Forced into a romantic relationship

"Stop fooling around, you two, come and plant a tree!"

As Zhong Yin and Han Zhou were playfully fighting, Zhong Chengguang's energetic shout rang out from not far away.

He had already dug the holes for planting the trees and was just waiting to plant the saplings and then fill them with soil.

Han Zhou looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the nearly 1.5-meter-tall sapling was covered with colorful lights—it was too young to be a Christmas tree, and it was clear that no one had an easy time these days.

"coming!"

Zhong Yin responded loudly, then pulled him to his feet, "What are you all standing there for? Let's go!"

The two arrived at the edge of the pit. Zhong Yin took the shovel from her mother, and Han Zhou stepped forward to lift the sapling with Zhong Chengguang. Xiao Lengqiu and Xiao Zhongling stood by with watering cans, ready to help. Ye Xiaorou brought a plate of fruit from the room, then waved the unused colored lights, smiling as she acted as the atmosphere group.

Planting a tree doesn't require that many people, but none of the family members seem to find it tedious; on the contrary, they all enjoy it.

This is probably what they call a sense of ritual.

Planting trees was much more troublesome than Han Zhou had imagined. There were specific rules for how to fill the soil and how to water them, but fortunately, he didn't have to worry about that. He only needed to make sure that the saplings didn't lean to one side or the other.

"Dad, how tall will this tree grow in the future?" Little Zhongling asked expectantly.

“Taller than my dad,” Zhong Chengguang replied with a smile.

Little Zhongling hesitated for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "If I'm only... only taller than Dad, wouldn't that be too short?"

Zhong Chengguang laughed heartily: "Then adding Brother Wukong, it's taller than three of me and three Brother Wukong combined."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "When Xiaoling and this tree both grow up, I'll take you up the tree to pick apples, okay?"

"Okay, okay!" Little Bell beamed.

Behind the father and daughter, Ye Xiaorou's smile was slightly helpless: "Well, although I really don't want to interrupt you, this isn't an apple tree."

“Huh? Isn’t that right?” Zhong Chengguang was stunned.

He seemed to genuinely believe he had bought an apple tree sapling.

"Pfft."

Zhong Yin, who was filling in the soil, laughed out loud. She looked up at Han Zhou and saw that he seemed to be unable to hold back his laughter as well, no longer looking as preoccupied as before. Only then did she feel relieved.

A moment later, Han Zhou's smile faded, and he looked at the sapling in front of him.

He knew what kind of tree it was, and he also knew how tall it would grow.

But he also knew that by the time the tree grew to the height of three Uncle Zhongs and three times his own, the courtyard would have long since become deserted.

The bright moonlight cast long shadows of the family from the night sky, stretching from high to low, as if they were gently blended together and buried in the soil along with the saplings.

Looking at the happy family, Han Zhou made up his mind completely—

Looking back and forth is useless.

Whether the future can be changed or not, we'll only know by trying.

If you do nothing, then everything is truly predestined.

Regardless of whether it was a futile effort or not, he was determined to try to change that future.

But if it really was his interference that led to that accident...

Han Zhou stood there silently for a long time, then suddenly looked up at Zhong Yin, as if he had made up his mind: "Sister Yin!"

This shout was incredibly powerful; not only Zhong Yin, but even Zhong Chengguang standing next to him was startled.

"Why are you making such a fuss..."

Zhong Yin almost shook the dirt from the shovel onto her legs. She looked up and glared at Han Zhou, but seeing the other man's unprecedentedly serious expression, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"what happened?"

Is this guy going to ask me again whether I'll regret it or something?

"Sister Yin".

Han Zhou called out again, seemingly preparing something, and hesitated to say anything further.

"Just say what you want to say..."

Seeing everyone's eyes on her, Zhong Yin felt extremely uncomfortable. Just as she was about to urge them on, Han Zhou suddenly spoke up—

"I will take full responsibility."

In the darkness of night, those words clearly penetrated into everyone's ears.

No one expected that Han Zhou would say something so astonishing in front of everyone.

Zhong Yin suspected that she had misheard.

But the expressions on everyone's faces told her that she hadn't misheard.

The air seemed to suddenly become quiet. Zhong Yin could no longer hear the sound of the autumn wind rustling the branches, the shovel falling to the ground, the occasional sound of traffic in the distance, or her parents' exclamations.

My heartbeat is too loud.

Even her vision began to blur, and the wind completely messed up the hair on her forehead, but she had no mood to fix it; her mind was blank.

Is this...is she recognizing me as her older sister?
Or... is he confessing his feelings to me?

But that's not right. Even if it's a confession, my reaction shouldn't be like this...

Could it be that……

I've actually fallen for this guy?

But isn't this too hasty?
And even if he really wanted to confess, couldn't he have found a secluded place? What's with confessing in front of my parents?

As Zhong Yin was lost in thought, wondering whether or not to accept the confession, she saw Han Zhou suddenly turn around and bow deeply to his mother.

"Aunt Ye, I will take full responsibility."

Ye Xiaorou covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise, "Wukong, what are you doing...?"

Zhong Yin was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage, trembling with anger: "You bastard, that's my mother, how could you say that to her..."

Before he could even utter the words "confess his feelings," Han Zhou turned around and bowed to his father.

"Uncle Zhong, I will take full responsibility."

"Xiaoling, I will take full responsibility."

Even Xiaoling was taken aback by the gesture and stood there dumbfounded, dropping her water bottle and running to hide behind her father.

Everyone was stunned, wondering what had suddenly happened to Han Zhou. Only Xiao Lengqiu remained calm, walked up to Han Zhou, gently took his hand, and looked up at him.

It was a pitiful little face, with no expectation in her eyes, but the more she looked like that, the more heartbreaking it was to see her like that.

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Xiaoya, you are different from Sister Zhongyin and the others."

He didn't know why he made that specific explanation.

He also failed to realize that "different" can have many interpretations, one of which is that it means special.

For the first time, he saw a genuine smile on Xiao Lengqiu's face.

“You’re different too,” the girl said softly.

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment, but before he could react, Zhong Yin strode up to him and said through gritted teeth, "You bastard, can't you explain yourself clearly? What do you mean by 'you will take full responsibility'?" For some reason, he seemed to see a hint of exasperation on the girl's face.

The two looked into each other's eyes, their noses almost touching.

"Xiaoyin!"

Ye Xiaorou couldn't stand it anymore. If she didn't speak up soon, her eldest daughter might end up getting intimate with someone else.

However, it was inevitably a bit awkward to talk about this, so she just said helplessly, "Speak properly."

"He was the one who started talking rudely..."

Zhong Yin muttered something, but still obediently distanced herself from Han Zhou, then glared at him irritably.

That bastard, he's just kidding me!
Even now, Zhong Yin's heart was still pounding, not because she still thought Han Zhou's words were a confession, but because she had finally realized her own feelings—

It seems she's really fallen for this guy.

But she had no idea what it was about this guy that she liked.

If this affection stems from a version of myself in a dream who is afraid to accept reality, wouldn't that be too strange?

I just said I didn't take dreams seriously...

While pondering, Zhong Chengguang asked the question that everyone was most concerned about: "Wukong, what did you mean by what you just said?"

Han Zhou replied with a smile, "What I mean is, since we planted this tree together, I have to take responsibility and I will definitely come back to take care of it in the future."

"Is that all?" Ye Xiaorou asked with a light smile.

"Actually, there is one more thing."

"What is it?" Ye Xiaorou asked curiously.

"I hope that when I come back, we can all get together like we are today," Han Zhou said earnestly.

Zhong Chengguang laughed heartily: "Of course, we'll dig out the time capsule together!"

“Dad, this guy is definitely not telling the truth,” Zhong Yin warned.

Zhong Chengguang smiled but said nothing.

Ye Xiaorou walked behind her daughter and said softly, "Xiaoyin, everyone lies, but as long as the intention is true, there is no need to take it too seriously. Besides, the other person may not even be lying."

Zhong Yin was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Han Zhou. She felt that besides the smile, there was an indescribable determination on the other person's face.

She could clearly sense that this guy was really looking forward to the day when everyone would meet again in the future.

After hesitating for a long time, she couldn't help but ask, "But Mom, we've only known each other for less than a week. Don't you find it strange that he has these... these kinds of feelings?"

"It's a little strange."

Ye Xiaorou nodded in deep agreement, stared at her daughter's profile for a while, and suddenly smiled, "But maybe you two have known each other for a long time?"

"There's more."

She gently wrapped her arms around her daughter's waist from behind, softly nuzzled her face against her daughter's, and said with a light smile, "Little Silver, time is never the only measure of love."

This was the most common affectionate gesture between Zhong Yin and her mother when Zhong Yin was little. Since she went to high school, this habit has gradually faded. Today, when she relives it again, Zhong Yin still feels warm inside.

But her mother's words made her feel as if her thoughts had been read, and she blushed, unsure of what to say.

Han Zhou silently watched this heartwarming scene, thinking that if such beauty was destined to be taken away, then fate was too cruel.

He was powerless to challenge fate, but he had a status bar.

The status bar, which once saved him from certain death, might just change everything—

Come on, status bar, let me see your limits.

Since you can actively correct the past, you must also have the ability to change it... right?
The status bar is Han Zhou's biggest asset, but he knows very well that even if he could really change the past using the status bar, it would definitely require spending a huge amount of points.

Therefore, until then, at least this time, he could only rely on himself.

After spending more than 20 minutes planting the tree, Zhong Chengguang brought out a table, and the family sat down next to the sapling that had been wrapped up like a Christmas tree and started eating hot pot.

This was one of the family activities scheduled for today, which was supposed to take place in the afternoon, but was postponed until the evening in order to wait for Han Zhou to return.

"You guys haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Han Zhou felt a little embarrassed and didn't know how to bring up the matter of going back later.

"I did eat, but not much," Zhong Chengguang said with a smile.

Ye Xiaorou asked curiously, "Have you and Xiaoya decided what to put in the time capsule?"

Han Zhou shook his head and said frankly, "No, that's not true..."

He turned to look at Xiao Lengqiu, only to see her nod seriously, as if she had already made up her mind, which surprised him.

"Then let's postpone it and bury the time capsule the day before you leave."

Zhong Yin blew on the beef in the bowl and said threateningly, "Anyway, you'll have to put something in the capsule later. If you really can't, I can lend you some."

Everyone else buried time capsules; what would it look like if this guy didn't participate?

Just then, Little Bell asked in confusion, "Sister, didn't you say that the time capsule should contain something with special meaning? If Brother Wukong puts the thing you gave him in there, wouldn't that mean that the thing you gave him has special meaning?"

Zhong Yin's expression froze.

The Zhong Chengguang couple couldn't help but chuckle. Noticing their eldest daughter's embarrassment, Ye Xiaorou smiled and helped change the subject, saying, "Xiaoyin, have you decided what to put in the time capsule?"

I've thought it through for now.

Zhong Yin quickly replied, "But the capsule has a lot of space, we can add more later... Mom and Dad, what are you planning to put in it?"

The couple exchanged a glance and said in unison, "It's a secret."

Listening to his family's words, Han Zhou suddenly realized that he should perhaps prepare a parting gift for everyone.

It was almost 10 o'clock when they finished eating hot pot. Despite feeling a little embarrassed, Han Zhou still forced himself to tell everyone that he was going home tonight.

Zhong Yin was naturally incredulous, but before she could speak, Ye Xiaorou pulled her away, leaving only Han Zhou and Zhong Chengguang at the door.

Han Zhou could tell that Uncle Zhong seemed to have something to say to him, so he didn't rush to leave and waited patiently at the door.

The courtyard was far from the city center, and at this moment, almost all the lights were off, and all was quiet. The crescent moon on the horizon was quietly retreating, leaving only a very faint arc of light, floating almost illusory on the inky sky.

Seeing his wife and daughter come into the house, Zhong Chengguang took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and said with a smile, "Your Aunt Ye and I have already discussed the question you asked last time, and now I can answer it for you."

Han Zhou was taken aback: "You mean 'last wish'?"

"Yes."

Zhong Chengguang lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth, his smile unwavering. "We've thought about it carefully. Since it's a last wish, it must be our wish after we die, right?"

Han Zhou did not answer.

Suddenly, the father turned his head and looked at the sapling that had been decorated as a Christmas tree, and the empty table next to it with only bowls and chopsticks. He seemed to be thinking of something, and his smile became more serious.

"If we really leave one day, the only thing we won't be able to let go of will be our two daughters."

He slowly exhaled a smoke ring and turned to look at him.

"Even after we're gone, Xiaoyin and Xiaoling can live as happily as they do now. That's our last wish." (End of Chapter)