Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 28: "Didn’t You Already Figure It Out?

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: "Didn’t You Already Figure It Out?

"The temperature dropped today, and you got caught in the rain. Aren’t you worried you’ll catch a cold when you get back?"

Zhou Mochen’s voice was gentle, as if he were afraid of startling her. "You have to take the shuttle bus to Chang City, then transfer to a city bus to get to the Old Industrial Zone. Why not take a ride when one’s offered?"

"Huang Chao is in the car too, he’s driving. If you feel uncomfortable, I can pick up another female passenger who’s heading to the city."

Aside from vehicles, the station was packed with passengers.

For instance, several passengers taking shelter from the rain were standing right next to Xu Su, all of them waiting to go to the city. A woman overheard Zhou Mochen’s words and looked at him with a hopeful expression.

She wasn’t worried about running into a bad guy. Based on Zhou Mochen’s handsome looks and the car he drove, it was obvious he was no ordinary person.

But Xu Su wouldn’t budge. She shook her head. "I believe I told you last time that I have a condition. Could you please not appear in front of me?"

In the time since, Zhou Mochen had clearly figured out what the term ’androphobia’ meant.

He glanced at the middle-aged woman who was eavesdropping on their conversation. Only after she walked away in embarrassment did he lower his voice and say, "I came to Kang County specifically for this."

"I know it’s because of the rumors that guy in your class, Sun Yu, spread when you were studying in Kang County that you... Right, and there were others." Zhou Mochen let out a laugh, but there was no humor in his eyes.

He said softly, "Don’t worry. I won’t let a single one of them off the hook. They will all pay the price for what they did."

His words were like a clap of thunder right next to her ear, making Xu Su jump in shock.

In that instant, Xu Su remembered who the Sun Yu that Zhou Mochen mentioned was.

Back when she was studying in Kang County, Xu Su hadn’t fully blossomed yet, but she was already starting to stand out among her peers.

In those days, a lot of aimless loiterers with nothing better to do would hang around near the school.

The ’leader’ of this group of punks thought she was pretty and said he wanted to date her, asking if she was willing.

Of course Xu Su wasn’t willing!

Then this ’leader’ announced he was going to pursue her.

Xu Su had always been a good student, and a timid one at that. She had never encountered a situation like this. One evening after study hall, that punk was standing outside the classroom window, waiting for her.

She was too scared to go out and just sat in the classroom crying. In the end, several of her classmates had to escort her back to her dorm.

Somehow, word got out, but the story had completely changed.

The rumor was that Xu Su was involved with someone from off-campus, that she’d gotten pregnant and had two abortions, and then got dumped.

And that she was crying in the classroom because she was heartbroken.

The rumor was so detailed and specific. It wasn’t until her homeroom teacher called her in for a talk that Xu Su found out such vicious lies were being spread about her.

Xu Su’s grades had always been number one in her entire year. Her standing in the teachers’ eyes was comparable to that of Xi Zirong at City No.1 High School.

Of course, the teachers didn’t believe such an outrageous rumor about such a well-behaved student. They eventually traced the source of the rumor and discovered it was started by her own classmate, Sun Yu.

Sun Yu’s grades were also excellent. He consistently ranked in the top ten of their year and could even break into the top three when he did exceptionally well. He, too, was a model student in the teachers’ eyes. Perhaps it was out of jealousy, or for some other reason, that he maliciously started a rumor about his classmate.

When the homeroom teacher called him into the office and demanded he apologize to Xu Su, Sun Yu stubbornly argued that he had simply seen Xu Su being sought out by local punks and had also seen her crying in the classroom. He claimed he just put two and two together, and that the rumors were just a "reasonable guess."

It wasn’t his fault, he insisted. If anyone was to blame, it was Xu Su for not being more discreet and for associating with shady characters, causing people to misunderstand.

This explanation made both Xu Su and her homeroom teacher furious. In the end, the teacher said both of them should call their parents to the school to sort things out properly.

After three years as classmates, many in the class knew that Xu Su’s parents weren’t around and that she lived with her grandmother.

Sun Yu was certain she wouldn’t call her guardian, which was why he was so brazen.

And the rumor was truly awful. Xu Su didn’t want Grandma Xu to worry about her, so in the end, she grit her teeth and told the homeroom teacher she wanted to drop the matter.

In the current timeline, these events had happened last year. But in Xu Su’s memory, they were from over a decade ago. The anger and grievance from back then felt hazy now as she recalled them.

She looked at Zhou Mochen and happened to see a drop of rain from his hair trickle down his neck and disappear into his collar. Paired with his focused gaze, the sight was, for a moment, unexpectedly alluring.

Xu Su quickly averted her gaze and asked, "What did you do?"

For him to make a special trip to Kang County was going to great lengths. Pursing her lips, Xu Su continued, "Whatever you did, don’t say it was for me. I don’t need you to stand up for me."

"Mm," Zhou Mochen hummed in response, surprisingly agreeable. "I was letting off my own steam. Not for you."

"..." Xu Su was struck speechless.

She had to admit, their dynamic was different in this life. She remembered from her past life, wasn’t he quite cold and aloof when they first met? Even though she rode in his car to and from school every day, they often went the entire way without a single extra word of conversation.

It was precisely his indifferent attitude that allowed Xu Su to accept rides from him for over two years without ever suspecting his feelings. She had just thought of him as a helpful older boy from the neighborhood.

’Could it be that my rejection in this life has changed him? Is he not playing the long game anymore?’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Xu Su couldn’t figure it out for the life of her. She felt like things were starting to spin out of her control.

Seeing Xu Su remain silent, Zhou Mochen picked up the groceries from the ground and said, "Get in the car."

Xu Su stood rooted to the spot.

"Don’t be afraid of me." Zhou Mochen sighed. He took a step closer, his voice very soft. "I do have a bit of a crush on you, but I’m not some kind of beast. You’re still young."

!

Xu Su stared at him wide-eyed, her expression full of disbelief. He had actually just admitted it.

"You already figured it out, didn’t you?" Zhou Mochen marveled at the girl’s perceptiveness. It was his first time ever falling for someone, and she had seen right through him after only two meetings.

The last time he heard her mention this ’androphobia,’ he had specifically looked it up online. The moment he came to the conclusion that the vast majority of girls with this condition had been hurt by men, Zhou Mochen’s heart had trembled.

In that instant, countless horrifying news stories flooded his mind. For the few days that Zhou Mochen had his people investigating everything Xu Su had gone through since she was a child, he hadn’t slept a single wink. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was her face.