Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 1: A Two-Year Wait

In August, the weather remained hot and dry.

Han Zhou sat under a parasol in the commercial street, drinking iced water to cool off while observing the crowds passing by, occasionally taking out his phone to check messages.

The phone looked rather pathetic; it was quite old, and the screen in the lower left corner was cracked, but fortunately, it didn't affect its usability.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Han Zhou scrutinized everyone who passed by, much like a police officer searching for a criminal.

Seeing this, Lin Anyu beside him smiled with satisfaction, thinking to himself that this kid had finally figured it out. On this hot day, the streets were full of beautiful women showing off their arms and legs. Why didn't he want to go and be a simp for that strong woman?

Thinking of this, he no longer cared about the heat of this godforsaken place. It was all for his brothers, so he put on sunglasses, and, with an ice pop in his mouth, silently admired the beautiful women.

However, if you look closely at Han Zhou's gaze, you will find that he is not looking at the arms and legs that Lin Anyu thought, but at the top of everyone's head.

【Name: Lin Xiaoxiao】

Name: Cheng Ziyan

【Name: Lin Nan】

Name: Zhang Wei

【Name: Mo Yixia (Unlockable)】

Name: Li Dalei

……

From Han Zhou's perspective, each person he passes by has their name displayed above their head, along with other information below, though most of it is not visible.

However, none of these are the key points. The key point is the words "unlockable".

When Han Zhou saw those three words, he almost burst into tears. He was so excited that he nearly dropped his phone. His gaze quickly shifted downwards to the owner of the name, the girl named Mo Yixia.

Strangely enough, despite the hot weather, the other person was wearing a baseball cap and a mask, making it impossible to see their face. They were carrying a large backpack and holding a black parasol.

The fact that he was wearing the Linbei Middle School uniform identified him as a high school student.

Are they going to tutoring?

Han Zhou was puzzled by what he saw, but he was more excited than anything else—two years, a full two years, and he had finally found the second target to unlock!

Han Zhou didn't know whether he was a reincarnated person or a transmigrator. He died before graduating from university, and then lived for eighteen years in this world similar to Earth. He had just finished recalling the fear of being dominated by the college entrance examination.

There are no superpowers, no monsters, no childhood sweethearts, and not even any troublemakers. Looking at Han Zhou's two lives, they can be summed up in the word "ordinary".

However, this was not a bad thing. Han Zhou thought he could live a peaceful life, but in his second year of high school, he was diagnosed with an incurable disease and his body deteriorated rapidly.

Meanwhile, his golden touch finally arrived, albeit belatedly.

After repeated research, Han Zhou discovered that he could see anyone's status bar, but only his own status bar was clearest. If he wanted to see other people's detailed information, he had to have a deep enough connection with them. The more familiar a person was with someone, the more information he could see.

The level 1 status bar's capabilities are limited and not very useful. Upgrading the status bar requires spending points, which can only be obtained from unlockable characters.

Fortunately, Han Zhou quickly found an unlockable character, the super-strong girl Lin Anyu mentioned, and Gu Zheng, their high school class monitor.

So, starting from his second year of high school, Han Zhou was completely burdened with the title of "Gu Zheng's loyal simp". Even his homeroom teacher talked to him several times, earnestly telling him that he should learn to control himself and that dating should be something he did in college.

Lin Anyu couldn't stand it anymore, and once even lost his temper, angrily asking, "Can't you live without that woman?"

Han Zhou gave an affirmative answer to this.

It's no exaggeration to say that he really couldn't live without the guzheng.

【Name: Han Zhou】

【Intelligence: 7】

【Charm: 7】

Stamina: 3 (Weak)

[Skills: Efficient learning, culinary expertise, speed reading, practical medical knowledge gained through experience, powerful throwing]

[Current Status: On the verge of death (modified) → On the verge of death: Ten breaths remaining, can survive for one day, will enter a near-death state after twenty-four hours]

[Status bar level: 2, current points remaining: 1]

As mentioned before, Han Zhou was diagnosed with a terminal illness in his second year of high school, and the reason he has been able to live until now is entirely due to the ability of the status bar—modifying status.

The two-level status bar has the ability to modify the status. Han Zhou can add or remove strokes or modify characters for the current status in the status bar and give it a new definition. As long as the definition is basically valid, the modified status will be valid.

For example, the phrase "奄奄十息" (yǎn yǎn shí xī), which was modified from "奄奄一息" (yǎn yǎn yī xī), has had its definition changed from "about to die" to "still able to live for 24 hours".

This is undoubtedly a terrifying ability. Han Zhou even had the immediate thought of writing "Invincible in the World" in the status bar.

Unfortunately, changing one's status requires spending points. Adding a status entry costs two points, and the status changes are not permanent, lasting only for 24 hours. This means that in order to survive, Han Zhou must spend two points every day to change his status.

However, the awkward thing is that he can only get two points per day.

The points required for the status bar can only be obtained from unlockable target characters. Without triggering side quests, Han Zhou can only obtain two points from Gu Zheng through fixed daily tasks each day, which can then be used to modify his status.

Get it and use it on the same day – a true "daylight freak".

Therefore, Han Zhou not only did not deny the claim that he could not live without the guzheng, but also mentioned it every day.

He didn't have any extra points; the points he earned when unlocking were all used to upgrade his status bar, so he had to rely on playing the guzheng every day to earn points in order to survive.

Of course, calling him a "simp" is an exaggeration. He and Guzheng are genuine friends, and he's very careful about boundaries. He hasn't interfered with Guzheng's studies; at most, he talks to her every day, invites her to meals, and visits her home during holidays, rain or shine, always worried about not seeing her...

Can this be called being a simp?

From his second year of high school until graduation, Han Zhou couldn't sleep well every day. Only he knew the hardships he endured. He was constantly looking for new characters to unlock. He couldn't keep taking advantage of just one person. Besides, if he couldn't get the Guzheng and points one day, he would just be waiting to die.

However, for two whole years, he still couldn't find a single unlockable character, and even doubted at one point whether Guzheng might be the only unlockable character.

Just when he was prepared to spend his life as an ornament for the guzheng, a girl named Mo Yixia appeared, and the three bright words "Unlockable" on her head were more dazzling than the sun.

Han Zhou's feelings at this moment can be imagined; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had seen an angel.

Without hesitation, he immediately decided to take action, his eyes like those of a hungry wolf spotting a sheep—he had finally found a character he could unlock, and he couldn't let him go no matter what!

However, before he could make a move, the high school girl wearing a mask walked straight towards him, closed her umbrella, and sat down on the chair next to him.

Han Zhou was taken aback, then thought for a moment and handed over a bottle of unopened water, saying, "Would you like some water?"

Lin Anyu, who was standing to the side, opened his mouth wide, and the popsicle in his mouth fell to the ground. He thought to himself, "Seriously, bro? Is this how you approach girls?"

"You shouldn't drink water given by strangers; even a child knows that."

As expected, the girl wearing a mask refused Han Zhou's water. Perhaps because she was wearing a mask, her voice sounded strange. Han Zhou didn't mind, put the water on the table, and asked, "Is it still summer vacation? Are you having extra classes?"

"There is no 'them,' only me taking extra lessons."

Mo Yixia spoke calmly, but she was clearly quite resentful, lightly kicking the table leg intermittently.

"So you're still slacking off here? Aren't you afraid of being late?" Lin Anyu, standing to the side, adopted a wise and experienced demeanor, recalling his homeroom teacher's tone from his memory, and said in a condescending tone, "Looks like you're a senior in high school, right? It's your last year, so stay strong..."

"I know you."

Mo Yixia ignored the guy wearing sunglasses and looked at Han Zhou beside her. "Your photo and name are on the bulletin board of Qinghai Middle School. I remember you got a very high score."

"and then?"

Han Zhou became interested. He was just worried about not having anything to talk about, but this guy took the initiative to bring one up, and it seemed like he had more to say.

Mo Yixia glanced at the tattered phone on the other person's table and got straight to the point: "Would you like to be my tutor? My family is very rich. As long as my mom thinks it's effective, she will never be stingy, especially for a poor student like you who only knows how to study."

Lin Anyu was already somewhat annoyed at being ignored, and upon hearing this, he immediately frowned, stood up, and said, "Don't look down on me, girl. What do you mean by 'studying to death'? You're so rich, why do you walk to tutoring..."

To everyone's surprise, Han Zhou quickly covered his mouth and looked at Mo Yixia, saying, "I agree. When is class?"

He wondered if today was his lucky day, since this was exactly the outcome he had hoped for.

"What are you doing, you brat? Ptooey, ptooey!" Lin Anyu quickly pulled his hand away, looking disgusted. "Your hands are sweaty, aren't they? They're filthy."

Mo Yixia took out paper and pen from her bag and wrote as she said, "This is the address of my neighborhood and my contact information. I'll go back now and settle things with my mom. Come over at eight o'clock the day after tomorrow."

Han Zhou took the note and looked into her eyes: "Although I know you don't really want a tutor, I will be there on time."

Mo Yixia remained noncommittal, picked up her backpack, stood up, and asked, "By the way, what's your name? I remember your face, but I've forgotten your name."

"Han Zhou, what about you?"

"Mo Yixia, remember to come on time."

Looking up at the blinding sun, the girl opened her black parasol and prepared to leave.

Seeing the words "Unlockable" above the other person's head, Han Zhou suddenly remembered that he hadn't done the most important thing yet. After thinking for a moment, he quickly found his phone contacts and quietly dialed Lin Anyu's number.

A gentle female voice soon came from Lin Anyu's phone. He picked it up and looked at it, and his expression became strange.

Without giving the other person a chance to speak, Han Zhou suddenly raised his voice and asked in a pretentious tone, "I must say, your ringtone is quite nice. What's the song called again?"

Lin Anyu couldn't hold back any longer: "Isn't this the ringtone you told me to change? What the hell are you doing...?"

"I want to be in a relationship."

Mo Yixia, who was about to leave, stopped and looked at the two of them with an expression as if they were idiots, and said, "This song is called 'I Want to Fall in Love,' and it is indeed a very good song."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

At the same time, a series of characters flashed before Han Zhou's eyes.

[Keyword triggered, target character Mo Yixia unlocked, 10 points gained]

【Daily Task 1 (Mo Yixia): Collect 10 smiley faces to earn 1 point】

【Daily Task 2 (Mo Yixia): Get 10 "likes" comments to earn 1 point】

[Side quest unlocked: Target character Mo Yixia is extremely rebellious and has developed mild suicidal thoughts. Please make sure she at least doesn't dislike you. Completing the quest will earn you 50 points and allow you to extract one enhanced skill from the target.]

"Hiss... 50 points?"

Han Zhou wasn't just being silly; the unlock condition in the status bar was just too outrageous—it required the target to say the words "I want to be in a relationship."

He had wanted to complain about this for a long time and even suspected that something was wrong with it. However, the reward of 50 points immediately caught his attention. He had actually completed a side quest on Guzheng before, but the reward was only 20 points and the difficulty was not high.

This task is worth 50 points, which actually indicates the difficulty of the task.

As for the so-called enhanced skills, Han Zhou has already seen them; in short, they are simply enhanced versions of a certain skill possessed by others.

The "Powerful Throw" skill in his skill bar was taken from Guzheng, but it's not very useful. At least his current sickly physique can't support that kind of power.

It was obvious that he couldn't do Mo Yixia's daily tasks today, but at least he earned 10 points for unlocking them, which cheered Han Zhou up.

At least I can sleep more soundly now.

Having a new source of points is significant, meaning he will no longer be a spendthrift. He can accumulate points to continue upgrading his status bar or significantly modify his status, and perhaps one day he will be able to permanently escape the "dying" state.

It's best to complete the side quests before the start of the school year, and also take the opportunity to accumulate as many points as possible for later use, otherwise you might not be able to see Mo Yixia often later...

As Han Zhou pondered, Lin Anyu, who had been gazing at him for a long time, suddenly smiled with satisfaction, patted his shoulder, and said, "Han Zhou, you've grown up."

"Huh?" Han Zhou came back to his senses.

"So that's why you were acting so strangely all of a sudden, even asking me about the song title out of the blue. Turns out you fell in love at first sight," Lin Anyu chuckled.

Han Zhou said helplessly, "I didn't even see what she looked like."

Don't be fooled by Lin Anyu's seemingly unreliable appearance, yet he's willing to brave the heat to accompany him on a "beauty-watching" stroll down the street. In reality, he's a genuine second-generation rich kid.

"That's why it's called love at first sight, not lust at first sight."

His expression was solemn, as if he was certain that his friend liked the girl named Mo Yixia. He winked and said, "It's a good thing to have a girl you like. Falling in love at first sight is better than being a simp, but don't let it affect her college entrance exam."

In any case, it's a good thing that Han Zhou can forget about that super-strong woman. In this day and age, what's better than being a simp?

"I told you it's not what you think."

"Anyway, I support you!" Lin Anyu said with a knowing look, "Let's go, let's find a place with air conditioning to drink coffee, it's so hot here."

"No, I have something to do later, and I don't like coffee."

"Then I'll have the driver take you. We'll go out for barbecue later to celebrate." Lin Anyu seemed very happy.

Han Zhou didn't know what this guy wanted to celebrate, so he shook his head and said, "I'll just take the subway. I need to go to Huadu Residential Area."

"Huadu is small..."

Lin Anyu's smile froze, and a big question mark appeared on his head.

"Yes."

Han Zhou patted his shoulder and nodded seriously, "I haven't looked for the guzheng yet today."

(End of this chapter)