Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 106 I suddenly started to believe it.
The process of "rescuing" Jiang Baiqian went quite smoothly.

After learning that the two bandits had been subdued and her daughter was safe and sound, Jiang Baiqian breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Han Zhou, asking him with concern if he was injured.

Han Zhou couldn't help but recall Mo Yixia's suggestion: if he really appeared in front of her covered in wounds, he might actually win over his mother-in-law... no, he might win over Jiang Baiqian's goodwill.

However, it is obvious that he would not harm himself in order to gain the other party's favor.

Seeing that he repeatedly assured her that he was not injured, Jiang Baiqian finally felt relieved and rushed out of the room, obviously to check on Mo Yixia's condition.

Han Zhou sighed inwardly. No matter what, at least this woman's concern for Mo Yixia was genuine. As a mother, she might have neglected her daughter's feelings too much, but she was competent in most things, which was an undeniable fact.

Perhaps that's why Mo Yixia claimed she never disliked her; that girl is really strong-willed...

Han Zhou walked out of the bedroom and into the study, and the next second he saw a scene that left him speechless.

He saw Mo Yixia, whom he considered strong, sitting at her desk wiping away tears. She looked pitiful, her eyes were unfocused, and her frail body was trembling slightly. She seemed to be terrified by what had just happened and wouldn't say a word no matter what Jiang Baiqian asked her.

Jiang Baiqian felt her heart breaking at the sight. She knew her daughter was a cold person who had rarely cried or even lost her temper since she was a child. She had never lost control of her emotions before. This was the first time she had ever seen her daughter so frightened, and she was filled with self-reproach.

Although the appearance of the two robbers was too sudden, as a mother, failing to protect her daughter was undoubtedly a dereliction of duty.

"Xiaxia, are you...are you alright?"

Mo Yixia sobbed without speaking, her eyes glazed over, looking as if her soul had been ripped away, as if she were still immersed in fear.

"Xiaxia, what's wrong? Don't scare your mother!" Jiang Baiqian was heartbroken. She hugged her still trembling daughter and quickly comforted her, "It's okay, Mom is here. It's alright, it's alright now."

Han Zhou, standing at the door, was dumbfounded. He thought to himself that Mo Yixia's acting skills were worthy of an Oscar. If he didn't know exactly what had just happened, he would probably have suspected that this girl had encountered something quite terrible.

However, to be fair, it's probably a rare sight to see this guy cry, and it looks quite amusing, it's just a pity that it's not convenient to take pictures right now...

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Mo Yixia, who was in Jiang Baiqian's arms, turned her head and glanced at him indifferently before continuing to weep silently. The fear in her brows was truly heartbreaking.

Such masterful acting, if seen by Wang Shuai lying on the ground, would likely make him immediately question the meaning of his years as an extra. However, more likely, he would believe it was due to his superb acting skills.

It was precisely because the ruthless bandit he played was so vicious that he frightened this delicate high school girl to tears.

As Han Zhou marveled, Jiang Baiqian suddenly said, "Little Han, I need to take care of Xiaxia right now. Could you please call the police for me?"

"it is good."

Han Zhou nodded in agreement, but he hesitated in his heart. He hadn't discussed with Mo Yixia whether to call the police. After all, this was just a fake bandit incident, and it was also a family scandal. It didn't seem like it would be good to make a big deal out of it...

While he was hesitating, Mo Yixia gave him a timely hint by winking at him. Han Zhou understood immediately; she meant it was to reassure him to call the police.

In that case, there is nothing to hesitate about.

But I don't know if it's just my imagination, but this girl seems a little different than before. How should I put it? She seems more like a girl her age now, and the way she blinks is actually kind of cute...

Han Zhou went outside and took out his phone. He could roughly understand Mo Yixia's thoughts. What she wanted was simply to make a big fuss about this matter, so as to completely ignite Jiang Baiqian's anger.

Jiang Baiqian wasn't stupid; she must have realized something was wrong. If she knew that the culprit who had frightened her daughter was actually her irresponsible husband, she would be furious and would never forgive him in the short term. She might even kick him out of the house, and taking Mo Yixia away would be out of the question.

In order to stay here, Mo Yixia was clearly planning to use every means at her disposal, and naturally she would seize such an opportunity.

Han Zhou certainly wouldn't sympathize with the two fake robbers. Everything has a price to pay. If there's a misunderstanding, just go to the police station to talk it out. As for how to judge it, that's the police's job.

However, just as he was about to dial 110, there was a sudden noise outside the door, as if someone was using a key to open the door.

He frowned slightly and whispered to the two people in the study, "It sounds like someone is opening the door outside."

Jiang Baiqian glanced at him and quickly guessed who it was: "Don't worry, it should be my husband."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door was opened, and a man in a white shirt and glasses walked into the room, saying in a steady voice, "I'm back."

Han Zhou immediately noticed the name above the man's head—

Mo Mengcheng.

It really is Mo Yixia's father...

The reason he didn't immediately suspect the fake bandit's true identity was because the guy's name also had the surname Mo; otherwise, he probably would have become suspicious at first glance.

However, the ability to see other people's names in the status bar at any time is quite useful and can play a significant role in many situations.

He observed carefully. The man at the door, who bore a resemblance to Mo Yixia, had his shirt soaked with sweat and was breathing slightly rapidly, as if he had rushed back. Although his tone was quite calm, he looked around anxiously as soon as he entered, as if he was urgently searching for something.

As Han Zhou observed Mo Mengcheng, Mo Mengcheng obviously saw him as well. Seeing that the man was unfamiliar, he asked warily, "Who are you?"

"I'm……"

Just as Han Zhou was about to introduce himself, he heard a sudden noise from the study. Turning his head, he saw Mo Yixia kicking the man named Wang Shuai on the ground, looking somewhat out of control.

His lips twitched immediately.

The commotion in the room was quite loud, and Mo Mengcheng obviously heard it too. Realizing something was wrong, he rushed into the study and immediately saw the two idiots lying on the floor. His breath caught in his throat.

"What's going on?" he asked calmly. "Who are these people?"

Jiang Baiqian turned her head and glanced at him, her eyes showing no joy whatsoever. From this casual attitude, one could tell how strange their relationship was.

"You've come at the right time. There's been a burglary. Call the police immediately and also call 120. Xiaxia seems to be very frightened. I need to take her to the hospital."

She didn't know what happened in the few minutes after the surveillance camera malfunctioned, but judging from her daughter's behavior of kicking the man on the ground, she must have harbored a lot of resentment towards him. So she kicked him too, and then advised Mo Yixia to calm down.

Only Han Zhou knew that Mo Yixia clearly wanted to kick the guy on the ground awake so that he would identify his father immediately, thus completely igniting the incident.

Under the threat of being taken to the police station, these two fake bandits will surely confess obediently.

Mo Mengcheng's heart sank. He didn't know what had happened while he was stuck in traffic, what those two guys had done to make his daughter so emotionally distraught, or what had caused them to be knocked unconscious.

He only knew that he seemed to have gone a bit too far this time. It wasn't that this matter couldn't be exposed, but the timing for exposure was clearly not right now.

According to the plan, he should have rushed home as soon as possible to save his wife and daughter as a husband and father. However, despite everything being ready, he was delayed by traffic on the way, which led to the unexpected turn of events.

"What are you still doing?"

Seeing that he remained unmoved, Jiang Baiqian impatiently urged him on.

At the same time, Wang Shuai, who had been kicked several times, finally regained consciousness in a daze. He struggled to get up, not quite understanding what was going on. His only feeling was that his whole body ached.

Han Zhou knew that Mo Yixia was playing the role of an emotionally distraught victim at this moment, and it was inconvenient for him to speak up and make her understand the seriousness of the situation. So he pretended to be angry and said, "Aunt Jiang, don't worry, I'm about to call the police. It's a home invasion robbery, these two guys won't get away."

Call...the police?
Upon hearing this word, Wang Shuai on the ground instantly came to his senses, remembered what he had just done, and realized his current predicament.

He's an actor, albeit just a minor role, but he might become a star someday, so he absolutely can't have a criminal record with the police.

He knew very well the consequences of calling the police, so he quickly said, "No, no, no, please don't call the police! It's a misunderstanding, you've definitely misunderstood!"

Mo Mengcheng's expression darkened, and he put the phone he had taken out back into his pocket.

Wang Shuai certainly recognized this as his employer, but with his future at stake, he couldn't care less at the moment. Money could be earned back, but a lost reputation would ruin everything. Besides, it was the other party who hadn't followed the script first; this pretty boy wasn't part of the original plan, so even if something went wrong, it should be the other party's responsibility.

So he begged Han Zhou not to call the police, and then explained the whole story in detail, which was almost exactly the same as what Mo Yixia had guessed.

Jiang Baiqian was somewhat surprised after hearing this, but not too shocked, as if she had expected it.

She just never expected her husband to be so absurd.

During this time, Mo Mengcheng remained silent, clearly knowing that arguing was pointless.

Han Zhou was unaware of what happened next, as Jiang Baiqian politely asked him to leave her home. The latter clearly did not want outsiders to see her family make a fool of themselves, and only told him that his wages for the day would be doubled.

Mo Yixia was also asked to leave the house. Jiang Baiqian was quite self-aware, knowing that she would have difficulty comforting her daughter, so she handed the task over to Han Zhou. The extra salary was considered an escort fee, and she wanted to have a good talk with her husband alone.

However, judging from her icy expression, this conversation was clearly not going to have a good outcome.

Even after leaving home, Mo Yixia maintained her tearful appearance. Han Zhou shook his head inwardly, thinking that she probably wanted to laugh right now. However, he still cooperated by pretending to comfort her. Neither of them forgot that there were surveillance cameras throughout the community, and they had to keep up the act until they left the community. This was their tacit understanding.

Stepping out of the elevator, Han Zhou's expression was gentle, seemingly offering soft words of comfort, but in reality, he was marveling, "Your acting is really good. Did you perhaps learn it from a book?"

Mo Yixia pretended to sob, but her tone was quite calm: "You don't need to learn this. The technique is very simple. Just think of something sad enough."

Han Zhou did not respond.

Mo Yixia was silent for a moment, glanced at him, and asked, "Why don't you ask what's bothering you?" Han Zhou smiled without saying a word. How could he not know that this guy was just waiting for him to speak so he could spout nonsense? So the best choice was to remain silent.

He changed the subject, saying, "I never thought I'd be getting paid to hang out with you. Was this part of your plan too? So, where do you want to go now?"

Mo Yixia remained silent.

"From what your mom said, it seems like you don't need to go back for lunch. How about I treat you to a meal? After all, I've had quite a few meals at your house before..."

Based on experience, Mo Yixia would probably say something stupid like "Don't mind, can you call it being kept if you don't provide food?" at this point, but to Han Zhou's surprise, she remained silent.

"This is a rare opportunity. Is there anywhere you've wanted to go but haven't been yet? I remember you sing really well, how about we go to karaoke? Although it might not be very fun just the two of us..."

Mo Yixia remained silent, not even glancing at him.

"..."

Seeing that this guy was pretending to be deaf and dumb, Han Zhou had no choice but to surrender and said helplessly, "Alright, alright, I'll ask again, what sad thing is you thinking about?"

Mo Yixia was indeed upset about this, and upon hearing this, she said calmly, "Do you really want to know?"

If I answer no, will you go silent again?

Is this guy a child...?

Han Zhou sighed inwardly and replied perfunctorily, "I want to, I want to so much."

Mo Yixia said with satisfaction, "What I was thinking was that if I really left this time, you would definitely be heartbroken and it would be very hard for you. Just thinking about that makes me very sad."

Han Zhou was taken aback, thought about it seriously for a while, and said, "I'm a little sad, but I'm definitely not heartbroken... But why is it so hard?"

"Because rummaging through trash cans is just too tiring."

"hehe."

Han Zhou knew he shouldn't have responded to this guy's words.

It was a cloudy day, but the weather was quite nice. The two walked towards the outside of the residential area, and neither of them mentioned Mo Yixia's father.

"Han Zhou".

Just as she was about to leave the residential area, Mo Yixia glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

"If you bring up topics like being kept or smelling again, don't blame me for getting angry."

"Accepting the facts and recognizing yourself is nothing to be ashamed of, and you don't have to be bothered by it, but that's not what I'm going to talk about now."

"What is that?" Han Zhou asked, looking at her.

Do you remember what the question mark in our code meant?

"of course I remember."

Han Zhou casually said, "A question mark means you have a question you want to ask me, but for various reasons you can't say it out loud, so you have to make me think of the question and give the answer myself. It's really making things difficult for me."

Mo Yixia ignored his complaints and asked, "Then can you guess what the question mark I asked earlier represented?"

Earlier in the study, she had written three punctuation marks on a piece of draft paper—

Comma, book title marks, and question marks.

The three words together mean a cry for help, but the question mark itself has a specific meaning. She was very curious whether Han Zhou had guessed her question at the time.

Han Zhou looked helpless: "It's not like we can't say it now. You can just tell me yourself. Why do you want me to guess?"

"I do not want it."

Mo Yixia rolled her eyes at him and turned her head away. "Now is the real test of whether we are on the same wavelength."

"I do not want it."

Han Zhou chuckled, mimicking her tone as he repeated, and asked, "Is this what you call being coquettish?"

Instead of answering, Mo Yixia asked, "You didn't think about my question, did you?"

Faced with her scrutinizing gaze, Han Zhou felt somewhat helpless and hesitated, saying, "I have thought about it, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do..."

"You say it."

"I'm a little embarrassed..."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? What are you thinking?"

Han Zhou chuckled twice: "Anyway, it's probably not what you're thinking about right now..."

"What's so hard to say? Go ahead and say it."

"I'm analyzing this seriously based on the context, so you can't laugh if I guess wrong."

Han Zhou really didn't want to reveal his guess because he felt it was a bit embarrassing.

"I'm not laughing."

The two had already left the residential area and were no longer under surveillance. Mo Yixia suddenly took off her baseball cap and put it on Han Zhou's head. Then, unusually, she took off her mask, revealing her delicate and beautiful face.

“Look at me and say that if I laugh, then I’ll allow you to touch me.”

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment. It was the first time he had seen Mo Yixia without her mask and baseball cap, and he was momentarily lost in thought.

Mo Yixia was very pretty, but it had nothing to do with her looks. He just suddenly had a feeling that the distance between him and this girl seemed to have gotten closer.

"Stop looking, you can look at it later. Tell me, what do you think I wanted to ask you back then?"

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment: "It should be that one..."

Because he felt so ashamed, he lowered his voice.

"Are you here to save me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Mo Yixia suddenly froze on the spot, even stopping the movement of flipping her hair.

"And what's your answer?" she asked.

“Of course it is,” Han Zhou said, looking troubled. “Didn’t I do all that?”

The air was quiet for a moment.

"puff."

After a long silence, the girl suddenly chuckled, her lips curving upwards as she looked at him with her eyes crinkled.

She enjoyed seeing the troubled look on his face.

Seeing the undisguised smile on the other person's face, Han Zhou sighed, "Didn't we agree not to smile?"

"This is not meant to be mocking."

Mo Yixia thought for a moment, then reached out to straighten his hat brim gently, her smile widening. "I'm just smiling because I'm happy."

She slightly raised her eyes, her gaze passing over the brim of her hat, and saw an unknown bird leap up from a distant branch and fly off to who knows where.

A sudden gust of wind swept through the streets, slowly lifting the thick clouds in the sky. The sun gradually revealed itself, its sunlight unusually gentle, falling in rays that gradually expanded, without much heat.

"I'm talking about Han Zhou."

A cool breeze came from afar, blowing the girl's waist-length hair into disarray. She tossed her hair, mischievously letting it brush against Han Zhou's cheek, forcing him to close his eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, the girl stood quietly in the wind, smiling sweetly.

"I think I'm suddenly starting to believe it."

"The thing is that we are on the same wavelength."

I'll make more changes; I'm not entirely satisfied.
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(End of this chapter)