Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 146 "Ignorant of Death"

It was almost one o'clock when Han Zhou and Gu Zheng started eating. By then, the cafeteria had become deserted, with only a few tables of people scattered around the windows.

Some cafeteria windows were already packing up, but luckily Guzheng's favorite ramen shop was still open. She excitedly ran over and ordered a large bowl of ramen and a small bowl of ramen, plus two fried eggs.

Although it's called ramen, it's actually just thicker, ordinary noodles, and the taste isn't anything special. The main reason Guzheng likes this restaurant is because the portions are generous. Basically, the size of the bowl determines the amount of noodles, and there are no vegetable leaves or anything to fill the bowl. A small portion is usually enough for most people.

For the guzheng, the biggest advantage of its large size is that it means you don't have to go to the cafeteria lady for more food as often as you do at other windows.

Han Zhou also quite liked this shop because the soup was delicious. Regardless of whether it was carefully simmered early in the morning, it was quite unique compared to most noodle shops where the taste was almost identical.

However, apart from that, there was nothing special about it. Whether it was the few scallions garnishing the soup bowl or the meager slices of thin beef in the bowl, it was no different from any other noodle shop.

Han Zhou deliberately chose a spot near the fan. Although it was already autumn, the temperature wasn't too cool yet, so eating while enjoying the fan would prevent him from sweating.

As he ate his noodles and drank his soup, he looked at the guzheng across the table, whose head was almost completely buried in its bowl, and said with a wry smile, "Aren't you afraid of getting burned?"

Gu Zheng didn't even raise her head, and made a muffled sound: "It's not hot, I've already cooled it down."

Although she was eating heartily, her attention was focused on something else entirely—

At a table not far from them.

At the same table, a man and a woman sat facing each other. They ate quietly, without talking to each other, only occasionally glancing up at each other. If their eyes met, they would quickly look away and not look up again for a long time.

They both ate very slowly, seemingly trying to make their time together last longer.

Gu Zheng can conclude that even if these two are not a couple, they are definitely in a stage of mutual affection. As long as one of them dares to muster the courage to take a step, they can be together.

But both of them seem quite shy...

She was anxious watching, but just then, the boy suddenly made a move. He put down his chopsticks, took out two movie tickets from his pocket and hid them behind his back. He took several deep breaths before raising his voice and calling out the girl's name.

Guzheng strained her ears and barely managed to make out their conversation.

"Lin Min!"

"Ah...ah?" The girl's hand holding the chopsticks trembled, clearly at a loss, and she asked nervously, "What's wrong?"

"Um... are you free this weekend?"

"It should...it should...be there is, right?"

Are you interested in movies?

Seemingly realizing something, the girl's face flushed slightly: "Yes... if it's not a war movie..."

"what?"

The boy's expression changed, and his hand, which was about to take out the movie ticket, froze behind his back.

Gu Zheng's face darkened. "Idiot! Who invites a girl to watch a war movie?"
The girl clearly noticed the boy's odd behavior and quickly realized what was going on, whispering, "Um... actually, war movies would be good too..."

The boy was overjoyed and quickly took out the movie tickets, but when it came to this crucial step, he became extremely nervous and stammered, "There's a war this weekend, let's go see it together!"

The air fell silent instantly.

The boy quickly realized he had said the wrong thing and was so embarrassed that he couldn't speak. His hands hung stiffly in the air, and the movie ticket in his hand was crumpled.

However, the girl didn't mind his slip of the tongue at all; instead, she found it rather cute, covered her mouth and smiled, and nodded gently.

"Okay."

She carefully pried the boy's hand open and took the movie ticket.

On the other side, Gu Zheng watched with a big smile, thinking that this was much better than the boring and melodramatic dramas her father watched. Just then, Han Zhou, who was sitting across the table, suddenly spoke.

"Guzheng."

"what happened?"

Are you free this weekend?

"Probably not, I'm going to the library to study..."

Gu Zheng kept her head buried in the bowl, answering casually, but suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence, looked up sharply at Han Zhou, and awkwardly changed her words, "I'm free, I'm free on Saturday and Sunday, by the way, I don't have class on Friday either! Cough cough cough!"

She choked on the noodles in her mouth.

Han Zhou was startled: "If you don't have class, you don't have class. Why are you so agitated?"

Fortunately, Guzheng quickly recovered. She lowered her gaze, stealing a glance at Han Zhou's hands to see if he was hiding anything, and casually said, "Anyway, I'm free this weekend, what's up?"

Han Zhou pondered for a moment: "Are you interested in movies?"

Movies...?
As this familiar scene unfolded before her eyes, Gu Zheng's heart suddenly raced. Her gaze drifted elsewhere, and she said with feigned composure, "It's alright, but if it's a horror movie... well, no, I mean I love watching horror movies!"

She learned from the experience of the girl she had just met and decided to give up setting any barriers in the choice of movies, so as not to make Han Zhou feel embarrassed to invite her to a movie. However, she didn't care if it was a horror movie. Not to mention horror movies, she would be willing to go even if Han Zhou invited her to watch a boring educational film.

After all, although this guy had gone out with her many times, he had never invited her to see a movie...

"You? You like watching horror movies?" Han Zhou looked at Gu Zheng with suspicion.

"Can't you?"

Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, Gu Zheng remained stubbornly persistent, "Let me tell you, I used to be unable to sleep every night without watching a horror movie..."

Perhaps feeling she had gone too far, her voice sounded somewhat guilty.

"Really? No wonder you've been feeling sleepy lately."

Han Zhou chuckled. How could he not know Gu Zheng's courage? This guy was fearless, except for ghosts and monsters, something they both knew perfectly well.

Gu Zheng didn't say anything, but she was a little excited. She thought to herself that this guy had just asked her if she was free on the weekend and mentioned movies. Now it was time to take out the movie tickets, right?

To everyone's surprise, Han Zhou seemed to have completely forgotten about it, and didn't bring it up again until the two finished their meal.

Gu Zheng panicked, realizing that Han Zhou was definitely doing it on purpose. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. However, she was holding a bowl in one hand and a plate in the other, so she couldn't free up her hands to hit him. In the end, she simply headbutted him on the back.

Han Zhou turned to look at her, and asked blankly, "What's wrong?"

"What else!" Gu Zheng glared at him fiercely. "Didn't you ask me if I was free this weekend? I was free, and then what?"

There's no use in being reserved in front of this despicable guy.

"Oh."

Han Zhou seemed to have just remembered, "I'm going to Lin Anyu's school this weekend, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

What are you going to their school for?

Gu Zheng was taken aback, then remembered the key point, looked at him suspiciously, and muttered, "Besides, what does this have to do with whether I'm interested in movies or not..."

"Have you forgotten? Lin Anyu studied film."

Gu Zheng paused, her initial excitement vanishing instantly, replaced by a sense of disappointment at unfulfilled expectations. "So, are you going?"

“Of course I’ll go,” she said, pouting.

She'll definitely go. It's not like she can only be invited to the movies by this guy; she can invite him back. She'll drag him into the theater when the opportunity arises...

But I'm still really unwilling to accept it...

Han Zhou placed the plates and bowls in their designated places. Seeing that Gu Zheng was looking sullen, he smiled and asked, "Why are you still unhappy?"

"No."

"Your unhappiness is written all over your face, how can you say you're not upset?"

"If I say no, then I mean no."

Gu Zheng turned her head away dejectedly, leaving Han Zhou with only the back of her head.

Han Zhou smiled, then suddenly sighed, saying with some distress, "Sigh, speaking of which, Lin Anyu gave me two movie tickets. He was planning to have me go with him, but he seemed to have something to do that afternoon, so he gave them to me. I don't know who I should ask to go to the movies with me now. It's a headache..."

Gu Zheng immediately turned her head back, not saying a word, but just staring straight at him.

"Why are you looking at me like this?"

Guzheng stretched out her hand.

"what?"

Han Zhou was punched.

"Why did you hit me?"

He got punched again.

"..."

"You don't actually want movie tickets, do you?"

After taking several punches in a row, Han Zhou didn't dare tease Gu Zheng anymore. He smiled wryly and said, "I haven't even gotten there yet. How can Lin Anyu give me the tickets? I can only get them after the weekend. How about we go see them together then?"

He had overheard the conversation between the man and woman before, so he could naturally guess what Gu Zheng was thinking.

No.

There's no need to guess; this guy's thoughts are written all over his face.

The claim that Lin Anyu gave them the tickets was obviously false. The two men had never gone to the movies together before; it was Han Zhou's last-minute decision, and he planned to buy two tickets later.

"That's pretty much it."

Seeing that Han Zhou finally knew to take the initiative to invite her, Gu Zheng was satisfied. She smiled and turned her head back, feeling happy.

Forced? What kind of forced?
This guy clearly did it voluntarily!
However, just as she walked briskly out of the cafeteria, she suddenly heard Han Zhou's light, airy voice.

"Oh right, I remember it was a horror movie, which would be perfect for you."

Gu Zheng's face stiffened.

……

Gu Zheng originally planned to go straight back to the library, but then she heard that many clubs were recruiting new members at Hongyun Square, so she decided to go and take a look, and even dragged Han Zhou along.

Hongyun Square is located not far from the girls' dormitory building. The space is not very large; to put it bluntly, it's just an open space. I don't know why it's called that.

At this time, many parasols were set up in the square, and under the parasols were tables. Next to each table was a sign with the name of a certain club or organization. Club members in charge of recruitment sat in front of the tables, greeting the freshmen who came and went with enthusiasm.

It's easy to distinguish between freshmen and seniors. Someone like Gu Zheng, who looks around with curiosity written all over their face, is obviously a freshman, while someone like Han Zhou, who looks numb and only thinks about when they can leave, is most likely a senior.

Although he is not.

In his previous life, Han Zhou joined a skateboarding club when he was in college. He was pretty good at skateboarding, but most of the people in the club were rather undisciplined. They didn't organize many activities, and later they developed a "check-in and leave" model, with skateboarding becoming a tool for checking in and getting around.

He personally didn't like this atmosphere and quit not long after.

To be honest, when it comes to clubs, Han Zhou still envies the kind of clubs he had in Japan in his previous life. High school students could develop their interests and hobbies in all aspects, and if they were determined, they could even develop some club activities into future careers. Both the fun and practicality of these clubs were more in line with his expectations.

However, he didn't know much about university clubs in this world, but he figured they should be similar to those in China in his previous life, otherwise the differences would be noticeable in movies and TV shows.

Seeing Guzheng looking around like a curious child, Han Zhou asked in surprise, "Didn't you already decide to join the dance club? Why are you still so interested in these clubs?"

"What's wrong with seeing it? Didn't you tell me to balance work and rest?" Gu Zheng said confidently.

"It's definitely worth seeing."

Han Zhou nodded. Putting everything else aside, the variety of clubs in this world was at least much greater than in his previous life. There were magic clubs, detective clubs, mechanical clubs, and even a divine intervention club... He was completely stunned by what he saw.

The last one seemed quite mysterious. Han Zhou initially thought the main activity was researching rituals for invoking deities, wondering how the school could even approve this. Later, he learned that "Demonic Descent" was a cosplay club named after a certain anime in this world...

In short, there are indeed many different kinds of university clubs, and they seem quite interesting, but it's hard to say how many of them are truly legitimate.

While looking around, Han Zhou suddenly saw a muscular man standing not far away holding a sign, who seemed to be there to recruit new members for his club.

However, this sign was clearly different from those of other clubs; it was made of cardboard, and the handwriting on it was quite elegant, reading "Paranormal/Extreme Sports Club is recruiting."

Han Zhou quickly recalled the six famous figures from Lin University that Ouyang Lianyu had mentioned, and combined with the name above the muscular man's head, he quickly realized who this guy was—

Zhang Tao, one of the six famous figures of Linyi University, is known for his "ignorance of life and death".

To be honest, the title sounded rather strange, but from the moment Han Zhou saw the other person, he felt that this guy named Zhang Tao was probably capable of extreme sports and was probably a fitness enthusiast, with muscles that looked like they could kill a bull.

Zhang Tao is very tall, almost 1.9 meters. Although he is all muscle, he has a surprisingly handsome appearance. He has a wolf tail and his bangs are just about to cover his eyes, making him look rather dashing.

It was obvious that many people in the school had heard of Zhang Tao's legend. Even those who hadn't would probably be hesitant to approach him after seeing the two club names on the sign. For a moment, Zhang Tao was all alone.

Han Zhou overheard people whispering that Zhang Tao was pitiful, but he didn't think so. How should he put it... if he were standing there holding a sign that read "Cattle and Horse Gang" and recruiting people, he'd probably suffer the same fate...

He wasn't trying to belittle Zhang Tao's hobby; he just felt that if those people truly pitied Zhang Tao, they could join him and support each other, which would surely become a beautiful story in the future.

Seeing Han Zhou lost in thought, Gu Zheng asked him what he was looking at, so Han Zhou briefly told her about the deeds of the six famous figures, and then quietly led her to another place.

Guzheng is absolutely qualified for extreme sports. But if Zhang Tao suddenly runs up to her and says something like, "I see you have extraordinary talent and are a prodigy in extreme sports," then she'll be in trouble.

Although the probability of this happening is almost zero, Han Zhou still decided to take precautions.

Gu Zheng was of course not interested in extreme sports. She looked around curiously and suddenly saw a familiar figure. She nudged Han Zhou next to her.

“Look over there, that’s Xiaoxiao.”

The 20,000 words in three days starts from this chapter.

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(End of this chapter)