Forced into a romantic relationship

It was already 1 a.m. when I left the residential area. The surroundings were so quiet that only the occasional roar of vehicles could be heard in the distance.

Han Zhou waited for a long time before finally hailing a taxi. The driver was very talkative, but unfortunately, Han Zhou wasn't really interested in talking. He only gave a few perfunctory replies before leaning back in his seat and pretending to doze off.

The car stopped at the alley entrance, and as soon as he turned into the dark alley, a figure appeared at the end of his line of sight.

Zhong Yin stood quietly in the halo of the old street lamp, her shadow stretched long. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the branches, casting a thin layer of silver frost on her shoulders.

"Sister Yin?"

Han Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then quickly walked forward. "What are you doing here?"

Hearing the sound, Zhong Yin, who was originally a little drowsy, perked up. Seeing that he was safe and sound, she seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief, but the next second she glared at him and then threw the coat in her arms at him.

"You haven't come back for so long, I thought something had happened to you," the girl said irritably.

Han Zhou quickly took the coat. He didn't have that many clothes, and this was obviously Zhong Yin's own down jacket. In addition to the clean scent of laundry detergent, the coat also carried a lingering, soft warmth and a faint fragrance that belonged to a young girl.

Clearly, the other person had been waiting here with their coat for a long time.

Looking at the tired-looking girl, Han Zhou gave a wry smile: "Didn't I say I was going to take Yi Xia home first?"

"You didn't say you were going to take that long to deliver it."

Zhong Yin rolled her eyes at him. "You don't even have a cell phone. How are we supposed to know where you are? You haven't come back for so long. I thought you were getting revenge on by those people from earlier today."

"They don't have that ability."

Han Zhou was both touched and amused. "Even if you're really worried, you can wait for me at home. Aren't you afraid to stay here alone?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Zhong Yin rubbed his hands and then his frozen face, saying dismissively, "If you really get retaliated against by those guys, I'll stay here and at least I can carry you back."

She spoke casually, but Han Zhou knew very well that Sister Yin had never been a very brave person, and that she would have to carry a wrench to dare to go out at night in the future.

What kind of expression is that?

Seeing his strange expression, Zhong Yin was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it. She just urged him, "It's so cold, you should put on your coat quickly."

“I’m already wearing enough clothes. If I wear any more, I’ll look like a rice dumpling.”

"Being turned into a rice dumpling is better than catching a cold."

Under Zhong Yin's threatening gaze, Han Zhou had no choice but to slowly put on the down jacket that still held her body heat—wearing an overcoat on top of another made him look much bulkier, and he could barely lift his arms.

Zhong Yin initially kept a straight face, but seeing his clumsy way of moving around, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hehehe, you look like a fat penguin."

The girl smiled, her voice light and relieved, and casually snapped a picture of the scene with her phone.

"You didn't do this on purpose, did you?" Han Zhou said helplessly.

"I was worried you'd catch a cold, but you don't appreciate my kindness... Pfft!"

Zhong Yin immediately put on a serious face, but before she could finish speaking, she started laughing again.

Her smiling face made it seem as if the sadness of her previous "heartbreak" had never lingered on her.

The girl's smile was so bright and radiant that Han Zhou couldn't help but smile along, but Xiao Yixia's words unconsciously floated into his mind—

The other party said they should give Sister Yin an explanation, but how should they do that?

Should I completely dispel all her hopes? Or should I try to understand and respond to her feelings?

If it's the latter, then is Xiao Yixia deliberately creating trouble for her future self?
"Let's go back, we have school tomorrow morning."

Zhong Yin's voice rang in his ears, pulling Han Zhou back to reality.

Han Zhou sighed: "So you did know you had to go to school tomorrow."

He was still thinking about Xiao Yixia's words, somewhat lost in thought, and his steps unconsciously slowed down.

The next second, two icy fingers landed on his ears. Zhong Yin brought his face closer, his eyes full of dissatisfaction: "Didn't I tell you that if you walk behind me again, I'll pull your ears?"

Han Zhou winced in pain and said through gritted teeth, "I just happened to walk a little slower."

"Walking too slowly is also not allowed."

Zhong Yin snorted and pulled him to her side until they were side by side before letting go.

Compared to when they were pretending to be a couple, their relationship seemed unchanged. They joked and played around just the same way. If there was any difference, it was that they could no longer hold hands as freely as they did before midnight.

Looking at the girl beside him, Han Zhou felt he should say something, but after thinking it over, all he could think of was "I'm sorry".

really weird.

I apologized to Yixia, I apologized to Guzheng, I apologized to Xiaolengqiu, and now I have to apologize to Zhongyin.

Did I go back in time just to apologize?

Even after entering the courtyard, Han Zhou still hadn't figured out what to say, but Zhong Yin spoke first.

"Do you remember what we agreed on?"

She turned and locked the courtyard gate, then looked back at me, saying, "Before you left, you had to come pick me up from evening self-study every day."

She wouldn't give up; she was just heartbroken, not a failure.

Han Zhou was stunned.

"If you dare to renege on your debt, you're dead."

Zhong Yin didn't give him a chance to speak, and quickly walked into the house. Seeing that the light in his parents' bedroom was off, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and said in a low voice, "The bath water is ready. Be quiet and don't wake my parents."

It's already past 2 a.m., and she's still not asleep. Even if there's a reason for it, she doesn't want her parents to worry.

"I see."

Han Zhou also lowered his voice, sat on the sofa and began to take off his coat, while Zhong Yin yawned and went back to the bedroom, changed into his pajamas, gently hugged the already sleeping Xiao Ling, and prepared to go to sleep.

Just then, she heard a light knock on the door. When she opened it, she saw Han Zhou standing awkwardly in the doorway, tugging at his sleeve and saying, "Your clothes are too tight, I can't get my hand out..."

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Zhong Yin almost burst out laughing. She rolled her eyes at him and said, "What's so hard about not being able to pull it out?"

In fact, Han Zhou's embarrassment was not entirely because he couldn't take off his clothes, but because Zhong Yin, who was wearing pajamas, was too eye-catching at this moment.

Normally, Zhong Yin would have worn her pajamas completely covered, but she was too sleepy and didn't plan to get up in the middle of the night, so the ties on her pajamas weren't fastened tightly, leaving the nightgown underneath completely exposed to Han Zhou's view. "Sister Yin, you..."

He wanted to speak up to remind him, but Zhong Yin had already grabbed the cuff of the down jacket and tried to pull it. He found that the sleeve was indeed tighter than he had imagined, so he frowned and gestured for him to sit down on the sofa.

Han Zhou sat down on the sofa, and Zhong Yin grabbed the cuffs with both hands and pulled them back several times, but she still couldn't pull the sleeves down.

"No, it's too tight."

Han Zhou shook his head to stop her, reminding her, "If you pull it like that, you'll ruin the clothes."

In fact, if he weren't afraid of damaging his clothes, he could have easily torn the sleeves off himself.

Coincidentally, the zipper of his inner jacket got stuck at that moment; otherwise, he could have easily taken it off along with his outer down jacket.

Zhong Yin felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this. This down jacket was brand new, and she rarely wore it. It would be such a waste to ruin it like this.

"Then what should we do?" she asked.

"If all else fails, why don't you go find some lubricant?" Han Zhou joked.

"All he knows how to do is come up with bad ideas."

Zhong Yin glared at him. "My clothes are pure white. Once they get oil stains, they can't be washed off."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Han Zhou passed the buck back to Han Zhou.

"Change your position!"

Zhong Yin thought for a moment, then had Han Zhou turn around, raise his arm high behind him, and pull hard again. But even after changing positions several times and panting heavily, he still couldn't loosen the cuffs at all.

"Don't just make me do all the work, you should move around a bit too!"

She was getting impatient. Seeing that she couldn't get him to take off his clothes anytime soon, she decided to resort to violence. So she gritted her teeth, made Han Zhou sit back on the sofa, grabbed his sleeves with both hands, put one foot on the sofa, leaned back, and began to pull him with all her might.

Sure enough, Dali seemed to be able to work miracles. Before long, the cuff that had remained motionless finally began to loosen and slide out little by little until it completely separated from the sleeve of the inner jacket. But this also meant that Zhong Yin lost his footing and his body fell backward.

Fortunately, Han Zhou had anticipated this, and with a gentle pull on the girl's wrist, she fell into his arms—

Normally, that would be the case, but you should know that Zhong Yin had just put one foot on the sofa. At this moment, pulled by this force, he first leaped into the air, and then sat on Han Zhou in a straddle position.

The ties of her pajamas loosened further with the tugging, and the neckline of the nightgown slipped to one side, revealing a small patch of pale white shoulder and neck. The chill of the night contrasted subtly with the lingering warmth on her skin, sending a slight shiver down her spine.

Zhong Yin and Han Zhou both stiffened at the same time.

This position was really too bad. Zhong Yin's body trembled slightly, her face was flushed and she tried to get up, but her body went limp and she sat down again. Not only that, she almost pressed her chest against Han Zhou's face.

It wasn't until her hot breath hit her chest without any obstruction that she finally realized she had completely forgotten to fasten the ties of her pajamas.

"Han Zhou, are you...?"

He hurriedly reached out to cover Zhong Yin's mouth, but in his haste, he subconsciously raised his head and crashed straight into the snow in front of him.

"You...you're here, um..."

Zhong Yin let out a soft moan, feeling her mind go blank. Overwhelmed with shame and anger, she quickly grabbed Han Zhou's ears.

And so, with one trying to cover the other's mouth and the other pulling hard on the other's ear, neither of them noticed that a stunned figure had appeared at the junction of the living room and the hallway.

Ye Xiaorou held an empty water glass in her hand, her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly agape, as if she had been paused.

Her gaze shifted back and forth several times between Zhong Yin, who was disheveled and straddling Han Zhou, and Han Zhou, who was breathing rapidly. Then, the lid of the cup in her hand clattered onto the door frame.

Upon hearing the sound, Han Zhou and Zhong Yin were struck dumb and immediately stopped what they were doing.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, then stiffly turned their necks and forced themselves to look over. They immediately saw Ye Xiaorou standing not far away, her expression seemingly hidden in the shadows, making it difficult to see clearly.

"Mom (Aunt Ye)... let me explain."

Ye Xiaorou remained silent for a long time before finally sighing and asking with a headache, "How long are you going to stay in this position?"

Zhong Yin finally reacted, jolting off Han Zhou as if electrocuted. She frantically pulled her pajamas tighter, the ties knotting into two tight knots with her trembling fingers. One sleeve of her down jacket was still comically hanging on Han Zhou's shoulder, swinging in mid-air with her hurried movements.

Han Zhou practically rolled off the sofa, awkwardly propping himself up and trying to tear off the other stubborn sleeve. The fabric made a tearing sound under the strain, and he froze, remaining in a half-kneeling position, afraid to move any further.

"Pfft."

Although it was just a misunderstanding, being caught in such an embarrassing scene by her mother in the middle of the night made Zhong Yin extremely nervous and even flustered. Despite this, she was amused by the scene and quickly turned her face away, her shoulders shaking.

"Little Silver".

Under the dim light of the corridor, Ye Xiaorou, who was usually gentle, became unusually serious and gently shook her head, saying, "This is not something to laugh about."

Although she was disciplining her daughter, she deliberately lowered her voice, clearly not intending to make a big deal out of it.

Zhong Yin's face turned so red it was almost bleeding. His lips parted several times before he managed to squeeze out a broken explanation: "Mom...no, it's not what you see...it's because he couldn't take his clothes off..."

Ye Xiaorou's gaze moved from her daughter's disheveled collar to Han Zhou's arm, still tucked into the sleeve of his white down jacket, and then slowly swept over the obvious creases on the sofa. Her gaze then returned to Zhong Yin's face, lingering for a few seconds.

Finally, she bent down to pick up the water glass lid that had fallen on the ground, turned around and walked back into the corridor.

"You have school tomorrow, so rest first. We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Auntie, I'm not going to school tomorrow!"

Han Zhou quickly spoke up, indicating that he had ample time to explain the matter.

"You should go to sleep too."

Ye Xiaorou did not turn around. Her footsteps were unhurried and disappeared after the bedroom door closed softly.

The only sound in the living room was the ticking of the wall clock.

"Sister Yin".

After a brief silence, Han Zhou suddenly spoke.

Seeing him turn to look at her, Zhong Yin subconsciously tightened the tie, then remembered that she had tied it in a knot in her haste. So, while untying it, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Han Zhou seemed somewhat melancholy: "Based on your understanding of Aunt Ye, how do you think she will deal with us tomorrow?"

"What do you mean by 'how to deal with us'? It's as if we really did something wrong..."

Zhong Yin glared at him irritably.

"Don't worry, I won't beat you up." (End of Chapter)