Forced into a romantic relationship

After the accident, Zhong Ling was clearly too ashamed to face Han Zhou for the time being. Seeing that he was rescued from the sleeping bag by Gu Zheng, she felt like she had been granted a pardon. She hurriedly said, "I'm going to change my clothes," and left as if fleeing with her coat in her arms.

The curtains fell, blocking out the howling winds from the outside world and also blocking Wang Lengqiu's gaze from afar.

The guzheng decided to stay there and not leave.

She first bent down and easily pushed Han Zhou's bulging sleeping bag to the side, making room for a person. Then she casually grabbed a corner of the sleeping mat, patted off the dust, and sat down without saying a word.

She hugged her knees, her gaze shifting for a moment between Han Zhou's face and the creases left on the ground, before finally settling on his hands as he tried to prop himself up.

Silence spread through the cramped space, with only the occasional crisp sound of a withered branch breaking penetrating the tent fabric, sounding exceptionally clear.

Seeing Han Zhou about to crawl out of his sleeping bag, Gu Zheng frowned. Before he could get up, she reached out and pressed him back down, saying irritably, "You're still sick. Why aren't you lying down? What are you doing getting up?"

Han Zhou gave a wry smile: "I just wanted to test if the zipper would still get stuck."

"I've tried it, it doesn't get stuck."

Gu Zheng rolled her eyes at him, reached out and pulled the zipper all the way up along the teeth marks, then tugged the hood of the sleeping bag up to cover Han Zhou's shoulders and neck. She then muttered under her breath, "If you ask me, it's better if the zipper is stuck, so you won't be so restless all day long..."

Han Zhou chuckled twice and wisely shut his mouth. His intuition told him that it was best not to talk back at this time, otherwise if Gu Zheng really brought up a few examples of his "dishonesty" on the spot, he would be asking for trouble.

Gu Zheng wanted to say something more, but when her gaze fell on Han Zhou's bloodless face, she swallowed the words back.

He's not even going to defend himself anymore; it seems this guy is indeed very ill...

She pursed her lips, stared at that face for a long while, then looked away and asked in a deliberately casual yet very low voice:
"Would you like to sleep a little longer?"

"No more."

Han Zhou forced a smile. Even though he wasn't trying to fake it, his laughter still sounded weak due to the effects of "being on the verge of death." "I just had a nightmare, so I probably won't be able to fall asleep for a while."

"What nightmare?"

Gu Zheng seemed to be thinking about something else, somewhat absent-minded, unconsciously tugging at the drawstring of her hood, and casually asked a question.

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment: "I dreamt that you left me."

The girl paused in her hand movements.

"What kind of nightmare is this..."

She muttered something to herself, glancing quickly at Han Zhou. She wanted to roll her eyes, but then realized his expression wasn't joking. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away. After a long pause, she reluctantly squeezed out the rest of her sentence:
"Haven't I always been here?"

After a pause, perhaps feeling it was too mushy, she added, trying to sound calm, "Why don't you sleep a little longer? I'll stay here with you. If you have another nightmare... just open your eyes."

"I'm not going to sleep."

Han Zhou shook his head, "My senior said she would grill meat for me, but I'm asleep now so I won't get to eat it."

Gu Zheng's lips stiffened, then she pursed her lips, shifted her gaze from his face, and stared at the drawstring in her hand without saying a word.

"Also, rather than having a nightmare and then waking up to see you, I might as well look at you more now. That way, I might not have nightmares anymore," Han Zhou added seriously.

"How come I never realized you were so glib-tongued before..."

Gu Zheng gave a disgruntled "humph," but her previously tense lips quietly relaxed, and a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.

Han Zhou laughed along, "I'm telling the truth."

"What do you mean, real or fake..."

Gu Zheng rolled her eyes at him, but her tone softened a bit, "If you want to see it, then see it. It's not like I'm stopping you from seeing it."

She hugged her knees, turned her body slightly to the side, thought for a moment, and then moved the headlamp above her head to a different position so that Han Zhou could see her more clearly.

"Han Zhou".

"Ok?"

"If you really don't want to sleep, then chat with me."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"You're sick right now and can't talk too much, so how about I ask and you answer?"

Seeing Gu Zheng's nonchalant expression, Han Zhou's heart sank, realizing that she had probably come prepared. Despite his apprehension, he maintained his weak smile and nodded slightly.

Seeing his cooperative attitude, Guzheng breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to ask her first question, she suddenly remembered something and changed her mind: "I'll ask you, do you prefer rotation on your own axis or revolution around the sun?"

"what?"

Han Zhou looked bewildered, his blank expression completely genuine; he truly didn't understand the question. Gu Zheng had been watching Han Zhou's expression closely, and seeing his equally bewildered look, she finally felt relieved—before this, she had wondered if this was some kind of code between Han Zhou and Senior Wang Lengqiu, but now it seemed Han Zhou was completely unaware of it.

"Is this a riddle?" After hesitating for a long time, Han Zhou couldn't help but ask.

Gu Zheng had no idea whether this was a riddle or not; if she had, she wouldn't have come to ask Han Zhou. So she pretended to be serious and asked, "Don't worry about what it is, just answer directly."

Han Zhou pondered for a long time but did not see any trap in it. He then tentatively replied, "If I had to choose... I would choose revolution."

"Why?" Guzheng asked curiously.

Because revolution around a planet only revolves around one person, while rotation on its own axis could involve many people revolving around it, if this were some kind of psychological test, rotation might be more in line with the definition of a "scumbag," so it should definitely not be chosen...

This was Han Zhou's analysis out of caution, but he naturally couldn't answer that way verbally. Instead, he asked in return, "So, do you choose rotation or revolution?"

“Me? Of course I chose to read it myself,” Guzheng replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"why?"

"Because of stars... no, isn't it supposed to be me asking and you answering?"

Gu Zheng suddenly realized what was happening and glared at Han Zhou in annoyance.

"If only you can ask questions, doesn't that turn into an interrogation?"

Although it wasn't time to reveal the true intentions yet, Han Zhou had already vaguely realized that the question Gu Zheng really wanted to ask was far from simple, so he absolutely could not allow the other party to completely take control.

Gu Zheng was speechless for a moment, then pouted somewhat unwillingly. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then you only need to answer one more question for me."

Han Zhou's heart tightened, but he asked casually, "What's the problem?"

Gu Zheng didn't answer immediately, but instead asked another question: "You promised me before that you would never lie to me, is that still true?"

Han Zhou forced a smile: "If this is false, then haven't I already lied to you?"

Gu Zheng shook her head, not responding to the joke, and her tone became more serious: "I heard He Ling say that sometimes boys lie not intentionally, but just because they forget their promises."

As she spoke, she hugged her knees, rested her chin gently on them, curled up into a small ball, and tilted her head to look at Han Zhou.

The dim light from the headlamp illuminated her profile, making her eyes appear exceptionally clear.

“So Han Zhou,” she said softly, “if you do lie to me occasionally, I might not hold it against you. I’m not the kind of person who’s unreasonable.”

She paused, then added the second half of the sentence, as if to emphasize, word by word, "But you should also know that if you deliberately lie to me about things that I care about a lot, I will definitely not forgive you."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Han Zhou quietly, her eyes filled with no questioning, only a pure, calm, and almost frank seriousness.

She never considered herself a person with a good personality. On the contrary, she knew very well that her competitive nature was not likable, otherwise she would have friends. But Han Zhou was always willing to tolerate her like this, so naturally, she should also be more tolerant of him.

But it should only be tolerance, not indulgence.

So she continued, "I don't care whether you've lied to me before or not, it doesn't matter, so... can you promise me again?"

"Promise me you will never lie to me."

Han Zhou fell silent.

He didn't know if Guzheng had sensed anything, but he was very clear that once he agreed, the next thing he would face would obviously be the very issue that Guzheng "cared about".

In fact, his silence speaks volumes.

But Guzheng didn't get angry or urge her; she just waited silently.

The wind howled outside the tent, but inside it was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard.

After a long while, Han Zhou finally made a move.

He nodded, forcing a weak and strained smile: "I promise you, I will never lie to you."

Because of his physical weakness, no one knew whether his expression was due to physical weakness or a guilty conscience.

But in Guzheng's view, it was clearly because of the former.

So she extended her right little finger, her eyes curving into beautiful crescent moons.

The moment he laughed, even the howling wind outside the tent seemed to soften.

"I believe you." (End of Chapter)