Forced into a romantic relationship

The night is getting darker.

The streetlights cast a dim yellow light on the deserted street, imprinting the outlines of withered leaves onto the asphalt pavement.

At the end of the road, a black cat darted out from behind a trash can and silently disappeared into the deep alley, stepping through the gaps in the light and shadow.

Xiao Yixia's gaze followed the black cat's figure slowly until it could no longer be seen, then she turned her gaze back to Han Zhou.

"If you keep staring at me like that, I'm really going to call the police."

Although she said that, she neither took out her phone nor stopped walking home with Han Zhou.

Han Zhou had been secretly observing Xiao Yixia's expression the whole way. Seeing that the girl remained calm, he finally couldn't help but ask, "I'm just curious, aren't you disappointed at all that I didn't get the concert tickets?"

"The concert doesn't start until tomorrow night, there's still time during the day tomorrow, isn't there?" Xiao Yixia said dismissively.

Han Zhou was taken aback at first, then asked incredulously, "You trust me that much?"

Based on his understanding of Xiao Yixia, he thought the girl would give a nonchalant reply like, "As long as you don't have expectations, you won't be disappointed."

"I just didn't want to make things difficult for poor people." Xiao Yixia looked away.

"...Aren't you just making things difficult for me by saying that?"

The girl seemed not to hear, glanced down at the book on child psychology in her arms, and said to herself, "The book says that we should not be stingy with encouragement for children, so that they will be more attentive to doing things well."

The implication is that not expressing disappointment is a form of encouragement.

But Han Zhou wasn't buying it. He didn't care that he was being used as a test subject for "Child Psychology," but he was actually looking forward to encouragement from Xiao Yixia. So he immediately seized the opportunity and said with a smile, "Why don't you give me a couple of words of encouragement now?"

Xiao Yixia paused for a moment: "If you want to encourage someone, you must first find their strengths."

The night breeze stirred the girl's long hair, casting a soft shadow on the wall.

Han Zhou's smile gradually faded: "You're not trying to say that I have no redeeming qualities, are you?"

Sure enough, he shouldn't have expected to hear anything nice from this guy.

"That's not it."

But Xiao Yixia gently shook her head and said, "At least you can take a beating."

"What kind of encouragement is this?"

Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he said helplessly, "If all else fails, you can just say I'm a good cook. Isn't that a strength?"

"Do you mean you can't take a beating?" Xiao Yixia retorted.

"Anyway, it's not as tough as you think..."

Han Zhou was unsure of her purpose in suddenly asking this question, and answered rather cautiously.

"Since he can't take a beating..."

Xiao Yixia seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly stopped in front of a pharmacy. "Then why haven't you bought some medicine to apply at home yet?"

Han Zhou was taken aback, then realized that the other person was talking about what happened last night. He had beaten up the group of thugs who came to his door, but Xiao Yixia thought he was the one who got beaten up. He had almost forgotten about it, but he didn't expect that the child still remembered it.

Not only do they remember, they even think about it.

He suddenly laughed, his face beaming, and said, "Can I take that as you being concerned about me?"

He took back what he said earlier; this guy is actually quite good at encouraging people.

How you interpret it is your prerogative.

Xiao Yixia didn't even glance at him, and said indifferently, "The book says that being self-righteous is a typical mentality of children, especially boys, who are prone to having the illusion that they are cared about."

Are you sure this is from the book?

Han Zhou looked wary and said, "You're not trying to use the words in the book to insult me, are you?"

"This is also a typical manifestation of egocentric psychology."

Han Zhou: "..."

This guy is definitely insulting him.

Forget it, if I keep arguing with this guy, I'll probably be seen as childish.

He said helplessly, "Didn't I tell you? I wasn't the one who got beaten up yesterday. I don't have any injuries at all, so I don't need to buy medicine."

Xiao Yixia was silent for a moment, then opened the book and read for a while before commenting, "Paranoia."

Han Zhou, unable to bear it any longer, made a move to snatch the book away: "Do you dare to bring the book over here and let me take a look?"

"I don't believe you would even steal a child's things," Xiao Yixia said calmly, standing still without flinching.

Han Zhou's outstretched hand hung in mid-air, unable to do anything about her, so he had no choice but to withdraw it: "Is this also mentioned in the book?"

"It was your expression that told me."

"expression……"

As if he had just realized something, Han Zhou asked incredulously, "This book also teaches how to analyze micro-expressions?"

He was struck dumb. Could it be that his future was being controlled by a book on child psychology?
and many more……

He suddenly realized something and asked suspiciously, "Isn't only my eyes showing right now? How did you see my expression?"

"The eyes are the windows to the soul," Xiao Yixia said calmly.

"what about now?"

Han Zhou pulled out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket, put them on, and laughed loudly, "Didn't expect that, did you? I was on guard against this move from the very beginning."

He certainly didn't buy these sunglasses because he was worried about Xiao Yixia's "mind-reading" ability. He bought them together with a mask and baseball cap at the beginning. The reason he doesn't usually wear them is because the combination of a mask, sunglasses, and baseball cap makes him look too much like a criminal suspect, which only makes him more conspicuous.

But it has to be said that the appearance of these sunglasses really seemed to have stunned Xiao Yixia. She remained silent for a while before saying, "Can you even see the road clearly like this?"

"of course."

Han Zhou smiled confidently, turned the brim of his baseball cap behind his head, looking every bit the trendy modern man, just short of rapping a few lines: "I can remember the way home even with my eyes closed."

Sure enough, as the old saying goes, "better safe than sorry." Although it was unintentional, he won again this time.

Xiao Yixia didn't know what he was suddenly so happy about, and asked, "Aren't you really going to buy some medicine?"

"Need not."

"Let's go then."

Xiao Yixia didn't say much, and the two continued walking forward.

After walking a few steps, Han Zhou suddenly remembered something and said, "I have to go out tonight. You stay home and wait for me to come back. Don't open the door for anyone."

He hadn't forgotten that he was going to set up a stall with Zhong Yin tomorrow, and besides, he hadn't been home for almost a day and a night, so he had to let Zhong Yin's family know he was safe.

Moreover, he didn't know if Xiao Lengqiu would feel bored without him, so he had to go back and keep her company, and also deliver the newly bought book "Witnessing Aliens" to her.

In fact, Han Zhou's initial plan was to sleep at Zhong Yin's house tonight and come back to accompany Xiao Yixia after the stall was closed tomorrow.

But considering that the group of thugs who were collecting debts might come again today, even for Xiao Yixia's safety, he had to stay home tonight.

But then again, he was actually looking forward to those guys coming over again tonight.

Ideally, he should make his move right away, and they should all be carrying concert tickets. That way, he can snatch all their tickets without any guilt. If there are a lot, he can even invite Zhong Yin's family and Xiao Lengqiu to go to the concert together... Of course, this is just wishful thinking. Such a good thing can probably only happen in dreams.

Xiao Yixia walked beside him, carrying a book, and looked up at the stars in the sky. Suddenly, she said, "A very bad omen."

"what?"

Han Zhou was taken aback. He also looked up at the sky, but because he was wearing sunglasses, the sky appeared dark. He asked in surprise, "Does your book teach you how to read the stars?"

"What I mean is, are you planning to go see Sister Zhong Yin?"

Han Zhou didn't deny it, but asked with a suspicious look, "Is seeing her a bad omen?"

As soon as he finished speaking, because he had been looking up at the sky and was wearing sunglasses so he couldn't see the road clearly, his head suddenly slammed into a lamppost in front of him with a "bang," making a crisp sound in the night.

"Holy crap, did you guys hear that? It sounds like we've arrived at Shaolin Temple! Someone's ringing the bell on the mountain!"

On another street, separated by a wall, a drunk man was shouting.

"Bullshit, someone is clearly firing a gun, and it sounds like a sniper rifle!" another man retorted.

The air suddenly fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

After a brief silence, Xiao Yixia, who had turned her head away at some point, asked, "Didn't you say you could see the road clearly?"

Han Zhou silently turned the brim of his hat to face forward: "I was looking at the sky, not at the road."

“But your exact words were that you could remember the way home even with your eyes closed.” Xiao Yixia clearly wasn’t going to let him off the hook.

"I do remember the way."

Han Zhou remained silent for a moment, trying to protect his last bit of pride with a nonchalant attitude, "But I can't remember the lamppost."

Xiao Yixia originally wanted to turn her head to look at him, but upon hearing this, she turned her head away again. After a while, she said, "Buy me a baseball cap tomorrow too."

"Why?" Han Zhou asked curiously.

"I seem to find it easy to laugh in front of someone like you."

After a long while, Xiao Yixia finally turned her head and looked over, saying in a tone that was hard to tell whether it was praise or sarcasm, "You are much more interesting than the clowns in the circus."

Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he was too embarrassed to refute it, so he pretended nothing had happened and took off his sunglasses.

“A clown in a circus won’t buy you a baseball cap,” he said, deliberately putting on a stern face.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Xiao Yixia suddenly turned around and went back the way she came.

"where are you going?"

He quickly followed, thinking to himself, "No way, he didn't say he wouldn't buy it. Is this guy angry already?"
"shopping."

Xiao Yixia answered without turning her head.

"Isn't it supposed to be bought tomorrow?"

Han Zhou thought she was referring to baseball caps, and was a little confused.

Beside the trash can not far away, the black cat that had disappeared not long ago reappeared, carrying something in its mouth, before quickly vanishing into the darkness once more.

The girl stopped and seemed to sigh.

"Shouldn't you go back and buy the medicine now?"

He's always willing to do anything for me, but treats me like a fool. This guy is really something...

……

After taking Xiao Yixia home, Han Zhou waited at the stairwell for a while. Seeing that the group of thugs from last night didn't seem to be causing any trouble, Han Zhou felt a little relieved. He then gave Xiao Yixia a few more instructions, telling her not to open the door for anyone. After that, he went to Zhong Yin's house.

He didn't use "There Will Be an Echo" to teleport directly to Xiao Lengqiu's side, so as not to be difficult to explain if Zhong Yin's family saw it. By the time he arrived at Zhong Yin's door, it was almost 8:30.

Normally, Zhong Yin's family would close the gate around eight o'clock, but tonight the gate was only ajar, perhaps waiting for him to come back.

Han Zhou gently pushed open the courtyard gate, then closed it again after entering. Turning around, he saw Zhong Yin standing behind him, his face expressionless, but the words he spoke were more frightening than a ghost.

"What, not planning to stay out tonight? Is your date with that girl over?"

Her tone wasn't exactly angry, but it was definitely sarcastic and carried a hint of cold laughter, much like a wife waiting in the living room late at night for her husband to return from an affair.

Han Zhou's heart skipped a beat. He didn't understand how Zhong Yin had discovered it, but he already understood what Xiao Yixia meant by "a very bad omen." It turned out that the problem actually lay with Zhong Yin.

Hmm, that's not hard to understand...

Wait a minute, Yixia doesn't have the ability to observe celestial phenomena at night, so the ominous sign she mentioned, could it be what I'm thinking right now...?

Damn it, which bastard led her astray? Does "Child Psychology" even teach this?

Han Zhou was about to explain when he saw Zhong Yin, who seemed to have been prepared, pull out a wrench from his pocket and say fiercely, "From now on, you'll answer whatever I ask. If you dare to lie to me, you're dead!"

Perhaps afraid that her parents and sister inside would hear, she deliberately lowered her voice and moved her face closer, as if she felt that this would make her appear sinister and terrifying.

Although she was considered tall among girls, she was still a bit short for Han Zhou, so Han Zhou could only look down at her.

After Zhong Yin returned, she took a shower and was only wearing a loose-fitting nightgown. The two were so close that when Han Zhou looked down, he felt that it was already dawn and everything was white. He immediately looked up at the night sky and realized that everything around him was so dark.

Seeing Han Zhou look away guiltily, Zhong Yin instantly became furious. She immediately looked up and pressed his head down, questioning, "Why don't you dare to look at me?"

"I……"

"Don't speak! Look me in the eyes and answer my questions!"

"But……"

"No!"

"Sister Yin..."

"Trying to get close to them won't work!"

Zhong Yin brandished the wrench in his hand. "I'm serious. Don't think I'm joking with you!"

Helpless, Han Zhou could only obediently lower his head, and the scenery before him returned from night to day.

He had no idea that he had truly walked through the "gates of hell" today. Zhong Yin had made up his mind the moment he returned that if he dared not come back tonight, he would definitely twist his head off tomorrow.

Seeing that he was relatively honest, Zhong Yin's expression softened slightly, but when she thought of Liu Shiyue's words, she became furious again. She sneered and asked her first question: "I'm asking you, do you already have a girlfriend outside?"

Even she herself didn't realize that at the moment she asked that question, she felt a slight pang of pain in her heart.

Han Zhou was taken aback, then shook his head firmly: "No."

If you ask him if he's a two-timing scumbag, he might just readily admit it. But if you ask him if he has a girlfriend, he'll still answer no.

Upon hearing this answer, Zhong Yin's imposing aura seemed to suddenly lessen considerably, as if she had suddenly become much more relaxed. However, she still maintained a stern face and questioned, "Really?"

"Really." Han Zhou nodded.

"So what's your relationship with that girl outside?"

“Just friends,” Han Zhou said earnestly.

It has to be said that the daytime sunlight was indeed too dazzling, and even a bit hot. He just wanted to return to the darkness as soon as possible. However, as soon as he looked up, Zhong Yin forcefully pressed his head down again.

"You'll see!" (End of Chapter)