novelraw Chapter 280: "I Gave Everything to You, and Only to You.
Chapter 280: "I Gave Everything to You, and Only to You.
Xu Su walked over and looped her arm through his. "Why didn’t you wait for me in the car?"
Zhou Mochen led her toward the school building, smiling. "I came up to experience the dedication of the high school seniors and reminisce about my salad days."
"Did you have to study this hard in high school?" ’Or else you’d have to go home and inherit a multi-billion-dollar fortune?’ Xu Su was amused by her own thoughts, but also a little regretful. "I really missed out. I never got to see what you were like in high school. Someone else got to see your awkward, youthful side."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhou Mochen patted the top of her head, exasperated. "I’ve given everything to you, and only you."
Xu Su pouted. "...But I really want to meet the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old you who would blush and get shy. Ever since I met you, you’ve been so touch-starved, you don’t know the meaning of embarrassment."
Trying hard not to think about who she was referring to, Zhou Mochen pulled open the passenger door. His tone was light. "I also wish I’d met you when I was seventeen or eighteen. Even more than you do."
"Did you have a ton of girls who liked you at school back then?" Xu Su seriously pictured what he must have looked like as a teenager and asked, "Did your heart ever flutter for anyone? Was there an unforgettable girl from your youth?"
Zhou Mochen started the car and replied nonchalantly, "And what if I said there was?"
Xu Su’s eyes went wide as she stared at him. "There really was?"
Zhou Mochen glanced at her but didn’t say anything.
Xu Su pressed her lips together and pressed on, "There really was someone?"
Seeing he still wasn’t talking, Xu Su got anxious. "So you really did like someone else!"
"Does it bother you that much?" Zhou Mochen smiled and slowly began to explain. "I was different from other people. I barely attended classes in high school; I was just enrolled on paper. I was very busy every day, so I didn’t have time to pay attention to who liked me."
He reached over and took her hand. "I’ve told you before, I’ve never liked anyone else. It’s only ever been you. Do you still feel like you’ve missed out?"
"..." He hadn’t said anything explicit, but the deep meaning behind his words still made Xu Su lower her head guiltily.
Thinking about the first few times they met in this life, Xu Su couldn’t help but ask again, "Zhou Mochen, was it really love at first sight for you?"
’A guy who never even had a crush during his teenage years, when he should have been having his first awakenings of love, actually experienced love at first sight?’
Xu Su couldn’t help but preen inwardly. ’Is my charm really that powerful?’ But before she could get too pleased with herself, she heard Zhou Mochen say, "Not really."
Xu Su looked up. "Not really?"
"Yeah, not really." Zhou Mochen steered with one hand and squeezed Xu Su’s hand in his other. "The first time I saw you, I was at a second-floor window and only saw you in profile. You can’t really call that love at first sight. But I definitely remembered you."
"Then... when did you start to like me?" Xu Su thought of their second meeting. "At the bubble tea shop?"
"I guess so. I’m not too clear on it myself." Zhou Mochen also recalled that meeting. The car stopped at a red light, and he turned to her. "I never asked you, when did you have that dream you mentioned? I always felt like you looked really nervous when you saw me back then."
"You’re mistaken. I didn’t even know you then, so why would I be nervous?" Xu Su’s heart hammered, but she deliberately put on a serious tone to accuse him. "I had the dream *after* you started pestering me. The dream was all about you relentlessly pursuing me. Just think about how much pressure you were putting on me back then!"
The topic was successfully diverted. The light turned green, and Zhou Mochen stepped on the gas. "It was my fault, but I don’t regret it. If I had tried to take things slow, you probably would have forgotten all about me. At least now, we’re together."
’We’re together...’
Xu Su tilted her head to look at him, wondering what it would have been like if she’d met the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old him. "Zhou Mochen, if I had met you when I was twelve or thirteen, would you still have liked me?"
The car pulled into the garage. Zhou Mochen walked around the front, opened the passenger door, and helped her out. "Yes."
"So certain?" Xu Su raised an eyebrow. "I wasn’t this good-looking when I was twelve or thirteen."
"If you think I was just looking for a good-looking woman, would I have waited until I met you to be interested?" Zhou Mochen shot her an exasperated glance, then suddenly stopped and looked at her seriously. "Besides, you didn’t look like this when you were sixteen, either. I saw plenty of girls who were prettier than you back then. If that was all I really wanted, it wouldn’t have taken much effort, understand?"
Xu Su wasn’t angry at all. She cupped her face and grinned. "Are you admitting that I’m very good-looking now? Zhou Mochen, did you hit the jackpot or what, landing a stunning beauty like me as your girlfriend?"
She said it so shamelessly, but Zhou Mochen nodded seriously. "I hit the jackpot. I spotted the best-looking girl right away and even managed to bring her home."
Zhou Mochen’s words made her ecstatic. She stood on her tiptoes, gave him a quick kiss, and pulled him into the elevator.
Watching the numbers change, Xu Su finally remembered the phone call from the afternoon. She tugged on the hand of the man beside her. "Are you going to let... Xu Weiping go to jail? Can we just let it go? He’s already lost his job and his house. That’s enough."
The elevator opened with a DING. Zhou Mochen pulled her inside their apartment and explained casually, "It’s not me who’s sending him to jail. For everything he’s gone through, I at most just nudged things along. He did all this himself, and he caused the losses himself. He took kickbacks, causing the factory to lose hundreds of thousands. He either pays the money back to cover the losses, or if he can’t, he faces a lawsuit. Isn’t that just common sense?"
His words made so much sense that Xu Su had no way to argue.
’Xu Weiping had a little bit of power and started abusing it for personal gain. Even if Zhou Mochen hadn’t nudged things along, his work misconduct would have been discovered sooner or later. It was just a matter of when...’
’But... should Xu Weiping really go to jail?’
Xu Su’s hesitant expression made Zhou Mochen sigh and rub the bridge of his nose. "I’ll have Huang Chao put in a word. We’ll let it go this time. But Xu Su, you really need to work on this soft-hearted habit of yours. He didn’t show any mercy when he was hitting you. If your uncle hadn’t stopped him, do you think you’d still be standing here in one piece?"
"I know." Xu Su tilted her head, her tone a little helpless. "But he did give me money for living expenses to raise me when I was little, and he paid my tuition for my first year of high school. Just consider this my final act of repaying his kindness."
She knew she wasn’t hard-hearted enough. Even though she had been gritting her teeth in hatred at the time, now that her injuries had healed, hearing how miserable the Xu Family was made her feel a bit of pity...
’But this is really the last time. If the Xu Family causes any more trouble in the future, I have no obligation to clean up their mess. I’ve already done more than enough.’
Zhou Mochen handed her a glass of milk. "After you take your college entrance exams, I’ll move your household registration to Beijing. How does that sound?"
Xu Su had no objection, but she asked curiously, "On the same household registration book as you?"