Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 21 How is this possible?
It was almost 8:30, and the main hall was bustling with activity, as if a large party was being held.

Although the spy show was canceled due to the previous accident, there were other entertainment programs. Since they were not created by Lin Anyu, most of these programs were childish, but fortunately none of them were so ridiculous that they made people dig their toes into the ground.

Lin Youya's family clearly dotes on this child, and these programs were probably organized to cater to her preferences.

The hotel had recently sent people to thoroughly inspect all the facilities, especially the lanterns fixed to the railings. After a sincere apology, the main hall was quickly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Han Zhou quite liked this atmosphere.

His childhood was not good, in fact, it was terrible. His father was a gambler who rarely communicated with him. People would come to collect debts every few days, so moving was a regular occurrence. He was either moving or on his way to move until he was in high school when they finally moved back to their old house.

Because of constantly moving, Han Zhou had hardly any friends growing up, and he had never celebrated his birthday before high school.

If it weren't for the fact that he had the soul of an adult inside his body, he might have developed an autistic personality long ago.

Han Zhou was quite interested in seeing how rich kids celebrated their birthdays, but unfortunately, he could only dream about it. Gu Zheng had been so aggressively vying for the lead role, but she inexplicably backed down after only a few words, looking completely dejected.

Many people around had already noticed what was happening. After all, Han Zhou had just made a big splash, and he was very handsome. His guzheng was also very beautiful, so it was hard not to attract everyone's attention.

Han Zhou was at his wit's end, but no matter how he tried to soothe Guzheng, she wouldn't listen. He nervously looked around, afraid that Guzheng's mother might suddenly appear.

That guy is a real power player. It's said that he holds absolute power at home, and can control everything. Even the guzheng is no match for him. Behind his back, people call him "Empress Dowager".

Although the Empress Dowager treated him well, she treated Guzheng even better. If she saw her daughter being wronged, even if nothing happened today, he would not escape a beating when he came to visit tomorrow. It was not impossible for him to be beaten behind closed doors.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou couldn't help but shudder and immediately came up with a strategy.

The best course of action now is for him to pretend to be distraught, so that Guzheng's mother will suspect that they have quarreled, and perhaps she will listen to his explanation before taking action.

Thus, the three, each with their own thoughts, inexplicably fell into a collective silence, leaving Lin Anyu, who was hiding upstairs watching, bewildered and his expression becoming increasingly strange.

Lin Youya had been dragged away by him with her mouth covered not long ago. He was afraid that this guy would stay here and stir up trouble. Although he was not sure, Guzheng was probably depressed because she thought of the "childhood sweetheart" and "female lead and female supporting role" settings. He didn't know if Han Zhou had really not noticed or was pretending not to notice.

Moreover, the birthday banquet is about to begin, and as the main character of the banquet, it is time for Lin Youya to make preparations. He has just handed the girl over to his aunt.

The girl was very reluctant to leave, and in her desperation, she even hugged Han Zhou's leg and pretended to be pitiful. However, Han Zhou just slowly pried her fingers apart, forced a smile, and said, "See you later."

But Lin Anyu understood his expression; he clearly didn't want the girl to go near the guzheng again, and was obviously afraid.

After a long silence, Han Zhou couldn't help but glance at Gu Zheng. This guy had been keeping his head down and not saying a word since the beginning, looking like a wilted eggplant. Even the "full of energy" status in his status bar had changed to "disturbed".

He couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

If being stubborn can be considered a charming trait of the class monitor, then an excessively competitive spirit is undoubtedly not a good thing.

Gu Zheng seems to have an extraordinary obsession with being number one. Whenever rankings are involved, even if it's just a joke in other people's eyes, she will take it very seriously. She basically won't participate in topics like "who is the most beautiful". She will not give an inch in anything that can be won through hard work.

This certainly made her very outstanding, but it also caused her to lose a lot in return.

Imagine if someone argued with you about everything, even if you were just joking, they would argue fiercely to the bitter end. How would you feel?
Unfortunately, this person is just that outstanding. You can't think of anything about yourself that makes you better than them. You might be able to admit it once or twice, but if it happens too often, you'll feel uncomfortable.

Perhaps some of what the other person said was just stubbornness, but most of it was the truth. He is indeed better than you in every way, like a mountain pressing down on your head, and he never compromises, making it hard for you to breathe.

Gu Zheng is such a person.

It's very stressful to be around someone like that, especially since she doesn't know what humility is at all. She seems to be constantly boasting about how excellent she is and emphasizing that others are not as good as her.

Even if it's true, many people find it hard to accept, and quite a few say behind her back that she's pretentious, so they can only keep their distance.

This is precisely the main reason why Lin Anyu said she was difficult to get along with.

Moreover, as the class monitor in high school, Gu Zheng often unconsciously imposed her own desire to be number one on the whole class, forcing everyone to work together.

Although this was a sign of self-discipline and she was always extremely responsible to the class, it was still disliked by others. Nobody wanted to watch her do the test, let alone do it with her.

Han Zhou didn't know if this counted as a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although he was used to it, he still felt a headache sometimes.

Many people in the school know Guzheng, but only he can get along with her without any worries. He knows her personality well and they rarely talk about ranking issues. If they do, he quickly backs down. It's just a pity that Lin Youya doesn't know this.

Actually, it would have been fine if this girl had only mentioned the second female lead, but the key point is that she later referred to someone else as the female lead, which is undoubtedly a "provocation" to Guzheng and will arouse her competitive spirit.

It's fair to say that there's a reason why the guzheng possesses the skill of "always striving for first place," and it's precisely because of this that the guzheng has reached its current state. Seeing that Han Zhou remained silent, Mo Yixia couldn't help but say, "As a tutor, it's your responsibility to answer my questions."

"That's not the kind of question I need answered."

Han Zhou glanced at Jiang Baiqian, who was watching them from a distance, and vaguely guessed what she was thinking. He tentatively asked, "Are you just making conversation for the sake of it? Are you worried that your mom will find out we're done chatting and drag you away?"

Mo Yixia pretended not to hear and said calmly, "Answer my question."

Is this guy angry again?

Han Zhou was completely baffled, so he could only helplessly explain, "My class monitor is quite competitive and thinks the role of the female lead is more suitable for her... In short, she took what the child said seriously, that's about it."

Although Han Zhou's answer was vague, Mo Yixia roughly understood it by combining it with what the child had just said, and was somewhat enlightened.

However, she no longer needed to bring this up, and asked to confirm, "Class monitor?"

"Yes, she was my class monitor in high school, and she was number one in both academics and sports."

Han Zhou tried to cheer Gu Zheng up with praise, a method that had always worked before, but unfortunately it didn't seem to be very effective now. Gu Zheng was as still as a block of wood, unable to listen to anything.

Mo Yixia nodded to indicate that she understood, but her next sentence was a blow: "I heard that you two are a couple."

Han Zhou nearly bit his tongue, his eyes widening in disbelief as he asked, "Who told you that? Was it Lin Anyu?"

Only that kid could do something like that.

At the same time, Guzheng finally came to her senses, suddenly looked up, as if she had just woken up, her little mouth slightly open.

“It was my mom who said it. She said it was a rumor at your school.” Noticing Gu Zheng’s reaction, Mo Yixia added slowly, “By the way, she also said you two are a perfect match, a match made in heaven.”

This statement is obviously made up. Jiang Baiqian may have meant it that way, but she never said anything like that.

That's nonsense. It's more like everyone at school is saying I'm Guzheng's most loyal simp. When did the idea of ​​us being a perfect match come about?

Han Zhou looked at her with disbelief and suspicion: "You believe such baseless rumors? I thought you weren't a gossip person."

"Unfounded rumors?"

Mo Yixia pulled down the brim of her hat to block her eyes. "But I feel like your class monitor doesn't think that way."

Han Zhou turned his head and was startled.

Gu Zheng suddenly raised her head, as if she had been fully revived. The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, and her bright eyes seemed to be shining, but she was somewhat absent-minded, as if she had been lost in thought again.

"Guzheng? Guzheng? Class monitor?"

Han Zhou felt inexplicably flustered and quickly patted her shoulder, urging, "Speak up! Prove our innocence!"

Gu Zheng then came to her senses and asked, "What's wrong?"

Han Zhou angrily accused, "She said we were a couple."

"Huh? How is that possible! Impossible, impossible, I would never date in high school."

Gu Zheng shook her head as if in agreement, but it didn't seem like she was denying it. Instead, it looked like she was saying to others with a sweet expression, pretending to be modest, "Oh, he's not that great. He's always clinging to me and it's driving me crazy."

She gently stroked the fish-shaped pendant around her neck, a slight smile playing on her lips, her demeanor returning to one of "full of energy," seemingly having completely forgotten about the lead and second lead actresses.

"But you're not high school students anymore."

Mo Yixia's gaze became subtle, and she said meaningfully, "Moreover, psychology shows that when someone repeats a word multiple times, it means..."

Han Zhou took a deep breath and interrupted her with an even more meaningful tone.

"Motor behavior analysis indicates that your mother seems to be calling you."

(End of this chapter)