Forced into a romantic relationship

Han Zhou thus suffered an unjust accusation.

No matter how he explained, Gu Zheng refused to believe that stockings with an opening in the crotch actually existed in the world, insisting that he had deliberately cut them.

Anyone with eyes can see that she's just being stubborn and unwilling to admit that she bought the wrong style.

Has this guy forgotten that she just said she would believe me...?

But I was never really trustworthy to begin with...

Han Zhou inwardly mocked himself, looking at Gu Zheng's face filled with shame and indignation. After a moment's hesitation, he couldn't help but ask, "So, are you still going to wear it for me?"

To be honest, he was quite looking forward to seeing Gu Zheng wearing stockings.

Of course, it's purely for aesthetic appreciation, and there's absolutely no lewd intent involved.

Gu Zheng was facing away from him at the moment. Upon hearing this, she gasped for breath, and the blush that had just faded instantly returned to her cheeks.

Han Zhou couldn't see her expression and continued, "Actually, it doesn't matter if there's a tear in the crotch, anyway, I'm not seeing anything..."

"you shut up!"

Guzheng, like a cat with its fur standing on end, almost sprang around and frantically covered his mouth.

Her cheeks burned, her eyes darted around, and she didn't dare to meet his gaze. She could only grit her teeth and say fiercely, "If you like wearing it, then wear it yourself. I will absolutely never wear something like this!"

"Except for, unless..."

She turned her head to the side, deliberately dragging out her words, leaving half of her sentence hanging in the air, waiting for Han Zhou to respond.

But after waiting for a long time, there was still no response from the other party, which made her even more annoyed.

Why aren't you saying anything?

"Well……"

Han Zhou wanted to speak, but his mouth was covered tightly, so even if he wanted to ask "unless what," he was powerless to do so.

The guzheng was very strong; even if he tried to hold back, it was enough to make him breathless. To avoid suffocating, he had no choice but to stick out his tongue and quickly lick the palm of his hand that was covering his mouth.

The next second, Gu Zheng jumped up as if she had been bitten by a dog, looking at Han Zhou lying on the ground in disbelief.

"you……"

"You almost suffocated me."

Han Zhou spoke first, interrupting her.

Seeing him panting heavily, Gu Zheng realized she had forgotten to let go of his hand and quickly asked, "Are you alright?"

"Something's wrong..."

Han Zhou's breathing was heavy, his expression pained, and he spoke with difficulty, "Come closer... I'll tell you..."

This guy isn't going to try licking my face, is he...?

Gu Zheng was both nervous and doubtful. Hesitantly, she sat down again, leaned down, and carefully brought her ear close to Han Zhou's mouth.

The next second, Han Zhou's weak voice rang in my ears.

"Tell me... unless what?"

Gu Zheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that this guy was clearly teasing her, and she became furious: "No unless! I said I won't wear that kind of thing!"

"You just said there was an exception," Han Zhou said weakly.

"It's gone now!"

"Aren't you going back on your word?"

"Who...who said I broke my promise!"

Gu Zheng got anxious, glared at him fiercely, and stammered for a long time, but her momentum gradually weakened. "Don't you even look at the weather? It's so cold, I can't possibly wear it for you right now, can I?"

"Then why did you bring it here?"

Han Zhou wasn't joking; he was genuinely curious.

Logically speaking, given the competitive nature of the guzheng, even if it had truly grasped the essence and wanted to take the initiative, it should have directly confronted the issue head-on, rather than adopting this "appeasement" tactic. He strongly suspected that there was a master guiding him behind the scenes.

Is it that girl named He Ling?

Gu Zheng, of course, had no idea what Han Zhou was thinking. She pouted in a huff, "Can't I use it to cover my face? I want to rob a bank!"

"Excuse my bluntness," Han Zhou sighed helplessly, "but even for a rookie robber, wearing crotchless stockings to cover his face shows a serious lack of professionalism..."

"I told you to shut up!"

Gu Zheng gritted her teeth. If Han Zhou weren't still sick, she would have loved to shove the stocking right into his mouth.

Han Zhou had no choice but to surrender.

Just then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he asked suspiciously, "Right, you said the night before last that if I kept my promise and went on a date with you on Christmas, you would reward me... You wouldn't mean I should wear stockings to show you, would you?"

"Wha...what date!"

Gu Zheng seemed to have only heard the first half of the sentence. She froze and quickly turned her head away. It took her a while to calm down. She crossed her arms over her chest, but her voice grew weaker and weaker.

"You wish! I never said I wanted to give you this reward..."

She paused, then turned her head slightly back, glancing at me with only one eye. After fidgeting awkwardly for a while, she muttered softly, "N-no... but if you really insist, I might be willing to wear it for you..."

"Is an open-crotch style okay?"

"Can't!"

Embarrassed and annoyed, Guzheng left after uttering her last words.

Both senior students were still outside the tent in the wind. She wasn't sick, so it wouldn't be right for her to stay in the tent for too long.

"Guzheng!"

Just as she drew back the tent flap, Han Zhou suddenly called out to her from behind.

"what happened?"

She turned around instinctively.

The wind outside the tent grew increasingly fierce, carrying a biting chill that instantly tousled the girl's hair. A few strands clung to her face, obscuring her eyes. She blinked instinctively and reached out to brush them away, but she couldn't gather her wind-blown hair.

She barely managed to hold back her unruly hair, secretly vowing that if Han Zhou dared to mention the open-crotch stockings again, she would beat him up once he recovered.

Han Zhou stared at the guzheng for a long time, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he had something to say, but he swallowed his words and forced a weak smile.

"I won't break my promise for Christmas."

He cannot guarantee that he will not deceive Guzheng again in the future, and this is probably the only promise he is confident he can keep at present.

Gu Zheng was taken aback, not understanding why he suddenly brought this up. She assumed he wanted the so-called "reward," and her face flushed slightly. She glared at him, annoyed.

"If you dare to break your promise, you're dead."

After saying that, she gave a soft "humph" and lightly pulled open the tent flap.

As soon as she stepped out of the tent, a gust of wind hit her face, filling her neck with a chill that made her hunch her shoulders.

When did the wind get so strong...?

While haphazardly pressing down her short hair, which was disheveled by the wind, she squinted as she searched for Wang Lengqiu's figure by the campfire, but only saw Zhong Ling, who was focused on roasting meat.

"Senior, where is Senior Wang Lengqiu?"

She wrapped her coat tighter around herself, walked forward, looked around, and asked a question out of curiosity.

Zhong Ling raised her head, a gentle smile appearing on her face. She raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then pointed to another tent.

Just then, perhaps having overheard their conversation, Wang Lengqiu poked half her body out of the tent, tilting her head slightly as if to ask, "What's wrong?"

Gu Zheng felt a little embarrassed upon seeing Wang Lengqiu.

"Um... it's too windy tonight, I'd like to borrow a hair tie from you."

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but after saying that, she noticed that Senior Wang Lengqiu's head tilt seemed to have increased slightly. (End of Chapter)