Forced into a romantic relationship.

"You were still in junior high school back then!"

"Junior high, so what? You know my physical fitness is better than most adults..."

"This isn't about whether you're strong or not, you..."

"I could never abandon you."

Gu Zheng interrupted him, her expression more serious than ever before. "I've already lost you once because of my cowardice. I will never lose you a second time. At worst, we'll just disappear together."

Han Zhou was speechless for a moment, feeling an unprecedented panic, as if the guzheng would disappear completely in the blink of an eye.

He suddenly seemed to understand everyone's feelings.

"Seriously, what's with that expression?"

Gu Zheng pouted and said irritably, "You promised you wouldn't lie to me again, right? You also promised you'd come back safely, right? Since you're safe, what danger could I possibly be in?"

Seeing that the two were deadlocked, Ouyang Lianyu tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, what's done is done, there's no use regretting it now. Let Guzheng tell us what she knows about the situation."

Han Zhou looked at Ouyang Lianyu, who quickly looked away, appearing guilty, unlike Mo Yixia and Wang Lengqiu who seemed nonchalant. Han Zhou sighed and could only accept reality.

When it came to serious matters, Gu Zheng also became serious and said, "First of all, the annoying ghost guessed correctly. The time when the call was connected was right after Wang Lengqiu hung up her previous call. In other words, Han Zhou probably arrived there around that time as well."

“I asked about the time, which was 2:17 p.m., and Sister Yin said that the accident happened around 3 p.m., which means there are nearly 40 minutes in between. I will rush to the scene as fast as I can, and I should be able to make it in time.”

Seeing that Han Zhou clearly didn't want to hear the rest of the story, Mo Yixia changed the subject, saying, "If we want to prepare early, these forty minutes are very important. Han Zhou, are you sure you'll arrive at the scene by then?"

Han Zhou shook his head: "I'm not sure, but I have a way to get to the scene as quickly as possible."

Just then, Wang Lengqiu suddenly said, "If you want to save time, you don't have to send Qiuqiu to me."

Everyone was taken aback when they heard this. They all knew that Wang Lengqiu once had a pet dog named Qiuqiu. As a gift from Han Zhou, she cherished the dog very much, holding it in her arms all day long, preferring to get wet herself rather than let it get wet.

On the day Qiuqiu disappeared, everyone helped search for it, so they naturally knew what this pet dog meant to Wang Lengqiu. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was a kind of spiritual sustenance. But now, she actually said that she could do without Qiuqiu?

"No."

Han Zhou's expression turned serious, and he resolutely refused, "The past cannot be changed drastically. Even to maintain the balance, I cannot save this little bit of time."

He was well aware of Qiuqiu's significance to Wang Lengqiu, and naturally, he couldn't let her lose this beautiful memory. In fact, if everything went smoothly, he could bring Qiuqiu back once Ping'an returned from the past.

Wang Lengqiu stopped speaking.

In the following time, the group combined the information they had and some clues they had obtained from Wang Lengqiu in the past to further discuss the rescue plan, especially the source of the danger and the countermeasures, in order to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Finally, Zhong Yin gave a concluding speech. She looked coldly at Han Zhou and said in an unfriendly tone, "I can't do anything with you. I'll deal with you when you come back."

"Remember, Xiaoling and I don't expect you to be perfect. If there's no chance to save our parents, don't force yourself. If the situation becomes truly critical, Xiaoling and I will also..."

"I understand."

Han Zhou interrupted her, saying he didn't want to hear what she was going to say next, and even if he did, he wouldn't do it.

Zhong Yin could only glare at him, while Zhong Ling, standing to the side, wore a wry smile.

The outside world gradually brightened, and the long-awaited sun broke through the clouds, its rays shining brightly and reflecting dazzling light onto the snow.

She suddenly remembered that today was the beginning of spring, so the real spring should be coming soon, right?

Just then, Mo Yixia suddenly looked at Guzheng and asked, "I'm very curious, how did you convince the past senior Wang Lengqiu, and what gave you the confidence to make your past self, who didn't even know Han Zhou, take risks for Han Zhou?"

The plan was indeed something they came up with together, but until it was implemented, she didn't know where Guzheng's confidence came from.

Gu Zheng crossed her arms and turned her face away with a smug look on her face.

"Hmph, I'm not telling you."

Chapter 717 Final Preparations

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the broken window in Han Zhou's house was finally repaired.

Even though he temporarily sealed the gap with cardboard before leaving, the house was still a mess, so he simply spent the whole morning cleaning the house.

Today is the last day of the Spring Festival holiday. Standing by the window and looking down, Lincheng seems to have returned to its usual appearance, neither more lively nor more deserted.

This city is neither too big nor too small. People leave, and people always return, maintaining a delicate balance, just like most people's lives—orderly, yet so mundane.

Even this rare heavy snowfall has begun to melt.

Perhaps in the next ten years, people living in Lincheng will hardly see such heavy snow again. It will probably exist in some "legend," told by the old to the young, and then told by the young to the children, until one day, another heavy snow falls.

How many cycles of reincarnation does life consist of?

Han Zhou sometimes wonders if, without a status bar, his life would be just like most people's: going to school, taking the postgraduate entrance exam, working, getting married and having children, repeating each day in a routine and living out his short life in a plain and uneventful way.

of course not.

Without the status bar, he would have died long ago in that snowless winter, unable to even see this heavy snowfall, let alone look towards the distant future.

Getting the status bar might be accidental, or it might be inevitable, but if given a choice, he would naturally choose the "inevitable" one.

He will "inevitably" survive, and he will "inevitably" help more people survive, and then together with them, they will walk hand in hand towards a farther and better future.

This was something he had promised them.

On the last day of the Spring Festival holiday, Han Zhou did not stay with Gu Zheng and the others, but stayed at home alone, making final preparations.

After doing all this, he called Lin Anyu and invited him to dinner.

Lin Anyu was playing a game when he heard the sounds of gunfire coming from the other end of the phone. Without thinking, he agreed and asked if he wanted to play together.

Han Zhou smiled and declined.

Aside from those girls with complicated relationships, his biggest concern was this good brother. To his shame, he had been too busy lately to even ask Lin Anyu if his hemorrhoids had healed.

However, we had hot pot together a few days ago, so I guess I'm almost fully recovered.

After hanging up the phone, Han Zhou started checking the status bar.

He prepared a lot of props for this operation. He didn't have many points left, but he still had more than 500, enough to change his status several times.

If everything goes smoothly, rescuing Zhong Yin's family shouldn't be too difficult.

Of course, this is all on the premise that everything goes smoothly.

Even if things don't go smoothly, this is something that must be done.

In yesterday's discussion, everyone agreed that the biggest variable in this matter is the impact of changing the past itself on the world. The butterfly effect is something everyone knows. However, Han Zhou had personally traveled to the future after the past was changed and concluded that the impact should not be significant.

As long as he can come back alive, the status bar will have the ability to correct and change the effects of the past.

As for how to go back to the past, he had already figured it out: he would gamble everything to get the chance to return to the past.

This is highly likely to be feasible, since Han Zhou in the future did just that, and he used Ouyang Lianyu's mother's illness to prove it. As long as you can pay an equal price, you can get a chance to change the status quo.

Based on his experience of completely disappearing in his dream, the stakes for returning to the past are very likely to be everything he owns. In this way, he wins big with a small investment. In a sense, he actually gains.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to see the stakes required for "all or nothing" beforehand; the exact amount is only revealed at the moment of use. If you back out at that point, you'll lose the opportunity completely. In other words, once you've used "all or nothing," you must act immediately.

This is why Han Zhou is making as many preparations as possible, since he is only guessing and the stakes he may have to pay may be higher than he imagines.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Han Zhou decided to take action tonight. Based on his experience from his first time traveling through time, he only needed a moment to return to the past, so there was no need for everyone to gather around him and wait for the outcome.

As Mo Yixia said, waiting is a very agonizing process, and a momentary wait is not much easier than a long wait, because waiting itself is for the result, and a moment is too short, not even enough time to look forward to it. In that case, people may lose the courage to wait and change their minds at the last minute, stopping him in advance.

Of course, Han Zhou's mood was no less relaxed than everyone else's. He never expected that Gu Zheng would be involved in the past events in this way. The feeling of losing someone at any time made him restless until now, and he would call Gu Zheng every few days to confirm whether she was still alive.

The guzheng's response was quite simple, each time consisting of only two words:

"I'm here."

Han Zhou knew that this sentence not only meant that "the present me" was still there, but also that the past her would fight alongside him.

Whenever he thought of this, Han Zhou felt both amused and exasperated, and his worries only intensified. But what was done was done, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Considering that he had even brought his umbrella with him during his last time travel, Han Zhou specially prepared a large hiking backpack this time, filled with various practical tools, including food and some medical supplies, in case of emergency.

It was afternoon when Han Zhou went out and hailed a taxi to the barbecue restaurant where he had arranged to meet Lin Anyu.

If I remember correctly, this was the first time Lin Anyu treated him to a meal.

Before long, Lin Anyu arrived. It is worth mentioning that he did not drive, but walked, because his hemorrhoids had recently shown signs of recurrence and he dared not sit for long periods of time.

Han Zhou knew he was talking nonsense. When it comes to sitting for long periods of time, isn't playing video games longer than sitting in a car?

The two found a seat by the window and sat down to eat and chat. They talked about everything from their teachers to their classmates, from their first year of high school to now. Lin Anyu did most of the talking, while Han Zhou listened.

The barbecue restaurant was filled with smoke, and although the air conditioning wasn't on, it was warmer than an air-conditioned room. Han Zhou looked at Lin Anyu, who was sweating profusely while eating, and thought to himself that this guy had matured a lot since they first met.

He remembered that back in his first year of high school, Lin Anyu was a typical arrogant young master. Although he wasn't exactly a "bad boy," he wasn't much better. The reason he became more restrained was because he had a conflict with Guzheng once, which is why he has been afraid of Guzheng ever since.

Just then, Lin Anyu suddenly complained, "Han Zhou, you invited me to dinner, but why didn't you eat a single bite? You didn't say a word either, and I had to come up with topics to talk about..."

Han Zhou smiled and said, "Next time you treat me to dinner, I'll come up with the topics, and you just listen, okay?"

"That's settled then."

Lin Anyu laughed along, then opened a bottle of beer and pretended to be bold as he gulped it down, but he was soon choked and coughed violently, tears welling up in his eyes.

Han Zhou wanted to pat his back, but he refused. It took him a while to recover before he said with a smile, "When you come back, I'll make you drink like this, and you're not allowed to resist."

Han Zhou was taken aback.

He never said he was leaving, so how did Lin Anyu know?

Seemingly noticing his confusion, Lin Anyu wiped his mouth and then took a big gulp of beer from the bottle: "It's not just Mo Yixia who can 'read minds,' I've learned a few tricks recently too."

"Does my face say 'I'm leaving'?"

"No, I begged Guzheng to tell me."

Despite saying something incredibly shameful, Lin Anyu wore a smug expression. "Although she was vague, I still guessed what she meant. You're going to do something very dangerous, right?"

"Don't worry, it's not that I'm upset that you kept it from me, I'm just a little worried about you. But you're really not a good brother when it comes to this kind of thing. Even if you don't tell me anything, you should at least let me stay with you for a few days, right?"

Listening to Lin Anyu's incessant complaints, Han Zhou suddenly remembered that in that vanished future, both Lin Anyu and he were idle people with nothing to do. But in fact, Lin Anyu did have a job. It's just that he probably realized something back then, which is why he turned down all his work to stay by his side.

Thinking of this, he felt a warmth in his heart and said half-jokingly, "Isn't it because there's no room for anyone else to stand here?"

“That’s true… no, if we’re really talking about seniority, you and I are the ones who met first. Even Guzheng would have to take a backseat!” Lin Anyu said defiantly.

You weren't actually the first person I met...

Han Zhou chuckled inwardly, then said helplessly, "Just say what you want to say. Is there something you need my help with again?"

"That's partly true, but my main concern is you," Lin Anyu said righteously.