Forced into a romantic relationship

The streets were as empty as a frozen river on a winter night. The streetlights, frozen into fuzzy halos in the dry, cold air, shone down on the remaining warmth of the mess on the ground.

The glint of light leaking out after the glow sticks broke, the blue ribbons left behind by someone, and the crushed support signs looked like a stage left uncleaned after a carnival.

Nearly half an hour after the concert ended, the deafening noise and drumbeats had long been left behind, leaving only the cold wind constantly seeping into my collar.

Zhong Yin tried her best to remain calm, with her hands in her pockets and her chin slightly raised. She strode ahead as if nothing had happened, her cheeks clearly chilled by the night wind, yet her lips still felt faintly hot.

She didn't dare turn around, but she knew Han Zhou was always following behind her.

One step, two steps, making a slight sound on the cold pavement.

This guy has been following her like this for a long time, neither calling out to her nor quickening his pace to catch up. He just follows behind her without saying a word, so she has no choice but to keep walking forward, her back ramrod straight.

Until a dead end suddenly appeared in front of us.

Zhong Yin suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Her heartbeat suddenly amplified in the silence, accelerating uncontrollably. She held her breath, thinking that Han Zhou would definitely take the opportunity to catch up, or at least get closer and say something.

No.

Only the sound of the wind remained behind them.

They waited and waited, but the footsteps never sounded again.

Zhong Yin's feet were rooted to the spot, and all that could be heard was the sound of the wind and her own heartbeat, one beat, two beats, echoing hollowly in her chest.

The footsteps behind us had indeed disappeared.

She turned her head in a panic, then rolled her eyes, only to see Han Zhou standing quietly at the edge of the streetlight's halo at the alley entrance.

He didn't move forward, but turned his head slightly to look at her, a faint smile on his lips.

The wind ruffled the boy's bangs and ruffled the hem of his open coat. Zhong Yin raised an eyebrow, intending to tell him to zip it up, but then heard the other's laughing voice speak first:

"Why have you stopped?"

"You bastard, I hope you freeze to death..." Zhong Yin could tell he was teasing her, and snorted, "How can we walk if there's no road?"

"If there's no road, you can turn back."

Han Zhou sighed softly, handed a steaming hot drink to the girl, and said with a melancholy look, "I've been waiting for you to turn back."

Seeing his pretentious act, Zhong Yin felt both amused and annoyed. She asked irritably, "Why are you waiting for me to turn around? Couldn't you just follow me?"

Han Zhou sighed and said helplessly, "If you want me to follow, then why keep running away?"

Zhong Yin was stunned.

Yeah, why?

She had taken the initiative not long ago, but she was also the one who ran away afterward. She thought she was prepared to face all the consequences, but when the noise of the concert ended, she realized that she was not as brave as she thought.

No, this isn't what running away means.

After a brief silence, her gaze fell on the hot drink in her hand, and she abruptly changed the subject: "What's this? Coffee?"

Han Zhou seemed to tacitly approve of her avoidance, casually saying, "The shop assistant said it was cocoa."

"Is the cocoa... good?"

"I don't know, I've never had it."

"Never tried it before?"

Zhong Yin looked up at him, but just then saw the bright color on his lips. She quickly lowered her head, a blush creeping up her ears. "Then why don't you buy yourself a cup too?"
"I'm not thirsty," Han Zhou said with a smile, pretending not to see her panic.

"It's not like I'm thirsty..."

Zhong Yin rolled her eyes, but her heartbeat quickened slightly—since she had already received a real kiss, an indirect kiss shouldn't be a big deal, right?
She didn't want to accept the tragedy in her dream, and she didn't want to leave any regrets like she did in the dream. Since she had already gone all out and kissed this guy before anyone could take him away, she felt she had to leave something behind.

She'd deal with the future later; for now, she wanted to make sure this guy never forgot her.

So she quickly glanced at the profile under the streetlight and suggested casually, "How about... we each take a sip?"

She had expected Han Zhou to refuse outright, and was even prepared to use the "one-day couple" label again, but to her surprise, he agreed without hesitation.

"Okay."

"We agreed that today... Huh? What did you say?" Zhong Yin couldn't believe her ears.

"I said okay."

Han Zhou turned his head and looked over, his face still bearing the same peaceful smile as always.

Having accepted the suggestion of an indirect kiss so easily, Zhong Yin should have been happy, but she couldn't feel happy at all. Instead, she vaguely sensed something—the smile was too insincere, like a gentle barrier.

She exhaled a soft breath and suddenly realized that her previous escape was the right thing to do. At least this way, she would hear those words she didn't want to hear later.

But just as no matter how hard she tries to escape, she will eventually reach a dead end, even if she covers her ears from today onwards, those words will still seep into her heart.

Han Zhou didn't like her—Zhong Yin had already vaguely realized this during that brief yet long kiss.

It wasn't until this moment that she was completely certain.

No... she actually knew all along.

If the other person truly loves you, why would such an ending appear in your dreams?
Even knowing this, she still mustered her courage, suddenly raised her head, and began to look directly into those eyes that she had been avoiding for so long, and said very seriously, "You may not understand what I mean. I mean the kind where two people share one straw and each takes a sip."

She spoke slowly and deliberately, as if afraid the other person might not understand her meaning.

“I know,” Han Zhou said.

A car roared past behind him, its headlights illuminating his face, revealing the same serious expression.

Zhong Yin gripped the paper cup tightly in her hand and emphasized, "It's the kind where you take a sip and I take a sip, you take a sip and I take another sip, one sip each."

"I know." Han Zhou nodded again.

"It's the kind where two people share the same spoon, one bite each."

"I know."

"And...it was an indirect kiss, the kind where each of us takes a bite!"

Zhong Yin's tone suddenly rose, anything was fine, what she wanted to hear was not "I know".

"I know, I know everything."

Han Zhou spoke softly, his pupils reflecting the tense body of the girl and her feigned strength.

No, you don't know, you clearly know nothing...

Zhong Yin's left hand, which was in her pocket, had clenched into a fist. She found a straw, forcefully inserted it into the cocoa cup, took a big gulp, and then held the cup to Han Zhou's lips: "I meant like a couple, each taking a sip!"

Her voice echoed in the alley, tense and uneasy, yet with a sharp, desperate edge.

Han Zhou remained silent for a moment before giving the same answer.

"I know."

He took the cup of cocoa, but didn't drink it. Instead, he ran his fingertips over the warm cup and said softly, "After all, we're a couple today, right?"

Whatever happened, let's treat today's events as a couple's game—he didn't say it directly, but that was clearly what he meant.

Zhong Yin remained silent for a long time, staring into his eyes for a while before suddenly asking, "What about tomorrow? Will we still be a couple tomorrow?"

The air suddenly became still, and the night wind blew through the alleyway, stirring up the fluorescent fragments on the ground, like a belated snowfall.

Han Zhou was speechless.

In a sense, this is already a blatant confession, a confession so passionate it borders on violence.

Han Zhou was not oblivious. If he had only some doubts before, then the moment that passionate kiss touched his lips, he was completely certain.

Zhong Yin has probably already fallen for him.

He didn't understand why this feeling arose, but there was no need to find out.

Regardless of the nature of this relationship, all he could do was sever it. He already owed too many emotional debts—to Yi Xia, Gu Zheng, and even Wang Lengqiu—and he absolutely could not allow himself to become entangled with them again and hurt another girl.

Moreover, Zhong Yin is destined to lose this memory. This "one-day couple" game, which is still going on, was originally intended to give her a complete dream before she forgets it.

He should have been more decisive and not even given her this dream, but when he thought of Sister Yin, who probably hadn't even had a good night's sleep in a long time, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Since this past will eventually be corrected by the status bar and this memory will eventually be forgotten, it's better to let it become a warm dream for the future Sister Yin.

Therefore, he chose to continue fulfilling the agreement.

He will still act as her boyfriend for a day until midnight.

Unexpectedly, the girl's offensive was so fierce; she insisted on getting a definitive answer.

Since that's the case—

Han Zhou knew the principle that hesitation would only lead to trouble, and was about to speak when Zhong Yin suddenly burst out laughing. The clear laughter broke the tense atmosphere in the alley.

"Look how nervous you are."

The girl snatched the cocoa, took a deep drag, then turned her face away and said in a vague, lighthearted tone, "I was just joking, don't take it seriously."

"Is this a joke?" Han Zhou looked at her.

"if not?"

Zhong Yin turned her head back after a while, with an impeccable smile on her face, "Didn't we agree that we're only a couple today? After midnight, you might not even have a chance to pursue me."

Han Zhou opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Zhong Yin had already turned his gaze to the depths of the street, where the scattered lights of the tall buildings in the distance flickered like scattered stars in the cold night.

"It's really cold tonight."

The girl murmured softly, burying half her face in her collar. Her voice was exceptionally clear in the empty space, but it was quickly absorbed by the night, condensing into a small wisp of white mist that lingered briefly in the dim light before disappearing.

"After all, it's winter."

Han Zhou knew she was just making conversation, so he simply went along with it.

Zhong Yin glared at him, annoyed: "If it were someone else's boyfriend, he should have taken off his coat and given it to me to wear right now."

"I was only wearing a jacket."

Han Zhou said seriously, "Besides, even if someone else's boyfriend is willing to take off his coat, it's for their girlfriend to wear, it has nothing to do with you."

"I know he's a talker."

Zhong Yin rolled her eyes. "So someone like you is simply not suitable to be a boyfriend."

Han Zhou did not respond.

The two walked out of the alley one after the other and headed towards the brightly lit street. Zhong Yin walked in front, and Han Zhou followed behind, maintaining a distance of three steps.

The streets remained deserted on this winter night, like a frozen river flowing silently into the unseen distance. Patches of streetlights swept by, lengthening, shortening, and lengthening their shadows once more.

After walking for a while, Zhong Yin couldn't take it anymore. She turned around, grabbed Han Zhou's ear, and forcefully pulled him to her side, gritting her teeth as she said, "Can't you walk side by side with me? What kind of couple walks one in front of the other?"

"I'm used to it," Han Zhou said somewhat awkwardly.

Zhong Yin remained noncommittal, but said fiercely, "Anyway, if you ever walk behind me again, be careful I'll pull your ear like this again."

As soon as she finished speaking, perhaps thinking that there might not be a future, her expression dimmed slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

“Sun...Han Zhou”.

"what happened?"

Do you think it will snow in Lincheng later?

Han Zhou was taken aback: "I think so, what's wrong?"

If the weather forecast for Lincheng were to be reliable even once, then this year, Lincheng might experience an unprecedented heavy snowfall.

"nothing."

Zhong Yin shook her head. She had just suddenly remembered the lyrics of the song Han Zhou sang tonight and wanted to know what the so-called "climate when snowflakes bloom" was like.

The two seemed to have tacitly forgotten about the concert and the kiss, trying their best to maintain their usual way of getting along, chatting and laughing all the way until they saw Xiao Zhongling and the others waiting not far away an hour later.

Han Zhou observed Zhong Yin for a long time, but never noticed anything unusual—she smiled so naturally, as if it really was just a game, and everyone had returned to their places after the game was over.

"Oh, right."

With only five minutes left until midnight, Zhong Yin, separated from the others by a flower bed, seemed to suddenly remember something, turned around and asked, "What exactly was that sentence you wanted to say to me this afternoon?"

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and chuckled, "I thought you didn't want to hear it."

Zhong Yin didn't answer, but simply shoved the cocoa cup into his hand, then put her hands behind her back, lightly stepped onto the edge of the flower bed with her toes.

She swayed slightly to maintain her balance, forcing a bright smile onto her lips: "I really don't want to hear it, so you're not allowed to tell me now."

When will I tell you?

Han Zhou stayed close to her, afraid that she might accidentally fall.

Zhong Yin tilted her head back, not answering immediately.

The city lights dyed the sky a dark red, the stars were nowhere to be seen, and it was unclear when it would snow.

In a sense, her first relationship was a failure.

it's fine.

She has already done all the things she wanted to do but didn't dare to do in her dreams.

The kiss was real, the warmth of her palm was real, and the careful joy she felt all day was real too.

There's nothing left to regret.

—That's how it should be.

But why is my vision getting blurrier?
Zhong Yin blinked hard, trying to force back the sour feeling, so that this guy wouldn't find out she was crying; that would be too embarrassing.

As for what she wanted to hear and what she didn't want to hear—she wouldn't listen to him.

If you absolutely must listen, then save it for the next meeting and force him to rephrase his words.

...if there is a next time.

No, there will definitely be a next time.

Starting today, she will keep telling her future self that when they meet again, no matter what kind of opponent she faces, she will snatch this guy back into her hands.

After all, I managed to steal this guy's first kiss.

If you really can't win the fight... then just pretend you didn't hear it.

Yes, the deaf are the freest.

Thinking of this, Zhong Yin finally felt a little better, but because she had been looking up, she couldn't see her feet clearly. Before she knew it, she lost her balance and fell backward.

However, the expected pain did not occur.

A pair of hands caught her steadily.

The familiar scent, the familiar temperature. She opened her eyes and saw Han Zhou's face so close to hers, that face that always carried a gentle smile, now showing not only worry but also a hint of caution.

"Sister Yin...are you crying?"

Honestly, this is the last thing I want him to see...

Zhong Yin bit her lip, but the tears she had been holding back could no longer be stopped. They rolled down in large drops, hitting her clothes and leaving dark stains.

"nonsense!"

She punched his shoulder hard, then buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled and nasal.

"I've been dumped!" (End of Chapter)