Chapter 8

Su Li directed the driver, who eventually dropped them off by the side of the road. Su Li looked at the nearby shops, her once-blurred memories gradually becoming clear, and she led Zhao Jiu into a dumpling shop.

She remembered the dumplings at this shop were quite good.

"Auntie, one large order of steamed dumplings, one small order of pan-fried dumplings, and two bowls of bean noodle soup," Su Li said, standing at the window and addressing the woman inside.

The woman looked up and smiled, "Little student, your appetite has grown today?"

Su Li was slightly stunned and hurriedly pointed to Zhao Jiu behind her.

"No, I have a friend with me."

The woman followed her gaze; the young man was clean-cut and handsome, just standing there so casually that he suddenly made her shop look small and old.

"Your boyfriend is truly handsome," the woman said after a brief pause.

Su Li: "Not my boyfriend."

He was her boss, the boss who controlled her salary.

The woman gave a look of understanding, turned to tell the hired help to prepare the dumplings, and served the bean noodle soup to Su Li and her companion first.

The woman picked up a stainless steel bowl; it was dented and uneven—it was a small shop, after all, and this type of bowl was the most cost-effective and not easily broken, but after much use, the bowl looked old.

She glanced at Zhao Jiu in the center of her shop again, thought for a moment, and swapped them for two new bowls; at least they hadn't been dropped, right? She couldn't make the little student lose face, as this was the first time she had brought a boyfriend to eat.

Su Li held the two bowls of bean noodle soup and picked a clean spot to sit down.

Zhao Jiu then sat down, looked at the bean noodle soup, and said, "I remember you used to make this too?"

After he brought Su Li back to the country, on the first New Year's Eve, she had cooked this herself in the apartment rented by the company.

Su Li remembered; that New Year's Eve, everyone was off, and just as she finished making dinner, Gouzi had come to her door in person to drag her to the company for overtime.

New Year's Eve, of all days—how inhuman must one be to come to someone's door to drag them to work overtime?

Zhao Jiu met her suddenly fiery gaze and changed the subject: "Why haven't the dumplings come yet?"

Su Li picked up her spoon and started drinking the soup: "The kitchen exploded, they're gone."

Zhao Jiu: "..."

Was she still holding a grudge from him calling her in for overtime on New Year's Eve?

The woman brought the dumplings over: "What exploded?"

Su Li hurriedly raised her hand to take them: "Nothing."

Su Li lowered her head and started eating her pan-fried dumplings—what a dog of a boss!

Zhao Jiu leaned against his chair, watching his secretary eat happily; she preferred these fried things over a proper meal.

Zhao Jiu picked up his chopsticks and started eating a piece.

At this moment, messages were flooding the various school group chats; photos of Zhao Jiu were circulating quite widely, followed by photos of Su Li following behind him.

"No way? Was this guy waiting for Su Li until school let out?"

"Didn't the people from Class 15 say that Su Li couldn't forget about Jiang Xiangnan, and that she even chased after Jiang Xiangnan out of school yesterday, trying to join them in ordering sports meet uniforms?"

"Hey, we didn't make that up; we heard it from Hu Xiao. Hu Xiao also said Su Li moved into the dorms for Jiang Xiangnan," someone from Class 15 spoke up.

"If that were true, could that guy have waited for Su Li for so long? Could Hu Xiao and the others have overthought it?"

"Actually, if it were me, I would have given up on Jiang Xiangnan long ago. I also suspect Hu Xiao and the others overthought it."

The people from Class 15 felt their faces sting a little; relying on their proximity to Hu Xiao, they had possessed 'first-hand information' and spread it quite convincingly, but now it made them look very narcissistic.

However, others should be feeling the sting even more.

In Class 1, Jiang Xiangnan was doing his homework when someone placed a phone next to him.

"Jiang Xiangnan, is this Su Li really not chasing you anymore?"

Jiang Xiangnan swept a glance with his peripheral vision; the photo only showed their backs, with a boy walking in front and the girl following obediently behind.

He frowned slightly: Su Li?

His deskmate whispered: "Other classes might not know, but I do. It seems someone from Shengde transferred here out of the blue today. He didn't wear a school uniform but could still enter the school; nine times out of ten, he's the transfer student."

"I heard that to wait for Su Li, he leaned against the bulletin board for nearly two hours. Later, many people saw them leave the school gate together and walk along the side of the road."

"If you tell me these two have no relationship, I wouldn't believe it even if I died."

Jiang Xiangnan's gaze landed on the photo on the phone; even from a single photo, one could see the boy was full of vitality, and the girl was looking up at him.

The relationship was clearly unusual; Jiang Xiangnan's hand tightened.

The deskmate next to him crossed his legs, looked at the day's homework on the blackboard, and said: "Speaking of which, what is this guy's background? I couldn't even get a word out of my uncle."

"To think he could make Su Li give up on you."

He spoke for a while, then noticed Jiang Xiangnan wasn't saying anything. Seeing his expression, he realized something, hurriedly shut his mouth, and went back to grinding through problems.

He had been too busy eating the fresh gossip, forgetting that this fresh gossip was a slap to his own face.

But these photos were being spread everywhere; he would have to know sooner or later, right?

He tried to comfort himself, tried to ignore the low pressure beside him, and then whispered again: "Anyway, although people in the group are saying things, if this guy were from our school, your position as the school heartthrob would probably be unstable, but we all know they just like to exaggerate."

"There are plenty of wealthy and powerful people in our school, but most still rely on grades to speak. Even if this transfer student is a crown prince, if his grades aren't up to par, within a semester, no one will care about him except for the bottom-tier slackers."

"Su Li's judgment is clearly not great this time. The students over at Shengde don't study as deeply as we do; his grades definitely won't keep up with ours, and he'll have to leave sooner or later."

After he finished speaking, he hurriedly took back his phone and stuffed it into his desk.

If it weren't for the people in Class 15 loudly proclaiming that Su Li couldn't let go of Jiang Xiangnan, his own face wouldn't have been slapped.

Jiang Xiangnan forwarded the photos to Hu Xiao. Hu Xiao was at home feeling frustrated while looking at the group messages, and upon seeing Jiang Xiangnan's message, he panicked.

They were the ones who kept saying Su Li couldn't let go of Brother Jiang, and just yesterday, Brother Jiang had shaken her off at the bus station.

Now a boy had suddenly appeared who didn't seem to lose to Jiang Xiangnan in any aspect.

Wasn't this a slap to his face?

Even though Su Cheng said Su Li probably didn't know that guy, the current rumors were all saying that Su Li and this guy were likely boyfriend and girlfriend.

Hu Xiao now began to suspect: could Su Li and this guy be childhood sweethearts, with the guy having gone abroad and only recently returned?

Otherwise, why would this boy wait for Su Li for so long?

Jiang Xiangnan didn't like Su Li to begin with, so it had nothing to do with him if she found a new boyfriend.

The problem is they have already told everyone that Su Li still likes Brother Jiang, that she skipped class for him, and stayed in the dorms for him; Brother Jiang specifically shook off Su Li at the bus station yesterday.

Hu Xiao hurriedly pretended not to see, picked up his homework, and started writing.

In the dumpling shop, the two finished eating; the uncle driver had long since finished eating next door and returned, then drove Su Li to school. Upon arriving at the school gate, Zhao Jiu waited in the car. After Su Li said a word to the security guard, the uncle driver went into the school together with her and helped move Su Li's suitcase to the dormitory.

After Su Li said thanks, she hurriedly rushed toward the classroom, while Zhao Jiu went home first.

Class Thirteen was silent; the teacher on duty for Night Self-Study today was their English teacher, who was exceptionally fierce, so no one dared to speak, each one bowing their heads to do homework.

Teacher Liu raised her head and glanced at her, and Su Li hurriedly returned to her seat.

Chen Xue wrote a note and passed it over: "Are you all settled in?"

Su Li picked up her pen and replied: "Just put things in, haven't made the bed yet."

Chen Xue nodded and wrote: "It's fine, there's still time when you go back."

Su Li opened her homework and started writing; Chen Xue's little note was shoved over, and Su Li opened it to see it written: "Su Li, do you know that handsome guy on the bulletin board?"

Su Li wrote back: "Yeah, what's wrong?"

The little note rolled over again: "What is your relationship!!"

They had only seen this photo after taking a shower in the dorm this afternoon; the person they had been discussing for so long actually knew Su Li, and their relationship looked pretty good too!

Regarding the gossip appearing by their side again, Chen Xue and Liu Jiajia were incredibly excited; they were about to become front-line gossip-mongers!

Liu Jiajia looked at the English teacher with a heavy heart; she really wanted to ask Su Li.

At times like this, she was especially envious of Chen Xue.

Su Li opened it again to find a row of exclamation marks inside; she turned her head and saw Chen Xue's eyes full of excitement, flashing with the light of gossip.

Su Li: "???"

Chen Xue secretly took her phone out from under the desk, tapped it a few times, carefully glanced at the teacher above, and then pushed the phone toward Su Li's side.

Su Li looked down to see that the phone clearly showed her and Zhao Jiu walking in the school.

Chen Xue took the little note back and wrote: "These two photos have gone viral."

"Rumor has it that the handsome guy on the bulletin board is your boyfriend."

After all, he waited for Su Li for so long; these days, who has such patience if they aren't waiting for a girlfriend?

Su Li thought for a moment, pulled the note over, and wrote: "The relationship between a creditor and a debtor."

After all, Gouzi hadn't given her the bank card yet.

Chen Xue was stunned for a moment upon seeing this; what?

She remembered that stack of money Su Li had, her hand shook, and she continued writing: "He is the one who lent you money?"

Su Li thought about it and nodded; saying Gouzi owed her money wasn't very believable.

In that instant, Zhao Jiu's image as the school heartthrob shattered into pieces in Chen Xue's heart.

Although that stack of money was quite a lot, students at No. 1 High School from wealthy families would also get over two thousand a month.

So that school heartthrob from the bulletin board camped out by the bulletin board waiting for Su Li until school let out for two thousand yuan?

And he only lent it yesterday, only to come and collect the debt today?

Looking at those two photos, Chen Xue suddenly felt the person wasn't handsome anymore; she crumpled the note, put it at the corner of her desk, and would throw it away after class.

It's better to study; men are all fleeting clouds.

Su Li also lowered her head and started writing; although ten years had passed, picking it back up was relatively fast, and after brushing through the basic questions once, she could remember seven or eight out of ten.

On the other side, the car drove for nearly two hours; Zhao Jiu returned home, looked at the butler walking over, and said: "I'm living at school, help me pack my things."

The butler looked at him as if he were foolish: "What?"

Their young master looked easygoing and didn't have any young master temper, but after staying with him for a long time, one would know that he was picky in every aspect.

If the food wasn't good, he wouldn't throw a tantrum, but he would simply not eat; if the accommodation wasn't comfortable enough, he wouldn't scold them for not doing a good job, but he would go pick a hotel himself; if the clothes sent this year didn't suit his taste, he would directly wear last year's clothes.

The butler was already worried about how he would survive abroad in two years; he wanted to live in a dormitory now?

"Young... master?" The butler suspected his mental state had gone wrong.

Zhao Jiu walked two steps, met the butler's suspicious gaze, thought about his own living habits before going abroad, and hurriedly said: "Just adapting in advance."

It seemed that back then, it was precisely because he didn't adapt that he ended up in such a miserable state at the beginning, even worse than when his dad was sent out to gain experience, and then he met Su Li, who was even more miserable than him.

The butler thought that made sense; starting from the dormitory, he wouldn't end up too miserable when he ventured abroad alone later.

Zhao Jiu returned to his room, thought about his entrance exam scores, and flipped out his Grade 1 books; he had never scored so poorly in his life, and he couldn't quite accept it.

Zhao Jiu opened a book and started to review.