Chapter 61: Chapter 60: “Eat 2 Eggs, Get a Perfect Score.

After all, Chen Shulan loved to say that children of Xu Su’s generation had it easy. She constantly reminded them that back in her day, she had to walk ten kilometers on mountain roads to get to and from school.

Their old house wasn’t far from Xu Yang’s elementary school, so he didn’t need to be taken by bike. Now that they’d moved, he did, which naturally meant the bike wasn’t for Xu Su to use.

Fortunately, she didn’t need a bicycle anymore. “Dad, Mom,” Xu Su said, “I’ll be a sophomore next year, and my studies are getting more and more intense. I’m planning to live on campus starting next semester.”

Her announcement came out of nowhere.

Xu Weiping’s face darkened. “Why are you so impulsive? What’s this about living on campus all of a sudden? You were a day student when we lived so far away, and now that we’re closer, you want to board at school? Are you trying to say you resent us for making you walk?”

Chen Shulan, with an expression that said ’how can you be so inconsiderate of your parents,’ quickly added, “We spent too much on renovations this year and don’t have much money left. We promise, once we’ve recovered a bit next year, we’ll buy you a bicycle. How about that?”

Watching the couple’s well-rehearsed duet, Xu Su remained silent for a moment before speaking. “I’ve already applied with my teacher. The dorm is free. I get back too late at night and have to wake up too early in the morning, so I can’t focus on my studies. The school encourages students to live on campus.”

As soon as she heard it was free, Chen Shulan hesitated. “When we went to register, didn’t your Teacher Wu say the boarding fee was four hundred?”

Xu Su lied without batting an eyelid. “My teacher knows our family isn’t well-off, so she’s letting me stay for free.”

’Of course, she wasn’t about to honestly tell them she could get a scholarship.’

’She had a reasonable suspicion that if she mentioned the scholarship, the money would just be confiscated by this couple. They would never be willing to spend four hundred to let her board at school.’

Once they knew it wouldn’t cost them any extra money, the couple wasn’t as opposed to the idea and gave their tacit approval.

After dinner, Xu Su dutifully cleared the table and took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them.

After confirming that her daughter truly didn’t know the so-called younger relative of the factory director, Chen Shulan never stopped Xu Su from washing the dishes again. Instead, she constantly told her to do more chores so that she would be well-liked by her future in-laws after she got married.

Recalling the fawning, timid faces of her biological parents from her past life, Xu Su found she preferred her current parents just as they were now—real and normal.

~~

During the exam period, there was no morning self-study session. The test didn’t start until 7:30, so she just had to be at school before then.

Xu Su slept in until almost 6:30. It was the second day of her period, and the pain from yesterday was gone.

She took her time getting ready. Her hair had been cut short over the summer and hadn’t been trimmed since. After a semester of growth, it now reached just below her shoulders, barely long enough to pull into a ponytail.

Usually, when she was in a rush, she just tucked it behind her ears, but she always found that inconvenient with a scarf. Since she had time today, she tied it up in a high ponytail, which made her look more energetic.

By the time she was ready and out the door, it was almost 6:50.

Xu Yang was already on winter break, but the textile factory where Chen Shulan and Xu Weiping worked hadn’t started its New Year’s holiday yet. Word was they wouldn’t finish until the 29th of the last lunar month.

When Xu Su left, Chen Shulan wasn’t up yet. Work at the factory started at eight, and in the winter, her parents usually didn’t get up until after seven.

Even so, Xu Su had asked Zhou Mochen to park his car farther away, and then even farther, to avoid being seen by her parents or any of their acquaintances from the factory.

’Good. Today was the last day of the semester. Once she was living on campus next year, she wouldn’t have to see Zhou Mochen every morning and evening.’

At that thought, Xu Su found herself in an excellent mood.

She bought two tea eggs for breakfast and peeled them as she walked, having nearly finished them by the time she got in the car.

Zhou Mochen looked over, frowning. “This is all you’re eating for breakfast?”

His tone was natural, as if yesterday’s unpleasantness had never happened.

Xu Su glanced at him, popped the last piece of egg white into her mouth, and said around it, “Two eggs. For a perfect score.”

Zhou Mochen chuckled and started the car, stepping on the gas. “Mm, I’m sure my Susu will get a perfect score,” he said. “But the morning is long. Are you sure you don’t want to eat something else?”

Xu Su pulled out a tissue to wipe her fingers, tossed it into the car’s small trash bin, and shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

“Alright.” Zhou Mochen didn’t press the issue of breakfast. Instead, he asked, “Are you still in pain today?”

Xu Su shot him a look, not wanting to answer.

’She really couldn’t understand how a guy in his early twenties could ask about something like this so naturally. He didn’t seem like someone who’d never even held a girl’s hand.’

Zhou Mochen kept his hands on the steering wheel, glancing at her occasionally. After confirming her complexion looked a bit better today, he didn’t ask again.

’He’d been inconsiderate. After all, she was shy.’

When they neared First High School, he stopped the car. Zhou Mochen handed her a small gift bag, a rare, bright smile on his face. His voice was gentle. “A New Year’s gift for you. Xu Su, you’ll be 17 after the New Year.”

Xu Su frowned, but remembering the promise she’d made him yesterday, she reached out and took it.

“A phone?” Xu Su held up what was currently the most popular model of swivel phone and looked at him. “Are you trying to tell me this thing didn’t cost more than five hundred?”

Zhou Mochen said with a completely straight face, “Absolutely not. It was four hundred and ninety-nine, total. The receipt’s inside, you can look.”

Xu Su almost laughed out loud. ’Is he trying to fool me like I’m an idiot? Her classmates had talked about this phone. It cost seventeen or eighteen hundred, at least.’

But seeing the earnest look on his face, Xu Su was speechless for a moment.

’She guessed that if he really wanted to get a phone for cheap, he probably wouldn’t have to spend a single cent. Plenty of people would be lining up to give him one for free, right?’

Xu Su didn’t want it, but she had promised him, so she couldn’t just refuse outright. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I have no use for a phone. I’m at school all day and have no one I need to contact. Besides, the phone bill is expensive, and I’d have a hard time explaining to my parents where I got it.”

“How could you have no one to contact? You’ll be living on campus, so I’ll need a way to reach you,” Zhou Mochen said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Seeing the indignant look on her face, he quickly added, “Besides, don’t you want to be able to contact your grandmother and your uncle whenever you want?”

That actually made some sense. Xu Su was tempted… ’My eldest uncle is planning to get a phone line installed when I’m a senior. That’s still a ways off, but if I had this, maybe I could get him to install it a year early. Then I could call Grandma anytime.’

“Don’t worry about the bill. This has my secondary SIM card in it. As long as my phone service isn’t suspended, yours won’t be either.”

Zhou Mochen continued, “As for worrying about explaining it to your parents, just turn it off or put it on silent before you go home. It’s not like they’re going to search your pockets, right?”

“…” Xu Su shot him a sidelong glance. She was just now realizing he knew how to use reverse psychology. This long-winded speech was a far cry from his usual taciturn self.

Zhou Mochen smiled. “I wouldn’t mind you staring at me like that all day, but you’re going to be late. Go on, get to your exam. I’ll bring you lunch.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep