Forced into a romantic relationship

So that's where the "stick figure" came from...

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Zhou suddenly lost in thought, finally understanding the origin of his identity as a "stick figure".

Did he really say that himself?

It was because of his self-introduction that Wang Lengqiu started saying "You are a stick figure" all the time, and it was because he got used to hearing this phrase that he subconsciously made up the identity of "stick figure" for himself.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly which was the cause and which was the effect, but Han Zhou felt a tightness in his throat and his mood gradually grew heavy as he realized something he had long suspected—

Sure enough, it wasn't just being trapped in the past, but even Wang Lengqiu's "mental illness" was influenced by himself?

Lost in thought, he suddenly felt his hand go empty. Looking down, he realized that Xiao Wang Leng Qiu had appeared in front of him at some point and taken the umbrella that should have belonged to him.

The umbrella was too big for a child; the raindrops hanging from its edge formed a beaded curtain, completely obscuring the girl's expression. Only a few curious sounds could be heard from under the umbrella.

"Won't you get a fire like this?"

She seemed to actually believe it, and just like that, she believed the so-called "Matchstick Alien's" story. The girl who was just a moment ago full of wariness towards strangers seemed to become naive in an instant.

Aren't aliens more terrifying than a strange human being?

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, but didn't say anything more. He wiped the rain off his face and said with a smile, "That's right, a matchstick figure that gets wet in the rain won't light up."

"Then why don't you just throw the umbrella away?" Xiao Wang asked Leng Qiu.

"Because if it gets too wet in the rain, the stick figure will never light."

"Isn't it a good thing that it can't be lit?"

"It's a good thing, but it should still be lit when the time is right."

"Sometimes it can light and sometimes it can't, stick figures are really strange."

The girl reached out and stood on tiptoe, trying to return the umbrella to the alien in front of her, seemingly genuinely worried that if he got wet any longer, he wouldn't be able to stay energized at all.

Han Zhou took the umbrella, its huge canopy covering both of them. This time, Xiao Wang Leng Qiu didn't try to move away, but instead stood quietly under the umbrella, holding her schoolbag and looking up at him.

"Yeah, that's weird."

Han Zhou was also looking at her.

It's not too late to leave now. The two of you have only just crossed paths. If you stay away from this girl now and stop having any contact with her, then perhaps she won't turn out the way she did in the future.

Of all the "unlockable characters" he knows, Wang Lengqiu is undoubtedly the most abnormal one, which is most likely due to his past encounter with him.

If I leave now, the other person may not necessarily have a better future, but at least they won't turn into that abnormal state.

That's probably how it is.
That's what he had always thought.

But what Xiao Yixia said yesterday made him realize that such assumptions are actually meaningless.

One should not regret the things one has done.

No one can guarantee that the future where he and Xiao Wang Leng Qiu never met was the right one.

Instead of irresponsibly pinning our hopes on meaningless "what ifs," we should think about how to guide our present journey towards a better future.

Raindrops formed a beaded curtain, and the two looked at each other under the umbrella without speaking, neither knowing what the other was thinking.

A mother and child walked by, giving them a strange look. It was unclear whether she had overheard their conversation or simply found the two drenched figures rather odd.

They clearly had an umbrella.

"Wipe it."

Han Zhou searched through all his pockets and finally found half a pack of tissues. He handed it to Xiao Wang Leng Qiu, who hesitated for a moment, took the tissues, pulled out one, and then returned the rest.

"Take them all," Han Zhou said.

“One is enough,” Xiao Wang Leng Qiu replied.

She lowered her head, not to wipe her wet hair and clothes, but to wipe the schoolbag in her arms.

Seeing her unzip her bag and check the contents, seemingly relieved, Han Zhou asked, "Are the things in your bag important?"

"Yes, there are workbooks due tomorrow."

"Just a workbook?"

"The workbook is very important; the teacher will be angry if you damage it."

"But looking like this, you might not even be able to go to school tomorrow." Han Zhou stuffed the remaining tissues into her hand.

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu looked up at him: "And what about you?"

"I don't need to go to school," Han Zhou said with a smile.

This reason seemed quite convincing, and the girl thought for a moment: "Then let's split it in half."

As if she had just thought of something, she pulled two small bread rolls out of her bag. "These are for you too."

"Could this be leftovers from yesterday?" Han Zhou asked curiously.

"It's today's; the school provides nutritious meals every day."

"Why don't you eat it yourself?" Han Zhou took the small bread.

"I ate a big breakfast, and I need to eat lunch, so I can't eat anything else."

After learning that the stranger in front of him was an alien, Xiao Wang Lengqiu seemed to become more talkative.

Seeing that the mother and child had already walked away, Han Zhou couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you scared at all? Aliens."

Before traveling through time, he had seen many books about supernatural phenomena in Wang Lengqiu's room. He didn't know if this hobby was something he had since childhood or something that came about after this encounter.

"Fear."

Xiao Wang Lengqiu's answer was unexpected. The way she carefully wiped her hair while holding her little schoolbag was endearing.

However, this answer actually relieved Han Zhou—if he was only wary of strangers but not aliens, then he would probably have to do some psychological work on the child as soon as possible.

"Then why don't you run?" he asked.

“You can teleport, I can’t outrun you.” Xiao Wang Leng Qiu’s face was full of seriousness.

"Teleport?"

“Yesterday I saw you appear out of thin air in the bushes.” Xiao Wang Leng Qiu stared into his eyes.

Han Zhou finally understood why the child thought he was an alien; it turned out the child had "seen" his teleportation process.

The "echo" teleportation process only works when no one is watching, so the other person has probably just passed through some deserted bushes and then turned around and immediately saw you. You can imagine how terrifying that would be.

This kind of thing would probably seem unbelievable to anyone, but for a child with limited knowledge, being able to associate it with aliens instead of screaming and running away is already a very brave and rational behavior.

It seems I need to be more careful when teleporting in the future, especially when going to Xiao Yixia's side...

Han Zhou snapped out of his thoughts and said in a helpless tone, "So that's how it is. You figured it out."

Xiao Wang Lengqiu tilted his head and suddenly said, "I don't think you look like an alien."

"why?"

"Because aliens are all ugly, but you not only look exactly like us, you're also very good-looking."

Han Zhou laughed: "Are you praising me?" He wasn't afraid of his identity being exposed, so he didn't bother to make excuses. The reason he didn't admit it for the time being was because he found that the "alien" identity seemed to make it easier to get along with the child.

No, that's not necessarily the case. The child's attitude changed after he took off his mask. After taking off his mask, he not only gained the identity of an "alien," but also gained a handsome appearance.

so……

Could it be that my face is actually a plus?

"wrong."

Just then, Xiao Wang Leng Qiu's voice suddenly rang in his ears, which startled him. He thought that the child had also learned Yi Xia's mind-reading ability.

However, he quickly realized he was overthinking things. After a pause, he heard Xiao Wang Leng Qiu continue, "Normal people don't eat sheep dung, so you must be an alien."

No, is it really impossible to get over the issue of eating sheep dung?
Han Zhou's lips twitched slightly: "I already said that it wasn't sheep dung."

Xiao Wang Lengqiu didn't reply, but silently hugged her small schoolbag tighter and said, "I'm going back."

In autumn, the days are short and the nights are long, and with the rain falling now, it's already quite dark.

"I think you definitely won't agree to let me take you home, right?" Han Zhou said with a smile.

"sorry."

He understood the meaning of "I'm sorry," just like the "thank you" the other person would often say in the future. In this context, it meant that the other person didn't want to say more, but it also meant that they agreed with what he said.

"This habit has really been there since I was a child..." he murmured with emotion.

"Hmm?" Xiao Wang Leng Qiu tilted his head.

"It's nothing. I just meant, you can take this umbrella." Han Zhou handed her the umbrella.

Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu shook their heads.

"Didn't you say the teacher would be angry if you ruined your workbook?" Han Zhou smiled gently. "If you go home like this, your workbook will definitely be soaked."

The girl paused, stared at the schoolbag in her arms for a while, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes, but in the end she shook her head: "But if you get too wet in the rain, you'll never be able to get fired up again."

"Have you forgotten that I can teleport?"

Han Zhou looked relaxed. "I can teleport back to my spaceship at any time without getting wet."

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu was slightly stunned, thinking that it seemed to be true. She wanted to say something more, but the alien had already forcibly stuffed the umbrella into her hand and turned to walk into the rain.

"See you later today. I'll come back to pick up the umbrella when I have time, so don't lose it."

Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu stood there, staring blankly at the figure about to turn into the grove.

"that……"

Han Zhou waved without turning his head, saying casually, "My name is Han Zhou."

"I...I meant to say your shoelaces are loose."

"..."

Han Zhou felt embarrassed, but fortunately he had his back to her. He pretended to be calm, bent down to tie his shoelaces, and was about to walk into the woods when he heard the girl's voice again behind him.

"I'm sorry, and... thank you."

He smiled and said in a meaningful tone, "'Thank you' and 'I'm sorry,' you can only choose one at a time."

Entering the woods, Han Zhou immediately found shelter under a large tree with relatively lush foliage. Although scumbags are said to be prone to being struck by lightning, the rain was too heavy, so he could only take shelter here for the time being.

Overall, the meeting went relatively smoothly, and he successfully established contact with Xiao Wang Leng Qiu using an umbrella. Although it was a bit of a mess, he managed to achieve his goal.

"It feels like I've suddenly gone back to the time when I painstakingly unlocked all the characters..."

He chuckled inwardly. Wang Lengqiu had offered herself up to him so he could complete the process himself, so now he could make up for it.

He didn't believe in fate, but he had to admit that fate was sometimes a very strange thing, just like he had just said something that Wang Lengqiu had once said.

So, is he Wang Lengqiu's mentor in life, or is Wang Lengqiu his mentor in life?
Or perhaps they were all his mentors?

The sky grew increasingly dark, and seeing that the rain showed no signs of letting up, Han Zhou checked his shoelaces, which he had hastily tied not long ago, and decided to run back as fast as he could.

There's no other way; we can't just keep waiting like this.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the woods, his movements became stiff.

Across the woods, a thin girl was silently waiting, holding a huge umbrella.

It was none other than Xiao Wang Lengqiu.

"Haven't you teleported back yet?" she asked.

"That's what I should be asking you."

Han Zhou remained expressionless. "Why aren't you home yet?"

Xiao Wang Lengqiu didn't answer, but remained silent for a while before saying, "The teacher said that you shouldn't hide under trees on rainy days, or you might get struck by lightning."

"I'm the kind of person who's easily struck by lightning..."

"Boom!"

Before he could finish speaking, a terrifying roar suddenly exploded in the sky, and Han Zhou shut his mouth with a complicated expression.

Xiao Wang Lengqiu seemed afraid of thunder, her body trembled slightly, and then she walked over without saying a word, holding the umbrella high above her head. However, she was not very tall, and even on tiptoe, she could not cover this tall alien under the umbrella.

The next second, the alien walked under the umbrella, gently squatted down, seemingly wanting to raise his hand, but then withdrew it, and asked in a strange yet gentle tone, "Tell me, why aren't you home yet?"

"sorry."

The girl lowered her head slightly. "I was wondering if aliens don't have a home on Earth, so..."

"So what?"

"So if you can't find a place to take shelter from the rain, you can come to my house and wait until the rain stops before leaving."

Han Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Didn't you just refuse to let me take you home? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

"This kid is really kind," he thought, "he actually cares about whether an alien will be homeless."

“There are a lot of dogs over there. They all surround me as soon as I walk over. I’m a little scared,” said Xiao Wang Lengqiu.

Han Zhou initially thought this was just an excuse to show concern for aliens, but it wasn't until he actually saw the pack of ferocious dogs that he realized it wasn't like that at all.

Xiao Wang Lengqiu also wanted to go home as soon as possible, but he encountered a group of stray dogs blocking his way. Even if he mustered up his courage, he didn't dare to go over alone, so he came back to find him. Then he happened to see him taking shelter from the rain under a tree.

"So what you really meant was, 'If you help me get rid of these dogs, I'll let you take shelter from the rain at my house,' right?"

Han Zhou picked up a few pebbles from the ground and threw them at the dogs' feet as he asked.

"sorry."

Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu, clutching their schoolbags, hid behind him, a small twig appearing in their hands, seemingly afraid the dogs would rush over.

"That's it."

(End of this chapter)