Forced into a romantic relationship

In the dead of night, a girl is hiding in the bedroom helping a boy apply safflower oil. Although the reason is a bit lame, it is not hard to believe.

Unfortunately, this reasoning does not apply to Han Zhou and Zhong Yin.

Since Han Zhou didn't have any injuries at all, there was absolutely no need to apply safflower oil.

Given this, in such cold weather, a man and a woman alone in a room, one wearing only pajamas and the other not wearing any clothes at all, what are they trying to do?
If it were any other parents, even if they couldn't bear to make things difficult for their daughter, they would probably still subject Han Zhou to severe torture and make him go back to his hometown and apply safflower oil.

But Zhong Chengguang and Ye Xiaorou are different. The biggest difference between them and most parents is that no matter how infuriating things they see, they are willing to patiently listen to their children's explanations.

In the courtyard, after hearing the whole story, Zhong Chengguang, the father, didn't scold him at all. Instead, he burst into laughter: "Xiao Yin, I'm not trying to be mean, but Wukong said he wasn't injured. You just didn't believe him. It's only because he's good-natured and willing to give in to you that he didn't come to us to complain."

A girl actually forced a boy to take off his clothes. What kind of talk is that if word got out?

Ye Xiaorou, who is usually gentle, seemed a bit more serious and said helplessly, "It's one thing for you to care about Wukong and tell him to take off his clothes, but what about you? Why did you take off your coat too?"

Zhong Yin lowered his head like a schoolchild who had made a mistake and answered honestly, "When I was helping that scoundrel... helping Sun Wukong apply ice, I accidentally got my coat wet, so I took it off."

Han Zhou, who was standing nearby, spoke up for her, saying, "Uncle and Aunt, please don't be angry. It's mainly because I didn't explain things clearly. Sister Yin was just worried and confused, which is why... that's why there was a misunderstanding."

It always feels a little strange to say that others are "concerned about me and therefore confused".

“We weren’t angry, we just gave them a little education where necessary,” Zhong Chengguang said with a smile.

"But Xiaoyin said you're taking Xiaoya abroad, is that true?" he continued to ask.

"it is true."

In front of Xiao Lengqiu, who had been holding his hand since the day he first met him, Han Zhou said sincerely, "We will be leaving next week. Thank you for taking care of us during this time."

He believed that Xiao Lengqiu would understand what he meant.

"Thank you."

Xiao Lengqiu then whispered her thanks.

The autumn wind blew particularly frequently, causing the old trees outside the courtyard to sway incessantly, and a few withered yellow leaves to fall. Perhaps it was because the girl's tone was devoid of much emotion that the air seemed to carry a sense of desolation.

Noticing the fleeting disappointment on his eldest daughter's face, Zhong Chengguang shook his head and smiled, "Isn't he leaving next week? It's too early to talk about these things now."

Ye Xiaorou smiled gently and said softly, "Since you're back, let's go plant the trees together."

"Plant trees?" Han Zhou was taken aback.

"Xiao Yin said that she saw you marking the corner of the wall with your foot that day, and thought you buried treasure there. She secretly went to dig it up last night, but found nothing."

"dad!"

Seeing that his embarrassing secret had been revealed, Zhong Yin blushed and tried to explain, "I just thought it was empty there, so I wanted to dig a hole and plant some trees or something..."

She glanced at Han Zhou somewhat guiltily, only to find that he looked dazed, just like when he looked at her in the room earlier.

Zhong Chengguang suppressed a laugh: "That's right. It's rare that Xiao Yin went to so much trouble. Anyway, the hole has been dug, so I specially went to buy a sapling today. We'll all plant it together tonight."

As he spoke, he gently rubbed the head of the little bell beside him, a smile in his eyes, "I don't know if it's this sapling that's growing faster, or the little bell that's growing faster."

"It must be because Xiaoling grows faster!" Xiaoling said, mustering her courage.

"Haha, how about we dig up a time capsule together when Xiaoling grows up?"

"What is a time capsule?" Little Bell asked in a clear, crisp voice.

"it is this."

Ye Xiaorou magically produced several colorful cylinders from behind her back, explaining with a smile, "Put Xiaoling's favorite things inside, bury them, and dig them up again a long time later. That's a time capsule."

Little Bell paused, then asked, "But I love my sister. Should I bury her in the ground too?"

Everyone couldn't help but chuckle. Zhong Yin squatted down, pinched his little sister's cheek, and added with a smile, "It doesn't necessarily have to be something she likes. Something that has sentimental value for Xiao Ling is also fine."

"I see."

Little Zhongling nodded, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face, as if she were recalling something memorable about herself.

Zhong Yin smiled, clapped her hands and stood up. When she turned around, she saw that Han Zhou still looked preoccupied, and she couldn't help but worry.

"What's wrong with you? You've been distracted since the beginning?" she couldn't help but ask.

"nothing."

Han Zhou smiled at her, "I was just thinking about what I should put in the time capsule."

He noticed that Aunt Ye had just taken out a total of six time capsules, which meant that he and Xiao Lengqiu also had a share.

"That's it?"

Zhong Yin didn't believe it. The other person had already shown that expression when they heard the words "time capsule." After hesitating for a moment, she asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Are you angry with me?"

"angry?"

"It's...it's about me digging a hole for myself..."

How can you talk like that? What do you mean by "I've prepared a pit for myself"?

Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he said with a wry smile, "You're overthinking it. I really didn't bury any treasure there, let alone be angry with you."

Zhong Yin breathed a sigh of relief, then tentatively asked, "What if I really do find what you've hidden?"

Han Zhou knew what she was up to as soon as he heard her words, and said with a straight face, "If you're planning to secretly dig up the time capsule I buried after I leave, I'll still be angry."

"I have no such plans. I hope you don't secretly bury the time capsule."

Zhong Yin glared at him, giving him a look that said, "Who do you think you are?"

However, the thought that even if this guy wanted to steal it, he would probably have to wait many years made her momentum weaken again.

After thinking for a moment, she walked to the small stool by the courtyard wall and sat down. She then patted the small stool next to her, gesturing for Han Zhou to sit down.

Then, resting her chin on her hands, she watched from afar as her father flexed his biceps while carrying saplings to the car, and then watched her mother squatting beside Xiaoling and Xiaoya, studying the time capsule with a smile on her face. Finally, looking at the guy with a bump on his head sitting next to her, she felt as if time had suddenly slowed down.

Looking up at the starry sky where there weren't many stars, the girl exhaled a long puff of white mist and suddenly asked, "Hey, have you been under a lot of pressure lately?"

Han Zhou's gaze also fell on the group of people not far away. Upon hearing this, he pretended to be calm and asked, "Why do you ask that?"

"I'm very good at judging people," the girl said proudly.

In fact, Zhong Yin only learned about Han Zhou's frequent sleep talking from Xiao Lengqiu, and she also saw the unpleasant look on his face when he had nightmares, which is why she said that.

Han Zhou was silent for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "It is a bit big."

"Can't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, although it's about you, I can't say."

"About...about me?"

Zhong Yin suddenly turned her head and looked over, opening her mouth, completely unexpected to hear such an answer.

She suddenly remembered that yesterday at the movie theater, the other person had been calling her name in his dream. She had thought it was just a coincidence, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. Her heart suddenly raced, and she sat up straight, saying, "Since it's about me, why can't you tell me?"

“I’m worried that once I tell you, some things will change, and some changes will be irreversible.”

Han Zhou remained silent for a long while before giving an answer.

He had been feeling really stifled these past few days. He had originally planned to ask Xiao Yixia for her opinion on whether or not to try to change the future, but after what had just happened, he was almost certain that he couldn't change it.

Rather, his presence in the past was precisely to facilitate that known future.

Without those two kicks he made in the yard that day, the big tree used for hanging clotheslines would never have appeared in Zhong Yin's yard in the future.

Unlike changes in people, his unintentional actions do indirectly contribute to the emergence of future events. This means that perhaps his every move is changing the future at any time, but the more this is the case, the more it proves that the future cannot be changed.

From the moment he appeared in the past, he was the future itself.

As for why they didn't try to stop the Zhong family from planting the tree, it was naturally because it was pointless.

Now that he is in the past and cannot foresee the future, even if he stops Zhong Yin's family from planting trees now, no one can be sure whether they will plant trees again in the future, let alone whether the future will be changed as a result.

Since no conclusion can be reached, there is naturally no point in trying.

If Han Zhou was previously struggling with whether or not to try to change the fate of Zhong Yin's family, now he is reflecting on whether it was his arrival that led to their misfortune.

If he had never appeared, would Zhong Yin's family, who had no connection with him, have avoided that car accident?

Han Zhou knew that he seemed to be getting stuck on his own thoughts again, which was why he couldn't help but speak his mind.

It's not that I'm conflicted, but rather that I feel frustrated.

He clearly wanted to change things, but everything told him it was impossible, and mockingly threw the words "destined" in his face. He didn't even know which leg to step with first when he got up, fearing that this kick would send Zhong Yin's family into a car accident.

Zhong Yin naturally had no idea what Han Zhou was thinking. After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't understand the meaning of his words and couldn't help but say, "What do you mean by 'change'? Can't you speak properly?"

Things will change once it's said... Could this guy be referring to our relationship...?

They even said it was irreversible...

Could it be that he wants to acknowledge me as his older sister?!
It couldn't be that he's going to confess his feelings to me...

Zhong Yin pretended to know nothing, carefully sat up straight, and tried her best to appear generous and dignified.

The night wind whistled through the gaps in the courtyard wall.

Even with lights on everywhere, the courtyard still seemed to be immersed in darkness. A crescent moon appeared in the night sky at some point, hanging above the roof ridge. Its light, instead of illuminating anything, cast shadows all over the place.

Han Zhou remained silent for a long time, intending to end the topic there, but looking at the girl's profile in the moonlight, which held a hint of expectation, he realized that he couldn't keep putting the issue off.

Time is running out, so if we want to do anything, we have to do it as soon as possible.

But the problem is...

As Han Zhou hesitated, he suddenly heard what Xiao Yixia had said on the phone—

"You shouldn't ask me this question, nor should you ask yourself. You should ask her if she regrets it—"

"If she doesn't regret it, you don't need to regret it for her, right?"

The lights in the yard seemed brighter. It turned out that Uncle Zhong had brought the sapling over at some point, with a bunch of colorful lights hanging on his shoulder. He seemed to be saying that since they already had the tree, they might as well celebrate Christmas first.

Christmas is still a long way off.

“My dad is sometimes too childish,” Zhong Yin couldn’t help but chuckle.

"A man is a boy until he dies," Han Zhou corrected earnestly, then smiled.

"You're so shameless, even my dad wouldn't say something like that."

Zhong Yin rolled her eyes at him, thinking to herself, why hasn't this bastard acknowledged her as his older sister yet... ugh, why hasn't he recognized her as his older sister?

Han Zhou didn't notice Zhong Yin's gaze, but his expression relaxed a bit.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if those words were actually spoken by Xiao Yixia—he seemed to be hallucinating at the time, with images of the future Yixia appearing before his eyes, and perhaps those words were just his imagination.

But regardless, these are indeed words that Yixia would say.

The advice he wanted had actually been given from the very beginning—

Then he suddenly turned his head and stared intently at the pair of eyes that were furtively peeking at him.

Are you going to acknowledge me as your older sister?
Zhong Yin's heart skipped a beat. She quickly pretended to be nonchalant, saying, "I wasn't looking at you, I just happened to glance at you." Her palms were sweaty as she silently waited for Han Zhou to continue.

After a long pause, the other person neither acknowledged her as their older sister nor confessed their feelings. Instead, they asked a completely strange question—

"Sister Yin, will you regret meeting me in the future?"

"what?"

Zhong Yin paused for two seconds, then asked, "What do I have to regret?"

This bastard held it in for so long, and this is what he's going to say?
Han Zhou's expression turned serious: "What I mean is, in case you encounter any misfortune in the future..."

What does my misfortune have to do with you?

Zhong Yin interrupted him, then suddenly realized something and asked curiously, "I was wondering why you've been under so much pressure lately. Have you been having nightmares about me?"

"You can say that."

Han Zhou nodded, then added, "But I can't tell you what the dream was about."

Who cares what you dream about?

Zhong Yin was unimpressed, thinking to herself, "I'm not planning to tell you about my dream yet," and muttered, "So why did you say those things in your sleep yesterday, saying you couldn't save me..."

Before Han Zhou could ask a question, she continued, "You didn't hear my answer yesterday, so I'll say it again now—"

"I don't care if the future turns out like in my dreams, I only care about the present, understand?"

She didn't actually say those things yesterday, but repeating them was too disgusting, so she simply gave a different answer.

And that was also her answer to herself.

She doesn't care whether her future dreams influenced her present self or her present self influenced her future dreams, because whether it's the past or the future, it's all her own choice.

Since she dislikes tragedy, "the present her" will definitely try her best to change things. This is her trust in her future self and her promise to her present self.

It sounds a bit convoluted, but to put it simply, it boils down to one sentence—

I won't take my dreams seriously.

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment: "Sister Yin, I was asking if you'll regret it. Isn't your answer off-topic...?"

Zhong Yin remained silent for a moment, her face slightly flushed, then suddenly became angry and embarrassed, stood up and knocked him on the head twice.

"No! I mean I won't regret it! Are you stupid?!" (End of Chapter)