Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 120 You got caught in the car door too?
Han Zhou never imagined that he would end up in the hospital on the first day of school.

The story begins this morning.

He had originally planned to take the high-speed train to school with Zhong Ling and Gu Zheng, and the three of them had already discussed it. However, last night, Lin Anyu suddenly offered to drive them to school.

Han Zhou had no objection to this, but he was a little worried. After all, Lin Anyu had only recently gotten his driver's license, and there might be problems if he drove for three or four hours. However, Lin Anyu was obviously aware of the importance of safety and said that he was not the one driving, but his previous driver, Uncle Zhang.

So the matter was settled. Everyone gathered near the subway station early in the morning and took Lin Anyu's car to Lincheng University.

When Guzheng arrived, Miao Yan'er also came along. She repeatedly told Han Zhou to take good care of Guzheng at school, and smiled as she said that she would hold him responsible if any problems arose.

Zhong Ling was brought over by Zhong Yin. Although the latter did not say it explicitly, he also implied that Han Zhou should take good care of Zhong Ling. This surprised Han Zhou quite a bit, since this guy had previously been afraid that he would have ulterior motives towards Zhong Ling.

Faced with their instructions, he naturally thumped his chest and confidently declared that he would definitely take good care of them. Who knew that before he even entered the school, he would be the one being taken care of by the two of them.

Gu Zheng was responsible for helping him carry his luggage to school, Zhong Ling was responsible for taking him to the hospital, and he became a patient with a broken left hand who needed to be taken care of.

This wasn't because the car encountered any accidents along the way. Uncle Zhang was a seasoned driver with many years of experience, and he drove fast and steadily. The time it took to reach the vicinity of Lincheng University was even faster than expected.

However, due to some traffic congestion on the last stretch of the road, Lin Anyu did not continue to take the three of them to the school gate. He also had some personal matters to attend to. So Han Zhou and the other two got out of the car and walked to the school, since the remaining distance was not far and would not take much effort.

Things have been going smoothly up to this point.

However, on their way to school, the three of them suddenly saw a child fall from a building. In a critical moment, Han Zhou dropped his luggage and rushed out, catching the child just before he hit the ground.

The scene was quite thrilling, and the onlookers were stunned.

Fortunately, the child was not seriously injured and was quickly taken to the hospital by his family. However, to everyone's shock, the family members ignored Han Zhou, who had saved the child's life, and ran away without even a word of concern.

Gu Zheng was so angry she wanted to chase after them and confront them, but they ran too fast. Plus, she was worried about Han Zhou, so she had to give up on causing trouble for the time being and instead went to check on Han Zhou's condition.

Catching a heavy object falling from a great height is extremely dangerous. The enormous impact could cause the person catching it to break their arm or even their spine, and could easily lead to tragedy. Fortunately, Han Zhou's injuries were not serious, but they were certainly not minor either. Just to be on the safe side, he needed to go to the hospital, which led to what happened.

On the way to the hospital, Zhong Ling's worry never lessened. The small cloth bag around her waist was almost torn to shreds. For the umpteenth time, she said in a low voice, "Those people are just too wicked."

She was clearly referring to the family of the child Han Zhou had saved; this was the first time she had ever seen such shameless people in her life.

Han Zhou smiled nonchalantly: "There's no need to be so angry. We can't just abandon the children because they're bad."

However, although he said that, it would be a lie to say that he didn't mind at all. In fact, he chose to save the child for two main reasons: one was out of impulse, and the other was because he was worried that Guzheng would be in danger.

He had already sensed that Guzheng was about to rush out, but not everyone could catch a child falling from such a height. Although Guzheng was incredibly strong, his body might not be able to withstand such an impact, so he had no choice but to rush out first.

He could have chosen to stop Guzheng, but if he hadn't done something, the child who fell would likely have been in grave danger. Guzheng might not have felt guilty afterward, but she would definitely have been upset for a while. That's why he decided to find a different way to stop the child.

Compared to putting the guzheng to risk, he had more confidence in his own body and ability to take risks, which is why he rushed to the child after a brief hesitation.

As he had anticipated, the combination of being on the verge of death, the adrenaline rush, and the attribute boost from his current "Hot-blooded Youth" status maximized his physical abilities, resulting in only a dislocated right hand and a suspected minor fracture in his left arm.

For Han Zhou, this price was well within his acceptable range and wouldn't significantly impact his daily life. Moreover, he could take a powerful pill to speed up his recovery, so it wasn't a big problem; at most, he would just be in pain for a while.

But if it were the guzheng that got injured, things would be much more complicated. The worst outcome would be serious injury immediately, leaving incurable sequelae, or even complete paralysis.

This is something Han Zhou absolutely cannot accept.

Fortunately, the child was very small and light, and only fell from a height of less than ten floors. If it had been any higher, he would have pressed the guzheng down to the spot rather than let the child take a step forward, and he himself would not have taken the risk.

Being a hero requires taking risks.

In his past life, he had read a news story about someone who had done a similar good deed. However, although he successfully saved the child, he ended up with a lifelong disability. The child's family not only did not express their gratitude or make any compensation, but also kept distancing themselves from him, which was truly heartbreaking.

Han Zhou thought the rescuer was great. After all, unlike him, the other person didn't have a status bar to fall back on. He was the kind of true hero who chose to save people without considering gains or losses, just because of his passion. He knew there was danger, but he still offered a helping hand. Such a person is respectable. It's just a pity that he was too unlucky and encountered a bunch of ingrates.

Han Zhou never expected to encounter someone like this. Although he didn't expect anything in return, the way the other person fled as if their life depended on it, fearing being entangled, was truly unsightly.

However, despite his annoyance, he didn't intend to pursue the matter with those guys. Mainly, he didn't want to hear outrageous remarks like "I didn't ask you to save me," which would spoil his mood at the beginning of the semester.

Han Zhou never considered himself a kind and noble person. If he had to define himself, he would say he was just an ordinary person who sought to avoid harm and seek benefit. He might not necessarily help an elderly person who had fallen, but if it was a situation involving life-threatening danger and that he could do his best, he would be willing to do his part.

Although sometimes such unpleasant things happen.

Seeing that Zhong Ling still looked worried, Han Zhou smiled and comforted her, "Don't worry, senior, it's just a minor injury. It'll be fine in a while. Besides, getting injured isn't all bad."

Perhaps it was because his tone was too relaxed, Zhong Ling's brows unfurrowed slightly, but she still asked, puzzled, "What good does getting injured do?"

"Look, didn't you say that we have to do military training right at the start of freshman year? Obviously, I can't do military training in my situation, right?"

Han Zhou chuckled and said, "While everyone else is sunbathing, I can sit under the parasol and watch. Isn't that great?"

There was another benefit he didn't mention, and even if he did, Zhong Ling wouldn't understand: once this fracture heals, he can learn how to treat fractures through "experience in illness," which is a tangible benefit that might be useful in the future.

After all, he had never broken a bone before, and he would never break a bone just to learn a new skill. This accident helped him make that decision.

However, thinking about it this way, there's a lot of room for improvement in "learning from illness." If needed and he's willing to be ruthless, he could deliberately burn himself, so that after recovering, he could master the methods for treating these injuries...

Of course, while he might be tempted, Han Zhou would never harm himself unless absolutely necessary.

Zhong Ling was stunned. She hadn't expected her junior to connect her injury to military training; his thinking was certainly quite unconventional...

However, this also shows that the other party seems to be in a good mood and has not had much negative emotion because of this incident. In addition, Han Zhou's injury does not seem to be as serious as imagined, so Zhong Ling can't help but feel relieved and a faint smile appears on her face.

The two arrived at the hospital, quickly registered at the orthopedics department, and then went to wait outside the department. The door to the department was half open, and there were patients receiving diagnosis inside.

It wasn't long before it was Han Zhou's turn. The doctor was an old man over fifty years old with sharp eyes, and judging from his bald head, the doctor's medical skills were probably quite superb.

And indeed, he quickly made a detailed diagnosis of Han Zhou's condition, informing Han Zhou that although his left arm was only slightly fractured, it still needed to be immobilized with a cast to avoid adverse consequences such as fracture and malunion. It would take about a month for him to fully recover.

The dislocation of his right arm wasn't serious, but full recovery would still take a considerable amount of time, roughly four to six weeks, depending on his physical condition. During this period, he needed to rest and avoid strenuous, high-frequency activities. Out of professional habit, the old doctor asked Han Zhou about the cause of the fracture. When he learned that Han Zhou had fractured his arm while saving a child falling from a great height, he was immediately filled with respect, but also somewhat puzzled, because logically, catching a child falling from such a height shouldn't result in such minor injuries.

Although he was puzzled by this, he did not doubt that Han Zhou was lying. This was probably thanks to Zhong Ling, who kept nodding in agreement. After all, the girl did not seem like the type to lie.

The old doctor reminded Han Zhou of many precautions during the rehabilitation process, which Han Zhou noted down one by one. However, during the arm repositioning and cast application, he suddenly saw an unexpected figure—

Ouyang Lianyu.

He had imagined many times what it would be like for the two of them to meet again, but he never expected that their reunion would not be at school, but in the orthopedic department of a hospital.

Judging from her dangling left arm, this woman clearly didn't come to the orthopedics department for fun; she was genuinely injured...

Han Zhou couldn't hold back anymore. Wait, is this guy's foot fully healed? He hasn't even lost his wheelchair yet, how come his hand is injured now?
At this time, another doctor was helping him put on the cast. As soon as Ouyang Lianyu entered the room, she pushed the wheelchair with one hand straight to the old doctor with thinning hair. She kept her eyes straight ahead and did not notice this "fellow patient".

"Teacher Ouyang?"

Zhong Ling, who was next to Han Zhou, stared at Ouyang Lianyu for a while, and seemed to recognize her identity.

Han Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he asked in a low voice, "Does Senior know this person?"

“Hmm.” Zhong Ling nodded and said softly, “She is a teacher at our school, and I think she is a professor. I don’t know much about her, except that she is known as one of the ‘Six Famous People of Lin University’.”

"Six famous figures?" Han Zhou became interested.

"Hmm, 'covered in wounds' Ouyang Lianyu, 'court dominator' Zhang Ziwen, 'reckless' Zhang Tao, 'influential figure' Chen Fei, 'immovable as a mountain' Wang Lengqiu."

"What kind of ridiculous nicknames are these? They're all so cringeworthy and nonsensical..." Han Zhou thought to himself, then asked in confusion, "Wait a minute, weren't there supposed to be six famous people? Why are only five mentioned?"

Zhong Ling remained silent for a moment, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing the other person's complicated expression, Han Zhou paused for two seconds, then asked uncertainly, "The last celebrity isn't you, senior, is it...?"

Zhong Ling nodded gently and answered honestly, "It's me, 'The Mute Bride' Zhong Ling."

Han Zhou: "..."

What the heck is a mute bride?

However, upon closer reflection, it's not surprising that Zhong Ling was considered a so-called celebrity. After all, she is very beautiful, and many people must pay attention to her on a daily basis. Coupled with her "silent" nature, she was probably already famous at school.

These days, it's quite difficult to become famous in university. Nobody cares who's number one in the grade, and few people care about the school's most handsome or beautiful students. Probably even fewer people know who the student council president is. Unless they have some outstanding talent, it's hard to become famous.

Some people might not even recognize all their classmates. Nobody cares if you're the top student in the grade or the student council president. But if someone dares to run naked around the school, the next day more than half the students in the whole school will definitely know his name.

In Han Zhou's view, becoming famous in university mainly depends on being "interesting" or "having something to do," and Zhong Ling clearly meets this requirement, which is why she became a celebrity.

If this were Han Zhou's first time meeting Ouyang Lianyu, he might have had some doubts about the claim that she was "covered in injuries." But he couldn't deny it. When they first met, she was already in a wheelchair. Now, she was in the orthopedics department treating her hand, and she was about to be crippled in all four limbs. Considering her recklessness, he was completely convinced of the truth of the claim.

Judging from this glimpse, the other four famous figures are probably not just people with empty titles; I should definitely learn more about their deeds when I have the chance.

Han Zhou did not want to get relevant information directly from Zhong Ling, but the latter was usually oblivious to worldly affairs and did not even know why she was called the mute bride, let alone care about the deeds of others, so he had no choice but to give up.

Han Zhou, whose hearing was now excellent, easily learned the reason for Ouyang Lianyu's left hand injury from the old doctor's questioning. He almost burst out laughing after hearing it.

This guy's left hand was injured when it got caught in the car door...

The old doctor's expression didn't change much. You see, he'd been here for so many years, he'd seen all kinds of patients. The last few stubborn strands of hair on his head were proof of his experience. He shook his head and said, "You're too careless. How did you get caught in the car door?"

Ouyang Lianyu coughed twice and mumbled, "There was a little accident. Anyway, the situation is a bit complicated. I accidentally got caught... Doctor, is my injury serious?"

The old doctor said carefully, "Whether it's serious or not depends on whether there are any fractures or cracks. Let's get an X-ray first. But from my personal observation, your injury shouldn't be too serious."

"Thank you doctor."

After answering the old doctor's questions, Ouyang Lianyu turned her wheelchair around to leave. Suddenly, she noticed Han Zhou, who had just had his cast put on, not far away. Hearing his hushed voice, she was startled and asked, "What happened to you? Are you badly injured?"

She had a deep impression of Han Zhou. Although she couldn't see his face clearly at the time, she remembered his build and voice. With a woman's sixth sense, she recognized him immediately.

She was naturally surprised that the two would meet again in this place, but compared to wondering why he was here, she was more worried about Han Zhou's health.

Han Zhou smiled and replied, "It's not serious, just a minor fracture."

A minor fracture isn't serious?

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Ouyang Lianyu's expression suddenly changed, and she asked uncertainly, "Were you also caught in the car door?"

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then carefully replied, "Getting caught in the car door should be a very low probability event..."

The implication was that he wasn't that stupid.

Zhong Ling, who was standing to the side, was a little surprised. So, her junior knew Teacher Ouyang?
To avoid Ouyang Lianyu asking too many questions, Han Zhou took the initiative and asked first, "I remember you said you were our college's counselor, right? Are you dressed like this to go to school today?"

"Well, it's the start of the school year after all. Who knew there would be a little accident on the way? I was planning to go to school as soon as I finished treating my injuries..." Ouyang Lianyu sighed slightly and asked, "What about you? Today is also your registration day, right? How did you end up like this?"

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then said, "I also encountered a bit of an accident, and I plan to go to school later..."

For some reason, he suddenly felt a little ashamed.

The two looked at each other and fell into deep thought.

Clearly, they were both trying to figure out what the other meant by "accident."

(End of this chapter)