Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 167 Literary Girl
The dusk deepened.

Although it wasn't completely dark yet, the huge full moon was already high in the sky, occupying a prime position in the dim heavens, silently watching over everything on earth.

The lamplight shone softly, illuminating the desk and the short-haired girl writing furiously in front of it, casting her slender shadow on the white wall.

The blue dolphin pendant around her neck shimmered slightly, as if it were blinking as it gazed at the moon outside the window.

There was a sudden knock on the bedroom door, and a muffled voice came from outside.

"Guzheng, it's time to eat."

"Okay, I'm coming right away!"

Gu Zheng responded loudly, put down her paper and pen, tidied up the books on her desk, picked up her phone and glanced at it. Seeing no new messages, she hummed softly, then stretched her arms and neck and walked out of the bedroom.

Seeing his daughter studying all afternoon, Gu Lang, wearing an apron at the dining table, looked distressed and forgot to continue tasting the hot soup in his spoon. He said with a pained expression, "I'm telling you, girl, it's already Mid-Autumn Festival and you're still cooped up in your room studying all day. At least come out and talk to your dad."

"What's there to talk about with you?"

Before Guzheng could even speak, Miao Yan'er came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming plate of food in each hand, and said with a smile, "You're always so lazy and you don't even have anything in common with Xiaozheng. I'm afraid that if I talk to you too much, you'll corrupt her. Don't just stand there, go to the kitchen and bring the rest of the food over."

"According to the order!"

Miao Yan'er held absolute authority in the family, and Gu Lang, who held the position of the younger brother, dared not disobey. He hurriedly went into the kitchen and came out with a smug look on his face. He had obviously thought of something and raised his voice, saying, "Hey wife, who said that my daughter and I don't have anything in common? I can totally talk to her about that brat Han Zhou."

What else could this be but a common topic?
Gu Zheng was serving rice to everyone in front of the rice cooker. Two specially made large bowls were for her and Miao Yan'er, while the remaining normal-sized bowls were for Gu Lang—this was a family where the size of the bowl determined one's status. Upon hearing this, she glanced back at her father, then looked away, as if she didn't want to talk to him.

"See? I told you you two have nothing in common."

Miao Yan'er shook her head and chuckled softly. As she took off her apron, she sat down. As if suddenly realizing something, a look of alertness flashed in her almond-shaped eyes. She asked strangely, "Wait a minute, you never used to call Han Zhou 'brat' before. Even when he took your favorite floral shirt last time, you didn't call him that. Why did you suddenly change how you address him?"

Her gaze sharpened. "Tell me, is there something you're hiding from me about Han Zhou?"

Gu Lang's heart tightened. Having a wife with keen insight was not a good thing, especially when she held absolute dominance at home.

He disliked Han Zhou because of the fact that Han Zhou had booked a hotel room with Gu Zheng, but he dared not say it out loud. Otherwise, not to mention what would happen to Han Zhou, Gu Zheng would definitely ignore him for several days because of his slip of the tongue.

Didn't you see that the girl wasn't going to give him any more rice?
His mind raced, and he sat down with a disgruntled expression, snorting, "We've prepared mooncakes for that kid, and even made a meal for four people, but the Mid-Autumn Festival is almost over, and that kid hasn't even bothered to greet us. What else could he be but a brat?"

"You have a bad memory! Han Zhou has been busy these past few days and can't come to our house. Didn't I tell you that already?"

Gu Zheng subconsciously defended Han Zhou, sternly placing a bowl of rice heavily in front of him, and said irritably, "He asked me to wish you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival for him, and said he would bring us Yecheng specialties when he comes back the day after tomorrow."

The father and daughter exchanged a knowing glance.

"Did Han Zhou run off to Yecheng?"

As expected, Miao Yan'er was drawn to this question and asked, "What is he going to Yecheng for?"

Gu Zheng handed her the specially made large rice bowl, then sat down with his own large rice bowl in his arms, shaking his head and saying, "He must have something important to do. I didn't ask him for details."

"What important things could a student like him have to do? It couldn't be something as simple as going on vacation, could it?"

Gu Lang sensed something was amiss and said with a look of exasperation, "Gu Zheng, I'm not trying to be mean, but something's definitely up. How can you not find out the truth about this? Aren't you worried about which girl he went out with?"

When he said the last sentence, he deliberately adopted a sinister tone.

Gu Zheng's expression changed slightly. She buried her face in her rice bowl and retorted, feigning composure, "What's there to be afraid of? Where Han Zhou goes is his own business. I don't care. Besides, he doesn't know many girls..."

"You're talking about high school. University has been in session for a month now. Can you guarantee that he hasn't been flirting with any female classmates during this time? Even if he's not interested in any girl, can you be sure that no girl has any designs on him?"

Gu Lang sneered and said in a tone of someone who had been there all along, "You think only men are lustful, huh? Let me tell you, with that brat's face, it's perfectly normal for girls to have their eyes on him..."

Before he could finish speaking, a chopstick swept past him like a javelin and landed firmly in the rice bowl in front of him, almost completely submerged in the rice.

He was sweating profusely and dared not say another word.

Across the table, Miao Yan'er said with a smile, "Honey, aren't you getting a bit off-topic? You're talking about these two kids, why are you bringing up other people? Oh, and give me back my chopsticks."

Gu spent some effort pulling the chopsticks out of the bowl, then respectfully handed them to the other person, chuckling awkwardly, "Hahaha, I couldn't help myself, I couldn't help myself..."

He looked at the guzheng again, his expression suddenly changing, and said earnestly, "Anyway, that's the gist of it. Since you like that kid, you need to have a sense of crisis and urgency. Don't play that 'confess when you're about to die' kind of thing in TV dramas. Your mother and I don't object to you dating at this time, um... you should understand what I mean, right?"

Miao Yan'er nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "We really don't object. Although I personally think that girls need to maintain a certain level of modesty, taking the initiative is not a degrading thing. If it were me, Han Zhou would have to stay at our house tonight."

Gu Zheng kept her face buried in the bowl, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment of silence, she protested somewhat guiltily, "Who said I like him?"

So you didn't listen to a word I said!

Gu Lang clutched his chest in anguish. "I don't want you to like that kid at all, but it's obvious to everyone that you do. Otherwise, why do you think we'd tolerate him being with you?"

He felt it was necessary to make some things clear to this silly girl. If it were before, it would have been fine, but now that the two of them were sleeping in the same room, wouldn't this silly girl be at a disadvantage if they weren't together?
No, being together would be a loss for you!

That brat Han Zhou!
He pondered for a moment, then gently coaxed, "Guzheng, we won't stop you from striving to be number one in everything, but you have to be fair... This might not be quite right, but you can't ignore something as important as love. Aren't you afraid that someone will secretly rank up for you when you're not looking?"

"Secretly ranking up?" Gu Zheng looked up at him with some confusion.

"She was flirting with that guy when you weren't looking, don't think that kind of thing doesn't happen, back in the day..."

Noticing that someone was about to throw down their chopsticks again, Gu Lang wisely refrained from bringing up the events of the past. Instead, he said, "Just think of it as an imaginary rival flirting with that kid. You can't expect others to be exchanging glances while you're still 'uncertain' about whether you like him or not, can you?"

He got more and more excited as he talked, but Miao Yan'er suddenly stopped him: "Alright, it's not like you're dating, why are you worrying about all this? Just eat your food."

Gu Lang was taken aback, only then noticing that Gu Zheng had fallen into deep thought, holding a huge rice bowl and staring blankly at the moon outside the balcony.

……

"Everyone says that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for family reunion, so what kind of relationship do you think it is between the two of us snuggling together like this?"

The full moon hangs high in the sky, and a cool breeze brings a refreshing coolness to the night.

Han Zhou tightened his coat and said irritably, "Putting aside the nature of the situation, how is our current state related to cuddling?"

At this moment, he and Mo Yixia were sitting on a park bench near the hotel. The park was quite lively late at night. Luckily, they arrived early, otherwise they might not have been able to find a good spot to enjoy the moon.

"Aren't our shadows nestled together?"

Mo Yixia remained calm, placing her hands on her lap and looking at her shadow on the ground, saying, "In some ways, sometimes shadows are more honest than people."

Han Zhou chuckled and said, "Find a dark place; they might be more honest there."

“By then, the body should be the only honest thing to do.” Mo Yixia raised her chin, looked at the moon in the sky, and suddenly asked, “If you considered the moon as a light, and the switch was in your hand, would you choose to turn it off?”

Han Zhou looked suspicious: "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Nothing, I just think it sounds more literary to talk like this." "What, has this innocent high school girl switched careers and wants to become a literary girl?"

"First of all, innocent high school girls and literary girls are compatible, there is no such thing as changing careers. Secondly, I have always been proficient in literature, I just haven't shown it yet."

Han Zhou chuckled dryly twice: "Judging from your usual choice of words and sentence structure, literature and you shouldn't have much to do with each other..."

"You do not believe?"

Mo Yixia looked at him, calmly brushing a strand of hair aside. To be honest, if you only look at her temperament, this girl does have the air of a literary young woman.

But that's just what it looks like.

"Believe it, of course I believe it."

Han Zhou was well aware of the precautions to take when talking to this guy: don't talk back or ask too many questions, and it's best to just agree with whatever he says, so as not to be led astray.

"If you believe me, then answer my question: if you had the switch to control the moon, would you turn it off right now?"

Han Zhou pondered for a moment, about to answer, when he suddenly remembered the other person's remarks about the moon's lack of freedom last night. He said warily, "Could this be a trap question? The correct answer should actually be that the switch that controls the moon does not exist. Shouldn't someone like me, a mere paramecium, have such empty fantasies?"

"You tend to complicate simple problems and simplify complex ones... That's probably why you're so indecisive," Mo Yixia sighed. "It's not a trap, just tell me your answer."

The moon hung high in the sky, motionless, as if it too was waiting for Han Zhou's answer.

"Is that so... then I won't turn it off."

Han Zhou didn't think for long and chuckled, "How can the Mid-Autumn Festival be without a moon?"

"is it?"

Mo Yixia glanced at him. "As products born to embody the human spirit, what's the difference between the essence of festivals and romantic destinations? Qixi has evolved into a festival to celebrate love, and its greatest significance on that day is actually to boost consumption and increase hotel bookings. Someone doesn't really like romantic destinations, but doesn't seem to have much dissatisfaction with these festivals."

"What's there to be dissatisfied about?"

Han Zhou shrugged and said nonchalantly, "At least the advantage of holidays is that you get time off, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here today. But from what you're saying, do you really hate Qixi Festival?"

"You can say that."

Mo Yixia nodded in deep agreement, "After all, I've never celebrated Qixi Festival before. If I can contribute to boosting consumption and increasing hotel occupancy rates next year, then I won't dislike it anymore."

Han Zhou: "..."

He suddenly remembered something and recalled, "Speaking of which, your birthday this year was the day before Qixi Festival, I think you celebrated your birthday according to the Gregorian calendar..."

"Yeah, what a coincidence," Mo Yixia said regretfully. "It would be so much better if it were like this next year, with my 18th birthday on the first day and Qixi Festival on the second..."

"Alright, alright, no need for that 'contributing to increasing room occupancy rates' talk." Han Zhou interrupted expressionlessly, then countered, "And you? If you held the switch to control the moon, would you turn it off?"

"Of course I will."

Mo Yixia raised a hand to shield the moon from her eyes and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Since the moonlight is mine, why should I let others see it?"

"You really are quite arrogant."

Han Zhou shook his head and chuckled, then stood up and said, "Alright, it's getting late, it's about time to head back."

"Ah."

Mo Yixia stood up as well, adjusting her skirt as she remarked, "The temperature difference between day and night in Yecheng is really significant."

“Who says otherwise?” Han Zhou tightened his coat and nodded in deep agreement. “It’ll probably be quite cold on the snow mountain tomorrow, shouldn’t we wear more clothes?”

Mo Yixia fell silent.

"We don't know if we'll encounter any danger. Should we find a guide or something?"

Mo Yixia didn't say anything.

"You didn't actually make a plan at all, did you?"

Mo Yixia remained silent, seemingly unwilling to acknowledge him.

Han Zhou glanced at her a few times, unable to tell if she was really angry, and couldn't help but smile. As he took off his coat, he said, "I told you not to bring a coat, and you didn't just say you were cold, you had to beat around the bush... What, are you unhappy?"

Mo Yixia naturally took the jacket and put it on before saying, "I'm not upset, but if it weren't for your request, I would have worn my school uniform jacket today, so it was originally your responsibility."

Han Zhou's coat was clearly a bit too big for her, but it didn't make her look bulky. In front of Han Zhou, she unabashedly pulled up the collar, lowered her head, and sniffed it, revealing a thoughtful expression.

Han Zhou's face darkened, and he almost snatched the coat away: "What are you doing?"

"It is said that people with kidney deficiency have a very faint body odor. If my odor overpowers yours when we return to the hotel, it means that my pulse diagnosis last night was correct."

"Ha, can't it just be that you have a strong body odor?"

Han Zhou sneered and said irritably, "Are you sure this is something a literary girl would do?"

"Positions? I haven't researched that yet... But literature girls are human too, so it's not strange what they do."

Mo Yixia spoke calmly, then turned to look at him and suggested, "Are you cold? Why don't we walk side by side?"

At this moment, Han Zhou was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. He was a little cold, but he was now immune to all diseases, so he was fearless.

"It's not cold, but if you're really worried about me catching a cold, then walk a little faster instead of sniffing around like a police dog."

Mo Yixia ignored her, but quickened her pace slightly. After walking for a while, she said, "The smell on your clothes is fading."

"And then?" Han Zhou sighed, giving up the fight.

"As I said, this is a manifestation of kidney deficiency."

"I already said it's because of your body odor... Never mind, you can continue."

"Your reaction was calmer than I expected, but it's certainly not something to be ashamed of; you can face it with equanimity."

Mo Yixia patted his shoulder reassuringly, then opened her palm to cover the moon in the sky, making it look as if the moon had disappeared.

Light seeped in through the gaps between my fingers.

If you cover your eyes with one hand, the world goes completely dark, as if someone has turned off the lights.

"After all, I don't mind."

(End of this chapter)