Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 142 Photosynthesis
After the advanced mathematics class, Gu Zheng appeared on time and carried Ouyang Lianyu downstairs in her wheelchair. She made an appointment with Han Zhou to have lunch together in the cafeteria before returning to the library to continue studying, without stopping at all.

She walked with a brisk pace, the blue dolphin pendant around her neck swaying, looking like she was in a hurry.

"Unbelievable, a girl like Guzheng has such great strength..."

As Gu Zheng left, Ouyang Lianyu sighed sincerely, "I couldn't believe it when she offered to carry me upstairs the day before yesterday, but now I realize I underestimated her."

She felt that Guzheng didn't seem to exert much effort when she was carried up and down the stairs.

Han Zhou casually said, "It's mainly because you're not heavy, teacher. It wouldn't be so easy for someone else to play the guzheng."

“If it were anyone else, there would be no need to bother her.” Ouyang Lianyu shook her head. There was no one else but her who could injure her leg twice in a row.

She didn't move her hand, and Han Zhou didn't touch the wheelchair, but the wheelchair was moving slowly.

Xiao Xiaoxiao was pushing the wheelchair. Because she was not tall, she was almost completely hidden behind the wheelchair, with only half of her head showing. She had a small bump on her forehead, which looked rather comical.

Han Zhou walked slowly beside the two.

It has to be said that the three of them walking together are quite attractive, and they get a lot of attention on the street.

One is in a wheelchair, another has a cast on his hand, and yet another has a bump on his head. The key point is that all three are quite good-looking, making it hard for such a group not to attract attention.

Han Zhou's relationship with Xiao Xiaoxiao and Ouyang Lianyu has improved, and he can see their charm. Both of them have a charm score of seven, which is not as stunning as an eight-point charm, but they can still be considered two different types of beauties. The former is cute and the latter is gentle, each with its own merits.

The status bar's assessment of charm is clearly not based entirely on looks; temperament is also part of the criteria. It has to be said that this scoring system is quite convincing. People with a seven-point charm are those who become more attractive the more you look at them, rather than those who are stunning at first glance but then have no distinguishing features like typical internet celebrities.

As soon as Ouyang Lianyu turned around, she could see Xiao Xiaoxiao's small face so close to hers. She gently advised, "Xiaoxiao, why don't you go to the school hospital to get checked out?"

"I'm not going," Xiao Xiaoxiao said lazily, yawning. "It's just a bump, it doesn't hurt, it'll be fine tomorrow."

"I wonder who was trying to sleep on the table when they suddenly jumped up in pain," Han Zhou said meaningfully from the side.

"You talk too much!"

Xiao Xiao glared at him fiercely, "That's because you touched the wound. Your hand wound will hurt just as much if you touch it!"

Han Zhou seemed not to hear him and said cheerfully, "A little pain isn't without its advantages. At least you didn't feel sleepy in the last two classes, and you were so energetic that your eyes were red. But what did you do last night? You looked like you hadn't slept well."

This was also a question Ouyang Lianyu was concerned about, so she asked, "Xiaoxiao, did you stay up late last night?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao's expression of dissatisfaction vanished, her eyes looked away, and she shut her mouth without saying a word.

"Xiaoxiao?" Ouyang Lianyu asked again, "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient for you to say?"

"No...it's not very convenient..."

"If it's inconvenient, that's fine, but this can't be done in class anymore."

After a pause, Ouyang Lianyu said softly, "If you have anything on your mind, you can come and talk to your teacher. I will help you find a solution."

"okay."

Xiao Xiaoxiao lowered her head, clearly somewhat absent-minded.

Han Zhou glanced at her a few times, wondering if this girl was still thinking about her stolen takeout. Perhaps she went to the school gate to wait for it late at night?
Otherwise, what else can they do if they stay up all night?
While pondering, Ouyang Lianyu suddenly pointed in a direction and said, "Stop for a moment, look over there."

Han Zhou stopped and looked in the direction she was pointing. In the distance, there was a conspicuous circular lake with ripples spreading outwards. Sunlight shone on the water, making it look as if it were plated with a layer of broken gold.

Benches stand by the lake, and a few willow trees grow here and there. Thousands of willow branches hang down, and the tips of the branches and leaves lightly touch the lake surface. Whenever the wind blows, it will gently stir the water, breaking up the shimmering reflections and creating ripples.

"So lovely……"

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up. If it weren't for her pride, she might have already run to the lakeside to get a closer look.

"This must be Lake Angel, right?"

Han Zhou remembered that Zhong Ling seemed to have mentioned this name before.

“That’s right.” Ouyang Lianyu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and chuckled, “Legend has it that if you’re lucky, you might see angels flying out of the lake at night.”

"It's too far-fetched for an angel to fly out of a lake; it's more likely to be a mermaid or a water ghost..."

Han Zhou shook his head inwardly, his gaze slowly shifting. Suddenly, he saw a slender figure by the lake. Although he couldn't see her face clearly, judging from her back, she was probably a very beautiful girl.

The girl stood motionless by the lake, bathed in sunlight, looking exactly like the willow tree beside her, her body becoming the trunk and her hair the branches, as if she had been standing there for a very long time.

It's unclear where her gaze was directed.

Noticing Han Zhou's gaze, Ouyang Lianyu adjusted her glasses and stared at the girl's back as she said, "That's Wang Lengqiu."

The tone was somewhat complicated.

"'The Princess Who Never Smiles'..."

Han Zhou murmured to himself, then joked, "Teacher, when did your eyesight get so good? You can see people this far away so clearly?"

"My eyesight is bad, but I'm not blind. I wear glasses, so how could I not see clearly?"

Ouyang Lianyu gave him an annoyed look and continued, "Wang Lengqiu often stands by Angel Lake in a daze. I've seen her many times, so I know it's her."

Han Zhou asked curiously, "Do you know what she's trying to do standing there?"

"I don't know. As I said, he's a very quiet child who doesn't like to talk to people. Even when he does speak, he always says things that are hard to understand."

Ouyang Lianyu was somewhat dejected. "Since she was able to get into Lin University, it means that there is no problem with her intelligence. I have talked to her many times, but I still can't change her speaking habits. This is my dereliction of duty. If she could communicate with people properly, she wouldn't have been ridiculed by so many people back then."

Wang Lengqiu was ridiculed not only for being fat, but also for her strange behavior, which made her out of place at Lin University and a complete oddball. That's why she was ridiculed by so many people. Ouyang Lianyu always felt that she was partly responsible for this.

Xiao Xiaoxiao noticed her self-blame and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Ouyang, is Wang Leng... Senior Wang your student?"

"I guess so." Ouyang Lianyu nodded. "I used to teach their class physical education."

"You? In PE class?" Han Zhou looked at her with a look of utter disbelief.

Xiao Xiaoxiao said discontentedly, "Your eyes seem to be saying that Teacher Ouyang is not qualified to teach PE..."

Although she thought the same thing, she wouldn't show it; that's what maturity is!
Han Zhou immediately denied it, saying righteously, "I didn't say anything, you said it yourself."

"I really don't have the ability to teach physical education classes well."

Ouyang Lianyu clearly didn't mind their conversation, shaking her head and saying, "I only relayed a message for a PE teacher once when I went to the playground, so I guess you could say I temporarily filled in for a few minutes."

Han Zhou was startled, then chuckled, "You dare to treat others as your students after only a few minutes of substitute teaching? You're being way too nosy!"

However, he vaguely understood why so many students were willing to take the initiative to greet Ouyang Lianyu.

As the other person said, when you take the initiative to greet people more often, people will naturally be more willing to greet you in return.

Xiao Xiao glared at Han Zhou, thinking to herself that this idiot really didn't know how to talk, and that she still had to rely on herself. She changed the subject and asked, "Teacher Ouyang, did you talk to Senior Wang afterwards?"

Ouyang Lianyu hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly, "I guess you could say that."

"What do you mean?"

If you said it, you said it; if you didn't say it, you didn't say it. What does it mean to say something?
"It means we've spoken, but only once."

"Why? Doesn't she want to talk to you?" Xiao Xiaoxiao said angrily. "That's too much!"

“That’s not it,” Ouyang Lianyu said softly. “It’s not that she doesn’t want to talk to me, but that I don’t know how to talk to her.”

"What does this mean?" Xiao Xiaoxiao was confused.

Ouyang Lianyu didn't know how to explain, so she thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don't you try going and saying a few words to Wang Lengqiu?"

"Sure, but what should we say?" Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't refuse.

"I don't know, you can try it however you like, just be careful not to bring up the past."

"it is good!"

Full of confidence, Xiao Xiaoxiao immediately let go of the wheelchair and walked towards the lakeside, while Han Zhou grabbed the wheelchair armrest to prevent it from rolling off.

"Thank you."

Ouyang Lianyu noticed his actions.

"It's nothing." Han Zhou shook his head, staring in the direction where Wang Lengqiu was.

He was somewhat at a loss for words to describe his feelings at that moment.

Although he was far away, he could still see the words "Unlockable" above Wang Lengqiu's head, which meant that this was another character that the status bar indicated could be unlocked.

In the past, he would probably have been overjoyed, but things were different now. He had no shortage of sources of points and there was no need to provoke another problem girl. Moreover, judging from Ouyang Lianyu's words, this senior student probably had a serious problem, and he had no intention of getting close to her for the time being. As he was thinking, a small figure appeared before him. It turned out that Xiao Xiaoxiao had returned. She was hanging her head, looking defeated, like a wilted eggplant.

"How is it?" Ouyang Lianyu asked.

Xiao Xiaoxiao shook her head dejectedly, her big eyes filled with confusion.

Han Zhou asked strangely, "You didn't even get to talk to anyone?"

"Nonsense! I spoke up!" Xiao Xiaoxiao quickly retorted.

"Oh? What did you say?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I asked her what she was doing standing there..."

"And then? What did she say?" Han Zhou urged. "Say something!"

"What's the rush? If you're so capable, go ask him yourself!" Xiao Xiaoxiao was clearly anxious, afraid that Han Zhou would laugh at her and try to trick him into falling into a trap.

Han Zhou wasn't fooled. He looked at him with pity and said, "Could it be that they're just ignoring you?"

"How...how...how dare you! Do you think I'm as annoying as you?!"

"Then why are you embarrassed to say how others answered you?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao's voice faltered, and she lowered her head unwillingly, her lips trembling slightly.

"What?" Han Zhou moved his face closer.

"She said she was photosynthesizing, and that if anyone wanted to grow taller, they could do it with her! That's all!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao yelled at Han Zhou, "You clearly heard what I just said, and you were still laughing to yourself. Don't think I didn't see it!"

She was so angry that her face turned red. She went to Ouyang Lianyu's side and said with a displeased look, "I even felt a little sorry for Senior Wang before. She was clearly making fun of me for being short..."

Ouyang Lianyu quickly explained, "You misunderstood, she didn't mean that."

Han Zhou pondered for a moment, then kindly reassured him, "Actually, what they said isn't entirely unreasonable. From a scientific perspective, sunbathing can indeed help a person grow taller..."

"You don't need to tell me that!" Xiao Xiaoxiao said fiercely, "I was practically hanging in the field as a scarecrow in high school, and I was still only this tall!"

Han Zhou wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he could hear a hint of grievance in her voice.

He looked at the other person for a moment with surprise and asked, "So you've been sunbathing for a long time?"

"Otherwise what?" Xiao Xiaoxiao pouted. "Unlike you, who's all sickly."

"Then why didn't you get much of a tan?"

"Naturally beautiful!" Xiao Xiaoxiao raised her head, a smug look on her face.

"I'm really sorry, I'm also naturally beautiful."

Han Zhou placed his right palm on his head, then moved his palm forward, slowly sliding down in an arc to the top of the girl's head, the height difference clearly visible.

He said with a look of shame, "Besides, I haven't really been in the sun much."

"I bother!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao's forehead veins bulged. That bitch!

"Babyface!"

"Little bean."

"Babyface!"

"Little bean."

"..."

Seeing the two bickering back and forth, Ouyang Lianyu's frustration dissipated a little, and she couldn't help but laugh, "You two have such a good relationship, it doesn't feel like you just met."

"not good at all!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao subconsciously denied it, but for some reason, she couldn't muster any objection.

Han Zhou felt the same way.

...They seem to have known each other for a long time.

Ouyang Lianyu's gaze softened as she said expectantly, "If only Wang Lengqiu could talk and bicker with people normally like you guys someday."

Han Zhou collected his thoughts and asked in confusion, "So, teacher, when you say 'not speaking properly,' do you mean an answer like saying 'we are doing photosynthesis'?"

To be honest, this is starting to sound a bit like a mental illness.

“Yes, but that’s not all. And if you can’t keep up with her train of thought, you can’t keep communicating with her,” Ouyang Lianyu said with a wry smile. “That’s why I can’t communicate with her.”

Hearing this, Xiao Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, and she urged, "Pretty boy, why don't you give it a try? You're not bad looking, and you're full of sweet talk. Maybe you can get to talk to Senior Wang a few more times?"

Han Zhou gave her an annoyed look: "I can let everything else go, but where did you get the conclusion that she's 'full of sweet talk'? Besides, I'm not going to go looking for trouble."

This little brat has no good intentions. He doesn't want to go over to Wang Lengqiu and hear her say, "Let's do photosynthesis together." Just thinking about it is terrifying, like having grass growing on his head.

Ouyang Lianyu hadn't held out much hope anyway, and said, "Alright, there's really no need to disturb this child. Let's go."

Han Zhou turned his head and took a deep look at the girl by the lake before walking away.

A new unlockable character...

I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to interact with them again...

……

At 8 p.m., Han Zhou returned to his dorm room carrying a large pile of takeout food, just like before.

The other roommates were all there. Seeing him return with so much barbecue, Chen Long couldn't help but say smugly, "I knew there would be a late-night snack tonight. I deliberately saved room for later. How about that, wasn't that wise?"

Han Zhou laughed and said, "That was indeed a wise move. Tonight is probably the last time I'll bring you guys barbecue for a late-night snack, so eat more."

Chen Long's eyes lit up: "What? You've got it done?"

Chen Zheng and Huo Zhencheng also looked curious. They had both heard about Han Zhou's "delivery thief elimination plan," and they immediately understood what he meant: "Did someone steal a delivery tonight?"

“There is indeed one less than expected,” Han Zhou nodded. “I asked the store, and they confirmed that they did not send one less than expected.”

Even if the takeout hadn't been stolen, he didn't plan to let Lin Anyu continue ordering takeout. It was not only expensive, but eating barbecue every day would also be harmful to his health.

Even those super spicy chicken wings that were thrown away were a bit of a waste.

As for whether the takeout was stolen, or whether it was stolen by the same thief who stole Xiao Xiaoxiao's takeout last time, none of that matters. He doesn't necessarily have to complete Xiao Xiaoxiao's "mission".

However, if they do manage to find the guy who stole the takeout by sheer luck, is it possible to use the mission detector on Xiao Xiaoxiao and turn finding the takeout thief into a temporary mission to earn points?
Han Zhou gestured for the others to come over and eat barbecue, then said to Chen Zheng, "Chen Zheng, keep an eye out for news at school and see if anyone has been hospitalized because of the spiciness."

He actually felt that doing this was pointless, but he still strictly followed Lin Anyu's "takeout thief elimination plan" to make that guy feel involved, otherwise wouldn't the money be wasted?
Whether or not we can find the person is secondary.

"Okay," Chen Zheng readily agreed.

"Oh, right, everyone should remember one thing."

As if remembering something, Han Zhou reminded them, "Whether or not we find the delivery thief, you absolutely must not tell anyone that I bought the super spicy chicken wings for the delivery thief. Just say that I like to eat them myself, understand?"

"No problem." Chen Long picked up a skewer of lamb and asked while eating, "But why do you say that?"

Han Zhou didn't explain for the time being. He said this in advance to prepare for the worst, saying, "I'll tell you the details later. Just remember to keep it a secret."

"it is good."

Everyone readily agreed and sat down to eat barbecue together.

Han Zhou, as before, brought the remaining barbecue to Gu Zheng and Zhong Ling.

At this point, all the unlockable characters in the outline have appeared. Considering that the rate of point acquisition cannot be too slow, there are only two people without Mo Yixia, and Zhong Ling will lose points. Therefore, without considering the store, a total of four unlockable characters were initially set.

Another point is that I never said this was a redemption story. My initial idea was to make the unlockable characters special, but my writing skills are limited, and it's difficult to make them special. So I could only add the setting of troubled girls. But even so, I might not be able to make them very special...

But no matter what, one thing is certain: these characters do not need to be saved by the protagonist. Although they may have problems to some extent, they have their own unique personalities and lives and do not need to depend on anyone. That was my initial thought.

Of course, ideas are one thing, but whether they can actually be written down is another matter entirely. All I can say is I'll do my best...

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(End of this chapter)