Forced into a romantic relationship

It was already 5 p.m. when we left the amusement park.

The setting sun hung obliquely on the horizon, casting long shadows across the entire city. The shadows of the buildings spread across the streets like ink stains, and those buildings that could only be seen from across the street on ordinary days now seemed to embrace each other quietly in the interplay of light and shadow.

Seeing Xiao Wang Leng Qiu gazing absently at the distant skyscrapers, Han Zhou assumed she was marveling at the prosperity of Lincheng and said with a smile, "Is this the first time you've seen such a sight?"

The town at dusk and the city at dusk are completely different. It's hard to find a building taller than a Ferris wheel in the town, but you can find many in the neighboring city. If they really wanted to see the home of aliens, they should have climbed to the top of those buildings.

"Yes, this is the first time I've seen this," Xiao Wang Leng Qiu replied softly.

The setting sun danced on the girl's eyelashes, gilding her silhouette with a reddish-gold edge.

In fact, this was not her first time coming to the city.

Even in the same city, under the same sky, things look different at different times.

She likes Lincheng now.

"We still have a few days. Once I've finished my work, I'll take you sightseeing more," Han Zhou said with a smile.

"I want to go to the zoo."

For the first time, Xiao Wang Lengqiu took the initiative to raise her request.

"Okay, what animal would you like to see?"

"ostrich."

"ostrich?"

"Hmm, I want to see how big ostrich eggs are."

"Well, you might not see ostrich eggs at the zoo..."

"Can you let them lay eggs for me to see?"

Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he said with a troubled expression, "I'm afraid that won't work..."

Even if he did have that ability, it wouldn't be convenient for children to watch, as it would be somewhat inappropriate for them.

The invincible stick figure has fallen again.

Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu were not disappointed. After thinking for a moment, they said, "Then let's not look at the eggs, let's go look at other animals."

Han Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The two bought some breadcrumbs and fed the pigeons outside the amusement park gate.

During the feeding, Han Zhou suddenly thought of something, secretly glanced at Xiao Wang Lengqiu's profile for a while, and hesitated before asking, "Um... Xiao Lengqiu, did you have fun today?"

To be honest, he had a pretty good time today, but Xiao Wang Leng Qiu didn't show much expression on his face and didn't like to express his feelings. If you didn't ask him, you couldn't even tell if he was happy or not.

"Happy," Xiao Wang Leng Qiu replied.

Despite saying that, her face showed no sign of happiness, which left Han Zhou somewhat unsure. After a moment's hesitation, he continued to ask, "Why are you happy?"

"Does happiness need a reason?" Xiao Wang Leng Qiu tilted her head and looked at him.

Han Zhou was taken aback and said, "Indeed, no reason is needed, but you should laugh more when you're happy, so why do you rarely laugh?"

He had wanted to ask this question for a long time. It couldn't be that the child was born not liking to smile, could it?
Xiao Wang Lengqiu poured breadcrumbs into his palm and let the pigeons hop into it to peck at them. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I don't know either, but even if you laugh often, it doesn't necessarily mean you're happy inside."

"Is this kid targeting me?" Han Zhou's expression was strange, after all, he was a cheerful and sunny young man who loved to laugh.

Then he thought of Zhong Ling nine years later—although the senior always had a smile on her face, she must not be happy all the time.

He scattered a handful of breadcrumbs on the ground and asked curiously, "So what's your standard for judging happiness?"

For a twelve-year-old girl, if laughter isn't the standard for judging whether she's happy, then what is?

"Time seems to have sped up."

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu answered without hesitation.

Time seems to be speeding up...

Han Zhou was stunned.

This answer, though abrupt, isn't too difficult to understand. After all, most people have probably had this feeling, and some have even written it into their essays.

Happy times are always quite short.

He said thoughtfully, "So if you feel that time is going faster, you are happy?"

...Doesn't that mean nothing was said?

Aside from herself, who knows when her time will speed up or slow down?

Xiao Wang Lengqiu shook his head: "Time flies when you're at school."

—This clearly doesn't mean she was happy at school.

Being happy makes time seem to fly by, but time flying by doesn't necessarily mean you're happy...

So in the end, didn't we still end up saying nothing?
"You're really hard to understand..." Han Zhou smiled wryly.

"Do you want me to become more sensible?" Xiao Wang Leng Qiu suddenly asked.

"I don't want to." Han Zhou wiped the last crumbs from his hands, clapped his hands, and stood up to say.

"Why?" Xiao Wang Leng Qiu was stunned for a moment; she thought the answer would be "want".

She stood up and instinctively grabbed that large hand, which in turn instinctively squeezed her hand back.

This made her feel at ease.

"I do not know why either."

Han Zhou thought about it carefully, then shook his head and laughed, "It's probably because people who are hard to understand are more likely to make friends with aliens."

The girl paused for a moment, and suddenly, a pigeon took flight from the ground. Perhaps noticing the breadcrumbs left on their hands, it landed on their clasped hands and carefully pecked at them.

She gently rubbed the pigeon's head and said, "You're a bit hard to understand too."

I don't know if I'm talking about this greedy pigeon or some alien next to me.

After feeding the pigeons, the two prepared to go back.

Before heading back, Han Zhou bought some fruit and snacks at a nearby shopping mall, as well as groceries for tonight and tomorrow. He also went to the discount section to buy a black baseball cap—he was preparing for tomorrow's "kidnapping" operation.

Since it's a kidnapping, we have to be professional; masks and baseball caps are essential.

It's worth mentioning that he also picked out a hat for Xiao Wang Lengqiu, a white fluffy hat with cat ears. Wearing it on the girl's head, she looked like an angel descended, so cute that several girls passing by almost melted their hearts.

Han Zhou could imagine Zhong Yin's reaction when he saw Xiao Wang Leng Qiu wearing that hat. He would probably sprint over at top speed, shouting "So cute!" and frantically ruffling the latter's head. Even he couldn't resist, let alone that sister-obsessed guy.

Han Zhou originally wanted to take a taxi back, but Xiao Wang Leng Qiu said he wanted to walk around a bit more, and seeing that it was still early, he agreed.

However, he did not return the way he came, but took a different route home. This way, he could show Xiao Wang Leng Qiu more of the scenery in different parts of Lincheng, and also continue to try his luck to see if he could run into Xiao Yi Xia who had just finished school.

However, Xiao Yixia didn't see him; instead, he saw Zhong Yin pushing his bicycle home at the high school gate first.

Strange, why is Sister Yin pushing her bicycle? Does she want to see more of the streets of Lincheng?

"Sister Yin!"

Han Zhou was puzzled, so he waved to them from a distance.

Upon hearing the sound, the latter was startled at first, then turned around and his eyes lit up. He dropped his bicycle and ran over.

However, the other party didn't even glance at him, his gaze fixed firmly on Xiao Wang Leng Qiu, which startled the usually calm girl so much that she shrank back and quickly hid behind him.

"so cute!"

Just as Han Zhou had predicted, Zhong Yin ran so fast because he wanted to get Xiao Wang Leng Qiu's head, but Xiao Wang Leng Qiu wasn't very cooperative. When Zhong Yin went left, she would hide behind Han Zhou on the right, and when he went right, she would hide on the left. The two of them seemed to be playing a game of eagle chasing chicks, which made Han Zhou both laugh and cry.

But the thought of himself becoming a mother hen made him unable to laugh.

At the same time, Zhang Yang hurriedly ran out of the school gate, looking around and panting as he searched for Zhong Yin's whereabouts. However, he only saw the bicycle abandoned by the roadside and could not find Zhong Yin.

what's the situation?
He was startled. Could it be that Zhong Yin had already guessed Sun Chengshuang's plan and knew that he wanted to take this opportunity to get close to her, and that he had even lost his bicycle to avoid him?

Will she think that I let the air out of the tires?
Will she hate me?

In an instant, fear, shame, frustration, dejection, and sadness surged into Zhang Yang's heart. He bit his lip and it took him a long time to recover. He took out his phone and was about to tell Sun Chengshuang what had happened when he suddenly saw a person kneeling at the corner not far away. It was Zhong Yin, whom he had been searching for.

In front of Zhong Yin was a suspicious man wearing a mask and a baseball cap. The man had his hands behind his back and shook his head from time to time, looking superior. Zhong Yin, on the other hand, seemed to be kneeling on the ground with her hands clasped together, pleading for something.

Damn it! What is this bastard trying to do?!
Zhang Yang was furious. He instantly imagined Zhong Yin being extorted by bullies as soon as she left the school gate. His blood boiled and all the emotions he had accumulated turned into anger. He didn't care how bullies could appear outside the school gate. He immediately dropped his schoolbag and rushed over without thinking.

As is well known, people can do many things they wouldn't normally do when they are extremely angry, and Zhang Yang was no exception. For the first time, he mustered up the courage to let out a thunderous roar in public—

"Zhong Yin! I'm here!"

At this moment, Zhong Yin was begging Xiao Wang Leng Qiu to let him touch her head when she suddenly heard a series of unusually rapid footsteps and a thunderous shout that pierced her ears. She was stunned at first, then turned her head and saw Zhang Yang charging towards her like a mad bull. Her expression changed drastically, and she quickly got up and dodged forward.

But she forgot that Han Zhou was right in front of her. Han Zhou also heard the roar and wanted to peek out to see who it was. He didn't expect Zhong Yin to suddenly bump into him. Caught off guard, he lost his balance and was knocked to the ground.

Fortunately, he remained relatively calm. Worried that Xiao Wang Leng Qiu behind him would be crushed, he disregarded everything else and quickly tucked the latter under his arm, then pulled her into his arms. He also hugged Zhong Yin, whose face had turned pale, and then tensed his muscles, falling straight to the ground with an unusually dull thud.

A passerby gasped in surprise.

Han Zhou's physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people, but he still dared not slam his head on the ground. Therefore, when he fell, he deliberately tilted his neck back, only to bump his face with Zhong Yin.

If he hadn't been wearing a mask, the most classic scenario would have already unfolded by now.

Even through the fabric, he could feel that touch... no, those amazing softness.

—The main thing is the softness pressing against my chest.

The two of them stared wide-eyed, momentarily stunned, feeling each other's hot breath and heartbeat through their masks.

Sister Yin, if you keep breathing on my mouth like that, I might not be able to continue treating you as an elder...

Han Zhou was both embarrassed and agitated. He didn't even dare to speak, otherwise he would be seen as breathing into Zhong Yin's mouth.

By the time Zhong Yin realized what had happened, a crowd had already gathered around her. Her face flushed, and she hurriedly struggled to get up from Han Zhou's arms. To cover her embarrassment, she also picked up Xiao Wang Leng Qiu.

"Are you OK?"

She suppressed her racing heartbeat and, ignoring the burning sensation on her face, reached out and pulled Han Zhou up as well.

The commotion when Han Zhou fell to the ground was quite loud, and she was afraid that he might get hurt. After all, he had only recently recovered from his injuries, and if he had to rest for several more days because of her, she would be in big trouble.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but her lips felt incredibly hot. She wondered if she had caught some disease from this guy, but she didn't dare touch them and could only pretend to be nonchalant.

"I am fine."

Han Zhou, feigning composure, stood up, casually brushed the dust off his clothes, and asked, "And you? How are you?"

Oh no, did Sister Yin give me her cold? Why are my lips so hot?

"I...I'm fine too," Zhong Yin said somewhat awkwardly.

"It's okay."

"Well, it's okay."

"..."

The two stared at each other, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. For a moment, they didn't know what to say. Suddenly, they both looked down at Xiao Wang Lengqiu, who was helping Han Zhou brush off the dust, and asked, "How about you? Are you alright too?"

There's no other way but to use the child to change the subject and ease the awkwardness.

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu looked at Han Zhou, then at Zhong Yin, gently shook her head, and then asked in confusion, "Do you two have a cold?"

Han Zhou: "..."

Zhong Yin: "..."

Okay, this seems even more awkward now.

Fortunately, there were other topics. Han Zhou coughed lightly, pointed with his chin at Zhang Yang, who was lying unconscious on the ground not far away, and frowned, "What's wrong with this guy? Do you know him?"

This guy is something else. He rushed over but missed, and ended up crashing headfirst into a lamppost and passing out. I don't know if he was really unconscious or just pretending.

“He’s my classmate, who knows what he’s up to.”

Zhong Yin got angry when he saw Zhang Yang. If it weren't for this guy, the three of them wouldn't have almost gotten hurt.

Despite her anger, to prevent this guy from dying here and blaming her, she still took out her phone and dialed the homeroom teacher's number. "I'll call the teacher and 120 first, then you don't need to worry about the rest."

"Shouldn't we call the police?" Han Zhou asked, still worried.

Just as Zhang Yang suspected him of being a suspicious individual, he also found this guy very suspicious.

After all, what normal person would shout a girl's name while lunging at her? That's just perverted.
"Let's not call the police. The teacher will be here soon and will ask him what happened. Let's go."

Although she was angry, Zhong Yin didn't think Zhang Yang had any bad intentions. It must be some misunderstanding, and there was no need to make a big deal out of it.

Moreover, more and more people were gathering around, and all she wanted to do was leave as soon as possible.

The three ignored Zhang Yang, who lay unconscious on the ground, and quickly left the crowd. (End of Chapter)