Forced into a romantic relationship.

Heart...heart's intention?

Guzheng trembled, as if struck by lightning once again.

"You mean what you feel?"

Miao Yan'er couldn't stand it anymore. She smiled and took over the conversation, her eyes looking particularly dangerous. This kid had been talking nonsense since the beginning, completely disregarding her as an elder.

"That's right, it's the thought that counts."

However, Han Zhou was clearly not afraid of her at this moment, and calmly smiled and said, "So, Sister Miao, now you understand why I said this soup is delicious, right?"

Miao Yan'er paused in her smile, then hesitated and asked, "Why?"

Gu Zheng buried her face in the bowl, her shoveling of rice slowed down, and she secretly pricked up her ears.

Han Zhou sighed, "Perhaps this soup is bland to you, but to me it is full of Gu Zheng's heartfelt wishes. The taste of food varies from person to person. Just as Uncle Gu thinks your cooking skills are unparalleled, in my mind, any food that Gu Zheng makes is absolutely delicious."

At this point, he looked at the guzheng with deep affection and smiled tenderly.

"As long as it's you, I'm happy to do it."

Gu Zheng shivered and almost spat out the food in her mouth.

However, even though she knew Han Zhou would never say such a thing suddenly, she still felt a flutter in her heart when she heard certain words.

"Xiao Zheng."

Miao Yan'er suddenly leaned closer, her face filled with disgust, and asked in a low voice, "Did you put something in the soup? I feel like this kid's eyes are looking at you strange..."

"No way! Even if there were, it would be a tonic!"

Gu Zheng glared at her mother, thought carefully, and said somewhat uncertainly, "The internet says that black chicken soup can replenish deficiencies, it shouldn't make someone like this, right..."

"So what's going on with this kid? Is he faking it?"

Both of them knew that Han Zhou was not the type to say such things, but they couldn't figure out why he had become like this, so they were very confused.

"Han Zhou, you..."

Just then, Han Zhou suddenly stood up and said passionately, "I have an announcement to make: I will cast my vote for Gu Zheng!"

Perhaps to show that he truly enjoyed the food made by Guzheng, he ladled out another bowl of soup. "I've already given my reasons, but even without any reason, I would still cast my vote for her without hesitation."

He drank the hot soup in one gulp, as if he had drunk a bowl of strong liquor, then turned his head and looked affectionately at the girl who had buried her face in the rice bowl.

"Guzheng, remember this: I cast this vote not because I only wanted to cast one vote, but because this is the only vote I have. If I could, I would like to give you everything I have."

pat.

As she finished speaking, the chopsticks in Guzheng's hand fell to the ground.

Although it sounded disgusting, she felt that Han Zhou's gaze wasn't joking, but serious.

She was somewhat stunned.

"Everything... for me?"

If it's serious, then would this be considered a confession?

Should I accept? It doesn't seem like it's impossible... No, no, wouldn't this be too fast? We've only just turned 18, and there will be so much competition in university, we won't have much time to be together... I do like him a little, that's true, but you can't be so casual about dating. Maybe I should test him first, like if he beats me in a fight...

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Just then, she looked up and met Han Zhou's affectionate and doting gaze. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she felt like she couldn't hear anything. All that remained in her mind was the phrase, "I'll give you everything I have."

Even with this expression...

This really is a confession!

Seeing her daughter looking completely disoriented, Miao Yan'er could no longer hold back. This Han Zhou had ignored her time and time again, and even flirted with her daughter right in front of her, his mother. He was simply audacious.

She slammed her hand on the table and asked with a smile, "Han Zhou, do you know what you're saying?"

What's infuriating is that Han Zhou's face was blank, as if his brain had crashed, and he didn't give any response.

After a long while, he sat down in a chair with a slumped expression, feeling utterly hopeless.

Yeah... what did I say?

He had already ended his sycophantic phase. Recalling everything that had just happened, he almost tore his shoes apart with his toes, his mind filled with regret and remorse.

"As long as it's you, I'd be happy to do anything..."

"If I could, I would give you everything I have..."

His stomach was bloated because he had drunk too much soup.

His tongue was numb because the soup was very hot.

He wanted to slap himself and vowed never to use the "simp" persona again.

Can anyone tell me why people choose to be simps instead of being decent people?

Han Zhou was filled with deep regret.

"Han Zhou! Did you do this on purpose?!"

Just then, Miao Yan'er's angry shout suddenly rang in his ears.

Han Zhou was startled, then realized this wasn't the time to hide, and stammered, "Sister Miao, I..."

"Finally, they can hear me."

Miao Yan'er stared intently at him and sneered, "You just said you were going to vote for Xiao Zheng, right? And without any reason?"

Huh? Aren't you here to settle scores with me for talking nonsense earlier?

Han Zhou suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and readily admitted, "Yes, for no reason."

He realized he was overthinking things.

What's there to hesitate about? Uncle Gu can support Sister Miao without any reason, so why can't he support Gu Zheng unconditionally?

This isn't favoritism; it's perfectly normal, yet he hesitated for so long...

In terms of frankness alone, the sycophant is much better than him.

"Threatening me won't work; it's a tie now."

Hearing this, Miao Yan'er didn't react much, but Gu Zheng, who had been listening intently, became a little embarrassed and quickly said while clutching her rice bowl, "No, there should be a reason, otherwise wouldn't that be too unfair..."

Han Zhou was taken aback. Gu Zheng's expression looked strange. She seemed to genuinely feel that this was unfair, but she also seemed to want to accept the outcome. There was an indescribable contradiction within her.

It was a look of anxiety and uncertainty that rarely appeared on Guzheng's face, but it did briefly show up when she saw the graduation photos today.

Thinking about it carefully, Guzheng's mood seems to have been off all day.

Miao Yan'er frowned slightly.

Han Zhou originally wanted to say something else, but perhaps it was the last "gift" from the elite sycophant that made him suddenly smile affectionately.

"Of course it's unfair."

Although I don't want to be a simp, as someone who can say "I can't live without you" all the time, what else can't he say?

"There is a scale in my heart that is always tilted."

"On one side of the scale is you, and on the other side is everything else. It is never fair, because the side you are on always tilts downwards. No matter what weights are added to the other side, you will always be more important than everything else in my heart."

"So in my heart, you have never meant fairness."

Gu Zheng's breathing stopped for a moment.

She could tell that Han Zhou was normal at this moment, and yet the normal Han Zhou still said such things, didn't that mean...

This is definitely a confession, right?

Chapter 47 If you're the sun, you should shine brightly.

Gu Zheng angrily left the dining table.

She argued that her cooking was clearly better, yet the final result was a tie, which she believed was extremely unfair and that there was a huge conspiracy involved. She was going on a hunger strike in protest.

Even if there really was something fishy going on, it should have been her parents' fault. But who knew that before leaving, this guy punched Han Zhou hard, muttering, "What do you mean I'm the most important person to you? Do you mean I'm that heavy?" Then he grabbed his rice bowl and ran into his room, slamming the door shut.

Han Zhou rubbed his arm, turned around and looked in the direction Gu Zheng had left with some suspicion. After recalling for a moment, he felt that he should not have seen wrong.

"It's definitely not an illusion, this guy just blushed..."

And so, this culinary battle came to an end.

Although Guzheng stormed off, she was clearly in a better mood than before. Unfortunately, the temporary task wasn't completed, and casting a vote certainly didn't equate to favoritism...

Han Zhou sighed inwardly, and the next second he heard Miao Yan'er's smiling voice in front of him: "Oh my, someone is so good at sweet talk, how can he not make a young girl blush?"

Han Zhou froze, thinking to himself, "What kind of hearing does this guy have? He can hear me talking to myself so quietly?"

"You flirted with my daughter right in front of me, your mother. I think I can figure out what happened to your eye injury... Han Zhou."

Miao Yan'er had a beautiful smile, but to Han Zhou at that moment, she looked like a devil. He quickly and honestly admitted his mistake: "I was wrong, Sister Miao. I will never dare to do it again!"

"The way you apologize is quite similar to Xiaozheng's dad," Miao Yan'er sighed softly. "I don't know if you've heard Xiaozheng mention it, but her dad was a complete scumbag back in the day. His greatest skills were sweet talk and apologizing. I'm only now realizing that you two seem to have quite a few things in common, and you get along quite well usually..."

Han Zhou's face turned bitter: "Sister Miao, you've misunderstood..."

Uncle Gu may be a scumbag, but I, Han Zhou, am definitely not!

"Really? That's not necessarily true."

Miao Yan'er smiled, then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "But I also know that you said those strange things to make Xiao Zheng happy. Since she took out that photo album, it means she must have remembered those unhappy things from the past."

Han Zhou was taken aback, and then he realized why Sister Miao was so easy to talk to; it turned out that she had misjudged his intentions.

A stroke of luck amidst misfortune...

He shamelessly admitted, "That's exactly what happened."

Miao Yan'er hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Have you looked at the photo album?"

Han Zhou hadn't dared to ask her about the photo album at first, but now that she'd brought it up, there was no reason not to: "I saw it, but why is there something on her graduation photo..."

Miao Yan'er looked at the food on the table, shook her head and interrupted, "Since you asked me, it means Xiao Zheng didn't tell you on her own initiative, so I can't tell you too much."

"What I can tell you is that Xiaozheng is standing on the far left of the photo, while her best friend from junior high is standing on the far right."

This is undoubtedly a piece of information that is enough to make people think a lot.

Han Zhou frowned slightly. If they were best friends, they shouldn't be so distant. So it was obvious that something must have happened in middle school to cause this situation...