Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 50 - 49: How Could a Forced Melon Ever Be Sweet?

Chapter 50: Chapter 49: How Could a Forced Melon Ever Be Sweet?

Taking a deep breath, Xu Su slowly explained, "I’m just telling you how I feel. You must have dug up my entire life story, right? Don’t you know whether I’ve ever dated anyone?"

Zhou Mochen had clearly thought of this as well. The darkness in his eyes slowly dissipated, and he nodded lightly. "Alright, I understand. You don’t have to be so harsh. What could I possibly force you to do? I just don’t want the girl I like to be sweet-talked away by someone else."

Seeing that the young woman was genuinely angry, he softened his expression and coaxed her with a smile, "Fine, maybe my personality is the problem. How about we make a deal? Just tell me what you want me to do. Just don’t resist me so much, okay?"

’I want you to stay as far away from me as possible,’ Xu Su cursed internally.

He might look incredibly easygoing right now, but Xu Su knew that the moment her words or actions triggered his twisted need for control, he would instantly reveal the true face hidden beneath his gentle, polite facade.

At its worst, he wouldn’t even let her leave the house. He wanted to lock her up, to keep her locked away forever.

She wasn’t allowed to have a normal social life. She even had to distance herself from her female friends. Even at school, she was under his surveillance.

Back then, Xu Su had scoffed at him in her heart. ’Something stolen will always be held with fear and trembling. What’s the use of forcibly guarding it?’ He would even fly into a rage if she so much as smiled at a stranger.

Xu Su knew that his madness in her past life stemmed from his insecurity, but that was something she couldn’t give him. It was a forced relationship; how could it ever be sweet?

Xu Su remained silent for a long time.

Zhou Mochen sighed. "You really don’t want them?"

He took the shopping bags back. "Fine, if you don’t want them, you don’t want them. Just remember to buy some for yourself then."

Xu Su paused, set down the thermos in her hand, and opened the door to get out of the car.

’Good. He’s starting to learn how to compromise,’ Xu Su thought, a sense of relief washing over her.

This was a good start.

Over the next few days, Xu Su discovered that Zhou Mochen had truly changed.

He was an extremely intelligent person, with a frighteningly fast ability to learn.

In her presence, Zhou Mochen began to consciously rein in his cold, aloof aura. He was also very careful with his tone of voice. When faced with choices, he would almost always phrase them as questions, rarely using declarative statements.

He no longer made decisions for her.

During their daily commutes, the two of them barely spoke.

It seemed he had also taken her words—’It’s wrong to confess your feelings to a minor’—to heart.

These days, he was exceedingly self-restrained and polite, even addressing her formally as "Xu Su."

The weather grew colder. Aside from a cup of brown sugar ginger tea during their morning and evening rides, Zhou Mochen didn’t interfere in any other part of Xu Su’s life.

As the weather cooled, Xu Su’s scores on every pop quiz steadily improved.

The one-on-one tutoring from the academic ace was proving to be extremely effective.

Xi Zirong even designed a custom study plan for her. Every time the pop quizzes were handed back, Xi Zirong would take her test paper before Xu Su could even look at it closely.

He would specifically analyze the problems where Xu Su lost points, identifying the required formulas and the starting points for her thought process—all areas where she was weak.

Math, physics, and chemistry required a great deal of imagination, but that was a matter of innate talent. Since Xu Su’s talent in this area had yet to emerge, Xi Zirong could only use a high volume of practice problems to build her familiarity.

For a single problem she got wrong, Xi Zirong could create countless similar exercises for her, covering all the formulas that could be used and even the specific pitfalls hidden in the same type of question.

It was the perfect embodiment of "targeting the weak spots."

He seemed to care more about her grades than Xu Su herself did.

For some problems that Xu Su simply couldn’t understand, Xi Zirong would ignore the stares of others in the classroom during their lunch break and sit right next to her to explain them. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He was a truly patient and meticulous teacher. Even when she couldn’t understand no matter how he explained it, to the point where Xu Su herself felt hopelessly stupid, Xi Zirong would still gently point out her mistake and say, "That’s not quite right here."

Xu Su even heard from Huang Feng and the others that Xi Zirong tutoring her during lunch had become one of the signature sights of the Rocket Class.

Many students from other classes, drawn by the rumors, would pretend to be passing by but were actually making special trips to gaze upon the scene, sneaking a peek from time to time.

The ’romance’ between the Rocket Class’s top student and the school beauty became a rare splash of color in the students’ otherwise dull academic lives.

During evening self-study sessions, Xi Zirong would even ask Xu Su to turn her chair around so they could study face-to-face at his desk.

As for the teachers?

Teacher Wu had called them in once, and had even spoken to Xu Su alone.

During evening self-study on this particular day, Teacher Wu called his two recently famous star pupils to his office, one after the other.

He called Xi Zirong first. A full half-hour passed before Xi Zirong returned, wearing the same calm and detached expression as always, making it impossible to guess what they had discussed in the teacher’s office.

After returning to the classroom, he looked at Xu Su with some concern and told her that the teacher was calling her to the office.

Xu Su had long been prepared for this day, but she still felt a little timid. She genuinely respected Teacher Wu, and she was also genuinely a bit afraid of her head teacher.

Xi Zirong even comforted her, "Just be honest."

..., Thinking about her recently improved grades, Xu Su decided not to take her frustration out on Xi Zirong.

’There are always trade-offs. At least now, she felt a bit more confident about her final exam scores, right?’

After she entered the office, it seemed Teacher Wu was planning to have a long talk.

Seeing Xu Su shiver from the cold, hunching her shoulders, he poured her a cup of hot water in a paper cup and pointed to the chair opposite him, telling her to sit.

Xu Su sat down, huddled like a frightened quail.

It was Teacher Wu who broke the tension. "Let’s just have a chat. You’ve been my student for half a year, so I have a general understanding of your situation. I’m not going to call your parents."

Xu Su never spoke about her family situation, but her classmates could infer it from her daily life. About a month into the semester, the Rocket Class had a parent-teacher conference, and neither of Xu Weiping’s parents showed up.

Furthermore, for the first two months, she had to scrimp on food and clothes and rode a dilapidated bicycle to and from school. It was clear that her family was not only poor but also didn’t value their daughter.

Otherwise, no matter what their circumstances were, they wouldn’t let a high school student go hungry.

Xu Su took a sip from the water cup, easing her nerves, but kept her head down without saying a word.

Teacher Wu smiled and continued, "Your grades have improved recently. It seems Xi Zirong is doing a pretty good job as your tutor. But, Xu Su, do you know what you’re doing?"

Xu Su looked up at her teacher and explained, "I’m not dating Xi Zirong. He’s just tutoring me. Teacher Wu, I just want to improve my grades and get the school’s scholarship. You’ve seen it yourself—neither of our grades have dropped."

Teacher Wu nodded. "Xi Zirong just said the exact same thing."

Then, he suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question. "Next year, are you planning to switch to the liberal arts track, or will you continue in my class?"

Xu Su’s fingers tightened around the paper cup, her face turning a little pale.