Chapter 368: Chapter 367: How Could It Be Worth This

’So stubborn about saving face!’

Though Xu Su grumbled inwardly, she was still considerate of his feelings. Mimicking the way he comforted people, she patted his back. "Okay, you weren’t crying. I saw wrong."

Her coaxing voice was gentle and sweet...

Zhou Mochen didn’t say anything, just held her quietly.

He was such a perceptive person, especially when it came to Xu Su. He could detect the slightest change in her instantly.

They had been together for a year and had known each other for three, but this was the first time he felt like he was receiving special treatment from her.

The little girl, who was usually so spoiled she was bossy and even a bit unreasonable, had actually been willing to force herself to eat that bowl of not-so-tasty noodles.

The only reason was that he had been the one to cook them.

So, to her, even if they didn’t taste good, they were worth cherishing...

She had thought his kiss meant he wanted to do something more, and even though she was clearly exhausted, she hadn’t forgotten to consider his feelings.

If this had been the past...

Zhou Mochen’s heart clenched uncontrollably.

In the past, this little girl’s sweet nothings were each more pleasant to hear than the last, but in reality, she would forget them as soon as she said them.

She had said countless times, ’I’ll be nicer to you,’ but she never took it to heart, let alone acted on it.

She was the very picture of a little liar, spoiled by his love.

But what could he do?

There was nothing he could do.

Who was to blame but himself for falling for a little liar like her?

She was bossy, willful, and even selfish. She only knew how to take and was never willing to give anything back. She would take the heart you offered up so freely and use it to torture you, to trample your boundaries, effortlessly toying with your emotions...

It made sense. From the very beginning, she was in an invincible position. She had so much, so much that she might have even grown bored of it.

Like a princess sitting high in her tower, waiting for him and "them" to approach, quietly watching the men below fight madly for her.

Until the final victor, covered in blood, knelt before her and willingly offered her everything he had.

From beginning to end, all she had to consider was whether to accept or reject the sincere heart before her.

Only whether to accept or reject.

That was all.

He was the victor, and she chose to accept.

It was a happy ending for everyone. Anyone would say he should be content.

But Zhou Mochen still felt a lingering dissatisfaction.

He had gone through countless hardships to get here; he wanted to get something in return, too.

But she was so used to being thoughtless. How hard was it to expect anything back from her...

How hard was it to expect the princess in the tower to take a step down on her own.

He had actually lost hope long ago.

But her attitude today had rekindled an extravagant hope within him.

Zhou Mochen tightened his hold on the person in his arms, silently sighing at how incredibly pathetic he had become.

A wave of anger at himself rose inexplicably.

’So pathetic!’

’It was just one bowl of noodles! She only ate the noodles you made!’

’How is that worth all this?!’

The little piglet in his arms was sleeping sweetly, completely unaffected by his turbulent emotions.

But even in her sleep, she wasn’t still. Her head rested in the crook of his arm, her lips pressed into a slight pout. A few of her fingers rested on the small of his back, unconsciously giving it a squeeze...

He sighed softly, lowered his head, and kissed her brow. Suddenly, he remembered that incomprehensible dream of hers...

In the quiet room, Zhou Mochen’s expression slowly darkened. The anxiety and agitation building in his chest threatened to shatter his reason at any moment.

’Even in her dreams, someone is trying to steal her from me!’

’That was no dream!’

Human joys and sorrows are not intertwined. In contrast to Zhou Mochen tossing and turning all night, Xu Su slept until broad daylight, feeling refreshed in both body and mind.

For the next two days, she refused Zhou Mochen’s invitation to be his "take-to-work" companion. Instead, she called Huang Feng over to her house and personally taught her how to play the game Immortal World, successfully guiding her to become a little cultivator in the Qi Refinement Realm.

She also promised Huang Feng that once she reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, she would introduce her to the Qingxuan Sect.

Then, Rao Lu and a few other familiar classmates invited her to visit some of Chang City’s worthwhile attractions.

As a native of Chang City, in the six years of her past and current life combined, Xu Su had never properly gone and visited the city’s famous landmarks.

Time flew by, and soon the college entrance exam results were officially released. The provincial top scorer for the science track was from the honors class of Chang City No.1 High School.

The class group chat exploded that day.

The small group chat between Xu Su, Huang Feng, and Qian Jia also exploded.

Only Xu Su herself wasn’t freaking out. She had anticipated it and was very calm.

Compared to Xi Zirong’s score, she was more concerned about how her two best friends had done.

Fortunately, they were both very lucky; their estimated scores were accurate. Qian Jia, in particular, had a total score even higher than she had predicted.

Only students who have taken the college entrance exams know the sheer happiness of getting into your first-choice university.

Qian Jia said she had already received a call from Teacher Wu, telling her to come back to school to collect her scholarship money when she had time.

Her exam results this time placed her in the top fifty. Aside from the very first year, when they held a special awards ceremony, subsequent years just had students go directly to their teacher to collect the award.

Xu Su also received a call notifying her to collect her scholarship money. She made a special trip back to school, and Zhou Mochen drove her there.

Several banners had already been hung at the school gate...

There were still remnants of firecrackers on the ground that hadn’t been swept up yet... or perhaps they didn’t want to sweep them up at all.

Presumably, everyone at City No.1 High School, from the principal to the gatekeeper, wanted the world to know they had produced a provincial top scorer.

Looking at the two prominent words on the banner, ’Xi Zirong,’ Zhou Mochen’s lips curved into a bland smile, but he didn’t say anything. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Xu Su wasn’t about to ask for trouble by talking to him about Xi Zirong...

He was a thorn that would forever be in his heart. Xu Su couldn’t pull it out, so she could only avoid touching it.

After submitting her university preferences, Xu Su was invited to Rao Lu’s school acceptance party. Rao Lu was an only child from a well-off family. She had gotten into a key university in the Magic Capital, which was considered an outstanding performance, so her parents were overjoyed and threw a huge banquet.

At the banquet, seeing the happy family photo of the three of them, Xu Su felt a pang of envy.

She had placed second in the entire school and thirty-first in the province, but she didn’t have parents who were happy for her.

Perhaps for everything gained, something is lost. Her relationship with her parents was distant, but she had two friends, Huang Feng and Qian Jia, who were genuinely good to her, as well as Zhou Mochen, a model of a doting boyfriend.

Even Shen Chen, far away in Beijing, sent his congratulations and eagerly urged her to come over so he could celebrate with her properly.

Thinking this, Xu Su felt a sense of relief.

After the incident at the beginning of the year, Xu Su only knew that Xu Weiping had lost his job and the apartment he’d been assigned was taken back. They hadn’t been in contact since.

However, she had seen her two younger cousins, who attended the No. 2 High School, a few more times. Xu Su held no ill will toward them; in fact, she felt great sympathy for them.

Born into a family that prioritized sons over daughters, with a meek mother and a lame, short-tempered father, the two sisters had timid personalities and relied on each other to survive.

In her previous life, when her older cousin got into a university in Beijing, her father was unwilling to pay the tuition. At that time, Xu Su hadn’t yet cut ties with the Xu Family. After learning about the situation from Chen Shulan, she had offered to help.

Later, even after she stopped associating with the Xu Family, she never stopped providing financial support to the two sisters.