Forced into a romantic relationship.

Han Zhou sighed helplessly: "Your idea of ​​'treating guests well' is to have them cook for you?"

"I just can't cook, otherwise I would definitely be the one to cook. You probably wouldn't want to go out to eat."

Lin Anyu, looking completely at ease, reassured him, "Don't worry, I'll help out."

"..."

Seeing that Brother Han Zhou and Owl hadn't finished talking for a long time, Lin Youya couldn't sit still any longer. She cursed Owl inwardly for talking too much and delaying her from doing her business.

She was naturally an active person, and sitting here doing nothing was simply asking too much of her. Her eyes darted around, and seeing that the zither player seemed easy to talk to, she decided to gather some information first.

So she ran up to her and asked sweetly, "Sister Guzheng, isn't Brother Han Zhou amazing?"

Hearing this, Guzheng finally stopped what she was doing and let go of the mighty general's dog head, laughing, "Indeed very impressive, but which aspect are you referring to specifically?"

Lin Youya tilted her head back and said with a look of longing, "I heard that Brother Han Zhou is very good at studying!"

Gu Zheng smiled slightly, put the mighty general on the ground, and said with a smile, "My grades are better than Brother Han Zhou's. He has always been second in school because he can't beat me."

"If I can't beat you, then aren't you number one? That's amazing!"

Gu Zheng smiled contentedly, her eyes crinkling: "I was always number one in high school."

Lin Youya was taken aback. She hadn't expected that Guzheng's grades would be so good. Although her own grades were terrible, it didn't stop her from envying people who did well in school. In her opinion, people who did well in school were mostly very smart.

Although she didn't really want to admit it, she knew she was a little slow, but it didn't matter. In many anime, the protagonist's grades weren't the most important thing; what mattered was having an indomitable spirit and a strong will—and she believed she already possessed both.

Of course, the most important thing besides that is immense power.

Lin Youya was filled with excitement and said, "Brother Han Zhou is incredibly strong and can throw things very accurately. He's just like a specially trained agent. I really want to be like him."

Her tone was full of envy.

Gu Zheng knew immediately that the girl was referring to the time when Han Zhou saved her at the birthday party. She was actually a little confused about this, because in her memory, Han Zhou should not be very strong, and she had never heard of him practicing throwing techniques.

However, the facts were undeniable, and there was nothing to doubt. She had thought it through carefully and realized that she definitely couldn't have done the same thing that day. Even if she could, she might not have had the courage to do it. In this respect, she was indeed inferior to Han Zhou.

But it's okay. She smiled slightly and cleverly changed the subject, saying, "My sports performance is also the best in the school. No boy in the whole school can beat me, including Brother Han Zhou."

She was telling the truth, but there was a little trap hidden in her words.

The scope of sports is relatively broad, obviously encompassing both throwing and strength. However, saying this can easily give people the illusion that Han Zhou is inferior to her in both aspects, thus leading to the conclusion that she is more powerful.

This is the art of speaking.

Lin Youya fell for it as expected, her eyes lighting up as she asked, "Really?"

Not only is she number one in academics, but she's also number one in sports in the whole school! That's amazing!

And if that's the case, doesn't it mean that Sister Guzheng is stronger than Brother Han Zhou?

Suddenly, the image of the guzheng in Lin Youya's mind became much more impressive.

Lin Youya's mouth was wide open, feeling that she had seen something amazing today, and she seemed to have no idea that the guzheng could lie to her.

Although she is very good at playing the guzheng, she now regards Han Zhou as her idol and has an unconscious fan filter. Of course, she still thinks Han Zhou is better and feels that she can't be outdone like this. She subconsciously wants to speak up for Han Zhou, but she can't find the words, so she is very distressed.

Suddenly, as if she had just remembered something, she exclaimed, "I remember the owl said that Brother Han Zhou has won many awards!"

Although she didn't know who the owl was, Gu Zheng remained calm and confident. She was never afraid of comparing herself to others, and laughed, "I've won more awards than him!"

"Brother Han Zhou's handwriting is very good!"

“My handwriting is better than his.”

"Brother Han Zhou can draw!"

"I can do it too, and I can draw better than him."

"Brother Han Zhou can take on ten of them at once!"

"He can't take on ten of them, but I can take on ten of him."

"Brother Han Zhou can eat several bowls of rice in one sitting!"

“I ate more than him.”

"..."

Lin Youya panicked, displaying the image of a fan eager to protect her idol. Many of her words were actually just casual remarks, yet Gu Zheng handled them with ease, something Han Zhou couldn't match.

Is the guzheng player really that good?

Lin Youya felt a little frustrated and anxiously thought of what else she could say. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she said excitedly, "Oh right, right! I remember Owl also told me that Brother Han Zhou is very popular with girls and has a good relationship with several girls. If he didn't really like Sister Guzheng, he would be even more popular!"

She was smug, thinking to herself that you couldn't possibly beat her at this, and as expected, the ever-victorious Guzheng was speechless, seemingly stunned by her words.

"If it weren't for his fondness for Guzheng..."

"He really likes the guzheng player..."

"I really like the guzheng sister..."

A casual remark pierced Guzheng's heart like an arrow, delivering a critical hit that lingered in her ears for a long time, leaving her mind blank.

It took her a while to come to her senses. She glanced at Han Zhou not far away, feeling her heart pounding and her breathing heavy, and inexplicably felt a surge of courage.

She slowly exhaled, tucked her hair behind her ear, a sly glint in her eyes, and said in a low voice, "Unfortunately, Brother Han Zhou still can't compare to me in this respect."

In Lin Youya's eyes, a blush suddenly appeared on the girl's face, her eyes gradually curved into crescents, and her red lips turned up, creating a smile that was incredibly radiant, even more dazzling than the sunlight outside the window.

"Because... I like him more than he likes me."

"But you have to keep this a secret for me."

Lin Youya was dumbfounded.

How could that be? It can't even compare to this!

No, no, why are you even comparing this?

She made up her mind, thinking that she could not be careless again this time. She had to come up with something that her guzheng sister could not do, but suddenly she noticed that the temperature around her seemed to have dropped a little.

What happened? Did someone touch the air conditioner remote?

She was suspicious, but when she looked up, she was suddenly startled.

Gu Zheng's expression changed at some point; her bright smile vanished, and her gaze became unusually dangerous, as if she had suddenly thought of something unpleasant.

What's going on here?

Lin Youya was terrified, but could only watch helplessly as the other person squatted down and placed their hand on her shoulder.

"By the way, Yaya, I must have heard correctly, could you tell your sister about it..."

Gu Zheng patted Lin Youya's shoulder, but her gaze was fixed on Han Zhou's direction, a meaningful smile appearing on her face.

"Regarding the fact that Brother Han Zhou is very popular with girls."

Lin Youya swallowed.

Author's Note on the Launch of Chapter 74

If all goes well, it should be available for purchase by noon tomorrow.

Although it's not the first time I've put it on the shelves, I'm still a little nervous, like I'm about to see my exam results.

The editor said that if we can get another round of recommendations tomorrow, it will be available on Monday. However, I feel that the possibility is slim, so I'm posting my thoughts on the release first.

After one round of recommendations, the follow-up reading didn't increase much, which is a bit of a disappointment. But reaching the third round is about right. Thank you all so much for your continued support.

The data has been mediocre since the book was first published. However, I didn't have high expectations for the book's performance from the beginning. Writing this book was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing, and I don't have any particular original intention. I just suddenly wanted to try writing a slice-of-life romance novel, and treat it as practice for character development.

A reader previously said that the synopsis of this book is like martial arts training, and he wasn't wrong. Although the synopsis was messed up, I did initially think of using the "status modification" cheat to write a story about fighting monsters and leveling up. But then, I guess I got carried away and somehow it turned into a romance novel.

Speaking of which, I want to thank my editor, Penglai. As I just mentioned, this novel was a product of a spur-of-the-moment decision. I didn't think it would be accepted at first, and it was indeed rejected when I submitted it to other editors the first time. It was Penglai who gave me this opportunity. Otherwise, I would most likely have given up on this beginning and this story, and this book would never have been published.

I am also very grateful to all the readers who have supported and followed my work all this time. I will not list their names or share my thoughts on each one, as my hands are tired from typing. In short, I am truly grateful.

Let's talk about the contents of the book.

I've seen some people say that the female lead's personality is unlikable and not cute. I don't want to argue too much about that. In fact, I never intended to write a particularly cute character, nor did I think I could create a particularly likable one.

The introduction was initially modified, and I don't know what the review process was like. An important keyword was deleted, but I changed it back later.

The keyword is "problematic girl".

All three unlockable characters released so far have issues.

Whether it's Guzheng, Mo Yixia, or Zhong Ling who has appeared less frequently, they all have serious psychological problems, which have shaped their unique personalities and ways of doing things. To be honest, they are not very likable in real life, so it would be strange if they could be liked by many people as soon as they appeared.

The reader has a God's-eye view. All I can do is guide everyone to gradually understand these characters along with the protagonist. I won't say how cute they are, nor will I emphasize what kind of people they are. The image of a character should be judged by everyone themselves.

I only have one definition for them: special.

However, it should be noted that not every character's psychological problems will make them unpopular. I will not write about similar experiences and personalities. The way the protagonist interacts with each character, the initial level of affection, the development of the relationship, and even the characterization techniques will all be different, because everyone is different.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I used different methods when creating the characters Guzheng and Mo Yixia. Guzheng's emotions and psychological activities are mostly outwardly expressed and directly displayed in the text, which you can see very intuitively. Mo Yixia, on the other hand, rarely has any description of her psychology and emotions. Instead, it comes more from the protagonist's observation and analysis, and once the psychological description is developed, it becomes a long monologue.

One is easy to understand, and the other is difficult to understand; that's roughly the difference.

Regarding the cheat ability, the status bar doesn't have a very high presence right now, but its power is absolutely strong. It can do many things later on, including things that are unbelievable in conventional understanding. The reason why the status bar's ability was initially limited was simply because I didn't want to write a romance novel like a wish-fulfillment novel, and I wanted to maintain the purity of everyday life as much as possible.

You can think about it: if the protagonist starts in a permanent "on the verge of death" state and can change states at any time, what will he do next?

Should I go to school to show off and slap people in the face? Or should I take on ten people at once in the middle of the night to be a hero and save the damsel in distress? Or should I easily become an all-rounder and casually become the campus heartthrob?

This is not the kind of everyday writing I imagined.

I won't be involved in stock trading. Personally, I love watching stories about stock trading fan wars and I respect the plot, but it still hurts to see a strong female character's feelings go unrequited. I wish the protagonist would have extra wings. Plus, my characters who have tried to trade stocks have almost always failed, so I hate it even more. Therefore, I definitely won't be involved in stock trading.

Similarly, this book will not be a tragic story, nor will it leave any regrets. The overall direction will be very lighthearted. The female characters' personalities and experiences are just the past, and none of this will become shackles binding them. They will all live bright and successful lives in the future.

Next, let's talk about the product launch.

If it goes on sale tomorrow, the VIP chapters will be available at noon tomorrow. There might be a slight delay. The minimum update is 10,000 words, which will be divided into several chapters, and I'll write as much as I can without worrying about how many chapters I finish. After that, I'll maintain a daily update of three chapters.

I hope everyone can take a break from their busy schedules tomorrow to contribute a first-day subscription. If you are a reader on QQ Reading, it would be best if you could also support it by making a first-day subscription on the Qidian main site. First-day subscriptions are very important for a book, and I believe everyone understands their significance, so I won't go into details.

Currently, I have 12,000 favorites, which is not a lot. I asked around and found out that there are even fewer readers following the series, so I estimate that the initial subscription won't be too high either. I'll set my target at 600 initial subscriptions, which is a ratio of 20 to 1, which is already quite low for the current starting point.

Although I didn't expect this book to do well, I've always written it very seriously. If the results are too bad, it will be difficult to keep writing with all my might. If the initial subscription is much lower than expected, I will probably consider writing two books at once. I will still write this book seriously, but I can only maintain a minimum of 4,000 words to get full attendance bonus.

There are also rules for adding extra chapters.

Although it would be embarrassing if we couldn't reach an agreement, I'll still mention it.