Chapter 338: Her Choice

“Is that not okay?” Su Zhaozhao asked him.

She sensed that Xie Huaizheng wasn’t too happy.

“It’s fine.”

Of course, Xie Huaizheng didn’t want to hinder Su Zhaozhao’s studies. Besides, he couldn’t find a better teacher for her here.

Su Zhaozhao didn’t want to attend high school anyway. She just enrolled in a night school, but she barely attended classes; it was just a formality to be eligible for the college entrance exam.

‘But as for that Li Weichuan kid’s intentions toward Zhaozhao… how could I not know?’

“How about we ask Yanyan to join?” Xie Huaizheng suggested. “Isn’t she struggling with her science subjects too? You two could study together.”

‘Oh, right!’

Su Zhaozhao immediately nodded. “Okay, I’ll talk to both of them about it.”

She had already asked Li Weichuan to help tutor Zhou Yanyan before, so now it was just a matter of adding herself to the group.

Xie Huaizheng felt relieved.

‘That Li Weichuan kid… I’ll never give him a chance to be alone with Zhaozhao.’

And so, time trickled by, and Su Zhaozhao led a busy yet fulfilling life.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the college entrance exam arrived.

Xie Huaizheng took a special day off to personally escort Su Zhaozhao to the examination hall.

He seemed even more nervous than Su Zhaozhao.

“Zhaozhao, it’s okay. Just do your best. It’s fine even if you don’t do well. Don’t be nervous, you hear? I know what you’re capable of. If it really doesn’t work out, I can arrange a better job for you.”

Su Zhaozhao smiled at Xie Huaizheng. “Honey, you have to have faith in my abilities.”

After saying that, Su Zhaozhao waved to Xie Huaizheng and turned to enter the examination hall.

Although she had only been studying for half a year, she had genuinely stayed up late every night, even falling asleep to English recordings.

She hadn’t dared to slack off for a single moment.

After the exams concluded a few days later, Su Zhaozhao walked out of the hall and happily embraced Xie Huaizheng.

“There, there, Zhaozhao. The exams are over, and that’s what matters. As long as you tried your best, the results don’t matter. Let’s go get something good to eat now.” Xie Huaizheng held Su Zhaozhao’s hand tightly. For some reason, watching her take the exams made him even more nervous than usual.

He knew, of course, that Su Zhaozhao was a perfectionist.

Whatever she set her mind to, she was determined to do it to the absolute best of her ability.

Xie Huaizheng naturally hoped Su Zhaozhao would get a good score, but he also worried that she would be heartbroken if her results were poor.

So, ultimately, Xie Huaizheng just wanted Su Zhaozhao to wait for the results before thinking too much about it.

‘As for now…’

‘Since Su Zhaozhao is already so tired, she definitely deserves to eat well, drink well, and then sleep in.’

Su Zhaozhao didn’t bring up the exams either. For her, the papers had been a bit difficult, but she had managed to finish them all.

She had done her absolute best. All that was left was to wait for the results.

The exam was held at a high school in the city, so Xie Huaizheng took Su Zhaozhao directly to the best-tasting restaurant nearby.

The restaurant had just opened. It was a private establishment, not one of those state-run places. The decor was exquisite, and the menu was extensive and varied.

But ever since he had been to Su Zhaozhao’s world, Xie Huaizheng knew that she had long grown accustomed to such things.

Still, this was the best their area had to offer.

“You order,” Xie Huaizheng said, pushing the menu toward Su Zhaozhao.

Su Zhaozhao didn’t refuse and started ordering from the menu.

“I haven’t eaten properly these past few days—just plain broths and simple foods. So now, I want to eat a lot of delicious things,” Su Zhaozhao said, looking at Xie Huaizheng.

For the last few days, Su Zhaozhao had been eating a light, nutritious diet.

She had been worried that something might happen mid-exam and affect her performance.

But now, Su Zhaozhao just wanted to eat spicy, flavorful food.

She ordered roasted lamb chops, da pan ji, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, and grilled fish…

Huai Zheng listened to her rattle off the dish names, a slight twitch in his brow. He didn’t stop her; he knew this was her way of letting loose after a period of suppression.

When all the dishes arrived, the table was a-sizzle with bubbling red chili oil, its fragrant aroma filling the air.

Xie Huaizheng placed some meat in Su Zhaozhao’s bowl and also asked the waiter to bring her a large bowl of rice.

“Eat slowly, Zhaozhao.”

He had also specially ordered a glass of sour plum juice. On a hot summer day like this, a mouthful of spicy food followed by a sip of sour plum juice was simply divine.

“Honey, stop giving me all the food. You eat more too,” Su Zhaozhao said, turning to Xie Huaizheng.

Xie Huaizheng had also been tense and worried about her recently and hadn’t been resting well. His eyes were bloodshot.

“Okay, let’s both eat up.”

Xie Huaizheng didn’t stand on ceremony either, digging into his rice as he spoke.

After dinner, the two of them did some shopping nearby before heading home.

She could finally relax completely for a while, but she still needed to fill out her university application choices.

“Zhaozhao, based on how you think you did, where do you think you can go to university?” Xie Huaizheng asked her.

Here in the Northwest, there was really only one university of note, but Xie Huaizheng felt that Su Zhaozhao could get into a better one.

Like the schools in Beijing, for instance.

Recently, he had also been applying for a transfer to Beijing.

He had always had the option to go, but he hadn’t wanted to be controlled by his family, so he’d stayed away.

But things were completely different now.

Being with Su Zhaozhao, he now had a home of his own.

‘From now on, as long as I’m with Su Zhaozhao, I’ll go anywhere willingly!’

Su Zhaozhao looked at Xie Huaizheng and couldn’t help but smile. “I want to go to Beijing. What do you think?”

She ultimately preferred bustling places. West State was nice, but for Su Zhaozhao, it was still missing something.

Besides, in the future, Beijing would only become more and more developed.

“Of course, Zhaozhao. So what do you want to do in the future? Will you stick with your previous major?” Xie Huaizheng asked with a smile, patting Su Zhaozhao’s head.

He had been a little surprised when he learned about her previous major.

He never would have thought that a girl like Su Zhaozhao…

Su Zhaozhao nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”

Familiarity was one reason, but passion was another.

Back then, if she hadn’t truly loved it, she would never have chosen to major in psychology.

Later on, she discovered that it allowed her to help many people, which gave her a greater sense of accomplishment in her work.

And now, she was choosing this field again because its development in the country was still lacking. She hoped to contribute her small part to expand the field and help more people.

Right now, many people had no idea what mental illness was, nor did they understand the severe harm it could cause.

Many people with severe depression ended up committing suicide.

Su Zhaozhao hoped that more and more people would come to understand these mental illnesses and realize that emotional trauma can also be devastating.

Only when people become increasingly aware that mental health issues can lead to severe consequences can they begin to break free from such trauma.