Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Miss Her Very Much

In the end, Su Zhaozhao decided to charge Li Lianxin the same rate for psychological therapy as the military district hospital.

Su Zhaozhao was starting to see her own profession more and more as a side hustle.

It was nowhere near what she used to charge in her previous life.

But in this day and age, people had very little exposure to mental health issues. If she charged too much, she worried it would only make them more reluctant to seek help from a psychologist.

She figured she might as well treat this portion of her income as charity work.

This way, she could help people become more familiar with psychology, which was, in a way, her method of giving back to the community.

Besides, she had a lot of free time on her hands. She tried to keep herself busy so she wouldn’t constantly be thinking about Xie Huaizheng.

But when she returned home to the familiar, yet empty and desolate house, Su Zhaozhao couldn’t stop her nose from tingling. ’Darn it, I miss Xie Huaizheng so much!’

In the days that followed, Su Zhaozhao and Zhou Yanyan became friends. Besides discussing fiction and Su Zhaozhao coaching her on writing, they also studied English together. Su Zhaozhao even asked Li Weichuan to come over and tutor Zhou Yanyan in math, taking the opportunity to sit in on the lessons herself.

When Li Weichuan first heard he was supposed to tutor Zhou Yanyan, his immediate reaction was to refuse.

He wasn’t one to interact with people, unless they were family... or Su Zhaozhao.

But then Su Zhaozhao approached him and said, "We could study together. I have to take the college entrance exam next year, right? I need to start preparing now, and math is my weakest subject. Wei Chuan, when you teach Yanyan, could you maybe let me join in?"

Before the words of refusal could even leave his lips, Li Weichuan found himself saying, "Alright. I can teach you both."

Zhou Yanyan was stunned to see Li Weichuan show up at her house to tutor her.

She looked at Su Zhaozhao. "You actually got him to come?"

"What’s wrong? You don’t like him?" Su Zhaozhao felt like she didn’t have anyone else she could ask.

In the entire military compound, there wasn’t another high school student who was as good at math as Li Weichuan.

Zhou Yanyan shook her head. "No, that’s not it. I’m just curious. He’s so brilliant. On our school’s exams, his math scores are always in a league of their own—he gets a near-perfect score every single time. But he never shares his study methods with anyone. I heard he’s really withdrawn, so why would he be willing to teach me?"

Zhou Yanyan had known Li Weichuan for a long time. She knew the boy was handsome, in her grade, and the son of a commanding officer. But he was a loner who never socialized with anyone.

So she was naturally astonished when Su Zhaozhao got Li Weichuan to come over.

’Can he really teach us?’

’And if he can, why would he want to?’

After all, teachers at school had tried to get Li Weichuan to share his study techniques before, but he’d ignored them all, coldly remarking that it was just a matter of IQ.

That really ticked off the teachers at the time.

"Wei Chuan is doing much better now," Su Zhaozhao said to Zhou Yanyan. "Don’t be nervous. Just think of him as a regular tutor. Maybe... he just wants to do a good deed and give back to the community."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Zhaozhao herself felt they sounded a bit ridiculous.

’Li Weichuan probably couldn’t care less what other people think; otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept himself so closed off all these years.’

’He most likely agreed because he knew I wanted to study, right?’

’I helped him, and now he’s helping me. No matter how you look at it, he’s a good kid who knows how to repay a kindness.’

And so, for a while, the three of them were always studying together.

Zhou Yanyan would pull Su Zhaozhao aside to discuss her novel.

Meanwhile, Li Weichuan would explain math problems to Su Zhaozhao, even telling her she could ask him about any of her other science subjects if she was having trouble.

Eventually, Li Weichuan even started studying English with them.

Finally, after the next monthly exam, Zhou Yanyan’s scores showed a marked improvement.

An emotional Li Lianxin showed up at Su Zhaozhao’s door with a gift of fruit to express her gratitude.

This happened to be the exact moment Xie Huaizheng returned from his mission.

He was a little surprised to see Li Lianxin moved to tears upon seeing Su Zhaozhao.

After she had left, he looked at Su Zhaozhao. "What was that about?"

He remembered that Li Lianxin’s husband was a chief of staff, though they didn’t know the couple well. He hadn’t expected Su Zhaozhao to become so close with the man’s wife in the short time he was away.

So Su Zhaozhao explained the situation with Zhou Yanyan to Xie Huaizheng.

"I see."

Xie Huaizheng’s eyes narrowed, as if he were lost in thought.

The next second, Su Zhaozhao launched herself into Xie Huaizheng’s arms like a cannonball, hugging him with all her might.

"Xie Huaizheng, a month! A whole month! You’re finally back! You have no idea how much I’ve missed you."

"Don’t hug me, Zhaozhao. I’m filthy."

He was travel-worn and hadn’t had any chance to properly clean up on the road. All his clothes were dirty.

He didn’t want to get Su Zhaozhao dirty.

But Su Zhaozhao didn’t seem to care at all.

"I don’t care, Xie Huaizheng. I just want you." Su Zhaozhao hugged him even tighter, inhaling his scent.

Even though his clothes were filthy, she could still smell that cool, pine-like fragrance on him.

And a faint scent of... cigarette smoke.

Su Zhaozhao immediately pulled away from his embrace.

Even though Xie Huaizheng had said he was dirty and was worried about getting her dirty...

...when she actually pulled away, he couldn’t help but feel the sudden emptiness in his arms.

"Didn’t you promise me you’d quit? Why are you smoking again?" Su Zhaozhao glared at him, annoyed.

Xie Huaizheng couldn’t help but touch his nose. ’Shoot, I only had one, and she still noticed.’

He quickly tried to explain. "It’s just that this mission was exhausting. I barely got any rest, and one cigarette helps keep me alert."

’So that’s why.’

It was true. A man like Xie Huaizheng typically only smoked when he was extremely tired or stressed.

He hadn’t smoked in so long; if he did it during a mission, it was most likely because he was exhausted.

"Then... you’re not hurt, are you?"

Su Zhaozhao’s gaze settled on his face. He was just as handsome as ever, though his hair had grown a little longer—which made sense, since he had been gone for a whole month.

His skin was also a bit tanner, giving him an even more masculine air.

’Of course, that doesn’t prove anything.’

Su Zhaozhao stared at him for a long moment before reaching out to check him over.

She was worried that in her excitement, she might have hugged him too hard and accidentally hurt him.

Xie Huaizheng immediately stopped her with a smile. "It’s okay, it’s okay. I didn’t get hurt this time. If Zhaozhao wants to inspect me, how about you wait until I’ve cleaned myself up? Then I’ll let you inspect me nice and slow, okay?"

As he said the word "inspect," he gently squeezed Su Zhaozhao’s cheek.

He had really missed her, in every possible way.

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