Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 19 Childhood Sweethearts Are Not as Good as a Gift from Heaven
The sudden accident startled many people, and there was an uproar in the main hall. The moment the lantern fell, some people were already preparing to call 120.

Fortunately, all was well and no harm was done. Lin Youya was not only unharmed, but also seemed to be psychologically unharmed, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

They looked at the handsome young man in a suit and sunglasses.

Most people clearly saw what happened and understood why Lin Youya was rescued. The scene was quite shocking, almost like a scene from a movie, enough to make anyone remember it for a long time.

The situation was incredibly dangerous. A slight miscalculation could have resulted in the gun hitting the girl along with the lantern. This guy was truly skilled and daring; I wonder if he ever considered the consequences of a mishap.

Regardless, it's a good thing that the person was rescued, and after the brief commotion, the scene returned to calm.

Seeing Lin Youya go upstairs, the guests belatedly realized what was happening and rushed over to offer their concern. Lin Pingyan stood at the top of the stairs, repeatedly thanking everyone for their care and expressing deep regret for the earlier accident that had startled them.

When they heard the news, Lin Youya's mother and Lin Anyu's mother were inspecting the birthday cake in the kitchen. Upon hearing that Lin Youya had almost been injured, the two of them rushed over in their high heels.

Seeing that his daughter was still lively and energetic, Chen Qiu's eyes turned red. He hugged Lin Youya tightly and refused to let go. The latter was almost out of breath and quickly called for her father, Lin Pingyan, to protect her. Then, she ran upstairs as if her little legs were escaping for her life.

Lin Anyu didn't need to deal with guests and was a little worried about the guy, so he took Han Zhou upstairs with him.

Lin Pingcheng is no longer here. He left a short while ago with a cold expression, most likely to go and hold the hotel manager accountable.

Although they requested the installation of these lanterns, the hotel was responsible for the installation. Given this accident, the hotel undoubtedly bears a great deal of responsibility.

The birthday party quickly returned to normal.

What happened downstairs was clearly none of Lin Youya's concern. At this moment, she stood forlornly in front of the railing, looking up at the bright lights on the ceiling.

"Lin Datou".

She raised her small, fair hand, as if trying to grasp the scattered lights, and said wistfully, "Don't you think life is like these lights? Bright and dazzling, yet impossible to hold onto, you can only watch them slip through your fingers..."

Lin Datou, Lin Datou, are you still not done yet?
Lin Anyu took a deep breath, but considering that the girl had just been frightened, he was too lazy to argue with her. He said irritably, "Where did you learn such stupid things? Stop thinking about your so-called superpowers. Properly thank people. Brother Han Zhou saved you. This is basic courtesy."

Lin Youya was displeased and pouted, saying, "I've already thanked you!"

"This isn't just saying thank you; it's a proper, heartfelt thank you. When you say thank you, you're practically rolling your eyes to the sky. Can you call that thanking me?"

"Who told him to steal my superpowers..." Lin Youya knew she was in the wrong, but she still muttered to herself, still feeling unconvinced.

Lin Anyu's forehead veins bulged, and he wanted nothing more than to flick this guy on the head, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to do it, and could only smile wryly at Han Zhou beside him.

"Sorry, this girl is sometimes like that. Well... just think of it as her having trouble accepting reality. You know what it feels like to have your dreams shattered, right? Anyway, don't take it too seriously."

Han Zhou was looking down at the crowd, as if searching for something. Hearing this, he smiled and shook his head, saying, "There's nothing to mind. Your sister is very cute."

"It's my cousin! Humph!"

Lin Youya felt pleased with herself for receiving the praise, but she showed disdain on her face and turned her head away from Han Zhou.

She wasn't unaware of her own importance; she knew this man in sunglasses was her great benefactor. However, she had just recently acted arrogantly, and now she felt a little embarrassed to thank him in a low voice.

Lin Youya was treated like a little princess at home, and everyone doted on her. So, while she wasn't exactly spoiled and willful, she was still a little bit pampered.

However, when she recalled her mother wiping away tears downstairs and her father offering helpless comfort, she hesitated for a moment but still felt that she should indeed thank them properly.

The main characters in action-packed anime are all grateful and quick to admit their mistakes; she wants to be like that too!

Just as Lin Youya was about to speak, footsteps suddenly sounded on the stairs. She thought it was her mother coming up, but it turned out to be a strange older sister.

Lin Anyu also noticed the newcomer and asked in surprise, "Guzheng?"

Han Zhou was stunned. He had been looking for the guzheng in the crowd, but couldn't find it after a long time. He was wondering if Meng Feixiang had made a mistake. He didn't expect that the guy was actually here.

“I told my uncle we were classmates, so I came up here. Didn’t expect that, did you?”

Gu Zheng wore a long blue dress, revealing half of her straight and slender calves. Her shoulder-length short hair seemed to radiate a dark luster under the light. She wore a string of silver fish-shaped pendants around her slender neck, and her collarbone was perfectly delicate. The small fish at the end of the pendant hung down just to the center of her collarbone.

She smiled happily, her bright eyes naturally forming two crescent moons. With her hands behind her back, her wheat-colored skin complemented her blue dress, radiating youthful vitality.

"This girl looks quite pretty today..." Han Zhou thought to himself, then asked, "What brings you here?"

Gu Zheng nodded to Lin Anyu in greeting, and then replied, "My mother brought me here. We heard there would be lots of good food, so we came. I only recently heard that the party was organized by Lin Anyu's relatives."

"But why haven't I seen you?"

"I just went out."

Gu Zheng waved her phone with a regretful look. "I heard you guys were going to do some kind of spy show, and I was all ready to take pictures. Who knew it would end before it even started? I heard about what just happened. You're pretty amazing."

She gave a thumbs-up in praise.

Han Zhou sensed something was wrong and frowned, saying, "No, who told you about the spy performance?"

Gu Zheng said, "Lin Anyu even asked me if I wanted to borrow a video camera, saying that it would be clearer to film."

Both of their gazes fell on Lin Anyu, who, without anyone noticing, was looking up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle, leaning on the railing, and said with a melancholy expression, "You know, isn't life like these lights? Bright and dazzling, yet impossible to grasp, you can only watch helplessly as they slip through your fingers..."

"Don't copy me!"

Lin Youya glared angrily and kicked him hard.

This kid really was trying to trick me...

Han Zhou silently made a grudge, when he saw Lin Youya suddenly abandon Lin Anyu and go to Guzheng's side, saying in a clear voice, "Sister, you are so beautiful!"

She tilted her head back, her face full of excitement, "It looks like a character from my favorite anime!"

"Really?" Guzheng liked children very much, and asked with a smile, "What role is it?"

"She's the second female lead in 'The Spy Who Loved Me'!"

Gu Zheng's smile faltered slightly, and she asked again, "Why not the female lead?"

Lin Youya was stunned for a moment: "Because they don't look alike. The female lead has long hair, while my sister and the second female lead both have short hair."

"What if my sister also grew her hair long? Would she look like the female lead?"

"It still doesn't look like her. The female lead is very fair-skinned, and the older sister's skin tone is more like the second female lead's."

Gu Zheng was silent for a moment, seemingly somewhat unwilling: "What if my sister whitens her skin?"

Lin Youya thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head again, saying, "The personality isn't right either; the female lead is very cold..."

She didn't understand why this beautiful older sister was so fixated on this question.

Han Zhou felt a sharp pain in his teeth, knowing that Gu Zheng was acting up again. Whenever it came to things involving ranking or order, this guy would get incredibly stubborn and would argue about who was first, second, third, and fourth, even if it was just verbal.

Lin Anyu also noticed something was wrong and quickly said, "Actually, some TV shows don't have a distinction between the female lead and the second female lead, right, Ya Ya?"

"Of course not... Hmm? What's wrong with your eyes?"

Lin Youya was a little puzzled and shook her head, saying, "The second female lead doesn't have as many scenes as the first female lead, she can't beat the first female lead in a fight, and in the end she can't even steal the male lead's thunder. Otherwise, why would she be called the second female lead?"

Seeing that everyone was staring intently at her and seemed to care a lot about what she was saying, Lin Youya perked up and continued to enthusiastically explain the science.

"And another thing, the second female lead is usually the male lead's childhood sweetheart. Although she has spent more time with the male lead and may even know everything about him, she always loses when a beautiful girl suddenly appears. That's what they call 'childhood sweethearts are no match for a girl who appears out of nowhere'!"

Han Zhou glanced at Gu Zheng's expression, and after a moment of contemplation, she said coldly, "Take another look. Actually, it's still the older sister who's more like the female lead, isn't it?"

"No, no."

The little girl didn't understand the concept of reading between the lines and stuck to her initial judgment. She was shaking her head when suddenly her eyes lit up, and she looked downstairs with great excitement.

"Long, straight black hair! That lady looks more like the female lead!"

(End of this chapter)