Chapter 48: Chapter 47: “So Exciting, Is God Xi Going to Hold Your Hand?

After walking into the classroom, Xu Su slowly reined in her seething frustration and began to think calmly.

’Why does Zhou Mochen act so poised and in control? Isn’t it just because he has a bit of money and power? It’s not like he’s invincible.’

’In her past life, he did use every trick in the book to trap her, but so what? Xu Su had seen just how pathetic he looked when he couldn’t have what he wanted.’

At the very least, the one thing she could be sure of was just how much Zhou Mochen liked her.

That was enough. Xu Su decided to change her initial plan.

When she had first been reborn, her plan was to avoid Zhou Mochen, ideally for the rest of her life.

Now, it seemed that plan was in tatters.

Since that was the case, Xu Su stared at a test paper, not writing a single word for a long time. ’I’ll just have to see,’ she thought, ’if I can get him to dial back his controlling nature.’

’I’ve lived a whole extra life, after all. I refuse to believe I can’t handle him.’

Xu Su tried to see things from Zhou Mochen’s perspective. As the only son of the Zhou family of Beijing, he had been doted on by everyone around him since childhood. He had even started making his own investments, independent of his family, back in high school.

And to top it off, he was exceptionally capable. His career had been a smooth ride to a level of success most people could never achieve in a lifetime. Even in Beijing, he was the crème de la crème of the city’s favored elite.

In her past life, Xu Su had long since discovered that while he appeared warm and flawless in his interactions, his eyes always held a cold indifference.

Noble and refined on the outside, but obsessive and domineering on the inside—that was Zhou Mochen.

When he met a girl he actually liked, he had no clue how to pursue her. His first instinct was to claim her, to make her his possession.

He didn’t know how to treat the person he liked. He didn’t understand that you had to be gentle, polite, and respectful to a lover. All he knew was endless control and coercion, which was why they reached that breaking point in their last life.

This was something Xu Su had figured out long ago.

But even after figuring it all out, her past self had refused to forgive him. Even when he later regretted his actions and softened his stance, she remained unwilling to forgive.

’Some things, once wrong, are simply wrong.’

’To forgive him would be to betray herself.’

She had thought they would torment each other until old age, but then she’d woken up one day, reborn.

It had been over half a year since her rebirth, and this was the first time Xu Su had seriously reflected on the Zhou Mochen from her past life. ’If my thirty-year-old self really did die so suddenly, what would have happened to him?’

A flicker of indifference, identical to Zhou Mochen’s, crossed Xu Su’s eyes. ’He probably would have died with me,’ she thought.

Xi Zirong arrived at the classroom early today. On his way home last night, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He’d worried all night, and the knot in his stomach only loosened when he saw Xu Su walk in.

Throughout the morning self-study period, he noticed the pen in the hand of the girl in front of him hadn’t moved once.

The moment the bell rang to end the period, the students around them stirred into a noisy swarm, ready to head to the cafeteria for breakfast. He poked the girl’s back with his pen.

The bell snapped Xu Su out of her thoughts. Feeling the poke on her back, she turned to look at him.

“Are you okay?” Xi Zirong asked softly, his eyes full of concern. “After I left last night, did your brother say anything to you?”

He might not be afraid of teachers, but he couldn’t help but worry that his own recklessness would get Xu Su in trouble with her family.

Xu Su froze for a second before realizing who he meant by “brother.”

She said irritably, “Xi Zirong, you’ve caused me a lot of trouble.”

The girl’s voice was tinged with a charming petulance; it didn’t sound like she was truly angry, more like she was complaining playfully.

Xi Zirong thought his name sounded exceptionally pleasant coming from her. His gaze softened immensely as he apologized, “I’m sorry. How about I apologize by tutoring you?”

Huang Feng and Qian Jia had already walked over to get Xu Su for the cafeteria.

Xu Su stood up and motioned for her friends to wait. Then she turned to Xi Zirong. “You want to tutor me that badly?”

Xi Zirong stood up as well and nodded, his fair, handsome face full of earnestness.

Xu Su studied him for a moment. “Even if your tutoring helps me get into the top three of our grade on the finals, I’m not going to date you. Do you still want to tutor me?”

The classroom was nearly empty, and Xu Su hadn’t spoken loudly, so besides Xi Zirong, only Huang Feng and Qian Jia heard her.

The two girls struck the exact same pose, hands clamped over their mouths, their eyes wide with excitement.

Xi Zirong glanced at them, showing no embarrassment at having his secret feelings overheard. He simply nodded again. “As long as you don’t ignore me, that’s fine.”

“…” Xu Su fell silent for a moment, now thoroughly convinced that their class monitor really did have a bit of a simp Attribute.

“Alright then,” Xu Su said. “If I have any questions, I’ll ask you. And if you have any methods that can improve my grades, you can teach me. Just don’t get handsy, and I won’t ignore you. As for anything else, I’m not interested.”

Xu Su’s reasoning was simple. Instead of letting Xi Zirong awkwardly ’pursue’ her, it was better to lay everything out in the open and just focus on the tutoring.

On the way to the cafeteria, Huang Feng and Qian Jia linked arms with Xu Su, one on each side.

The two were practically vibrating with excitement, like a pair of rabbits trying to suppress their instinct to bounce around. Their faces were flushed bright red.

After furtively glancing around to make sure no one was listening, Huang Feng couldn’t hold back anymore. She asked, “Handsy? Susu, God Xi got handsy with you? Holy shit!”

Xu Su’s mouth twitched. “Don’t swear.”

Qian Jia chimed in, “What on earth did you and the class monitor talk about last night? How did it lead to him getting ’handsy’? I never thought the unapproachable God Xi would be like that.”

As they spoke, they arrived at the cafeteria. Xu Su grabbed a steamed bun and a bowl of congee.

After they sat down, seeing her two friends still waiting eagerly for an answer, Xu Su finally relented with a sigh. “I just clarified things with him. As for the ’getting handsy’ part, it’s not what you’re thinking. He tried to grab my hand, and I dodged him. That’s all.”

“Gasp!” Huang Feng cried out. “So exciting! God Xi tried to hold your hand?”

Qian Jia didn’t say anything, but her eyes asked the same question….

’The more I explain, the worse this sounds.’

’But then again, I wasn’t wrong…’

Xi Zirong had, in fact, tried to take her hand.

Xu Su took a few sips of congee before warning them, “Don’t spread this around. We’ve cleared the air. We’re just normal classmates. He wants to tutor me, and I need to improve my grades to get the first-tier scholarship. That’s all there is to it.”

The two nodded in unison.

During the lunch break that same day, Xu Su had just returned to the classroom and sat down when Xi Zirong came over and plopped right into Chen Huiyu’s seat. “Give me all the tests you’ve taken this past month,” he said, “including, but not limited to, the midterm exam. I’m going to study your results.”

Several groups of students chatting around the classroom all turned their heads in unison to look.

The boys in the class sensed something was up and were about to start jeering, but a single sharp glance from Xi Zirong silenced them.

The girls, however, remained quiet, though several of them began glancing at Fu Zichen to gauge her reaction.

This time, Xu Su didn’t think about shooing him away. She obediently pulled out the last month’s worth of tests from her desk. In their advanced class, pop quizzes were a common occurrence; they had tests nearly every day.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep