Chapter 448: Chapter 446: "No, No, No, You Do! You Absolutely Do!
Xu Su was still processing what she’d said when Sika immediately asked, "I’ll give you two choices: ’I love you the most,’ or ’I only love you.’ Which one do you pick?"
Xu Su answered decisively, "The latter."
"See? That’s what I’m talking about." Sika smiled, unzipping their tent and pushing Xu Su inside. "You know that ’only loving you’ is true love. All that ’loving you the most’ stuff is just for placating children."
"Next question," Sika said, watching Xu Su change into her pajamas with a grin. "Could you accept your boyfriend, Zhou Mochen, having a ’female confidante’?"
Xu Su paused in the middle of changing and said without hesitation, "No."
’Forget a female confidante. She was still mad that another woman had accidentally seen Zhou Mochen half-naked.’
’She’d still get upset whenever she thought about it.’
"What if he had an unforgettable ex-girlfriend, just like you and Xi Zirong tonight..."
"He doesn’t!" Xu Su shouted. "He doesn’t have an ex-girlfriend!"
’She couldn’t even imagine the sight of Zhou Mochen holding and kissing another woman.’
Xu Su’s vehement reaction made Sika raise an eyebrow. "With that level of possessiveness, you dare say you haven’t reached the ’can’t live without him’ stage? I’m really curious what on earth your Zhou Mochen has done to make you feel so secure that you’ve never felt insecure or anxious."
Xu Su remained silent.
Sika smiled and switched subjects. "Then could you accept Xi Zirong getting a new girlfriend?"
She offered a scenario: "What if, when you met today, Xi Zirong had a new girlfriend with him? Could you accept that?"
"..." Xu Su seemed to have an epiphany. She bit her lip and said bluntly, "I could."
’She would probably feel an unavoidable sense of disappointment, but she could accept it.’
Sika said, "What about when you were together? When you and Xi Zirong were dating, did you have this same intense, exclusive possessiveness?"
’Did I?’
Xu Su recalled the first time she and Huang Feng and Qian Jia had stumbled upon a girl cornering Xi Zirong. The faint trace of jealousy hadn’t even surfaced before her first instinct was to pull her two friends away.
’After they got together, she even let Xi Zirong tutor Wu Qianqian. Even after she found out Wu Qianqian had a crush on him, she was angry, yes, but it was completely different from the fury she felt when Gu Yue saw Zhou Mochen half-naked.’
’Then there was the time after they broke up when she saw him seemingly kissing Gu Yunjia. That was the time it bothered her the most. A year-long relationship wasn’t a joke. Seeing the boy who was once hers alone be intimate with someone else created a sense of loss so profound that she forgot to hide her feelings, even in front of Zhou Mochen.’
’In short, she was possessive of Xi Zirong too...’
Xu Su didn’t say anything, but her expression was easy to read. Sika could see it clearly. After clicking her tongue a couple of times, she sighed, "What do I do? I’m starting to feel a little sorry for your boyfriend."
"???" Xu Su looked up. "What do you mean?"
"It’s true that love is exclusive, but there’s another saying: love and ’like’ can coexist."
Sika smiled and said, "But in this country, that kind of thing usually happens with men. ’Keeping the red flag at home from falling while the colorful flags flutter outside’—isn’t that what those moderately successful men are most proud of?"
’What "keeping the red flag at home from falling while the colorful flags flutter outside"...’
Xu Su retorted, "...I’m not that kind of person."
Sika said, "Oh?" and then asked with a wink and a suggestive look, "Then who was it that was just kissing her ex-boyfriend like they were glued together?"
"..." Xu Su was speechless, her embarrassment turning into anger. "Anyway, I’m not the type to have ’colorful flags fluttering’!"
"Why be shy in front of me? Even if you went and slept with your ex right now, I’d be on your side." Sika hooked an arm around her neck and said with a wicked grin, "Tell me, did you two sleep together when you were a couple?"
"...No."
"No way. You had such a handsome guy and you didn’t even take a bite?" Sika felt the regret for her. "Won’t you feel like it’s a pity when he sleeps with someone else in the future?"
"I won’t."
’It’s not like she was crazy. Why would she demand Xi Zirong save himself for her? If he could really move on and start a new relationship, she would only be happy for him.’
Sika goaded her, "Why don’t you go get it done tonight? I doubt he’d refuse you."
"...Stop talking nonsense!" Xu Su covered Sika’s approaching face with her hand and pushed her away. "I have no interest in that."
"No, no, no, you do! You absolutely do!"
Sika wore an ’I-know-everything’ expression. "If you really had zero interest in him, you wouldn’t have spent two hours in a tent with him, kissing and hugging over and over. Admit it, Susu. Subconsciously, you want to sleep with him. At the very least, you’re not opposed to the idea of sleeping with him."
"I’m willing to bet that if the location wasn’t wrong tonight, and if Jiang Chusheng and I weren’t waiting outside, you two..."
"Impossible!" Xu Su disagreed. "I’m certain that the one I love is Zhou Mochen. I would never cheat."
"I believe what you’re saying now comes from the heart, but..." For once, Sika paused before continuing, "Sometimes, logic doesn’t win. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have kissed him."
"..." Xu Su froze.
What Sika said made so much sense that Xu Su couldn’t help but wonder if she really was the person Sika described.
’Could she really be someone who could let love and ’like’ coexist?’
’She loved Zhou Mochen, so she couldn’t tolerate anyone else coveting him or laying a finger on him, not even by accident.’
’But she also *liked* Xi Zirong. It wasn’t out of guilt, nor was it some ’white moonlight’ filter. It was a genuine ’like,’ which was why she hadn’t resisted his kisses at all.’
’And even... if they had done something more, would she have subconsciously accepted that, too?’
...
’Dammit!’
’She was such a scumbag!’
’After Sika’s analysis, she had really been exposed as a bonafide scumbag!’
Xu Su couldn’t accept that she was this kind of person. Wasn’t this a double standard?
’Demanding that Zhou Mochen basically become insulated from the opposite sex, while she herself...’
Annoyed, Xu Su ruffled her hair, unwilling to say another word. She flopped onto her pillow and went to sleep.
Seeing how deeply struck Xu Su looked, Sika was kind enough not to say anything more.
’After all, it takes time to accept that you’re a scumbag. She could understand that.’
Xu Su’s sleep was restless. After finally managing to drift off, she was woken up by a full bladder from drinking too much before bed.
It was pitch black outside. Sika was sleeping soundly beside her. Xu Su didn’t wake her, instead turning on her flashlight and leaving the tent alone.
The bonfire party had long since ended. Everything was silent, save for the large lamps lighting the campsite with a dim, yellow glow.
After coming out of the temporary restroom, Xu Su didn’t go back to sleep. Instead, she walked to the small creek not far from the campsite.
Aside from the sound of the wind and the water, it was completely quiet all around.
’In the dead of such a quiet night...’
Xu Su took out her phone. It was a little after four in the morning. Her fingertip hovered over the screen for a long time before she finally found a number and dialed.
The dial tone rang for barely a second and a half before the other person picked up.
"Susu?" The man’s voice was a little hoarse and questioning, as if he were still dreaming.
