Forced into a romantic relationship.

Zhong Yin went inside and brought out two glasses of water. He handed one to Han Zhou, large beads of sweat trickling down his collar. "Tell me about your sister's situation," he said.

Han Zhou chuckled, finished his water in one gulp, and said, "You didn't tell me about my senior's situation, so why should I tell you?"

"You go first."

Why didn't you say so first?

"I'll invite you to stay for dinner."

"I even helped you before!"

Han Zhou said irritably, "Besides, wasn't the reason you invited me to dinner to thank me? How can you use that as a bargaining chip?"

He finally understood that this woman not only cared about her own sister, but also seemed to care about other people's sisters. Of course, her concern for Mo Yixia's situation might also have been partly due to a desire for "fellow patients to communicate".

Just as Han Zhou had suspected, Zhong Yin's feelings were indeed quite complicated. In her eyes, the two families were now in almost identical situations—

Both came from impoverished families, lost their parents, and were left to depend on each other for survival. That alone is already quite similar. But the fact that the younger sister had psychological problems is also so similar. It's just too much of a coincidence.

As the eldest sister (or brother), Zhong Yin knew very well how difficult and painful it was to help her younger sister get out of her shadow. The thought that the other person might be in the same situation made her feel a sense of sympathy for Han Zhou.

It's not easy for anyone.

The two were deadlocked, and seeing that neither was willing to give in, Zhong Yin coldly said, "Fine, don't tell me then."

Han Zhou glanced at her.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk; of course he wanted to get more information about Zhong Ling. But Mo Yixia wasn't his biological sister, and her psychological issues were considered private matters. Mentioning it was fine, but if he wanted to exchange it for information, he would have to get Mo Yixia's consent first.

Moreover, Mo Yixia's current problems are caused by her mother, and she is currently portrayed as "orphaned," so even if she were to say it out loud, she would have to modify it appropriately.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou shrugged and said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but it's a private matter. I need to ask my sister's permission before I can tell you."

Damn it, how come I'm getting more and more comfortable calling her "little sister"...?

“That makes sense.” Zhong Yin glanced at him and nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Sister Yin, what's Senior Sister doing right now?"

"She's busy in the kitchen."

Zhong Yin frowned slightly and said coldly, "You call me 'senior sister' so naturally. It's fine to call her that here, but don't even think about harassing Xiao Ling at school."

Han Zhou pretended not to hear and silently opened his status bar.

【Name: Han Zhou】

【Intelligence: 7】

【Charm: 7】

Stamina: 3 (Weak)

[Skills: Efficient learning, culinary expertise, speed reading, practical medical knowledge gained through experience, powerful throwing ability, photographic memory]

[Occupations: Prospective college student, temporary tutor, home cook, elite simp]

Inventory: None

[Current Status: On the verge of death (modified) → On the verge of death: Ten breaths remaining, can survive for one day, will enter a near-death state after twenty-four hours]

[Elite Simp: Professional state, can be activated after selecting any target. Activating it will automatically unlock the skills "corny pickup lines" and "mysterious self-confidence". You will abandon most of your sense of shame and blindly support the designated target. This state can be activated and deactivated at any time. After deactivation, there will be a ten-minute emotional buffer period during which your emotions will be more volatile than in the normal state.]

[Leave it to fate: Random state, at the mercy of heaven and destiny, you will now be more likely to trigger temporary and event quests]

[Status bar level: 3, current points remaining: 33]

Han Zhou currently has three states.

The newly appearing "Leave it to fate" is the new state he chose from the three random states that appeared this time.

Chapter 62 Leave it to fate

The reason for choosing "leaving it to fate" is mainly because this state can increase the probability of triggering a mission, which is undoubtedly very important for Han Zhou at the moment. After all, missions are equivalent to points, and with points, one can do more things.

It wasn't just about "leaving it to fate"; he discovered that the statuses the system generated were actually a kind of special ability, including professional statuses.

Take the "elite simp" state as an example. Although it's disgusting, it at least gives you a couple of useless skills and can even interfere with your emotions, which is undoubtedly better than the natural state of "dying".

If it's a natural state of "leaving it to fate," then it's highly unlikely to increase the probability of triggering a task. Therefore, the significance of these states lies not only in their modification but also in their inherent value.

Of course, there is another very important reason for choosing "leaving it to fate" – it is simple enough, with few strokes and no complexity. This makes it easier to modify and allows for more possibilities. This is Han Zhou's current principle for choosing a state.

On his way back, Han Zhou had figured out a way to modify the game, and he planned to try it out in a little while. For now, he would leave it running for the time being to see if there was a chance to trigger the mission.

He sent a message to Guzheng, telling her that he wouldn't be going to her house today. Unusually, she didn't reply immediately, and it took her more than ten minutes to reply, indicating that she understood.

He was a little curious, and after thinking for a moment, he sent another message: "Are you outside?"

Guzheng replied much faster this time, asking, "How did you know?"

Han Zhou smiled and said, "I'm outside too, right behind you. Turn around and look."

"If there wasn't a wall behind me, I might have actually believed it. Don't lie to me."

Is there a wall behind me? Is this some kind of room outside?

Han Zhou couldn't guess for a moment, and asked, "Where are you now?"

"KTV".

Why do you suddenly want to sing?

Guzheng replied after a while: "I went to my junior high school reunion."

Han Zhou was taken aback, suddenly remembering the graduation photo he had seen yesterday. He frowned slightly, typing and deleting the words in the input box repeatedly, until finally it became just one sentence: "Are you alright?"

"It's alright, I'm the sun."

Guzheng posted a meme of a little person with their hands on their hips.

Han Zhou still felt uneasy, hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "I'll come find you."

He now knows that the reason Guzheng took out the photo album yesterday was probably because she received an invitation to a junior high school reunion. She may have been hesitating about whether to go, and the reason she chose to go now was likely influenced by what he said yesterday.

Han Zhou certainly hoped that the guzheng was the sun, but others might not think so, especially when he thought about the scene in the photo, he was worried that something might go wrong.

"Don't worry, I'm really fine. Come to my house tomorrow, and I'll tell you about my past."

Guzheng clearly knew what he was worried about.

"it is good."

Since Guzheng said there was no problem, Han Zhou felt a little relieved, but then suddenly became nervous again and quickly sent a message, "Are you guys drinking?"

"They ordered a few cases of beer." Gu Zheng asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Han Zhou's expression changed, and he immediately replied, "Then you absolutely mustn't compete with them to see who can drink more! There's really no need to argue about that!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

Gu Zheng quickly posted an emoji of someone pointing a gun at a pig's head, saying, "I don't drink with just anyone, but even if they did, they couldn't possibly outdrink me!"

"Of course I know that, you are the only one who can be called the God of Wine."

"right?"

"Then have fun."

Han Zhou smiled, wanting to remind Gu Zheng to be careful on her way home, but after thinking about it, he felt that this was not something Gu Zheng needed to worry about at all, so in the end he only said one sentence.

"Call me if you need anything."

"Why are you just like my mom?"

Gu Zheng pouted, muttered something, and put away her phone, a smile appearing on her lips.

In the bustling KTV, she sat alone in the far corner, surrounded by flashing lights and young men and women chatting and laughing. They were drinking and singing in different small circles, making a lot of noise, but no one paid any attention to her.

Just like the scene in the graduation photo.

This was a result that Gu Zheng had long anticipated, but she still came.

From the moment she entered the private room, her face never showed any of the disappointment or unease that everyone expected. Instead, she wore a genuine smile, which disappointed and puzzled many of those who were secretly observing her.

Gu Zheng initially felt a bit bored sitting there, but after reading Han Zhou's message, she no longer felt bored and began to look forward to tomorrow.

With her phone on her lap so she could receive messages at any time, the girl ignored the stares of those around her and enthusiastically flipped through her vocabulary notebook.

Okay, let's continue memorizing vocabulary!

……

Han Zhou was puzzled as to what kind of dish required so long to prepare. He had started preparing it at around 3 p.m., but by 5 p.m., he still couldn't smell any aroma. It wasn't until he asked Zhong Yin that he learned that the woman had only been sharpening knives and chopping vegetables in the kitchen, and that the person actually cooking was Zhong Ling.

Han Zhou initially didn't think much of it, until he saw a pot of pork ribs being served. He froze for a moment, then exclaimed in shock, "You cut these pork ribs too?"

Zhong Yin moved a chair over and looked at him like he was an idiot: "What else?"

"No, you don't make any noise when you cut ribs?"

In Han Zhou's mind, ribs need to be chopped hard with a cleaver. The kitchen wasn't far away, so why didn't he hear a single sound?

The thought of this woman silently sharpening her knife, then quietly cutting the ribs into small pieces and putting them in the refrigerator sent a chill down his spine...

"What are you standing there for? Either stand to the side or sit down. Don't stand here blocking the way."

Zhong Yin placed the rice cooker on the table and said coldly, "I want to see just how many bowls of rice this rice bucket can eat."

The rice cooker was quite heavy, so it seemed she had taken Mo Yixia's words seriously and cooked a lot of rice.

Zhong Ling carried the other dishes out of the kitchen and handed Han Zhou a set of chopsticks and a bowl. She had obviously heard what her sister said and covered her mouth to chuckle.

"Thank you, senior."

Han Zhou smiled and took the bowl and chopsticks, ignoring the easily angered woman.

Zhong Ling shook her head slightly to indicate that she was welcome, adjusted the position of the electric fan, and then sat down next to Zhong Yin.

It has to be said that the sight of these two sisters sitting together was quite pleasing to the eye, and Han Zhou couldn't help but take a second look.

Zhong Yin thought he was going to say something, and said coldly, "I don't have any wine at home, and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you."

Han Zhou laughed and said, "I'm really not suited to drinking."

There's cola in the fridge, go get some yourself. The cup is in the kitchen, so drink less.