Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 77 - 76: "Why Don’t You Reply to My Message?
"..." He really knew how to learn on the fly.
The more Xu Su thought about it, the angrier she got. She snarled, "If anyone’s fucking anyone, it’s me fucking you, Zhou Mochen! And don’t you dare talk dirty to me!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Xu Su regretted them. ’Damn it, what kind of brazen thing was that to say!’
The grip on her waist tightened as Zhou Mochen pressed his entire body against hers. His breath was warm, and he seemed delighted. His voice was impossibly hoarse. "Alright. I’ll let you."
’...This shameless bastard!’
This bizarre argument eventually ended in a truce. Zhou Mochen seemed to have completely disregarded the cruel words Xu Su had said to him.
On the drive back to school, he was his usual self, softly reminding her to text him back and to call him if she needed anything.
After the car stopped, he pulled a bag of snacks and fruit from the back seat. "Take these to school."
Xu Su was stubborn. Even though he’d just frightened her, she still refused him outright. "My roommates all know my family’s poor. These fancy snacks... they don’t fit with me. I don’t want them."
He’d been trying to give her snacks and pastries for the past few weeks, and he never seemed to tire of it, despite her rejections. This time, however, it seemed he had come prepared.
Zhou Mochen opened the bag and gestured for her to look inside. "It’s all stuff you can buy at a normal supermarket. If you think it’s too much, just pick a few items to take with you."
’He’s being so insistent...’
In the end, Xu Su chose a box of filled chocolates and a bag of Fuji apples, stuffing them directly into her backpack.
She didn’t feel like she could truly breathe a sigh of relief until she was back in her dorm room.
’Today, my careless words nearly made Zhou Mochen give up on the hope of me being ’willing.’ He was about to resort to taking what he wanted by force.’
’That damn pervert!’
’Thinking of Zhou Mochen’s mocking, sarcastic face, Xu Su grew more defiant. One day, I’ll be the one to tame him until he’s completely obedient!’
After giving a chocolate to each of her roommates, Xu Su locked the rest in her cabinet. They were high-energy, making them a decent late-night snack.
Besides, Xu Su was using so much mental energy every day that she wasn’t worried about gaining weight.
On Monday, a rumor started going around that the school had received a large donation from some philanthropist. The word was that the donor had specifically earmarked the funds to bolster First High School’s scholarship program.
In other words, if the rumor was true, then starting this semester, the scholarship awards for every grade level might increase, and the number of recipients could change as well.
But there was no concrete information on what those changes would be.
In the cafeteria, Qian Jia was ecstatic.
"Wouldn’t it be great if they expanded the scholarship eligibility to the top one hundred, or even the top eighty? Then I might have a shot at getting one."
Qian Jia had ranked fifty-fourth in the entire grade on last semester’s final exams.
Her family’s financial situation wasn’t great—arguably even worse than Xu Su’s. After all, while Xu Su’s family might favor boys, they were at least bona fide homeowners in Chang City. Qian Jia’s family, on the other hand, lived in a village in one of the outlying counties.
Her monthly living allowance was one hundred and fifty yuan. On the months she couldn’t go home for a break, her father would personally deliver it to her.
One hundred and fifty yuan had to last four weeks, which came out to less than forty yuan a week. Aside from meals and a few daily necessities, there was practically no money left for anything else.
Her grades were good enough to get into the advanced class, but she hadn’t broken into the top fifty on last semester’s finals. If they expanded the number of scholarship spots, Qian Jia might just be able to get one this semester.
Even just a few hundred yuan would be enough to cover her living expenses for several months.
It could even help ease her family’s burden for next semester’s tuition.
Huang Feng’s grades were a bit better than Qian Jia’s. She had received the lowest-tier scholarship last semester—five hundred yuan. Since her family was well-off, her parents hadn’t taken the money and just let her keep it as pocket money.
Hearing what Qian Jia said, Huang Feng was hopeful for her friend, too. "Our school has a great reputation, and with Chang City’s economy booming these past few years, a lot of wealthy people are willing to donate. When I was in junior high, our school’s main complex and even the cafeteria were built with private donations."
"But I’ve heard that the entrepreneurs who donate usually have a few ’small requests’ of their own, like getting their kids a spot at First High School," Huang Feng added, leaning in and lowering her voice.
She had gone to junior high at First High’s affiliated middle school, so she knew a lot about how things worked. "You know," she said, "this is actually the first time I’ve ever heard of someone specifying that their donation could *only* be used for scholarships."
As Xu Su listened, she couldn’t help but feel that something was off.
’This whole setup...’
But then she told herself she was overthinking it. ’If Zhou Mochen were really the one who made the donation, he would have said something, right?’
March weather was fickle, sunny one moment and rainy the next. When they left the cafeteria after lunch, the sun was high overhead. Feeling too hot in her down jacket, Xu Su told her friends to go on to class without her. She headed back to her dorm to swap the jacket for her school uniform blazer.
Just as she stepped out of the girls’ dorm, she happened to run into Xi Zirong emerging from the boys’ dorm. They were less than ten meters apart, and their eyes met.
It was suddenly, inexplicably awkward.
The two of them had barely spoken since the semester began. This was mainly due to Xu Su’s unilateral avoidance; she always had Qian Jia and Huang Feng with her, and in class, she was so focused on her studies that she wouldn’t even spare Xi Zirong a single glance.
It had gotten to the point that after more than a month, busybodies at school had even started spreading rumors that the two of them had ’broken up.’
Now that they had run into each other alone, she had no idea what Xi Zirong was thinking. As for herself, Xu Su felt only one thing: awkward.
The path to the classrooms led right past the boys’ dorm. Seeing her frozen in place, Xi Zirong simply stood by the entrance and waited.
Two of his classmates who had come out with him glanced at Xu Su, said something to Xi Zirong she couldn’t hear, and quickly walked off.
Then, Xu Su watched as Xi Zirong started walking toward her.
"..." Xu Su, who had been planning to wait for him to leave first, was instantly at a loss for words.
’Of all the times to be caught alone, why did it have to be by him?’
Xi Zirong stopped an arm’s length away from her. "Heading to class? Should we walk together?"
His voice was as gentle and polite as always. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Xu Su took half a step back and shook her head. "You go ahead. If we walk together, people will start talking again."
He chuckled. "It’s not like they haven’t gossiped before. Are you afraid of that, Xu Su?"
’That didn’t sound like Xi Zirong at all.’
Xu Su lifted her head, shedding her awkwardness, and said bluntly, "I don’t want to walk with you."
The smile on Xi Zirong’s face faded. He gave a slight nod. "Okay."
Xu Su thought he had gotten the hint and waited for him to leave. Instead, Xi Zirong took a step closer. "Why haven’t you been answering my texts?"
"..." His accusatory tone left Xu Su speechless for a few seconds.
Ever since school started, she would find a text from him on her phone nearly every night after returning to her dorm from evening self-study.
They were usually just simple, everyday messages, with an occasional complaint about her ignoring him.
Seeing Xi Zirong’s insistent expression as he waited for an answer, Xu Su said bluntly, "I feel like I’ve already said everything that needs to be said. Xi Zirong, don’t be like this."
’Don’t act like you’ve been dumped. It’s making me start to wonder if I’m the heartbreaker here.’
