Forced into a romantic relationship

The afterglow of the sunset on the horizon, like a cascading brocade, intertwined with the rising smoke rings.

As the wind blew, the smoke and the glow of the sunset fell together, splashing onto Zhong Chengguang's slightly bewildered face.

He had a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth, stared blankly for a while, then took the cigarette out of his mouth and said with a wry smile, "Asking such a question when we just met is indeed quite presumptuous."

"Feel sorry."

Han Zhou knew he was being too hasty. He wasn't an impatient person, but he couldn't help becoming impatient in this kind of situation. "Just think of this as a questionnaire."

Perhaps it was because he had just personally experienced the flood that nearly swallowed Xiao Wang Leng Qiu, and he couldn't help but worry about the capriciousness of fate—he had only heard the general circumstances of the accident that led to the death of Zhong Ling's parents, but did not know the details, including when the accident occurred.

In other words, from the worst-case scenario perspective, this change could happen at any time.

"There are questionnaires like this?" Zhong Chengguang joked.

“After all, there are births and deaths every day in this world, and last wishes are only about what happens after death. They can be considered the most genuine desires in a person’s heart, so I’m a little curious,” Han Zhou said, forcing himself to speak.

"That doesn't make sense. If you only care about my last wishes, why would you specifically mention my two daughters?"

“Because you seem like a doting father, if you had any last wishes, they would probably be about your daughter.” He smiled apologetically.

"A doting father..."

Zhong Chengguang found this statement quite amusing. He first laughed heartily, then shook his head and said with a smile, "I don't deny what you said, but I'm not only a doting father to my daughter, but also a doting father to my wife."

The implication is that if he were to pass away, he would not only be unable to let go of his daughter, but also his wife.

"cough."

Han Zhou coughed lightly, looking slightly guilty, and said, "I'm sorry, Uncle Zhong, it's my fault for not being clear earlier. The premise of this question is that you and Aunt Ye have both passed away..."

Zhong Chengguang's smile froze.

Just then, he saw his wife leading their youngest daughter home in the distance, so he quickly stubbed out his cigarette and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to answer that question later. Xiaoling and the others are back, and I have to go pick them up. Besides, it's really hard for me to answer your last wish all of a sudden."

"It's alright, I was just asking casually." Han Zhou smiled.

He also saw Xiao Zhongling being led this way by Aunt Ye's hand. The latter had obviously seen him too, and quickly hid behind her mother, only peeking out half of her head to peek over.

As Zhong Yin said, her senior from childhood was indeed a rather shy girl.

Zhong Chengguang jogged over to his wife and daughter, naturally taking the things from his wife's hands. The family chatted and laughed in the sunset. Han Zhou watched silently for a while, but did not go forward to disturb them. Instead, he turned around and went back into the house.

Actually, he wasn't homeless in Lincheng. If he remembered correctly, at this point in time, he had already been taken away to study in another city by Chen Long, who was running away from his debts. There was no one at home. He could take Xiao Wang Leng Qiu home to stay for a while. As long as he was careful, there shouldn't be any problems.

However, there are still risks. Not only could it attract the attention of neighbors, but it could also lead to debt collectors blocking the door or even the police coming. That's why he accepted Uncle Zhong's family's kindness.

Most importantly, it's too dangerous for him to be alone under the same roof as Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu for a week, and he also needs someone to take care of Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu on Friday.

After all, he couldn't possibly take a child with him to "kidnap" Xiao Yixia, and he was even more worried about leaving Xiao Wang Lengqiu alone at home. So the best solution was to have Zhong Ling's family take care of Xiao Wang Lengqiu on Friday.

Back inside, Xiao Wang Lengqiu had just finished washing the dishes in the kitchen—after dinner, she insisted on taking on the responsibility of washing the dishes, and Han Zhou and Zhong Chengguang had no choice but to go outside to chat.

"You're back."

Upon seeing Han Zhou, Xiao Wang Leng Qiu walked towards him, her gaze drifting outside to see Xiao Zhongling's happy family.

Han Zhou turned around following her gaze, thinking she was envious. He didn't know what to say for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't we go back to our room?"

"it is good."

Almost at the same time that he finished speaking, Xiao Wang Leng Qiu nodded in agreement, grabbed Han Zhou's sleeve, and the two of them walked together toward Zhong Yin's room.

"Don't do that again next time."

Just as they stepped out of the living room, Han Zhou suddenly spoke in a low voice.

The girl paused, instinctively wanting to reply "I'm sorry," but ultimately said nothing, and the pressure on her hand gradually lessened.

“I know what you’re thinking. You feel like we’re living under someone else’s roof right now and are afraid of causing trouble for them, so you’re scrambling to help with the housework, hoping that Uncle Zhong and the others will let us stay because of your diligence, right?”

After a pause, Han Zhou continued, "Under normal circumstances, your idea wouldn't be wrong, but this isn't a normal situation... Besides, you're still just a child. If I let you do everything, what am I supposed to do?"

Seeing that Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu were looking at him blankly, he thought the child didn't understand what he meant, so he smiled and said, "In short, just treat this place as your own home. This week is a holiday. Don't think about anything, don't worry about anything, just be happy. There's no need to be so careful, understand?"

"Is that all?"

After a brief silence, Xiao Wang Leng Qiu asked softly.

"Yes, that's all."

Han Zhou patted her head gently, his tone soft, "Don't always worry about whether you'll bother others. Your own happiness is the most important thing—of course, that's not entirely true, but I believe you understand what I mean."

I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but Xiao Wang Leng Qiu’s expression seemed to have suddenly become much more lively, and even the force of his nod was stronger than before.

At the same time, her hand, which had almost completely let go, gripped Han Zhou's sleeve tightly again.

"Ah."

A satisfied smile appeared on Han Zhou's face, but then he suddenly remembered something and looked apologetic: "I'm sorry, I promised to take you out to play today, but it's getting dark now, so I can only take you out tomorrow."

Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu shook their heads: "You should have been taking good care of your injuries."

"It's okay. Don't be fooled by my many wounds; they're not serious at all."

"Don't be reckless." The girl looked up at him.

"I didn't try to be clever... Okay, then let's rest for another day, and I'll take you out to play the day after tomorrow, okay?"

"Go after you've recovered."

"That's true, but I can't stay injured forever."

"Anyway, I need to rest for a couple more days."

Han Zhou gave a wry smile: "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

If he wanted to see pigeons, he wondered if he could find a place similar to Qingyuan Square in Lincheng now...

"I want to go to the cinema to watch a movie."

"See a movie?"

He was a little surprised, but then he realized something. It seemed that the child wanted to experience the movie-watching atmosphere in the cinema first because he hadn't had time to watch the newly bought DVDs yet.

"Okay, let's watch a movie then."

……

As evening self-study ended, Zhong Yin was about to leave the classroom when she suddenly noticed a group of girls in her class excitedly discussing something. Curious, she picked up her backpack and went over.

"What are you talking about, so excited?"

"Xu Xiangyang is coming to Lincheng for a concert this Friday!" a girl exclaimed excitedly.

Who is Xu Xiangyang?

"You don't even know Xu Xiangyang?"

The girl was taken aback at first, then suddenly remembered that Zhong Yin didn't seem to be a fan of celebrities, so she felt relieved and said with a hint of regret, "Never mind, you just need to know that he's a big star." "What do you mean, 'never mind'?"

As fellow fans, another girl was clearly much more fervent than her. She immediately grabbed Zhong Yin's hand tightly and began enthusiastically introducing her idol to her, her fanatical demeanor leaving the other girls watching in bewilderment.

Zhong Yin wasn't interested in idols or celebrities. After listening to such a long explanation, the only sentence she clearly understood was—

Because of the concert, several cinemas in Lincheng have started offering discounts on movie tickets, and the discounts are quite substantial.

Although she wasn't quite sure of the connection, Zhong Yin didn't care. She was a practical person, and since she was about to have a holiday, she thought she could take Xiao Ling to see a movie if the tickets were reasonably priced.

Speaking of handsome celebrities, could Sun Wukong, who's currently staying at home, have a similar background? After all, that guy is not only handsome, but he also always likes to cover his face...

Could he really be a celebrity?
As Zhong Yin was thinking, she got on her bicycle and rode home. Just as she arrived, she saw Han Zhou standing in the corner of the yard, deep in thought, seemingly lost in thought.

What's this guy doing standing here...?

Curious, she first pushed her bicycle into the yard and parked it, then tiptoed behind Han Zhou and suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Sun Wukong, are you a big star?"

Sun Wukong is a celebrity, but I'm not...

Han Zhou thought to himself, he had already noticed this guy sneaking around, so he wasn't going to be scared. He turned around and sighed, "Do I look like a celebrity?"

"Yes, I've heard that many celebrities have very thick skin."

"That's slander."

"No way, don't celebrities have thick skin?"

"No, I meant I'm not thick-skinned."

"Pfft."

"why are you laughing?"

"It's really funny when you say these things in such a serious tone."

"...But I'm telling the truth."

"It would be even funnier if it were the truth."

Han Zhou: "..."

People really do change. Even though the future Sister Yin always treated his words as lame jokes, she's now so easily amused.

However, this is obviously also related to the different environments in which the "two" are located.

While he was thinking, Zhong Yin had already run into the house to greet his parents, then carried two small stools back to the yard, sat down next to him casually, and asked, "So what were you looking at just now, so intently?"

"Didn't see anything."

Han Zhou took the stool, sat down, and shook his head dismissively.

“But I noticed you were staring at the ground, as if there were flowers growing there.”

Zhong Yin glanced down at his feet, but could see nothing but mud.

"You're overthinking it. I didn't see anything."

"Really? I thought you were planning to dig a tunnel here so you could sneak into my house someday."

The air was quiet for a moment.

"What a lame joke," Han Zhou commented.

Zhong Yin's face immediately turned red: "I wasn't joking!"

"I know."

"You knew it, so why did you say it?"

"Anyway, you'll say that about me in the future..." Han Zhou thought to himself, then changed the subject, saying, "Sister Yin, thank you for taking us in."

Zhong Yin was taken aback: "Why are you thanking me? This wasn't my decision... Also, why do you call me Sister Yin? You look much older than me, don't you?"

"Didn't you say that only cute girls don't have to pay for lodging at your house?" Han Zhou said with a look of melancholy. "But I'm destined not to become a girl, so I can only use calling you 'sister' to offset the rent."

"Pfft, you still remember that?"

Zhong Yin was amused again and tucked her hair behind her ear. "But I like my sister, not my brother."

Han Zhou was expected to shamelessly reply with "You can treat me like a younger sister," but to his surprise, the other party suddenly smiled and said seriously, "I heard from your aunt and uncle. Thank you for lending us your room."

If Zhong Yin hadn't offered to give up his room, even if Uncle Zhong and Aunt Ye were kind enough, they wouldn't have allowed him and Xiao Wang Leng Qiu to stay any longer.

Zhong Yin sensed something subtle in his expression and tone, as if he wasn't just talking about this matter. She paused for a few seconds, then smiled nonchalantly: "Didn't you help me last night too?"

"But in the end you still didn't get the safflower oil."

"It's not that important, it's just a minor injury. And the medicine you gave me is really effective. It stopped hurting after a while. Can you give me another one next time?" Zhong Yin said excitedly.

The "medicine" she was referring to was naturally the Strength Pill. Han Zhou also gave a few to Xiao Wang Leng Qiu, who was also injured. He had already thought it through. The Strength Pill was indeed miraculous, but there was no need to hide it. As long as the people around him took it, there would be no problem.

"It's possible, but why did you hide your injury from your aunt and uncle?" Han Zhou asked, puzzled.

Zhong Yin hesitated for a moment, but still felt embarrassed to answer: "We may be close, but I still can't tell you this."

She regretted it as soon as she said it—she and Han Zhou had only just met, and they were definitely not close. She said that because she had a strange dream last night. Although she couldn't remember the details, the inexplicable feeling remained in her heart.

Fortunately, Han Zhou didn't notice anything amiss and guessed to himself, "You didn't secretly go racing with someone, accidentally fell and got hurt, and you're worried that your aunt and uncle will find out you haven't been studying hard, so you're afraid to tell them, right?"

He remembered his senior saying that Sister Yin had a passion for racing, and racing is inherently dangerous, so it was normal that she didn't want her parents to know.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean by not studying properly? What racing?"

However, he seemed to have guessed wrong. He turned his head and saw Zhong Yin looking at him with a strange and embarrassed expression.

Zhong Yin was indeed a little annoyed. She had only fallen off her bicycle yesterday, but this guy suddenly started talking about racing. Was he implying that she was bad at riding a bicycle?

hateful!

"Sorry, it seems I guessed wrong."

Seeing that Zhong Yin's expression was off, Han Zhou immediately apologized sincerely, "Sister Yin, don't be angry, I won't make wild guesses anymore."

Hearing "Sister Yin," Zhong Yin was finally satisfied. Suddenly, she thought of something, flicked her ponytail, and gave a feigned snort of dissatisfaction: "It's not impossible for me to forgive you, but you have to do me a favor."

The problem is, I didn't ask for your forgiveness... Han Zhou thought to himself, then sighed and said, "There's no way I'll give my sister to you."

That's not what I meant!

Zhong Yin rolled her eyes at him, then thought for a moment and said, "But if you're willing to help me, both our sisters can benefit from it."

"What kind of help?" Han Zhou asked, intrigued.

"This Friday is Movie Valentine's Day, you have to come with me to see a movie." (End of Chapter)