Forced into a romantic relationship.

"Just because I like a song doesn't mean I have to memorize the lyrics. There are so many great foreign language songs, do I have to learn a foreign language just for them?"

Mo Yixia seemed a little unhappy. After a moment of silence, she said in a resentful tone, "Besides, it's already good enough that I sang it especially for you."

It has to be said that these words were quite damaging. Even Han Zhou, who had a very clear self-awareness, couldn't help but have the illusion that "Is I special?" Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure.

He wasn't sure if Mo Yixia was genuinely unhappy or just pretending, so he didn't dare bring up the lyrics again and changed the subject, saying, "Putting aside the lyrics, you sang really well, but why does your voice sound a little familiar?"

Mo Yixia glanced at him, her eyes looking at him as if he were an idiot: "After listening to it for so long, of course it will sound familiar."

"I was saying your singing voice sounds familiar..."

Han Zhou sighed helplessly and hesitated, "And it shouldn't be just my imagination, right? I feel like you're acting strange today. Did something happen?"

"What's strange about it?" Mo Yixia told a lame joke. "Isn't it strangely beautiful?"

"Stop daydreaming, but it's really strange that you're being particularly narcissistic today..."

Han Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Of course, the strangest thing is your mood. I felt that you were in a pretty good mood when I asked you if I wanted to hear you sing this morning, but after you took a nap, your mood seemed to have worsened..."

He seemed unsure of himself.

Mo Yixia remained noncommittal: "Then what do you think the reason is?"

"If I already knew, why would I be asking you?"

Han Zhou returned the look with one of disbelief, but unfortunately, his sunglasses obscured his vision. Confused, he sized up Mo Yixia for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Noticing that he was looking at her, Mo Yixia said calmly, "Your expression seems to be telling me that when a woman's mood is unpredictable, it often means that she is approaching her period, which she will inevitably face every month."

"You can even see that..." Han Zhou clicked his tongue in amazement, but this time he didn't think the guy's "mind-reading" was outrageous. He chuckled and said, "I didn't say that, you said it yourself."

"You're quite adept at shirking responsibility." Mo Yixia glanced at him. "But unfortunately, my mood swings have nothing to do with my period."

"What does that have to do with?"

Mo Yixia was silent for a moment before speaking, "I was just suddenly wondering if I really deserve you turning around for me."

Her tone didn't sound like she was joking; she was genuinely thinking about the issue.

"Of course it's worth it, nine points is still points, isn't it?"

However, Han Zhou was puzzled. What was there to think about? He tentatively said, "Are you being a little too sentimental today? You seemed distracted while singing just now..."

"This is not being sentimental, but rather normal thinking."

Mo Yixia said calmly, "I was thinking, if I hadn't sung well just now, would you really not have turned around, or would you not have given the answer 'I want to hear it' in the first place?"

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "But you sang very well, why make such unnecessary assumptions?"

"There are many meanings to assumptions, and they are never unnecessary."

"Aren't you just being stubborn?"

Mo Yixia didn't answer. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "Actually, I had a dream while I was asleep."

Han Zhou looked at her suspiciously, clearly holding a reserved attitude: "To be honest, I have serious doubts about whether you are really asleep..."

Mo Yixia turned her head and looked over.

Han Zhou chuckled awkwardly and wisely stopped interrupting.

Mo Yixia said, "In my dream, I am no longer charming and lovely, nor do I possess extraordinary talent and intelligence. I have nothing; I am just an ordinary person."

I'm more curious whether the you in my dream also possesses unparalleled narcissism...

Han Zhou thought to himself, listening silently.

At the same time, something unexpected happened to him.

[Temporary mission triggered: Please give the target character Mo Yixia's dream monologue sufficient respect and listen patiently until the end to earn 5 points.]

The text that suddenly popped up made him pause for a moment, followed by excitement—it seemed like he didn't have to do anything at all, just listen to Mo Yixia finish talking in her sleep and he would get points. Was there really such a good thing?

He immediately sat up straight, looking like he was listening attentively, almost as if he was about to say, "Why aren't you continuing?"

Mo Yixia seemed to be recalling something, saying, "In my dream, I was not only ordinary, but also had no talent for singing. My voice was average, and I was tone-deaf. Every time I sang, I would be ridiculed by many people. So I gradually became disheartened and stopped singing in front of others, until one day I met you, who made a living by wandering around and rummaging through garbage."

"What the hell?"

A question mark appeared above Han Zhou's head, and he almost spat out blood. "I live on the streets? And I rummage through trash everywhere?"

Can you guarantee that you didn't take the opportunity of talking in your sleep to maliciously slander me?

Mo Yixia ignored him and continued, "Our relationship at the beginning was just like in reality, based on the exchange of benefits. The conditions were very simple—I would feed you, and you would always stand on my side and praise my singing."

If it's true, then this dream is rather bizarre...

Han Zhou muttered to himself, patiently listening intently, but to his surprise, he heard nothing more. He looked at Mo Yixia, his face filled with shock, and asked, "That's it?"

“That’s all,” Mo Yixia said.

"That's all?"

That's all.

"Stop talking nonsense. You think something like this would make you sentimental?"

“It’s not that I’m being sentimental.” Mo Yixia seemed somewhat disdainful. “I just didn’t expect that you would even be living off a woman in your dreams.”

"I don't live off women in real life, okay..."

Han Zhou's face darkened. Looking at the unfinished timed mission, he knew that this dream definitely had a sequel, so he quickly said, "How can you only tell half of the story? Continue!"

"It's really gone." Mo Yixia shook her head gently.

“I know there are more.”

"there is none left"

"That's a good idea," Han Zhou said expectantly.

"No, we don't have that."

After a pause, Mo Yixia said thoughtfully, "However, if you really want to hear it, it's not impossible, but you have to promise me one thing."

"What is it now?" Han Zhou asked warily.

“I brought this up yesterday, and my request is very simple—that is, you can’t be angry with me when this happens.”

Can't get angry?

Han Zhou was taken aback. Mo Yixia had indeed mentioned this matter yesterday, but she had been vague about it and hadn't brought it up this morning either. He had thought she was just making it up, but he hadn't expected it to actually be true...

and many more.

He suddenly realized something was wrong.

Let me sort this out...

At first, this guy asked me if I wanted to hear her sing. At that time, the decision was clearly in my hands, and I was the one who benefited. How come now, after all this messing around, it's become that I have to agree to this guy's request?

If it weren't for this temporary mission...

Damn it, the status bar is messing with me!

Chapter 69 It's You Behind the Clouds

After a brief hesitation, Han Zhou ultimately chose to yield for the five points.

"I promise you," he said helplessly. "But let's make this clear beforehand: if you do anything too outrageous, I can't guarantee I won't get angry."

He was still unhappy and protested at the right time, "Also, can you please stop using conditions to get me to do things? It's like a transaction."

Mo Yixia readily agreed, saying, "Okay, then I'll just ask you to do anything for me from now on."

"That's more like it..."

Han Zhou felt that this was how friends should interact, but he quickly realized something was wrong—

Wait a minute, this guy's situation is pretty complicated. If I have to help him just because he begs me, wouldn't I be at a disadvantage?

No, you can't say that. On the other hand, I can also ask her to do things for me...

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Mo Yixia asked, "What's wrong?"

Han Zhou shook his head: "It's okay, you can continue. I'm a homeless man who rummages through garbage, and you're an ordinary person who's tone-deaf. So what?"

Let's finish the temporary task first.

"Hmm... let me think. In exchange, I need to make sure you're well-fed, and in return, you need to praise my singing voice no matter what..."

Mo Yixia first reviewed what she had said before, then looked thoughtful. It was hard to tell whether she was recalling or making it up on the spot, but Han Zhou thought it was the latter.

A few seconds later, Mo Yixia said, "We've maintained this relationship for a long time. Singing is one of the few things I enjoy, but I'm not good at it, and nobody likes to listen to me. So I only dare to sing in front of you. And even though it's always a struggle, you still force yourself to praise my singing in order to live off me. I know you don't want to, and I know it's against your will, but I still feel satisfied."

What is all this nonsense...?

Han Zhou muttered to himself, but he kept the mission requirements in mind and gave this dream monologue enough respect, without interrupting.

He also wanted to hear what this guy had to say.

"Dreams are an elusive thing. I can't remember many of the details now, and I don't know how time passed in them. I only remember that the story continued to develop in an absurd yet mundane way. The absurd part is that we were maintaining such an awkward relationship, but gradually we developed real feelings for each other."

Han Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly.

However, Mo Yixia's old habit kicked in again. She paused here, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly asked without warning, "Han Zhou, do you know what I hate the most?"

The thing I hate most...

Han Zhou paused for two seconds, unsure why this guy would suddenly bring this up, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Being locked up at home studying?"

"I do not like this, but it is only a superficial manifestation, not the essence of the matter."

Han Zhou thought about it carefully and said, "The essence is too hard to guess, but the source of this matter should be your mother, right? But I remember you said before that you didn't hate her that much, so it doesn't seem to be her..."

He had certainly considered the reasons why Mo Yixia developed a misanthropic mentality, but no matter how he thought about it, he felt that it was the pressure from Jiang Baiqian's coercive education that caused her to close herself off and become the way she is now.

However, this inference becomes somewhat untenable after it is confirmed that Mo Yixia is a good student, because she is fully capable of handling this pressure. Once she reveals her true abilities, Jiang Baiqian might not need to pressure her like this at all.

"You've finally remembered what I said properly this time." Mo Yixia breathed a sigh of relief.

She was clearly referring to the fact that Han Zhou remembered her saying she didn't dislike her mother that much.

Perhaps for that reason, she didn't let Han Zhou guess any further, but instead gave him the answer directly.

"What I hate is other people's expectations."