Forced into a romantic relationship.

There's no need to rush into dating; you can always wait until college.

As for why Guzheng wasn't named, it's because mentioning both of their names would definitely cause unnecessary misunderstandings and create some controversy.

Although a long time has passed, Han Zhou still remembers it.

It wasn't just that I was surprised that Guzheng rushed out to protect me, nor was it just because I saw the powerful side she displayed, but also because the incident itself was interesting enough.

To be honest, he didn't know the real reason why those people were causing him trouble until he entered the office. So when the school asked the boy in charge about the reason and learned that the boy was jealous of a girl, he was already quite confused.

What was truly interesting was the answer from another boy. He was a notorious troublemaker at school and a powerful backer who helped the jealous boy gather his followers. When asked why he did this, his stammering answer shocked everyone present.

He said it was because he liked that guy and couldn't bear to see him so distraught.

The school leaders were shocked for a full ten seconds before unanimously concluding that this matter should not be reported under any circumstances.

Han Zhou still remembers how interesting the boy's expression was when he was "confessed to".

Seeing Han Zhou's smiling face, Gu Zheng thought he was mocking her for protecting him earlier, and said with displeasure, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered something from the past." Han Zhou said cheerfully, reminiscing, "Do you remember that time you helped me fight someone on the playground?"

Guzheng also vividly remembers that incident. She was just as shocked by that "confession" at the time, and she still can't help but smile when she thinks about it now.

However, she still corrected her with a stern face: "You forgot again? I've been teaching you all along that it's not that I'm helping you fight, we're just forced to fight back. You should always say that, remember that."

Han Zhou laughed: "Yes, yes, yes, forced to fight back."

Gu Zheng couldn't help but laugh, a smug smile playing on her lips: "Do you remember? I took on all six of them by myself. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Impressive, impressive," Han Zhou replied with a smile.

"That's because I wasn't carrying a weapon, otherwise I would be even more powerful."

"Yes, you're the best."

Gu Zheng's eyes curved into crescent moons as she said smugly, "So now do you think I can protect you?"

She longed for a positive response.

"No, I don't need your protection anymore."

Unexpectedly, Han Zhou shook his head, a profound and unfathomable expression on his face, and said, "I have recently mastered my divine skills. I can easily take on ten people at once, and ordinary people cannot get close to me."

Gu Zheng was taken aback.

The smile on her face gradually disappeared. She looked at her little fist and pouted, "You're just bragging."

When the two arrived at the subway station, the rain was becoming increasingly noticeable, with occasional thunderclaps.

Gu Zheng looked up at the gloomy sky and said worriedly, "You don't need to see me off. Just go back. It's going to rain soon, and it's going to rain heavily."

"It's alright," Han Zhou said nonchalantly. "Weren't you going to tell me about your past? How am I supposed to hear it now?"

Gu Zheng was silent for a moment, then looked at him and said, "Do you really want to hear that?"

"Yes I do."

Han Zhou replied casually, glancing at the sky and estimating the intensity of the rain that was about to fall.

"But I don't want to talk about it now."

Han Zhou was taken aback, and looked down at her: "Why?"

"I just suddenly don't want to talk about it anymore." Gu Zheng's tone was a little low. "You should go back. I'll tell you next time."

Han Zhou looked at the girl's face. Normally, Gu Zheng would meet his gaze without fear and sometimes even make faces, but at this moment her eyes were somewhat evasive.

"No, I want to hear it today."

He was adamant, grabbing the guzheng and heading towards the subway station, saying, "Let's go, I'll take you home."

Gu Zheng did not resist and followed him silently.

The two bought tickets, entered the station, took the elevator to the platform, and waited for the subway to arrive.

Gu Zheng glanced at Han Zhou a few times, then hesitated and said, "Han Zhou, can't we really talk about it next time?"

Han Zhou sighed: "Tell me first why you suddenly changed your mind."

"Because..." Gu Zheng stammered, unable to get a clear answer for a long time before finally uttering a single word.

I...I'm scared.

In the past, Han Zhou might have been slightly excited when Gu Zheng said "I'm afraid," because it was a key word in the mission. But now, he couldn't feel excited at all.

Because if she isn't prompted, Guzheng will almost never say that word on her own initiative; she's a very stubborn person.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked.

Gu Zheng took a deep breath and said frankly, "I'm afraid that if I tell you about my past, you will hate me. I lost a good friend before, and I don't want to lose you too."

Han Zhou said helplessly, "Didn't I say that you are the sun, and the sun should shine? Why would I hate the sun?"

Gu Zheng was silent for a while, her tone somewhat downcast.

"But there is no sun today."

Chapter 81 Past Events

The subway is traveling at high speed inside the tunnel.

Han Zhou and Gu Zheng sat in their chairs, neither of them speaking, silently gazing at the darkness outside the car window, both looking preoccupied.

The subway was quite crowded at first, but after one transfer, there were not many people left. The number of people decreased with each stop, and after a few stops, only a few people remained. The carriage was empty and unusually quiet.

Han Zhou scrutinized Gu Zheng's expression and finally couldn't help but say, "Being so hesitant and timid isn't like you."

He didn't expect this guy to be able to hold back for so long; he didn't say a word after getting in the car.

Gu Zheng rested her chin on her hands, staring out the car window in a daze, and said wistfully, "Yes, it's nothing like me."

Seeing that she still didn't seem willing to say more, Han Zhou had no choice but to ask suddenly, "Did I say something wrong before?"

"What do you mean?"

Han Zhou sighed: "Otherwise, how could your face change so quickly, like the weather?"

"Are you trying to say that I'm moody?" Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly.

"At least today."

Han Zhou didn't deny it, but sighed and said, "You've changed your expression several times today without telling me why. What else can you call this but being moody?"

Gu Zheng was taken aback, realizing that she had indeed been acting strangely today, and that Han Zhou had been accommodating her the whole time. It wasn't good, but she refused to admit it. She tilted her head and said with dissatisfaction, "I'm just in a bad mood. Can't you comfort me?"

Han Zhou smiled wryly and said, "I want to too, but how can I comfort you if you don't tell me?"

Gu Zheng retorted defiantly, "How could I dare to tell you if you don't comfort me?"

"If I comfort you, will you tell me?"

Guzheng mimicked her, asking, "If I tell you, will you comfort me?"

"Yes, I will."

Han Zhou pressed her head down, making her turn to look at him, and sighed, "Someone clearly said they would tell me about their past. Are they planning to be a liar?"

Gu Zheng was stunned for a moment, feeling the warmth on her head. She hurriedly slapped his hand away and pouted, saying, "Don't touch my head. I'm not a child anymore, and I'm not a liar. I... I'm just scared."

After hesitating for a moment, she muttered, "You haven't been coming to see me every day like you used to. It's not that this is bad, it's actually normal. You used to come every day and it was so annoying... but isn't this different from before?"

"Besides, you're clearly so weak. I even helped you fight back against... no, I helped you fight back against some thugs when you were forced to. You always say you can't live without me, but now you're saying you don't need my protection anymore. Doesn't that mean you don't need me? If you have to say something, you're the one who's lying."

Gu Zheng was somewhat incoherent, but what she was trying to say was not hard to understand. Although it was just a few small gestures, she felt that Han Zhou was becoming distant from her.

Han Zhou stared at the girl's face for a long time before he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Pfft!"

"What are you laughing at?" Gu Zheng said fiercely, both embarrassed and angry. "I'm talking about something very serious!"

She had finally mustered the courage to say these words, acting as if she couldn't live without him. She felt incredibly embarrassed. Instead of saying something nice, he even dared to laugh.

"I know, I know," Han Zhou laughed loudly. "I just didn't expect you to worry about something like this. The way you were acting just now was like a child throwing a tantrum."

behave in a spoiled manner?

Gu Zheng's face flushed instantly. She stomped her foot and angrily punched him twice: "You're the one acting like a child! You're the one who's being spoiled! Don't laugh!"

Han Zhou laughed even harder and said, "These are all things that you don't need to worry about at all. Even if you have done a lot of bad things in the past, I will not hate you."

Gu Zheng punched him again, then hesitated and said, "I haven't done anything particularly evil, it's just..."

"Don't just say 'just'."

Han Zhou suppressed his smile, looked into her eyes, and asked seriously, "What happened yesterday?"

He was somewhat concerned about the situation at yesterday's class reunion.

Gu Zheng was silent for a moment, then shook her head and said, "It's nothing, just like before. Nobody pays any attention to me. They probably deliberately called me over to bask in the sun, but I'm not unhappy about it."

"Really? I'm glad you're not upset." Han Zhou shook his arm and said, "Then tell me about your past."

Seeing his nonchalant expression, Gu Zheng suddenly felt less afraid, so she stopped hiding it and asked, "Do you remember the girl standing on the far right in the graduation photo?"

"I remember, Sister Miao told me that she was your best friend in junior high school."

"Yes."

Gu Zheng's face showed a look of reminiscence. "Actually, my grades in elementary school were not good. I only started to study hard in junior high school. I didn't go to school in the city before, and I was not used to it when I first came here. There were many things I didn't understand. He Ling helped me adapt to school life. She is a very nice person and takes good care of me. We quickly became friends."

Clearly, He Ling is Gu Zheng's best friend from junior high school.

"He Ling is amazing. I heard that she has always had excellent grades since elementary school and in junior high school. She got first place in the whole grade in her first monthly exam. I admire her and want to be number one. So I often ask the teacher questions and spend a lot of time studying in the classroom, and I do the same at home."

Han Zhou listened silently. Gu Zheng's intelligence was the same as his, seven points. This level of intelligence was higher than most ordinary people, which meant that she was considered smart by ordinary people, but she was far from being a genius. She still needed to put in enough effort to achieve good results, and if she wanted to maintain her position at the top for a long time, she would need to spend many times more time and energy.

Although I don't know why Gu Zheng is so obsessed with being number one, she earned it through hard work and deserves to be in that position.

Han Zhou achieved second place in the entire grade through his own efforts. He knew that the reason he could not catch up with Gu Zheng was not because of her "always strive for first place" skill, but because she worked harder than him.

"My ranking improved a lot in the second monthly exam. He Ling was genuinely happy for me and even invited me to her house. I saw many certificates of merit at her house and discovered that she knew a lot of things. I felt even more that she was a very outstanding person."

"By the time of the midterm exams, my grades had risen to the top twenty in the grade. Everyone was amazed by my progress, because when I first entered school, my grades were only at the bottom of the grade. The teacher asked me to come up to the stage and share my thoughts and learning methods. At the time, I didn't really have many ideas, so I only said one sentence—"

"I will be number one."