Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 202 Homeless
"Dude, I need to ask you something."

As Han Zhou noticed the group of flashy young men, they naturally noticed him as well, casting scrutinizing glances at him.

A tall, thin man with a buzz cut, smoking a cigarette, pointed to the door beside him and asked, "Do you know anyone who lives here?"

Han Zhou looked a little nervous, shaking his head as he continued up the stairs: "I don't know him, but I have seen him a few times."

After saying that, he quickened his pace and hurried upstairs, as if he didn't want to have anything to do with this group of people.

The man with the buzz cut immediately stopped him: "Do you know when this family will be back?"

"I don't know, maybe in a while."

Han Zhou spoke nonsense with a straight face, "I only recently moved here, and I've only met this family a few times."

He hurried upstairs, stood in the hallway and listened silently for a while. When he realized that the group of people showed no sign of leaving, he frowned.

I don't know where that cheapskate father lost money again, and now he's sent a different group of people to collect the debt. The problem is, these guys seem pretty dedicated. If they stay here all night, he won't be able to go home tonight.

"Looks like I need to find a time to move as soon as possible..."

He reaffirmed his determination to move. Getting rid of this group of people wouldn't be difficult; there were many ways to do it, but it would be pointless. Even if he drove one group away, another would come. As long as he lived there, unless he paid back the money, the debt collectors would always be coming to his door. He didn't want to waste his time dealing with these trivial matters.

He has no money now, and even if he did, he wouldn't plan to pay off Han Long's debts.

Fortunately, these people were all specifically heading to his house and didn't know him at all. They probably only knew this address, so they should be able to get rid of all the trouble left behind by Han Long after they move.

As for what happens to Han Long, that's none of his business. After all, that guy didn't consider his situation at all, and might have already assumed he was dead.

All this trouble was caused by Han Long. Han Zhou was too lazy to get involved. He planned to move after tonight and asked Lin Anyu to help him find a suitable place.

He hadn't considered contacting Mo Yixia, even though she owned a house in a residential complex. After all, considering the long term, living near Mo Yixia's house was clearly not a wise choice.

The same applies to living near a guzheng player's home.

After waiting in the hallway for quite some time, Han Zhou pulled himself out of his thoughts. He still didn't hear any footsteps leaving downstairs, but he could occasionally hear a few low curses and loud banging on the door, probably because they were getting impatient.

Han Zhou was getting impatient. When he heard someone downstairs asking if he wanted to go out for a late-night snack before coming back to wait, he realized he probably wouldn't be able to go home tonight. So he took out his phone, pretended to make a call, and quickly went downstairs.

"Don't rush off yet, I'm coming right away. I brought back some interesting souvenirs from my trip. Yes, I went to Yecheng this time, you didn't know..."

He walked quickly, and when he saw the crowd downstairs, he paused for a moment, as if wondering why they hadn't left yet. Then, looking as if he didn't dare to ask any more questions, he quickly looked away and hurried down the stairs.

The group of energetic young men exchanged glances, but none of them thought much of it and paid him any attention.

……

"With my current physical abilities, I don't know how many people I can handle at the same time. It would be difficult to do what Guzheng does, but as long as I keep my distance, I should be able to keep them completely at bay with my 'powerful throw'..."

The autumn night in Lincheng was tinged with a desolate chill. The ground was covered with withered yellow leaves, which fluttered in the wind, adding to the loneliness.

Han Zhou walked under the streetlights, one hand in his pocket and the other carrying his bag on his back, pondering the possibility of how he had just driven away the group of thugs with force.

Of course, he didn't actually intend to go back and fight those people. He was just idly imagining it. Most men dream of conquering the world with force. Sometimes he would think that if he hadn't transmigrated to modern society, he might have already been frantically increasing his combat power by relying on his status bar.

In Han Zhou's view, force is not the best solution to problems, but it is definitely the best last resort. You can choose not to fight, but you can't be ignorant of it. That's why he put a few tennis balls in his backpack before heading to the snow mountain, so that he could unleash the power of "powerful throw" at any time.

Speaking of the guzheng, it's a shame it was born in the wrong era; otherwise, it would definitely be a female general capable of taking on a thousand men...

Putting aside his chaotic thoughts, Han Zhou called Lin Anyu and briefly mentioned that he wanted to move. The latter immediately said that he would take care of it, and then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he lowered his voice and asked how many rooms he needed.

Han Zhou told the guy not to overthink things. He didn't have high requirements for the new place; he just wanted it to be somewhere in the best of times and not too expensive.

"Another expense of rent. Looks like I need to start earning money as soon as possible..."

Han Zhou was pondering this when he hung up the phone and remembered that he should ask Lin Anyu if he could stay at his place for the night. Of course, he wanted to save money on hotel accommodations. Just as he was about to make another call, he turned his head and saw a figure in a wheelchair under a banyan tree not far away.

He was somewhat surprised, slowed his pace, and quietly approached, patting the back of the wheelchair.

"Hello teacher."

The sudden noise startled the woman in the wheelchair. She shuddered and instinctively tried to stand up, but her aching left leg was not enough to support her weight, causing her to tilt uncontrollably. It looked like she and the wheelchair were about to tip over.

Han Zhou was dumbfounded. Although he had intended to scare the other person, he spoke at a normal greeting volume and really did not expect to frighten the other person like this.

He immediately steadied the wheelchair, making sure the woman was seated securely before letting go, and said with a wry smile, "Teacher Ouyang, I didn't expect you to be such a coward."

Having avoided falling to the ground, Ouyang Lianyu breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest to calm her racing heart, and then straightened her face.

She recognized Han Zhou's voice and turned around to see his smiling face. He first closed the book in his arms, then said with a serious expression, "Han Zhou, it's not right to scare your teacher."

Well, here comes the pretentious act again.

Han Zhou shrugged and said seriously, "I was just saying hello to you, teacher."

"Does anyone go up behind someone and greet them?"

"I was just afraid you wouldn't be able to hear me."

"The teacher only has poor eyesight, but her hearing is fine. Please don't do this again next time."

Ouyang Lianyu adjusted her glasses, giving off an intellectual and gentle vibe. As a farsighted person, she couldn't see many things clearly at night without her glasses.

I didn't forget to wear my glasses today...

Han Zhou muttered to himself, but didn't dare say it aloud. He changed the subject, saying, "By the way, Teacher Ouyang, what are you doing here? Did you forget your keys again?"

"No way."

Ouyang Lianyu was somewhat helpless. Perhaps it was because of the first impression, but this student was the only one in the whole school who liked to tease her about her forgetfulness. "I found a wallet around here and I'm wondering if I can wait for the owner to come back."

She took a black wallet out of the small white handbag on her lap.

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment, glanced at the wallet, and then looked surprised: "You actually managed to find a wallet?"

Ouyang Lianyu sighed and said in a helpless tone, "Are you saying that the teacher is an unlucky guy and shouldn't have found the wallet?"

Han Zhou looked down at the wheelchair beneath the other person and hesitated before asking, "Isn't that right?"

Ouyang Lianyu was speechless.

Her misfortunes were mostly due to carelessness, but in order to maintain her dignity as a teacher, she did not intend to explain this now.

Han Zhou sized up Ouyang Lianyu. Besides her handbag, there was a suspense novel on the teacher's legs, which were covered by her azure blue dress. She seemed to have been reading the novel to pass the time. Perhaps she was quite nervous, which explained why she was so frightened.

He thought to himself with a sigh that using a wheelchair wasn't without its advantages; at least he could find a place to sit wherever he went. He asked curiously, "Professor Ouyang, do you still enjoy reading this kind of novel?"

Noticing the other person's gaze lingering on her legs, Ouyang Lianyu shook her head: "I found this book along with my wallet, and I was a bit bored, so I flipped through it." "How is it?"

"Ok?"

"I'll talk about the novel's content."

“It’s quite interesting,” Ouyang Lianyu replied. “This is the first time I’ve read this type of novel. The story is very engaging, but…”

"It's just a little scary?" Han Zhou continued her words.

"Um……"

Ouyang Lianyu blushed slightly and nodded in acknowledgment, somewhat embarrassed.

Han Zhou chuckled: "Isn't it scary to be waiting for the owner here so late at night? Besides, these days hardly anyone uses a wallet, right?"

We live in a mobile payment society where almost all transactions can be completed via mobile phone. Few people carry cash, so the use of wallets has decreased relatively, and even fewer people use them or lose them.

Furthermore, no matter how careless a person is, they wouldn't leave such a large book behind. Han Zhou couldn't help but become suspicious and started to imagine all sorts of scams, such as the so-called owner holding the wallet and saying that the money inside was missing and needing compensation.

This world is not innocent; he had heard of and even seen far too many scams in his previous life.

Moreover, regardless of the circumstances, it was extremely unsafe for Ouyang Lianyu, a woman with limited mobility, to be left out alone late at night.

Ouyang Lianyu understood what Han Zhou meant. Although she had never been deceived, she still had a high level of vigilance. She would even leave a pair of men's slippers outside her door, though she had considered whether there was something wrong with that.

She explained calmly, "I checked the wallet, and there was a lot of money inside, so it shouldn't be fake. Besides, I don't plan to wait too long. I'll leave in ten more minutes, otherwise the owner will be very anxious if they come back and don't see the wallet."

"Maybe they're just waiting for you to check their wallet, so that if they leave fingerprints or something, they can say you took their money..." Han Zhou speculated sinisterly.

“Your thoughts are too dark…” Ouyang Lianyu was startled by his words.

"There's something even darker going on. On a dark and windy night when no one's around, it's not impossible that a group of people could suddenly appear, kidnap you, and take your kidney."

Han Zhou's expression darkened slightly, and he said in a sinister tone, "Teacher, you probably didn't live around here before, so you may not have heard of the rumors about the 'Midnight Butcher.' It is said that..."

Ouyang Lianyu grew increasingly frightened as she listened, and quickly interrupted him, "I told you not to scare the teacher!"

Han Zhou suppressed a laugh and stopped talking. Actually, he wasn't trying to scare Ouyang Lianyu. There had indeed been rumors about the Midnight Butcher in the area before, but the Midnight Butcher didn't kill people; he killed people's pet dogs.

He took out his phone, glanced at the time, smiled, and said, "It's only ten minutes anyway, so I'll wait here with you for a while, teacher."

Ouyang Lianyu paused for a moment, then her expression softened: "Thank you."

"It's nothing, but I remember you said you usually live near the school, so why are you here again?"

My aunt lives here.

Ouyang Lianyu didn't explain further, but instead asked, "And you, carrying a bag out at night, are you planning to go to an internet cafe?"

As a teacher, she habitually made connections in that direction.

"Why would you bring a bag to an internet cafe?" Han Zhou chuckled, half-jokingly saying, "My house has been taken over by a group of strangers, so I'm homeless tonight. I'm planning to spend the night under a bridge."

He put on a pitiful, sighing expression.

"Don't always lie to your teachers," Ouyang Lianyu said helplessly. "You need to show them more respect."

"I'm telling the truth," Han Zhou said earnestly.

Ouyang Lianyu rolled her eyes at him: "Including living under the bridge?"

"Hmm... if there's really nowhere else to go."

"Okay then, if you can send a photo of yourself living under a bridge to prove you're really homeless, you can stay at my house for one night."

Han Zhou was stunned: "Really?"

“Of course it’s true. Do you think your teacher is as prone to lying as you are?” Ouyang Lianyu shook her head, a helpless smile on her face. “Of course, the premise is that you have to prove that you are really homeless.”

It was clear that she did not believe Han Zhou's explanation.

Han Zhou shrugged, as if suddenly remembering something, and opened his backpack to take out a rabbit doll: "Teacher, this is for you. It's a souvenir I brought back from Yecheng. It's said to bring good luck."

It's rare for him to travel so far, and he brought back a lot of souvenirs. The one he has in his hand is also a Leaping Rabbit doll, but it's different from the one he gave to Ya Ya; this one has blue eyes.

It has to be said that the vendors at tourist attractions are really good at talking. Although they don't completely swindle people, they are very good at sales pitches. It was clearly a common tactic of offering lower prices for bundled purchases, but it still gave Han Zhou the feeling that he had made a great deal, and he bought three Leap Rabbit plush toys in one go.

He planned to give the last one to Xiao Xiaoxiao, whose arrogant demeanor was somewhat similar to that of the Leaping Rabbit.

"For me? Thank you..."

Ouyang Lianyu took the doll with a slightly bewildered look and asked in confusion, "You went to Yecheng to climb the snow mountain?"

"how do you know?"

"When you were young, you traveled a lot, including to Yecheng. This doll seems to be from the foot of the Five-Colored Snow Mountain, right?" Ouyang Lianyu examined the leaping rabbit doll in her hand, her tone tinged with nostalgia.

"Teacher, you are indeed very knowledgeable. You can recognize this at a glance." Han Zhou was filled with respect, and then he said with emotion, "But I didn't expect that this doll has been sold for so many years. I can actually see something that you saw when you were young."

Ouyang Lianyu was stunned for two seconds before she realized what she meant: "Are you saying that the teacher is old?"

"To be precise, I'm a little curious."

Han Zhou tentatively asked, "I heard that you are the youngest professor in the school, but I'm not quite sure how old you mean by 'youngest'."

He was indeed curious. Ouyang Lianyu's intelligence was as high as eight points, which could be considered a genius. However, judging from her forgetful behavior, this intelligence did not seem to be reflected in her daily life. Perhaps it was concentrated in a certain field.

Perhaps this is why they were able to become a professor so early.

Unfortunately, Ouyang Lianyu clearly didn't want to answer his question, and earnestly instructed him: "Han Zhou, you can't just ask a girl's age, especially an older woman. You clearly have good relationships with so many pretty girls, don't you even know this?"

Towards the end, her tone became somewhat teasing.

Han Zhou's expression turned serious: "Teacher, you said yourself that you can't ask about the age of 'older women,' but you look much younger than me. People would believe you if you said you just turned eighteen. Even so, can't I ask?"

"A complete liar."

Ouyang Lianyu sighed helplessly, a gentle smile quietly curving her lips.

Even though she knew it was nonsense, any girl would be happy to be told she looked young.

(End of this chapter)