference. She had sold herself for 200,000, which was 150,000 more than Gu Yunjia…’

Xu Su let out a self-deprecating laugh. ’She was worth quite a bit, wasn’t she?’

“You scared the hell out of me.” Xi Zirong let out a heavy sigh of relief and bent down closer to her, his tone serious. “Don’t ever say hypotheticals like that again. Xu Su, you have me. I won’t ever let you be pushed into a corner like that.”

Xu Su’s heart skipped a beat, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

’I won’t ever let you be pushed into a corner like that…’

’But where were you in my past life?’

’In her last life, she had only been in the advanced class for a single semester and had never interacted with Xi Zirong at all.’

’After leaving the advanced class, they had even less contact. If it weren’t for his legendary reputation as a “study god” and the fact that he later became the top scorer on the college entrance exams, Xu Su might not have even remembered him…’

“Susu, don’t cry…” Her tears streamed down her face, one after another, leaving Xi Zirong flustered and at a loss. His attempts to comfort her were useless, so he simply lowered his head and began to kiss them away, one by one.

Xu Su stood there blankly, a growing sense of absurdity washing over her. It felt as if everything was shrouded in a thick fog…

Turning her head to avoid his approaching face, Xu Su hastily wiped away her tears and pushed him back. “Do you think Gu Yunjia made her choice willingly, so she’s just getting what she deserves now?”

Seeing that she had finally stopped crying, Xi Zirong visibly relaxed.

Thinking back to the conversation they’d overheard, he fell silent for a moment before saying slowly, “I offer my deepest sympathies.”

Xu Su was speechless.

“See? I say what you want to hear, and you still don’t believe me.” Xi Zirong squeezed the back of her neck in exasperation. “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. I’m not as kind or soft-hearted as you. I can’t bring myself to feel that much empathy for other people’s problems, especially when it’s someone who targeted you in the past.”

Xu Su remembered how Gu Yunjia had formed a clique to isolate her, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.

’It made her sound like some kind of saint, but the truth was, Gu Yunjia’s situation simply reminded her of herself in her past life…’

“Alright, stop thinking about all that. Why were you crying just now…” Xi Zirong leaned in with a smile. “Were my words that moving? Is this the second time you’ve cried for me?”

’The second time?’

Xu Su paused. ’It was far more than the second time.’

’She recalled crying on the athletic field, terrified for Xi Zirong’s safety…’

’Before that, she had cried in Shen Chen’s car, also for Xi Zirong, her heart aching for him.’

’And even before that, she’d cried in Teacher Wu’s office, after they were called in to be lectured about the rumors of them dating.’

’Thinking back, every time she had cried since her rebirth, it was, in the end, because of Xi Zirong.’

Xu Su’s expression was complicated. She stood in silence until a warm touch landed on her lips and the boy’s familiar scent filled her senses.

As she felt her lips being gently kissed, Xu Su suddenly shoved him away. “What are you doing!”

Xi Zirong wiped his thumb across his lips and apologized with a smile, “Sorry. It’s been a while since we’ve been this close. I couldn’t help myself.”

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