Forced into a romantic relationship

Calling it a "game" was just Han Zhou leaving himself a way out.

At that time, he could not hear Zhong Ling's voice. Although he could barely have some basic communication, he could not respond to her if she spoke in long and complicated sentences. If he wanted to continue the conversation, he could only compress all communication into the most basic question and answer - he would ask the questions and Zhong Ling could only answer "yes" or "no", that is, nod or shake her head.

It could be considered a mind-reading exercise. Zhong Ling didn't need to express her thoughts; he had to guess them completely, piecing together her current thoughts through repeated "yes" and "no" answers.

He originally thought that this incomplete way of communication could at least last for a while, but before he could even start asking and answering questions, he suddenly "fell ill". After waking up, he was able to hear the sound of the bell again, so the game naturally lost its meaning and was temporarily put aside.

However, it seems that it may still have a use now.

After a moment of contemplation, Han Zhou looked up at the campfire in front of him and said softly, "Senior, why don't we play this game now? You don't have to tell me what you dreamed about; let me guess. You just need to nod or shake your head."

Zhong Ling paused, instinctively reaching for the small cloth bag at her waist, but then realized she didn't have a backpack. She hesitated, saying, "Actually, I could have just told you..."

"I know."

Han Zhou shook his head. "But there's more to it than just this."

The campfire crackled, and sparks, like tiny gold dust, were tossed into the night sky by the heat.

In the flickering firelight, he suddenly turned his head and looked over.

"Senior, I want to know more about you."

“I know you keep a lot of things to yourself and are reluctant to talk about them. I won’t force you to tell me everything, but I still want to know everything about you, so this is the only compromise I can come up with.”

This sounds like a confession, but it's not. Han Zhou knows very well that if he wants to truly untangle Zhong Ling's knot in her heart, he must get closer to her heart and be more sensitive to her emotions.

According to the prompts given in the status bar, the key to unlocking Zhong Ling's heart might be to make her cry. In that case, he must understand Zhong Ling's "weaknesses" well enough.

As the saying goes, "the person who hurts you the most is often the one closest to you." The more he understands Zhong Ling, the more weaknesses he can naturally detect.

Of course, all of this was ultimately his own plan. If Zhong Ling didn't agree or even wanted to cooperate, then all his thoughts would just become awkward self-talk.

After a brief hesitation, he took a deep breath, and with a hint of nervousness, asked in a low voice:

"Senior, would you be willing to play this game with me forever?"

Damn, this is starting to sound more and more like a confession...

As expected, upon hearing this, Zhong Ling's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She hurriedly lowered her head, unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a trembling nasal sound.

"Um……"

Seeing the girl's shy expression, Han Zhou seriously suspected that she really took his words as a confession, so he quickly explained, "Senior, I just wanted to get to know you, I didn't mean anything else."

In the orange-red firelight, Zhong Ling's cheeks were still flushed. She nodded gently to show that she understood, and then said somewhat shyly, "I... I also want to know more about my junior."

Her face was still flushed, but her eyes were bright and sparkling, with an earnestness and clumsiness like that of a small animal. She seemed completely unaware of the misunderstanding she had almost caused and simply wanted to respond with equal concern.

Seeing the girl's obvious unease yet her attempt to respond properly, Han Zhou couldn't help but chuckle, thinking to himself that this senior was indeed very cute.

But when he thought about how his purpose was to make this lovely senior cry, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

However, guilt aside, if it can truly make the senior have a good cry from the bottom of her heart, release all the pent-up emotions, and completely resolve her inner conflict, then even if she sees herself as a "bad person," it will be worth it.

So he didn't hesitate any longer: "Then I'll start guessing? About the nightmare you had last night."

He paused, then added, "I might not hold back on my questions. If they touch on something you really don't want to answer, just don't respond."

If he wanted to understand Zhong Ling's inner conflict, he couldn't afford to be too reserved, even if it meant touching on her painful past. Zhong Ling sat up straight and nodded gently.

Han Zhou pondered for a moment: "You dreamed of a terrifying monster?"

Zhong Ling shook her head.

"That's the terrible thing?"

Zhong Ling hesitated for a moment, then nodded, then shook her head.

"Are there scary things, and are there not scary things?"

Zhong Ling hesitated for a moment before nodding gently.

It seems that, in the senior's opinion, it's difficult to give this nightmare a clear definition...

Han Zhou pondered, suspecting that the dream was related to the accident. After all, just before the car accident, his family was happily chatting in the car, with both warm memories and a tragic ending, fitting the description of "both scary and not scary".

The campfire cast dancing light and shadow in the night, making Zhong Ling's already gentle expression even more tender, as if the corners of her eyes and brows had been softened by the firelight.

Looking at that profile, slightly illuminated by the interplay of light and shadow, he hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Was it a dream about the car accident?"

The next second, Zhong Ling's expression changed drastically.

She bit her lip and shook her head vigorously.

"I'm sorry." Noticing her unusual behavior, Han Zhou immediately apologized.

Clearly, although she had already confessed part of what happened, the senior student's resistance to that accident was still ingrained in her bones.

But... it wasn't a car accident?

That's right. My senior just said she could tell me directly. If it were a car accident, she probably wouldn't have this attitude...

But if the nightmare had nothing to do with the car accident, then what about the sadness that just appeared on her face?

Could it be related to Sister Yin?

It was only at this moment that Han Zhou realized how limited his understanding of this senior was. In his mind, her joys and sorrows seemed to be only related to her older sister.

Apart from that, she had no idea what she liked or disliked.

No, it seems I do know a little bit.

She enjoys reading, dislikes going out, lacks assertiveness, yet believes in fate. She replies to messages very seriously, feeling happy when she receives a response and disappointed when she doesn't...

But that's about it.

This level of understanding is far from enough for him to find the other party's "weakness".

But then again...

If we're talking about the biggest weakness of the senior students, it has to be Sister Yin.

If we kidnapped Sister Yin and hid her somewhere no one could find her, wouldn't Senior Sister cry from worry? (End of Chapter)