Forced into a romantic relationship.

What a joke!

He thought to himself that it was impossible; he must have been half asleep and misread it, or he wasn't fully awake yet. Damn it, he stayed up until four in the morning last night. He hadn't felt anything before, but as soon as he had some free time, he got sleepy and just couldn't stay awake any longer...

He yawned, put down the binoculars, and went back to sleep.

Hearing Han Zhou's words, Zhong Yin frowned and said with a sneer, "You really have a thick skin."

"That's a very reasonable guess, okay?" Han Zhou said seriously.

Zhong Ling asked curiously, "So how did you make that deduction?"

Han Zhou laughed and said, "Senior, look, we can now be sure that Sister Yin has something in her pocket. Regardless of what it is, she is obviously not planning to go out while wearing this work uniform, so these things cannot be for anyone else."

Zhong Ling nodded.

"If Sister Yin intended to give this to you, then there was no need to bring it here. You could have given it to you at home. Since this thing is neither for you nor for anyone else, and you insisted on bringing it out like this, it's obvious that you intended to give it to me."

Han Zhou thought about it more and more and felt that this was the case, and he wished he could put a pipe in his mouth—

Eliminate all the impossible, and what remains, however improbable, is the truth!

Zhong Yin refused to admit it, narrowing her eyes and saying, "What makes you think I'm going to give you something?"

Han Zhou had guessed this as well: "Because you feel bad that I helped you today and you feel bad if you don't give me something in return, even though I didn't really help you much..."

He was referring to Zhong Yin asking him to buy sweets for Zhong Ling, but Zhong Ling had already bought the sweets herself, so he naturally didn't need to do it.

However, Zhong Yin was unaware of this beforehand, and given the other party's habit of always settling accounts of favors, it was quite normal for them to give him something in return.

Zhong Ling felt that Han Zhou's words made sense, but she was also a little confused. She didn't know what kind of help her junior had given her. Did he mean taking her to buy a cell phone?

Zhong Yin was stunned for two seconds. She didn't expect Han Zhou to understand her thoughts so well.

She stopped denying it and reluctantly took a bag out of her stomach pocket. Inside the bag was a package wrapped in oil paper. It was unclear what it contained, but it looked like it was probably food.

"What is this?" Han Zhou asked.

“Something edible.” Zhong Yin tossed the bag to him.

"It's really for me?"

Han Zhou quickly took the bag. It was heavy, and if it contained food, the portion would definitely be generous. Could it be that this guy hasn't forgotten his gluttonous persona?

As he guessed what was wrapped in the oil paper, he asked suspiciously, "Why didn't you just give it to me directly? Why hide it like this?"

Of course, Zhong Yin wouldn't tell this guy that it was because she hadn't decided whether or not to give the item to him. Hearing this, she said impatiently, "If you don't want it, give it back to me."

"Yes, of course I want it. Thank you, Sister Yin."

Han Zhou smiled. The oil paper was wrapped very tightly, and it looked like there was more than one layer. He probably thought it was because he was worried that the pockets of his work clothes might not be clean and would get the contents dirty.

He asked, "Do you need my help to take these things to your house?"

"No need." Zhong Yin took the bag from his hand, thought for a moment, and then coldly reminded him, "It's getting late, and there are no streetlights here at night. You should go back too."

"It's still a long way from dark."

Han Zhou smiled casually, turned around and said, "Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be going. Goodbye."

"Junior."

Zhong Yin didn't speak, but Zhong Ling suddenly called out to him.

"What's wrong, senior?" Han Zhou turned around and looked at her.

Zhong Ling tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear and gave him a gentle smile.

"Thank you, I have a great day."

"Me too."

Han Zhou smiled. Who wouldn't be happy to have earned 5,200 yuan and a mobile phone for free? He picked up the bag and walked towards the car.

At the same time, Lin Anyu woke up again in the car. He had just had a dream in which many pregnant women chased after Han Zhou. Han Zhou had no choice but to flee to his own home for refuge, but was dragged away by the group of pregnant women...

He groggily opened his eyes and instinctively picked up the binoculars, only to be surprised to find that the pregnant woman's belly had suddenly deflated.

what's the situation?

But judging from this, this woman's breasts really are huge...

No, no! The key question is, why did this woman's belly suddenly shrink?

Lin Anyu shook his head repeatedly, then suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, his expression turning to terror. He felt he had guessed the truth—

Did Han Zhou abort the child while I was still asleep?

Chapter 99 Can You Take Your Hand Away?

Han Zhou got home close to eight o'clock.

Lin Anyu ultimately did not hire a designated driver, but instead gave his cousin Xiao Yuyan a chance to prove herself again. He was quite carefree, thinking that it wouldn't affect his sleep whether the car drove fast or slow.

This guy fell asleep as soon as he hit the road in the car, but Han Zhou was having a hard time. Xiao Yuyan was a typical gossip girl, and she talked a lot. Driving didn't affect her gossip at all. She kept chatting with Han Zhou, talking about astrology and fortune telling, and occasionally bringing up one of her best friends. She was just like a matchmaker who hadn't gotten any work for a whole year.

However, the question she asked most often was about the relationship between Han Zhou and Zhong Ling. Now she was a staunch supporter of the "Han-Zhong pairing," even though she didn't know either of them well, she was already acting as if she wanted to bring them together.

Han Zhou was patient and at first he could answer properly, but later he could only give perfunctory answers.

He wished he could wake Lin Anyu, who was fast asleep beside him. How could this guy be so carefree as to let Xiao Yuyan drive? Wasn't he afraid that she might never wake up again?

I have no idea what this guy was dreaming about. He kept spouting nonsense like, "Han Zhou, why don't you let these kids recognize me as their godfather?" It's utterly absurd. He'd be more like the godfather to this guy...

Fortunately, Xiao Yuyan was well aware of her own limitations and knew that her driving skills were average. For safety reasons, she didn't continue chatting but focused on driving, slowly taking Han Zhou home first.

Lin Anyu woke up groggily. He had originally planned to invite Han Zhou to have a barbecue together, and Xiao Yuyan also extended a warm invitation, but Han Zhou politely declined and went inside with the things Zhong Yin had given him.

He has more important things to do.

Before even returning home, Han Zhou had used his points to redeem a temporary status solidifier in the shop, thus solidifying his soon-to-end "on the verge of death" status. This was something he had planned as early as yesterday.

However, one thing I have to complain about is that you really do get what you pay for. Items marked "low-end" are indeed prone to problems. The finalized state wasn't what I expected; a restricted message appeared.

【State Temporary Fixer (Low-Level): A one-time use item that locks any current state for 30 days. Note that the state cannot exceed the critical limit, and it cannot be modified during the locked period. Price: 20 points】

That's right, "On the verge of death" actually exceeded the solidification threshold of the temporary state solidifier. Fortunately, it was not directly judged as a failure, but retained 70% of the original state's effect. In other words, the solidified "On the verge of death" only increased physical attributes by 70% of the original value.

It seems the status bar doesn't want him to have such a strong status for thirty days with only twenty points. And with "On the verge of death" no longer complete, it will probably be difficult for him to throw powerful projectiles to save people like before.

However, even at 70% of the "on the verge of death" state, he was still stronger than most ordinary people and still considered to be in the category of being strong and healthy. Han Zhou couldn't specifically measure what level this was, but with a simple mathematical calculation, he was probably in the "on the verge of death" state.

He decided to challenge Guzheng to an arm wrestling match tomorrow. He knows Guzheng quite well, and using the other person's physical fitness as a benchmark might be a good choice.

Although it wasn't quite what he expected, Han Zhou was already quite content.

Because no matter what, he won't have to worry about his health for the next month, nor will he have to spend points on daily tasks to maintain his physical condition. He can even forget about points and tasks for a short time and relax properly.

Of course, you can't relax for too long.

The next plan is clear: starting today, the daily points will be used to redeem "power pills" instead of changing his status every day. These pills might be the key to overcoming his terminal illness in the future.

【Power Pill: A single-use item. After consumption, it effectively promotes wound healing, quickly replenishes energy, improves the body's immunity to a certain extent, slightly enhances physical attributes, and greatly increases stamina! Duration is twelve hours. One pill at a time. Multiple doses during the duration of the effect do not stack. Long-term use can permanently improve health attributes. Price: 2 points】

The Power Pill is undoubtedly the most practical item refreshed in this store. It costs only two points, but it has many useful effects, especially the last one: "long-term use can permanently improve health attributes." This is exactly what Han Zhou values, and it may be the key to his recovery from his terminal illness.

Moreover, the other effects of the Power Pill are also very practical: replenishing energy, improving immunity, and accelerating healing. If this stuff could be sold as a product, not to mention anything else, the effect of "significantly increasing stamina" alone would be enough to capture a large market share, and there would definitely be no shortage of buyers.

However, Han Zhou certainly wouldn't sell the Power Pills. He might not even have enough for himself, and even if he wanted to sell them, he couldn't explain where they came from.

Moreover, there is one thing he is not yet certain about: whether the Power Pill can appear in front of anyone other than him. This thing is a product of the status bar, and its form of existence is not yet certain.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou immediately exchanged for a Power Pill.

The next second, his hand felt heavy, and a dark, round pill appeared in his palm, about the size of his little finger. It looked rather plain; if he tried to sell it, he would definitely be mistaken for a fraud.

Han Zhou held the pill in front of his eyes and examined it carefully for a while. He was a little curious as to why such a pill was so heavy. It seemed to be quite dense. He wondered what it was made of. He wondered if he would chip off a mouthful of teeth if he swallowed it.

However, he was clearly overthinking it. The pills melted in his mouth, with a very soft texture, but they didn't have much flavor.

There wasn't a noticeable effect immediately after eating it; it took about three minutes for it to take effect. Han Zhou felt his spirits instantly lifted, as if he had inexhaustible energy. This was much better than coffee. He also felt a cool and refreshing sensation on the bruises around his eyes. Other than that, there wasn't much else to notice.

Han Zhou found it quite novel, as this was the first item that could materialize from the status bar. He was considering whether he could obtain the formula for the Power Pill through testing, so that it could be artificially manufactured in the future.

However, these are obviously not things to consider now. It's still a question whether the Power Pill will be retained after the monthly store refresh.

After taking a powerful pill, Han Zhou's energy soared, and his mind became very sharp.

His future goals are very clear.

First, keep exchanging for "power pills" to nourish your body; second, continue accumulating points to upgrade your status bar. After all, no one knows how many "power pills" it will take to completely restore the health attributes lost due to the terminal illness. Compared to the long wait, hope lies more in the status bar itself.

According to Han Zhou's guess, the upgraded status bar will likely provide a more efficient way to restore the body, and he is also looking forward to other functions of the status bar, so the upgrade of the status bar cannot be stopped.

He will definitely need to focus on his studies after entering university, but with his photographic memory, Han Zhou will be able to study efficiently without having to spend too much time on his studies. This means he will have more time to do other things.

In high school, he had to study and stay alive, and he was exhausted every day. Of course, he should enjoy college life and make sure it's not too boring.

"Time really flies. It feels like the college entrance exam was just two days ago, and now it's almost time to start school..."

Han Zhou snapped out of his thoughts, unwrapped the several layers of oil paper, and found that there was a large piece of pastry inside. The appearance was only so-so, and it would definitely not sell in the store, so it must have been made by Zhong Yin himself.

He broke off a small piece and tasted it. His eyes lit up. It tasted a bit like mung bean cake, and the flavor was quite good, not too sweet or greasy. So he ate it in big bites.

One of the reasons he declined Lin Anyu's invitation to dinner was that Zhong Yin had given him such a large piece of pastry, which was a token of his appreciation, and it would be inappropriate not to finish it. He had already decided to eat it for dinner.

However, to be fair, this stuff is quite filling; if Zhong Yin always cooks this much, it wouldn't be surprising if Zhong Ling ends up eating leftovers until she's stuffed...

Han Zhou smiled and shook his head. After eating and drinking his fill, he went into the bathroom to take a shower, intending to go to bed early.

……

It had gotten completely dark.

Han Zhou went to bed at nine o'clock, but he couldn't fall asleep until ten o'clock. The temperature at night was lower than during the day, and the fan was blowing loudly, dispelling all the heat, but he just couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned, which made him a little frustrated.

However, he quickly realized the problem: he had clearly made a mistake by taking a power pill before bed—a substance that could quickly replenish energy and invigorate the mind, far more effective than coffee, and was obviously the culprit preventing him from falling asleep.

"Looks like I'll have to take the power pills during the day from now on..."

Since he couldn't sleep, lying in bed like this wasn't a solution. Seeing that there was a rare moon outside tonight and the temperature wasn't too hot, Han Zhou decided to get up and go for a walk to burn off some of his energy.

He didn't plan to go too far, so he went out wearing slippers.

Like Zhong Ling, Han Zhou lived in a rather remote place. However, it was precisely because it was far from the bustling areas that the housing prices in the vicinity were generally low. His parents bought the house in full at a very low price. Fortunately, otherwise, with Han Long fleeing his debts everywhere, he might not even have a place to live now.

Han Zhou didn't harbor any resentment towards Han Long. After all, the other party had raised him for sixteen years and had never mistreated him. In his memory, when he was a child, the other party had taken him out for walks at night more than once, and sometimes they would talk about his mother.