Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 139 Temporary Mission
"Um...Teacher Ouyang."

"Ok?"

"There's something I want to confess to you..."

"Are you referring to the fact that you lied to me again?"

Han Zhou was taken aback and asked in surprise, "You figured it out?"

"Of course, if you think about it carefully, you'll realize you're talking nonsense. If you really considered me your mother's emotional support, you wouldn't have shown me no respect at all. If you think I can't even see that, then you're underestimating your teacher."

"As expected of Teacher Ouyang, you are indeed exceptionally intelligent." Han Zhou flattered her, then hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Aren't you angry?"

"Not too angry."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled gently, "You haven't submitted your self-criticism and guarantee yet. I'll add another thousand words to each one. And although I don't know why you're so eager to fulfill my requests, having a free laborer is quite nice. I have absolutely no reason to be angry. Also..."

She paused, her tone softening slightly, "Your mother must have passed away a long time ago, right?"

Han Zhou was taken aback and asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

"I said don't underestimate teachers. I'm willing to believe that most students don't lie, but that doesn't mean I can't distinguish between the truth and lies."

Ouyang Lianyu said helplessly, "But if you really dare to use this to lie to me, then I will definitely be angry."

"I wouldn't dare to do that."

Han Zhou gave a wry smile and pushed his wheelchair forward.

It was just eight o'clock, and the sky was almost completely dark.

The area near Lincheng University is bustling, with colorful lights illuminating both sides of the street and huge signboards flashing. Fashionably dressed college students stroll along the street, chatting and laughing. Occasionally, they stop in front of a milk tea shop or a cart carrying fried snacks. If they recognize Ouyang Lianyu, they will greet her from afar, and Ouyang Lianyu will smile and greet her back.

Seeing a student who had come to deliver milk tea being politely refused and leaving, Han Zhou sincerely remarked, "Teacher Ouyang, you must be very popular at school, right?"

Ouyang Lianyu smiled and said, "It is quite tall. Haven't you heard my nickname, 'Ouyang Lianyu, covered in wounds'? One of the six famous people in the school."

"While the nickname is certainly fitting, it can't make you that popular. I bet you're really good to the students, right?"

"It's not exactly a good relationship, just normal interactions," Ouyang Lianyu said, shaking her head. "Also, you don't need to say that first sentence."

"You're too modest. To be honest, this is the first time I've seen a teacher like you who gets greeted by students wherever you go. Do you have any secrets?" Han Zhou asked curiously.

"As long as you are willing to take the initiative to greet people more often, over time people will also take the initiative to greet you," Ouyang Lianyu said earnestly.

"Then let's forget about it." Han Zhou instantly lost interest. "Having to greet everyone I meet is too much trouble."

You know perfectly well that's not what I meant.

Ouyang Lianyu turned around and glared at him. Seeing him pushing the wheelchair with one hand, she couldn't help but look worried. "But is your hand really healed? Will it be a problem if you push my wheelchair like this?"

Han Zhou said confidently, "It's okay. My right hand is completely healed, and my left hand will be able to have the cast removed in a few days. I can't say much more, but pushing a wheelchair with one hand shouldn't be a problem."

Seeing his relaxed expression, Ouyang Lianyu gradually felt at ease. She couldn't help but recall the scene when he grabbed the rapidly sliding wheelchair and saved her. She smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

In the future, many people will be willing to greet such a person.

Han Zhou couldn't see her expression, so he couldn't help but ask, "So, Teacher Ouyang, what exactly do you want me to do for you? Now you can tell me, right?"

Although he successfully triggered the temporary mission, the mission prompt did not clearly state what he needed to do to help Ouyang Lianyu. It only said that he needed to fulfill her current wish, so he still did not know what he needed to do.

However, the mission reward was quite generous, a full twenty-five points, which gave him a lot of motivation.

Ouyang Lianyu smiled and said, "Come with me to buy some things."

"That's it?" Han Zhou asked, somewhat surprised.

Are points really that easy to earn now?
"of course not."

"What else?"

Ouyang Lianyu was silent for a while, then said sadly, "Actually, I have a blind date tonight, but my family is forcing me to go."

"and then?"

"But I don't want to participate."

"so?"

"So I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend and come home with me to meet my parents."

Han Zhou chuckled dryly: "No, teacher, that's not how you tell a lie. At least make your story believable. Who goes on a blind date in a wheelchair?"

He pondered for a moment, then solemnly advised, "In my opinion, you should make it up like this: say you had a fight with your parents, your relationship became very strained, and you haven't been in contact for a long time. However, you were deeply moved by what I said today, and suddenly had a profound realization. You feel that things shouldn't have turned out this way, and you shouldn't have any regrets about your relationship with your parents, so you want to mend your relationship with them..."

"Why are you looking at me like this?"

He felt that making the story this way made much more sense, but then he saw Ouyang Lianyu suddenly turn around and look at him with a ghostly gaze. He was startled and quickly admitted his mistake.

"I was wrong, teacher. I shouldn't have taught you how to lie. But what you said about blind dates was just too cliché..."

"The blind date was indeed fake. I just wanted to play a joke on you, but who knew you wouldn't fall for it."

Ouyang Lianyu didn't look away for a long time. She also wanted Han Zhou to experience what it felt like to be deceived, but her skill in talking nonsense was no match for this guy. She sighed and said, "But how did you know what I was thinking?"

Han Zhou was taken aback: "What are you thinking?"

"How did you know about what you just mentioned, the one about having conflicts with your parents?"

"I was just talking nonsense..."

Han Zhou looked puzzled, then suddenly realized what he'd said with a strange expression, "Could it be that I hit the nail on the head?"

Ouyang Lianyu nodded gently. A gust of evening breeze swept by, ruffling her hair, which she carefully tidied up.

Han Zhou was stunned: "You must still be joking, right?"

"No."

"That's a real shame, but this is a matter between you and your parents, and I probably can't help with it, can I?"

Ouyang Lianyu sensed the resistance in Han Zhou's words and said helplessly, "I didn't say I wanted you to do this for me. I just need you to be a laborer for one night."

"That's good."

Han Zhou was relieved, knowing he didn't need to get involved in other people's family affairs.

He pushed his wheelchair to the supermarket where he had bought fruit last time.

During this process, Ouyang Lianyu also briefly described the points of conflict between her and her parents. It was roughly that Ouyang Lianyu's parents used corporal punishment on her from a young age, had very strict requirements for her, and liked to impose their will on her. In the end, she couldn't stand it anymore, so she cut off contact with her parents.

The more Han Zhou listened, the more familiar it sounded. He realized this was exactly the family situation Gu Zheng had been rambling about on the day he first visited Ouyang Lianyu. It's true what they say, some people listen to stories while others see themselves in them; no wonder Ouyang Lianyu's expression was so complex back then, as if she deeply empathized…

Indeed, every family has its own unforgettable story.

Ouyang Lianyu didn't say much, and Han Zhou didn't ask any questions either. When they arrived at the supermarket, Ouyang Lianyu arranged for them to buy a lot of things, all sorts of random items, and he couldn't immediately figure out their purpose.

Although there were many items, they were not heavy overall. Clearly, Ouyang Lianyu's "doing manual labor" did not mean helping her carry things. She didn't even think about asking Han Zhou for help, and instead put the items on her lap.

The two went to the cashier to pay. Han Zhou was pondering the purpose of these items when he suddenly noticed Ouyang Lianyu gazing gently at the other cashier. He couldn't help but follow her gaze.

On the other side, a family of three was paying the bill.

A man placed a large pile of ice cream in front of the cashier, counted them, and realized something was wrong. He looked down at the round-headed boy and said, "Didn't we agree to nine yellow ice creams? Why did you only take eight?"

The boy was too short to see the cashier and couldn't count them to confirm, but he still shook his head seriously and said firmly, "No, I clearly took nine, not eight."

The woman beside him smiled and said, "There really are only eight. You took one less than you should have miscounted. Would you like to get another one?"

The man commanded, feigning seriousness, "Go and get it."

The boy nodded and quickly ran into the supermarket with his short legs.

But he ran back a little while later, anxiously saying, "Mom and Dad, I can't get it, I can't get the yellow ice cream."

"what happened?"

"I'm too short to reach the refrigerator." The boy's voice sounded a little aggrieved.

The people waiting to pay laughed, and the man couldn't help but laugh as he picked up the boy and tickled his round face with his stubble: "Who told you to always complain that Mom's cooking isn't good? Go back and eat more so you'll grow taller."

The woman gave him a disgruntled look and handed the food to the cashier to scan: "It's not good, is it? Then you can cook from now on."

She hesitated for a moment, then asked the cashier to give her a pack of cigarettes, which she then scanned and paid for along with the other items.

The boy in the man's arms finally managed to break free from the stubble, covered his face, and asked, "Mommy, didn't we forget one ice cream? Don't we need to get another one?"

The woman smiled and patted his head: "It's okay, Daddy likes Mommy's cooking, he doesn't like ice cream, it's alright if he eats one less."

The man's face instantly fell, but when he remembered that his wife had bought him a pack of cigarettes, a smile immediately returned to his face. His rapid change of expression drew attention.

An ice cream for a pack of cigarettes? Worth it!
Seeing the family of three pay and leave, Ouyang Lianyu smiled gently: "This family gets along so well."

Han Zhou also felt a strange warmth in this scene and smiled, "It is indeed quite enviable."

Ouyang Lianyu took out her phone to scan the QR code to pay, but suddenly remembered something and said, "Go get two ice creams too, the kind that the family just bought, we'll eat them on the way."

Han Zhou smiled and said, "Okay."

Both of them were touched by the scene of the family of three buying ice cream, so they deliberately bought two of the same ice cream to increase their participation, to the point that they overlooked an important thing—

"Why did you suddenly want to eat ice cream? It's keeping my hands busy."

On a park bench, Han Zhou feigned dissatisfaction and began to grumble.

Ouyang Lianyu felt a little embarrassed; she had indeed acted without thinking this time. But she still pretended to be calm and said, "What's wrong with that? Isn't it nice to enjoy the scenery in the park?"

She overlooked one thing: both she and Han Zhou were now "one-armed heroes," with their left hands basically unable to move. Since eating ice cream required holding it with one hand, they needed to use their right hands to hold the ice cream.

But this means that no one can free up their hands to push the wheelchair, which means they can't move during the process, let alone eat while walking.

Fortunately, there was a park next to the supermarket. Han Zhou quickly pushed his wheelchair to the bench and ate the ice cream before it melted.

Ouyang Lianyu was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Is your eating always so exaggerated?"

"hiss--"

Han Zhou ate too fast, his tongue shivered from the cold, and he gasped sharply, mumbling, "It's melting, to be honest."

The ice cream is pineapple flavored, looks like a small square brick, is cheap, and tastes pretty good.

Compared to Han Zhou, Ouyang Lianyu's eating manners were much more graceful. Like most girls eating ice cream, she sipped it slowly, occasionally exhaling a breath of cold air, her eyes slightly narrowed, looking like she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

She chuckled and said, "My family is very strict, so I've rarely eaten this kind of thing growing up. I always thought that once I grew up and had a salary, I would buy it and eat it every day. But I don't know why, after I started working, I did have some money, but it seems like I forgot my childhood dream."

There are so many things you can forget...

Han Zhou thought to himself, but didn't take it seriously, saying, "Different stages have different pursuits, which is perfectly normal. If you want to eat something, you buy it; if you don't want to eat something, you don't buy it. What's the point of having dreams?"

Ouyang Lianyu glanced at him: "You're right. If you want to eat something, you should buy it. That's what I did. So why did you blame the teacher just now?"

She held a grudge against Han Zhou's earlier complaint.

Han Zhou shrugged: "I'm not blaming you. It's really nice to enjoy the scenery in the park."

He looked towards the flower bed not far away, where there was also a family of three.

One of the park's streetlights was broken, making the path rather dark. A very young girl walked unsteadily in front, with her parents following a distance behind her.

The father, holding a flashlight, suddenly shone it high on the girl. The little girl was staring at the ground when she suddenly saw her shadow grow larger. She was startled at first, then excitedly opened her arms and made a "whoosh" sound, as if she mistook the shadow for a big monster.

The father quickly turned off the flashlight, and the enlarged shadow disappeared. The little girl paused for a moment, seemingly wondering how the big monster had vanished. She tentatively opened her arms and let out a soft "woo-woo".

The next second, as if in response to her call, her shadow reappeared, bigger and more ferocious than before.

The little girl paused for two seconds, then her face lit up with excitement. Seeing the shadow disappear again, she let out another "whoosh," and sure enough, an even bigger shadow appeared.

She excitedly turned back to look at her parents, waving her little hands joyfully, as if she felt she had superpowers.

In reality, there was no superpower involved. The father simply turned the flashlight back on after getting closer and caught the little girl just before she lost her balance and nearly fell.

The little girl was held in her father's arms, her two little hands dangling in the air. She stared at the ground for a while, then let out another "woo-woo," but the shadow monster did not reappear.

Her expression was somewhat blank, as if she was wondering why her superpowers had disappeared.

Han Zhou, sitting on the bench, chuckled. He suddenly thought of Lin Youya, the chuunibyou girl. She was probably just like that when she was a child, or even more so. She still hasn't given up on the fantasy that she might have superpowers.

Noticing his expression, Ouyang Lianyu took a small sip of ice cream, her gaze as gentle as the moonlight hidden in the sky, and said softly, "I told you the scenery in the park was pretty good, didn't I?"

Her voice was very low, as if she was afraid of disturbing this beautiful moment.

She would come to this park to sit in her spare time, because she would always see families taking a walk together. The smiles of the parents and children were very attractive to her, and they easily reminded her of the times she spent with her parents.

"It's really good."

Han Zhou finished the last bite of ice cream in one gulp, exhaled a breath of cold air, and said, "But Teacher Ouyang, shouldn't you tell me what you want me to do for you?"

Enjoying the scenery is one thing, but we mustn't forget our business.

(End of this chapter)