Forced into a romantic relationship

Thursday, sunny and cloudless.

Lincheng has been cloudy for the past few days. If you add the continuous torrential rain in Xinghua Town, Han Zhou and Xiao Wang Lengqiu haven't seen the sun for almost a week. Today is a rare good day, and the two of them ran to the yard early in the morning to enjoy the sunshine.

Over the past few days, the two have gotten along quite well with Zhong Ling's family. They even gather together to watch TV in the evenings. Even the shy little Zhong Ling is no longer so timid. When she sees Han Zhou after school in the afternoon, she will call out "Brother Wukong" in a clear voice.

Upon learning of this, Zhong Yin was depressed all day long, as if her younger sister had been taken away. Every night she would cause trouble for Han Zhou until she heard Xiao Wang Leng Qiu call out "Sister Zhong Yin", and then she left satisfied.

Although they had only spent a short time together, the young people had already formed a friendship. Even the aloof Xiao Wang Lengqiu would often whisper secrets to Xiao Zhongling in her room.

Both Han Zhou and Zhong Yin were very interested in the contents of these whispers. The two hit it off and tried to work together to get information out of the two little girls, but after several days they got nothing.

However, what matters is never the result, but the process. Although they failed, many interesting things happened during the process. Xiao Wang Lengqiu, who never liked to trouble others, even moved Ye Xiaorou over and asked her to help guard the door.

Although he still doesn't smile much, Han Zhou can tell that Xiao Wang Leng Qiu has been really happy lately.

In the courtyard, Han Zhou and Xiao Wang Leng Qiu lay comfortably on deck chairs, greedily enjoying the not-so-warm sunshine.

During this time, Han Zhou did a set of radio calisthenics to prove that his body had fully recovered. He then lay down for about an hour before stretching and returning to his room.

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu followed him into the house, and then heard Han Zhou suddenly say, "My injury has almost healed, and I can go out now. Shall we go out and have some fun today? Let's go to the movies."

Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu nodded first, then shook their heads: "How about we go see a movie tomorrow?"

"why?"

"Sister Zhongyin said she has very cheap tickets."

He actually went to Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu to act as intermediaries; that guy really hasn't given up yet...

Han Zhou was not surprised. The reason why he and Zhong Yin formed a united front alliance a couple of days ago was not only because they were both interested in the two girls' whispers, but also because Zhong Yin was still reluctant to waste that family-friendly meal and wanted to take this opportunity to continue to persuade them.

Seeing that there were no results, she actually "betrayed" the organization and got in touch with Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu again, clearly still not planning to give up.

However, it would be naive to think that this trick would make him submit.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou turned around, squatted down, patted Xiao Wang Leng Qiu's head, and patiently explained, "But I have something to take care of tomorrow afternoon, so I can't go to the movies with you."

"Is it something important?" Xiao Wang asked Leng Qiu.

"It's not that important... but I've already made an appointment, and once an agreement is made, it can't be easily broken."

"Then can you take me with you?"

"Sorry, can't."

Han Zhou was adamant. He was going to "kidnap" Xiao Yixia tomorrow afternoon, and he didn't know what might happen along the way. Bringing other people along might increase the trouble.

After a brief silence, Xiao Wang Leng Qiu gave a soft "hmm" as usual, obediently accepting the fact without showing any disappointment on her face.

Han Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. The reason he was certain that Zhong Yin's plan would not succeed was because he knew that Xiao Wang Leng Qiu was a very sensible child. But for some reason, watching the other party's silent departure, he always felt uneasy.

The girl seemed to be looking forward to tomorrow's movie, and he could sense that.

But he didn't understand why the other person was so insistent on seeing a movie tomorrow.
Is it because tomorrow is Movie Valentine's Day?

No, no, no, that's unlikely. Even he wouldn't know about such an obscure holiday, let alone a kid who rarely has the opportunity to surf the internet.

Perhaps... she just wanted to experience the atmosphere of going to the movies with her "whole family".

Regardless, the plan to go out and play today will not change. Han Zhou helped Uncle Zhong at the repair shop in the morning. Seeing that it was almost noon, he went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

This was his main job in the house these past few days. After all, he was staying at someone else's house, and even if he was injured, it was not an excuse to freeload. So he naturally put his skills to good use.

Lunch had just been prepared when Zhong Yin, who had returned home from school, followed the aroma into the kitchen. She stood on tiptoe behind Han Zhou and peered inside, asking, "It smells so good! What are we having today?"

Ever since she ate Han Zhou's cooking, she would ask him to name the dishes every time she returned home.

"Braised pork ribs with scallions, sweet and sour pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes—aren't these the dishes you specifically requested last night? And you're asking me what I want to eat?" Han Zhou said, both amused and exasperated. "I was just saying it casually. Who knew you'd actually make it for me?" Zhong Yin beamed as she watched him serve the dishes.

"You've already bought all the ingredients, so I have no choice but to do as you say."

"Can't you say something that makes people happy?"

"Okay, I made this especially for you."

Zhong Yin was satisfied and continued to ask, "Why did you specially cook for me?"

"Um... just to make you happy?" Han Zhou asked tentatively.

"That's pretty much it."

Zhong Yin beamed and winked at him, "Then do you want to make me even happier?"

"If you mean going to the movies with me tomorrow afternoon, then I'm sorry, I can't help you with that."

"Tch, who said that?"

Zhong Yin rolled her eyes at him, and the two of them picked up two plates and walked towards the living room. "I've already made up my mind. You can go or not, it's up to you. Tomorrow I'm taking Xiaoya to the movies. If she completely treats me like her older sister and even forgets about you as her older brother, don't regret it."

"Then I'll have to trouble you." Han Zhou smiled nonchalantly. "I'll probably be very busy tomorrow afternoon, and I'm worried about who will help take care of Xiaoya."

"You always say you're busy, but you never say what you're busy with. Are you going to do something illegal or criminal?" Zhong Yin looked at him strangely.

She thought of the various injuries on this guy's body not long ago, and the pain-relieving medicine, and realized that he must get injured often, which was why he always carried such medicine with him.

Her parents thought that this kid had a fight with them, but she didn't think so. This Sun Wukong was very mysterious, and she had been having strange dreams lately.

For a moment, she even doubted that she was seeing the future, because in her dream she was no longer young, but this guy was still the same as he was now.

It's worth mentioning that she only has these strange dreams when she sleeps with Xiaoling at night; she doesn't have them during her midday nap. We don't know what's wrong with her.

Han Zhou had no idea what Zhong Yin was thinking, and chuckled, "What are you thinking? I'm just going to see a friend."

Of course, in a sense, what he was about to do was indeed illegal and criminal.

"friend?"

"Yeah, just ordinary friends."

Just then, Aunt Ye brought Xiao Zhongling into the living room. Uncle Zhong usually stays at the repair shop, so Aunt Ye is mostly responsible for picking up and dropping off the children.

Of course, if Zhong Yin had free time, she would definitely rush to pick up her sister and take her home.

"elder sister!"

Upon seeing Zhong Yin, Xiao Zhongling immediately ran over and hugged her leg tightly, her clear eyes filled with longing.

In this family, it's not just Zhong Yin who's a sister-obsessed sister; Xiao Zhong Ling is also a sister-obsessed sister, spending most of her time following her older sister around whenever she's not in school.

"Alright, you two, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner. I'll go call Dad." Ye Xiaorou smiled gently at her two daughters, nodded tenderly to Han Zhou, and turned to leave the living room.

This wasn't the first time Han Zhou had witnessed such a scene, but seeing it again still stirred something within him.

"Brother Han Zhou".

Just then, Xiao Zhongling looked up at him and timidly greeted him.

Because of shyness, the girl's voice was very soft, but loud enough for everyone in the living room to hear clearly.

"Ah."

Han Zhou smiled and couldn't help pinch the other's chubby little face. "Let's get ready to eat." (End of Chapter)