"I told you not to be so jealous. What on earth is going on in that head of yours?"

Xu Su was so angry she laughed, her grip tightening slightly. "My relationship with Xi Zirong was just a simple high school romance, understand?"

Zhou Mochen didn’t say a word, just buried his head in the crook of Xu Su’s neck. He looked surprisingly fragile.

"Are you done? How much longer are you going to take?"

Xu Su couldn’t help but rush him.

Zhou Mochen still didn’t speak, as if he were holding his breath in a sulk.

Xu Su was getting annoyed. She forced herself to be patient, and just as her patience was wearing thin, she heard him let out a long, deep sigh.

She pushed him away and ran to the bathroom.

When she came out again, her hands were red.

Zhou Mochen was leaning back against the bed. He glanced over with a smirk. "That disgusted, huh?"

"Go brush your teeth."

Xu Su pulled him up, exasperated. "And brush them well."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Zhou Mochen reached out and tapped Xu Su’s nose, his eyes glinting with satisfaction. He was suddenly very agreeable. "Don’t lock the door. I’m coming back after I brush my teeth."

This wasn’t Zhou Mochen’s bedroom. He let Xu Su’s pull guide him to his feet.

He was still completely naked. Without a hint of embarrassment, he slipped on a pair of underwear, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked out. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Xu Su didn’t know what else he wanted to do, so she just left the light on and sat on the bed to wait for him.

Less than ten minutes later, Zhou Mochen returned. Seeing her sitting obediently on the bed, he smiled, climbed on, and pulled her down to lie beside him. "How about we move all my things over tomorrow? We can sleep together every night from now on."

"..." Xu Su felt a flicker of temptation. "Okay."

She really did love being close to him, hugging him, and kissing him whenever she felt like it...

Nuzzling his neck or wrapping her arms around his waist could make her incredibly happy.

Xu Su wasn’t one to be stingy with her affection. If she liked something, she liked it; if she wanted something, she wanted it. Being spoiled had made her bold, and she wasn’t afraid of anything.

Lost in these thoughts, Xu Su couldn’t help but lift her head and peck him on the chin. She reached out and intertwined their fingers, her voice soft and a little coy. "Zhou Mochen, I think I’m liking you more and more. Have you noticed?"

"Mm..." Zhou Mochen touched the spot she had just kissed, unable to hold back a smile as he looked at her. "I told you to try liking me a long time ago. Sweetheart, I’m not so bad, am I?"

’He really loves to smile...’

Xu Su’s heart softened. She nodded. "You look good when you smile, too. Zhou Mochen, if you smile for me more often, I’ll like you more and more."

It was a promise too good to refuse. Zhou Mochen couldn’t resist giving her a hard kiss. "Alright, let me ask you the question I’ve never dared to ask."

Xu Su raised an eyebrow. ’What could he possibly be afraid to ask?’

"I promise I won’t get angry, as long as you tell me the truth." Zhou Mochen’s smile faded, his fingertips caressing her cheek. "No matter what the truth is, I’ll accept it. I can’t keep guessing like this. It’s too painful."

The pain in his eyes was undisguised. Seeing it, Xu Su felt a pang in her heart. "I’m sorry."

’It must be my fault for making him suffer like this. Apologizing first is never wrong.’

Xu Su buried her face in the crook of his neck and apologized sincerely. "If I had known it would make you this miserable, I never would have done it."

"I was also at fault. I shouldn’t have used those methods to pressure a young girl like you. You don’t need to apologize to me for that. Right now, you just need to help me resolve this."

Worried she might suffocate, Zhou Mochen gently lifted her face, his tone coaxing. "Tell me the truth. Why did you like him? What did you like about him?"

Xu Su felt a headache coming on.

’This king of jealousy... just how much does he care? How could he hold onto this question for so long without saying anything!’

’He said he wanted the truth, and who knows what he’d imagine otherwise...’

’Just a moment ago, he was still...’

Xu Su took a deep breath and pinched his waist. ’Explaining to your current boyfriend what you liked about your ex... this is way too hard!’

Zhou Mochen gently stroked her hair, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Is it that hard to answer?"

"Let me think." Xu Su nodded in resignation and began to recall, her brow furrowed. "Xi Zirong was very gentle. He had a really good temper. In the beginning, he would blush just from making eye contact with me. He’d explain homework problems to me. I was a bit slow my freshman year of high school and often didn’t understand, but he was always very patient when teaching me."

Sensing the person beside her stiffen, Xu Su trailed off and glanced at him cautiously.

Zhou Mochen was watching her, his face expressionless. He forced a smile. "Continue. I’m not angry."

"..." A chill ran down Xu Su’s spine. She took his hand and placed it on her own arm. "Feel this. Your smile is giving me goosebumps."

"He blushed and explained a few homework problems, and that made your heart flutter?" Zhou Mochen stroked her arm slowly, his tone eerily calm as he urged her on. "Continue. Tell me the truth."

Xu Su hesitated for a moment, but she continued. If she didn’t explain it clearly, whatever he imagined would be even more dramatic.

"In sophomore year, we were in the academic competition, right? We got closer then. We were desk-mates in the competition prep class and walked home together every day, so we grew even closer." Thinking back, Xu Su realized her feelings for Xi Zirong had really just accumulated through the daily companionship of school life.

"So you were willing to be with him? Did me pressuring you have anything to do with it?" Zhou Mochen asked softly. "When you agreed to be with him, was even a small part of it to get revenge on me?"

"Yes," Xu Su answered decisively. "You were really annoying back then. Every time we met, it was like you had skin-hunger, always needing to hold my hand or hug me. The last time, you even forced a kiss on me against my will. Not only did I think about being with someone else, I even considered sleeping with another man. I wondered if that would make you give up on me."

Xu Su had genuinely thought about it. Not just in this life, but in her past life, too, she had considered sleeping with another man to get revenge on Zhou Mochen. In her eyes back then, there was no difference between Zhou Mochen and people like Shen Chen. They were all just rich playboys, scumbags who toyed with girls’ feelings.

’The only reason Zhou Mochen could be so persistent with her was because he was taken with her increasingly beautiful face and her pure, innocent image.’

She had thought of countless ways to make him let go, but his bodyguards followed her everywhere she went. She never got the chance to act on her plans before she was reborn.

In this life, she had been reborn at too young an age. Since she still couldn’t escape, Xu Su had also considered just getting it over with and doing what she hadn’t managed to do in her past life.

’If I sleep with another man, I won’t be pure and innocent anymore. Surely he won’t still be so obsessive and crazy then, right?’

But as it turned out, she fell for Xi Zirong!

It was real affection. Although a small part of her reason for agreeing to date him was to get back at Zhou Mochen, the main reason was genuine fondness.

Because she genuinely liked him, she never seriously considered using him as a weapon for revenge.

Something like that could only happen naturally when the feelings were mutual. It couldn’t be a weapon for her to use against Zhou Mochen.

Just as Xu Su was lost in thought, the hand stroking the hair at her neck suddenly tightened. Zhou Mochen’s voice was hoarse as he asked, "So, did you do it?"