Xu Su smiled and took half a step back, looking at Zhou Mochen. "Are you done?"

Zhou Mochen nodded.

Xu Su turned on her heel and left. She was afraid she’d die of anger if she stayed even a second longer.

She left so abruptly that Zhou Mochen, who was still waiting for her to say something, reached out in anger to pull her back. "You have nothing to say to me?"

Xu Su spun around and held up a hand to stop him. "I have nothing to say to you right now. Don’t pester me. The way things have been for the past few days? Let’s just keep it that way."

The way things have been for the past few days? Let’s just keep it that way...

Zhou Mochen froze, his face ashen as he watched her walk further and further away. It was slowly dawning on him why she was so angry.

Back in the game room, Xu Su locked the door, and only then did her anger begin to subside.

’What kind of boyfriend have I gotten myself into? He left me home alone for four days and doesn’t even think there’s anything wrong with it!’

’But if I go and complain to Zhou Mochen about how cold he’s been, I’ll completely lose face. It’ll make me sound like I can’t stand being away from him...’

’He likes giving the cold shoulder, doesn’t he? Fine, we’ll just keep things as they are.’

This was Xu Su’s way of handling things.

The quest in the Qingxuan Sect’s secret realm was still in progress. The moment Xu Su returned, her Female Sword Immortal character, who had been set to follow Nanyang, regained its autonomy.

"Susu, did you have a fight with your boyfriend?"

She had just put on her headset when she heard Liu Yun’s question. Xu Su froze for a second. ’Is it that obvious?’

"We’ve had a bit of a disagreement the last few days."

Xu Su took a sip of her black tea, casually speaking as she moved her mouse. "It started because I threw a bit of a fit. He usually wouldn’t mind, but this time he actually got angry. He’s been cold and distant for days, and now I’m getting angry too."

She could tell her close gaming friends things she couldn’t bring herself to say to Shen Chen, but in truth, Xu Su felt awful.

’In the past, he would put up with it no matter how unreasonable I was. Why is it that now that we’re together, he’s actually getting angry with me?!’

’Or is it that guys are just jerks? They just want the thrill of the chase, and what they can’t have is always the most appealing.’

’When I didn’t like him, Zhou Mochen was so nice and patient. He’d always coax me and give in to me no matter what. Now that I’ve started to develop real feelings, he’s starting to hold things against me?’

’All I did was prank him a little. Is that really a reason to get this angry?’

’Giving me the cold shoulder for four days, and he even patted my cheek like that...’

Liu Yun said, "How long have you two been together? Do you think he feels like he’s got you wrapped around his finger, so he’s decided to show his true colors?"

Feifei, sounding very experienced, said confidently, "Men are experts at putting on an act. I have several friends who went through the same thing. Before they got together, their boyfriends would do anything for them. But once they had them, boy, you wouldn’t believe how fast their attitude changed."

"Ahem..." Nanyang, being the only guy in the conversation, cut in awkwardly and explained in all seriousness, "Those kinds of scumbags are the exception, not the rule. Don’t generalize, okay? Most guys are actually really good to their girlfriends."

Xu Su didn’t want to believe Zhou Mochen was a scumbag who was good at putting on an act. But now she was starting to wonder, was it really right for her to treat the Zhou Mochen from her past life and the one from this life as the same person?

If her suspicions were true, the Zhou Mochen of her previous life had likely experienced two lifetimes of unfulfilled desire. He had missed his chance in one life, and even after being reborn, he still failed to get what he wanted. That was what had forged him into that paranoid, obsessive man.

But in this life, he’d gotten her too easily. He had only pursued her for two years before she agreed to be with him, all because of that dream about her past life. Did getting her so easily mean his feelings weren’t as deep as the feelings of his past-life counterpart?

Xu Su’s head was starting to ache from overthinking. Her rational mind told her that she shouldn’t doubt Zhou Mochen’s love for her.

But reality was a stark reminder: the Zhou Mochen from her past life had loved her more deeply. At the very least, he would never have given her the silent treatment over something like this.

Xu Su even started to wonder—was it really the right decision to rashly choose the current Zhou Mochen, just because she felt a pang of sympathy for his past-life version in her dream?

Wasn’t the most crucial reason she had accepted this Zhou Mochen because of that dream?

’It’s all so confusing...’

Xu Su’s mind was in a turmoil. She wasn’t sure if her suspicions were even correct. Was the Zhou Mochen from her previous life really reborn as well?

She couldn’t even figure out who it was she truly liked. If it hadn’t been for that dream, she would have never accepted this Zhou Mochen.

Her teammates on the headset, noticing that Xu Su had gone quiet, tactfully avoided bringing up the subject again.

Xu Su’s head was pounding. She couldn’t even focus on her favorite game. She just followed the main party, barely going through the motions for two hours.

Around ten o’clock, Xu Su came out of the game room to find the living room empty.

The light in the study was still on, so Zhou Mochen was probably still busy. As for Shen Chen, she didn’t know if he just wasn’t back yet or if he didn’t plan on staying over tonight.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Xu Su went back to her own room.

She didn’t know what to say to Zhou Mochen. Being angry about his coldness was one thing.

But what she found harder to accept now was the possibility that this Zhou Mochen simply didn’t love her that much.

The Zhou Mochen who would unconditionally let her have her way wasn’t here...

Xu Su wasn’t stupid, but she had never seriously considered what it was she truly wanted...

~~~

During the break, Xu Su slept in until she woke up naturally. Even though she hadn’t been in the best of moods these last few days, her quality of sleep was much better than when school was in session.

She slept until nearly eleven o’clock. The phone on her nightstand had been vibrating nonstop. Xu Su groggily fumbled for it and glanced at the screen. There were already 99+ unread messages in her class group chat.

Huang Feng had also sent her several private messages, asking if she was awake and if she wanted to head to the Junyue Hotel together.

Since many of the students didn’t live in the city, most had gone back to their rural hometowns after the college entrance exams. Not many people were making a special trip back just for this, so if only the local students showed up, the turnout would be small and not very lively.

As it turned out, Class 1 and the Rocket Class shared most of the same teachers for their main subjects, so the class presidents had arranged for them to hold a joint Teacher Appreciation Banquet.

Qian Jia wasn’t coming this time, either. She had wanted to, but the hassle of switching transportation for the round trip wasn’t worth it just for a single meal.

Xu Su dozed for a little while longer, only typing out a reply to Huang Feng once her mind was fully awake.

Imperial Central and Huang Feng’s home were in opposite directions, so there was no point in going out of their way to travel together. They could just meet up at the Junyue Hotel. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Xu Su leisurely got out of bed. After washing up, she looked at her bare face in the mirror, thought for a moment, and then reached for the makeup on her vanity.

None of it had ever been opened, but it had all been there since the day she moved in.

Xu Su’s makeup skills were beginner-level at best—certainly nothing masterful—but she knew the basic steps.

’It’s the last high school gathering, after all. Putting on some makeup is the least I can do to take it seriously, right?’