Forced into a romantic relationship

It was seven o'clock in the morning, and the sky was still dark.

Before Han Zhou could knock, the neatly dressed girl opened the door and walked out of the room.

It turns out that for a person with a regular sleep schedule, even if they occasionally stay up late or even lose their alarm clock, their body can still wake up naturally when needed.

This is the power of the biological clock; sometimes it's even more reliable than an alarm clock.

However, Han Zhou didn't dwell on whether the alarm clock he was asked to stay with last night was actually broken; he simply smiled and greeted him.

"Good morning."

Xiao Wang Lengqiu looked up at him. This was probably the first time she had heard such a greeting at home. After a few seconds, she nodded gently.

"Good morning."

He then went into the bathroom to wash up.

Han Zhou originally wanted to make breakfast, but after searching around, he couldn't find the rice or noodles, so he had to give up and decided to buy some steamed buns for Xiao Wang Leng Qiu when he went out.

However, he quickly remembered the tragic fact that he was penniless, and he became extremely depressed.

Just as he was pondering whether to shamelessly hand over the small bread that Xiao Wang Lengqiu had given him yesterday, Xiao Wang Lengqiu, who had finished washing up, brought out two pairs of rain boots, one large and one small, from the inner room, gesturing for him to put on the larger pair.

After a night of heavy rain, the roads outside are already muddy and slippery. Some of the already soft surfaces may even cause people to sink in. In addition, it is still dark, making travel even more difficult.

That's just how conditions are in the countryside. In the future, there might be a wide asphalt road here, but for now, if you want to go out on a rainy day, you can only wear rain boots.

Xiao Wang put on his rain boots, packed his sneakers in a bag, and suddenly asked, "Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine, but you..."

"I'll buy you some steamed buns when we get to town," Xiao Wang Lengqiu said.

Han Zhou was stunned. Wasn't this supposed to be his line?
Although he was short of money at the moment, how could a grown man keep eating for free from a child?

Two are enough.

He stood up with a solemn expression and spoke.

On the other hand, since Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu treated him to steamed buns this time, he could use that as an excuse to invite them back next time. After doing this a few times, he wouldn't have to worry about not being able to establish a stable relationship with them.

It is important to understand that relationships between people are built upon the exchange of favors and obligations.

"correct."

As if remembering something, he spoke up to remind him, "Are you out of rice at home?"

"Okay, I'll buy some after school."

Xiao Wang Lengqiu slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and picked up the umbrella beside him.

"Do you need my help?"

Han Zhou also picked up an umbrella and followed the girl out of the house. The sound of rain suddenly became noisy in his ears.

The girl paused, hesitated for a moment, and said, "If you can't find a place to eat in the future, you can come to my house."

Han Zhou's expression froze.

What is this? Does this child think he's a beggar?
With a solemn expression, he earnestly explained, "I simply wanted to help you; I had no other intentions, and I certainly didn't plan to freeload off you."

As he spoke, he habitually closed the door and locked it.

"what happened?"

Seeing the girl staring blankly at him, he asked in confusion.

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu was silent for a while: "I didn't bring my keys."

"..."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Han Zhou's face, but he quickly regained his composure: "It's alright, I know how to pick locks."

Xiao Wang Lengqiu didn't speak, but only sighed softly.

Yes, though it was not easily noticeable, she did sigh.

Aside from her feigned sigh last night, this was the first time Han Zhou had ever seen the girl sigh, leaving him both curious and embarrassed.

Before he could say anything more, Xiao Wang Lengqiu had already stepped into the rain, his calm voice coming from the howling wind: "Let's go, we'll be late if we don't go now."

It has to be said that this child's emotions are quite stable.

Han Zhou immediately followed, walking alongside the girl on the muddy road.

At seven o'clock in the morning, it was still dark. With the heavy rain, there was no other light except for the beam of light from Xiao Wang Leng Qiu's flashlight.

The heavy rain quickly formed a curtain along the edge of the umbrella. Looking at his empty left hand and then at his rain boots, Han Zhou suddenly realized something—he had forgotten to take his shoes with him.

It seems that not sleeping all night is really bad for your health... He silently tried to make amends, then turned to look at Xiao Wang Leng Qiu, wondering if the other party had noticed.

He must have noticed... Perhaps it was because he realized this that he thought he wanted to come over for dinner again tonight?

He chuckled inwardly, noticing that the girl seemed to be pondering something. He assumed she was worried about not being able to get home that night, so he said seriously, "I really do know how to pick locks."

In a sense, with his status bar, he might sometimes really be able to portray himself as an omnipotent alien.

Perhaps because of the special bond between past and future that cannot be concealed, and because he had personally experienced the emotions behind this nine-year-long wait, he was not worried about revealing the extraordinary status bar to Xiao Wang Leng Qiu.

After they met again, the girl never revealed any secrets, not even to him, the person directly involved.

Behind this might just be a childhood promise, or a casual conversation, but she kept it up in a childish yet mature way. Even though she was never accepted by her former alien friends, she never revealed this past.

Thinking about this, Han Zhou suddenly felt a little dazed. If he had never even considered saying it...

So what exactly was this girl waiting for?

As he pondered, the still somewhat childish voice of the twelve-year-old girl pulled him back to reality; her tone was exceptionally earnest.

“It’s illegal to pick someone’s lock,” she said.

"Of course I know that."

Han Zhou snapped out of his daze and asked, "Then do you have any other way to get the key?"

"Grandpa had the key with him, but he went to the city and won't be back for a few days."

"Call him?"

“No, Grandpa needs to get proper medical treatment.” Xiao Wang Leng Qiu immediately shook his head, his attitude resolute.

"How about I break the lock and replace it with a new one and key?" Han Zhou suggested.

Xiao Wang Lengqiu still shook her head: "No, if I'm not home when Grandpa comes back, he won't be able to get into the house."

"This won't work, that won't work either, so what do you think we should do?"

Han Zhou feigned disappointment. Of course, he wasn't impatient; he was just curious what methods the child had that were suitable for this era.

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu thought about it seriously for a moment, then suddenly said, "Teach me how to pick locks."

"what?"

Han Zhou looked bewildered, a question mark appearing above his head.

"I told you to teach me how to pick locks," Xiao Wang Lengqiu repeated.

"But didn't you just say that picking locks is illegal?"

"It's illegal to pick someone else's lock, not your own."

Han Zhou paused for two seconds: "Are you kidding me?"

The girl shook her head and said in a serious tone, "I'm not joking."

"I'm scared because you don't know how to joke..." Han Zhou muttered.

"Ok?"

"nothing."

"..."

The two chatted as they walked, their voices gradually fading into the sound of the rain.

From childhood to adulthood, Xiao Wang Lengqiu has mostly gone to school alone. There have been very few times when someone accompanied her, and even fewer times when a talkative person accompanied her.

This feeling made her a little uncomfortable, but she didn't dislike it either.

She hasn't made any friends since transferring schools because her parents always tell her on the phone to keep her distance from others so she won't cause trouble and won't burden them.

Grandpa was very unhappy after hearing this and had a big fight with Mom and Dad. She knew why they were arguing, but she didn't want Grandpa to be unhappy or for him to continue arguing with Mom and Dad, so she told them that she would be obedient.

Only when she is obedient will her parents send money back every month, and only when they send money will her grandfather not have to keep looking for tiring jobs.

She wanted to grow up quickly so that her grandfather wouldn't have to work so hard.

But she could only keep these words to herself; she couldn't tell her parents or her grandfather, otherwise they wouldn't be happy. So she always said that she was doing well at school.

Actually, the teachers and classmates at school were all very nice, except for a few who weren't. She didn't know why they didn't like her, but she still kept her distance from them as her parents told her to. Every day after school, she would walk around them, and that's when she met this alien next to her.

In fact, this alien didn't look like an alien at all. If she hadn't seen him appear out of thin air in the grass with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed his story at all.

Even now, she still harbors doubts about the other person's identity, but she still believes in him more than he believes in her.

As for the reason... it's probably because if they were really aliens, they wouldn't be considered "human." Even if they got a little close, as long as they weren't friends, their parents probably wouldn't be angry, right?

It was a bit of self-deception, so she believed this person was a real alien.

After all, if they weren't really aliens... how could they be running wildly in such heavy rain while carrying themselves?

It's even faster than a cheetah in the animal kingdom.

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu felt dizzy and her vision was blurry. It took her a while to realize that she had been pulled into someone's arms without her noticing.

"how do I……"

She tried to speak, but was interrupted the next second.

Do you usually push yourself this hard?

He looked up, and the gentle smile that always graced his face was now devoid of any warmth; both his tone and expression were terrifyingly serious.

Han Zhou is very angry now.

Just a few minutes ago, Xiao Wang Lengqiu, who was talking to him, suddenly lost consciousness. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and prevented the latter from hitting his head on a rock.

It wasn't until he held the girl in his arms that he realized she was planning to go to school despite her high fever, as if nothing was wrong.

To love something to this extent is practically alien-like.

(End of this chapter)