Forced into a romantic relationship.

A hint of hesitation flashed in Zhong Ling's clear eyes: "No...aren't we going to apologize to him?"

She felt that hitting someone was wrong, and that she should have apologized that day, but she didn't know why the matter was postponed.

“No need to apologize. That guy actually dared to lie to you by pretending to be deaf and mute. It’s disgusting. If you didn’t feel guilty, I wouldn’t have given him that thousand yuan.” Zhong Yin made no attempt to hide the disgust in his tone.

"But he never said he was deaf and mute; I was mistaken..."

"You could say it's a misunderstanding. Why would he come up to you? Anyway, that guy looks shifty and definitely doesn't have any good intentions. Just give him the money and don't talk to him anymore. Remember to block him afterwards."

Zhong Ling listened quietly to her sister's words, and even though she felt something was wrong, she didn't object. She obediently said, "Then I'll go to the alley entrance to wait for them, give them the money, block them, and not say anything... Is there anything else I should be careful about?"

"Them?" Zhong Yin paused, frowning. "Were there other people who came with him?"

Did this guy call in reinforcements to take revenge?

Zhong Ling also found it a bit strange. Looking at the message on her phone, she replied, "He said there was a girl who came with him."

……

The taxi stopped near Linshui Bridge.

After getting out of the car, the glaring sunlight made Mo Yixia squint, but Han Zhou, who was wearing sunglasses, obviously didn't need to worry about this problem and even stared at the sun for a while with a smug look.

Mo Yixia ignored this foolish behavior.

Han Zhou looked at the sweat on the girl's forehead and asked, "Actually, I'm curious, it's fine at home in this kind of weather, but aren't you hot wearing a mask and hat outside?"

"hot."

Mo Yixia glanced at him. Why ask such a silly question? Is it because we didn't eat fish today?

"Then why do you insist on wearing it? I can understand wearing a mask, but at least you can take off your hat."

Mo Yixia didn't answer, but instead asked, "Are you hot right now?"

"hot."

"Then why don't you take your pants off?"

"..."

Han Zhou's expression froze.

He had originally intended to ask Mo Yixia why she always wore a baseball cap, his intuition telling him it wasn't the same reason as wearing a mask, but her answer left him speechless for a long time.

The two walked into the shade of the eaves, avoiding the sunlight, and headed towards the small square.

After walking for a while, Han Zhou was still a little worried and asked, "Are you sure it's okay for you to come out with me like this?"

After eating, this guy insisted on coming out with him, claiming it was as psychological compensation for her "temporary loss of her father." However, he even skipped his afternoon classes to come out, and it's unclear whether he didn't respect Jiang Baiqian or planned to make him take the blame again.

"no problem."

Mo Yixia said calmly, "Today is my day off. My mom allowed me to come out with you, so I'm yours now. You can do whatever you want with me, but you have to take responsibility and remember to take me home before five o'clock."

Han Zhou ignored the second half of her statement and asked in bewilderment, "When did your mother become so easy to talk to?"

He was thinking about another problem.

In fact, from many perspectives, his relationship with Mo Yixia has clearly improved, as can be seen from the fact that his ramblings are becoming more and more fluent. But why is there still no more status information about the other party?

Could it be that he's mistaken?

Mo Yixia explained, "As I said, my mom is a results-oriented person. My significant progress is the result, and she is very satisfied with it. Naturally, she is also full of confidence in the process of you teaching me well. Therefore, as long as you use the excuse of helping me with my studies and make some reasonable requests in your name, she will satisfy you even if she is unhappy. For example, she will let me rest for half a day after today's exam."

"In my name?"

Han Zhou's face darkened as he instantly grasped the key point in that sentence.

He suddenly remembered that when Mo Yixia called at noon, she used Jiang Baiqian's phone. They should have been together at that time. Could it have been then?

“I told my mom that you said studying requires a balance between work and rest, and that rest after important exams is very necessary. You and that girl named Guzheng have always done this. She agreed as soon as she heard this, but only for today.”

After a pause, Mo Yixia continued, "Actually, I don't dislike her as much as you think. This is a world that values ​​results. People who don't like studying but are keen on daydreaming will be praised for their past achievements if they achieve something in the future. They will be praised for their imaginative thinking from a young age. But if they fail to achieve anything in the future, everyone will blame it on their lack of ambition from a young age."

"The victor's repentance is a great virtue, knowing that he can correct his mistakes. The loser's repentance is a lament, 'If only I had known this would happen, I would have done it in the first place.' The process is judged by the result. If the result is good, the process is praiseworthy. If the result is bad, the process is thought-provoking. Thus, the former often becomes anecdotes about celebrities, while the latter becomes a parable."

Han Zhou thought to himself that this was indeed the case. Most people pay more attention to the results, which is undeniable. Whether a behavior is wishful thinking or ingenious often depends solely on the outcome.

However, Mo Yixia was quite talkative today; she even brought up her thoughts on her mother, which is quite rare...

He picked up the conversation and couldn't help but joke, "So do you think our story will become a celebrity anecdote or a fable in the future?"

Mo Yixia was silent for a moment: "This will become two jokes."

Han Zhou was taken aback at first, then laughed: "You're even insulting yourself now. Even if it doesn't become a celebrity anecdote, can't it be a fairy tale or something?"

Mo Yixia's tone was indifferent, but the disdain in her words was not hard to detect: "In fairy tales, would a man bring a woman he has an ambiguous relationship with to meet another woman?"

Han Zhou almost coughed up blood: "Our relationship is anything but ambiguous! Besides, you were the one who pestered me to come here, not me!"

Mo Yixia pretended not to hear.

Seeing that she remained silent, Han Zhou suddenly had a bright idea and asked, "By the way, what do you think our relationship is right now?"

Mo Yixia was silent for a moment: "Let me think, with interests as the bond, secretly engaging in dirty deals behind our parents' backs, and being forced to satisfy your perverted desire to smile at you dozens of times a day... so our current relationship is..."

She hesitated for a moment, "A secret lover?"

What the hell is this secret lover?!

Han Zhou knew from the beginning that this guy wouldn't say anything nice, so he pressed on with a dark face, "Be serious!"

Mo Yixia turned her head, pursed her lips, and seemed to smile slightly.

However, she had already laughed ten times today, so there would be no more mission prompts. In addition, because she was wearing a mask, Han Zhou did not know that she was laughing.

Mo Yixia remained silent, but suddenly stopped and raised her hand as if to touch the leaves on the tree above her head. However, she was a little too far away and could not reach them without jumping up.

Just then, a gust of wind suddenly blew by, rustling the leaves and lifting her nearly waist-length hair.

The dappled sunlight, the swaying leaves, and the girl with her long hair flying in the wind—if a painter were present, they would surely have captured this scene in their painting.

The branches were bent low by the wind. Mo Yixia tiptoed and managed to grab a leaf. The next moment, she let go and stood up straight again, her eyes crinkling as if she was satisfied.

Han Zhou watched this scene quietly, waiting for the other party's reply.

"If I had to pinpoint a specific relationship... then we should be considered friends."

The girl straightened her school uniform and said calmly, "But I always thought this was obvious. Don't you think so too?"

"real or fake?"

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment. "If you're a friend, at least show me your status bar!"

"It's true. Of course, if you want to maintain this relationship between a perverted teacher and an innocent high school girl, that's not impossible."

"Please, please leave this innocent high school girl alone..."

"..."

Perhaps because they were both feeling a bit emotional, neither of them spoke.

Han Zhou raised his hand and easily reached the leaves above his head. He didn't feel anything special. He didn't quite understand why Mo Yixia had just shown a satisfied expression.

Mo Yixia glanced at him, then looked up at the sky. Even though the sun was blocked by the lush foliage, it was still dazzling and the sunlight was scorching, as if to say that this hot summer would never end.

But summer always comes to an end.

She's friends with this guy now because summer isn't over yet, but what about after summer?

Although the other party's intentions are still unclear, this relationship will eventually end at the end of summer.

When the tutoring relationship ends and the connection of interests is severed, will they greet each other occasionally as "cowboy" and "agent" when they meet again in the future, or will they simply pass each other by?

The leaves rustled, and she suddenly remembered the question this guy had asked not long ago—

"Do you think our story will become a celebrity anecdote or a fable in the future?"

She felt neither was good.

Whether it's anecdotes, fables, or fairy tales, they're all too short-lived.

If she could, she hoped their story would be a novel.

A very, very long novel that seems to linger in the summer.

Chapter 53 Brother

When Han Zhou and his companion arrived at the small square, they saw Zhong Ling standing far away at the entrance of the alley across the street, waiting.

The girl had her hair tied in a ponytail and a small blue cloth bag slung around her waist. Even while waiting in the sweltering heat, she showed no signs of impatience and exuded a tranquil aura.

Although she was still far away and couldn't see the girl's face clearly yet, Mo Yixia was still able to tell that she was a very beautiful girl.

She glanced at Han Zhou thoughtfully and said, "The reason you asked me for my friend's contact information last time was because of this girl, right?"

“That day was clearly your first time here. You shouldn’t have seen her before, and it just so happens to be this square, this location… In other words, you set your sights on her that day. Considering that you showed some interest in me when we first met, can I assume that she was one of your targets?”

"If we use 'hunting' as a metaphor for your actions, then we, as the prey, must possess some quality that is enough to attract you. If we also include the guzheng, the most obvious commonality we have is that we are young and beautiful. Although I think this might be an important factor, the reason is definitely not that simple..."

Mo Yixia's eyes were full of contemplation.

Han Zhou felt a chill run down his spine, thinking to himself, "Maybe we should just stop pretending. You should just admit that you're a secret agent who's been infiltrating some country for seventeen years, and I promise I won't report you..."

It's one thing to guess that Zhong Ling has a problem, but to actually include Gu Zheng, whom you've only met once, in the equation, and to make it right, is just too outrageous.

Honestly, even if this guy immediately pulled out an ID and said he was from a special department, she probably wouldn't suspect a thing. With that level of awareness, anyone who dates her in the future will have absolutely no chance of cheating...

Fortunately, Han Zhou was prepared for this and calmly said, "You're overthinking it. I accompanied a friend to this area a couple of days ago. He wanted to be friends with this girl, but there was a misunderstanding. I got punched for no reason. You can ask the girl if you don't believe me."

Although it sounds a bit strange, that's the truth. It wouldn't be wrong to say that knowing Zhong Ling was a coincidence. As long as the connection of clues can be broken, Mo Yixia's guess will go astray.

Because she was wearing sunglasses, Mo Yixia couldn't see Han Zhou's eyes, but she didn't seem to care. Her gaze was indifferent, and it was unclear whether she believed what he said.

"Oh, right."

Han Zhou suddenly remembered something and took the opportunity to change the subject, "For some reason, that girl was speaking so softly that it was inaudible. You've been fighting with your mother for so long, you should know a little bit of lip reading, right?"

"No, I won't learn things that aren't very useful to me."

Mo Yixia glanced at him strangely and asked suspiciously, "You promised to take me out to play, you don't mean you want me to do something for you, do you?"

"Of course not, how could I possibly have such utilitarian thoughts!"

Han Zhou spoke with righteous indignation, but quickly coughed twice and chuckled awkwardly, "However, as I just said, there was some misunderstanding between us last time. That girl's sister doesn't seem to have a good impression of me. I'm not asking you to do anything, just play it by ear. Of course, it would be best if you could help me salvage my image if you had the chance..."