Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 217 I Have No Friends

At 2 p.m., the weather suddenly turned cloudy.

The sky visibly darkened, the azure sky was painted with a gray hue, and the once gentle wind became fierce, blowing down large swaths of withered yellow leaves.

"Autumn is indeed the season when everything withers."

Mo Yixia leaned against the headboard. Having eaten and drunk her fill, she didn't put her mask back on. She just quietly looked out the window and uttered a few words of quiet reflection.

With her deep eyes, languid tone, and slightly melancholic lines, if she were holding a book, she would undoubtedly be a quintessential literary young woman, without a doubt.

That's because you only see decay.

Han Zhou smiled. He was standing by the window. Besides the old tree with hardly any leaves left, he could see the woman downstairs collecting quilts and a group of children playing hide-and-seek outside, completely ignoring the woman's warning that it was going to rain.

At their most active age, rain is not a problem for these carefree children; it might even become part of their play.

Han Zhou watched with great interest as the children hid in all directions, and even witnessed a girl climb up a tree with remarkable agility, hiding her small body behind the thick trunk.

It's just like the guzheng from my childhood, he thought.

"Han Zhou, what are you looking at?"

Seeing Han Zhou's lips curl into a smile, Gu Zheng became curious, threw off the covers and got up, picking up the IV drip in one hand, preparing to go to the window to take a look.

At the same time, she saw that Mo Yixia in the next bed also lifted the blanket, got up and picked up the IV drip, seemingly intending to get out of bed to check on her as well.

Their eyes met in the air, then looked away.

Gu Zheng snorted inwardly. She was now certain that this girl was her rival in love. She didn't want to pay attention to her, but she soon noticed the other girl's careful movements as she got out of bed, and hesitated for a moment.

She seemed to have mentioned that she had injured her foot...

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Zheng reluctantly walked up to Mo Yixia and said through gritted teeth, "Let me help you over there."

His tone was full of awkwardness.

Mo Yixia was slightly taken aback. She looked up at the other girl and saw no hint of ulterior motives on her face, such as "If I help her, she won't be able to ask Han Zhou for help."

She seemed to simply want to help herself.

"Thank you."

After a moment of silence, Mo Yixia stretched out an arm and gently placed it on Guzheng's shoulder, which in turn supported her.

“I’ve heard of you before,” Mo Yixia suddenly said. “You’re more interesting than I imagined.”

"Really? I'll take that as a compliment."

Gu Zheng was not really going to talk to her, but upon hearing this, she raised her head and said, "I have almost never been injured since I was a child. Even if my foot is injured, I can still walk on one foot."

A strange competitive spirit...

Mo Yixia said thoughtfully, "That's amazing. You must exercise regularly."

This girl's body wasn't as supple as an average girl's; instead, it was quite firm, with elastic skin, clearly the result of exercise.

Guzheng didn't answer, but simply curled the corners of her lips and proudly puffed out her chest.

Mo Yixia glanced at it casually: "I've heard that excessive exercise can burn some usable fat."

"What use is fat...?"

Gu Zheng muttered something to herself, then suddenly noticed the other person's scrutinizing gaze. Her face flushed red, and she said, embarrassed and annoyed, "What do you mean?"

She stared at the other woman's chest for two seconds in a retaliatory manner, then became even more embarrassed and annoyed.

Even though she was furious, she didn't choose to throw that despicable guy back onto the bed.

"You are indeed very interesting."

Mo Yixia looked away. "Just like that apple on the table."

"You're the one who's like a gorilla!"

“I’m not referring to its appearance, but to the apple’s uniqueness, ‘fallen star’... I really like that name.”

Gu Zheng snorted coldly and ignored her.

"Let me do it."

Han Zhou had actually seen Gu Zheng helping Mo Yixia through the reflection in the window long ago, so he had been watching quietly, thinking that the relationship between the two might be brought closer because of this incident. However, things didn't go as planned. Seeing that they were about to start arguing, he quickly turned around and pretended to run over to help.

"no need."

Mo Yixia gave him a meaningful look and said calmly, "I need to use the restroom."

Gu Zheng belatedly realized that she had unknowingly prevented Han Zhou and the girl from having any intimate contact. Overjoyed, she quickly chimed in, "Me too, I need to go to the bathroom too!"

Han Zhou shrugged and said nothing more.

The ward has a private bathroom. Both of them are currently on IV drips and need to hold the IV bag with one hand, making it inconvenient to go to the toilet. So, the other person has to help carry the IV bag. However, since the girl can't let the boy follow her into the toilet, they need to help each other.

Of course, this is assuming the guzheng is present. If the guzheng is not present, it's hard to guarantee that Mo Yixia won't say something like "Come with me to the toilet" or something similar.

Han Zhou was somewhat surprised. Mo Yixia seemed to be in a good mood after finishing the porridge. Although Gu Zheng was wary of Mo Yixia, she didn't seem to regard him as a scumbag for the time being. Although the two of them would bicker, since they could go to the toilet together, it should mean that there was no problem.

Well, at least there are no problems today...

Isn't friendship between people often built from the moment they go to the toilet together?
In high spirits, he tentatively asked, "I was just about to go to the restroom, I'll be right back, you guys... should be fine, right?"

Although things are fine for now, he is still worried that the two of them will start arguing again while he is away for a while.

"No problem, go ahead."

Mo Yixia glanced at Han Zhou, knowing that these words were mainly directed at her.

"That's fine."

Han Zhou was completely relieved, quickly walked out of the ward, and closed the door behind him.

"Let's go."

Seeing the door close, Gu Zheng helped Mo Yixia walk towards the bathroom and asked, "What happened to your foot?"

After Han Zhou entered the ward, he never asked about the guy's foot injury, as if he already knew about it, which made her a little concerned.

"It's a sprain."

"I know, I'm asking how you sprained the ankle?"

"Accidentally."

When did you accidentally...?

"When you're not careful."

"..."

Gu Zheng knew that this guy didn't want to answer, so she pursed her lips and stopped talking.

Just then, the other person suddenly said, "Could you help me to the window to take a look?"

"can."

Gu Zheng wasn't the type to hold grudges, nor did she care about the other party's perfunctory attitude. In fact, she was also curious to see what Han Zhou had been looking at earlier.

The two approached the window. As if sensing her thoughts, Mo Yixia looked out the window at the gloomy sky and asked, "What do you think Han Zhou was looking at just now?"

Gu Zheng paused for a moment, looked downstairs for a while, and hesitated before saying, "It must be those kids. They look really interesting... When I was little, I also liked to hide in the trees like that girl, and nobody could find me."

At this point, she smiled, her eyes crinkling, as if reminiscing about her childhood, but she quickly remembered that the person next to her was her rival in love, and her little face turned serious again.

“A child? It can certainly be a symbol of decay…” Mo Yixia pondered, then asked, “But why can’t it be that woman?”

Gu Zheng shifted her gaze to the woman downstairs who had just finished collecting the laundry, her face bearing a helpless yet loving smile. Suddenly, a pang of sadness struck her: "Do you mean Han Zhou misses his mother?"

She knew that Han Zhou's mother had passed away not long after he was born, and he had never experienced maternal love since childhood. He had just moved away from his old home yesterday, so perhaps such a scene would easily touch him.

"You really are a sentimental person."

Mo Yixia glanced at her, her tone devoid of any belittling, simply stating calmly, "If, according to your logic, looking at that woman means she's thinking about her mother, then looking at those children means she's thinking about having many children in the future?"

"What do you mean by 'giving birth'... Then why do you think Han Zhou was looking at that woman?" Gu Zheng blushed slightly; the words "giving birth" still made her a little embarrassed.

After all, if Han Zhou wanted to have many children, wouldn't that mean he himself...?

Mo Yixia didn't notice her expression. After staring at the woman downstairs for a while, she said seriously, "Do you think it's possible that Han Zhou has fallen for her?"

"?" Gu Zheng stared blankly: "Are you kidding me? That woman is at least forty years old, isn't she?"

Mo Yixia said calmly, "Age is not a problem as long as you like it."

"But it's impossible for Han Zhou to fall in love with her."

"Who knows."

"Don't joke about Han Zhou like that," Gu Zheng said, displeased. "Liking someone isn't child's play."

"Yeah, it's not like we're playing house."

Mo Yixia nodded in agreement, then looked away. "Let's go to the restroom."

"You're such a strange person," Gu Zheng said, pursing her lips.

"You're weird too."

Mo Yixia's gaze swept over the girl's profile beside her, then looked at the arm supporting her, her voice devoid of emotion.

"However, sometimes being a little strange isn't a bad thing. There are too many normal people in this world, and anything that is too numerous becomes 'ordinary,' while anything that is few becomes 'extraordinary.' So, rather than 'strange,' I'd prefer you to use another word to describe me..."

"For example, special."

A drop of water suddenly appeared on the window.

Immediately afterwards, a dense series of knocking sounds rang out, the air became damp, and the view outside the window began to blur, along with the woman and child.

It's raining.

……

When Han Zhou returned from the restroom, Gu Zheng and Mo Yixia had already returned to their respective hospital beds. It seemed that the two had not had any conflict and were quietly watching the raindrops falling outside the window.

Both of them were ill and looked somewhat tired.

"I checked the weather forecast, and this rain won't last long. It should stop before you finish your IV drip."

Han Zhou looked out the window and, while speaking, consciously sat down on the chair placed between the two hospital beds.

"I've never seen an accurate weather forecast in Lincheng."

As if recalling some unhappy past events, Guzheng said with a hint of resentment, "The forecast clearly said that it would be sunny for several days in a row, but it started raining heavily just a few minutes after I went out."

She covered her mouth and yawned, suddenly feeling a little sleepy.

"I do hope the rain lasts a little longer."

Mo Yixia spoke lazily, her tone also carrying a hint of drowsiness.

Rainy days are perfect for sleeping, and since both of them are currently sick and taking medication, it's normal for them to feel sleepy. Han Zhou couldn't wait for them to sleep a little longer to avoid any further trouble.

So he cautiously suggested, "You all seem a bit tired, why don't you take a nap first?"

"No need, I want to go home and sleep." Gu Zheng became wary and quickly forced herself to stay awake. "If I sleep too much during the day, I won't be able to sleep at night."

She actually wanted to keep an eye on Mo Yixia to prevent her from doing anything underhanded while she was asleep.

Mo Yixia didn't intend to keep an eye on her. This opponent might hold a very important place in Han Zhou's heart, but she probably wasn't a proactive person. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't even have had the chance to meet her here.

She looked at Han Zhou: "I told you, I have a hard time falling asleep in unfamiliar environments unless you're willing to tell me a story."

Seeing Han Zhou's expression become unnatural, she added helplessly, "Any story will do."

“Any story will do?” Han Zhou asked cautiously, confirming once more.

"Anything is fine, but it has to be a complete story."

“I want to hear it too,” Guzheng chimed in.

Seeing that both of them were interested, Han Zhou pondered for a while and suddenly remembered that Mo Yixia had said that autumn was a season when everything withers. Looking at the old tree swaying in the rain outside the window, he couldn't help but think of a story that was both appropriate and philosophical.

"I thought about it."

He smiled, gathered his thoughts briefly, and said, "This story just happened to take place in a hospital ward, and it just happened to be autumn."

Guzheng and Mo Yixia listened silently.

Han Zhou is telling a story that was very famous in his previous life.

The content is roughly about a critically ill patient in a hospital ward. He lies in bed and can see the leaves of a tree outside the window falling one by one in the autumn wind every day.

These fallen leaves are like a patient's deteriorating body, getting worse day by day. The patient becomes sad and says to others, "When all the leaves fall one day, I will probably die too."

After learning about this, an old painter secretly painted a green leaf with colored pencils and hung it on the tree branch. The leaf never fell, and the patient's hope for life was rekindled, and he miraculously survived in the end.

Perhaps I should try being a plagiarist… Han Zhou thought to himself.

Of course, simply telling the original story would be too short, taking less than a minute. To extend the story, he added a patient as the protagonist and pieced together a legendary past.

After listening, Gu Zheng sighed with emotion: "This patient's willpower is really too strong. He was able to live on a deserted island for 28 years and finally use his willpower to fight against the disease and solve so many complicated cases with his assistant, Peanut."

The nurse who had come in twice to change the IV drip and overheard a few snippets of the story showed interest and asked curiously, "I didn't hear the ending of Jack the Ripper. He killed so many people, was he finally caught?"

Han Zhou was taken aback: "Did I mention Jack the Ripper?"

"Have."

Mo Yixia, with her exceptional memory, said calmly, "You said he was one of the Eight Great Demons. Each of the Eight Great Demons is a vicious and ruthless individual, meticulous in their thinking, and their crimes almost never leave any evidence. It is only by relying on divine tokens to find the corresponding files that we have a chance to catch them by following the slightest clues. Oh, and you also said that there is a demon codenamed Bo Gang who is afraid of drums..."

At this point, she looked thoughtful. "I always felt that you pieced these stories together and made them up, but normally it's impossible for you to make up so many bizarre yet meticulously crafted stories in such a short time. More importantly, they can't be found online..."

Oh no, I got so excited I said "hey"...

Han Zhou was startled. As a transmigrator, he talked about these stories from his past life just like an ordinary person reminiscing about their childhood. He couldn't stop talking when he got excited. The key was that these stories didn't seem to have any hypnotic effect. On the contrary, they made Gu Zheng and Mo Yixia even more energetic.

He felt annoyed, thinking that he shouldn't have added so much drama and should have just told a few fables. Hearing this, he could only bite the bullet and say, "I also write some novels in my spare time."

"How come I didn't know?" Gu Zheng asked, looking puzzled.

It would be a miracle if you knew...

Han Zhou started writing novels in his junior high school days in his previous life. Before he could even put his skills to good use, his homeroom teacher confiscated them and made him read them aloud to the whole class for ten minutes with great emotion.

Like most people, he had his share of embarrassing moments when he was young. If he remembers correctly, he even wrote his homeroom teacher into a novel as a treacherous villain, and he got quite excited when reading about the character's appearance.

Hmm, were their parents called in afterward?

Bringing his thoughts back, Han Zhou smiled and said, "These things happened when I was a child, so of course you wouldn't know. I'll tell you about them later."

"it is good."

Gu Zheng's eyes crinkled, clearly quite satisfied with the answer, and she glanced at Mo Yixia with a smug look.

The latter didn't seem to care and said unhurriedly, "I'd love to hear such an interesting story again."

Sensing danger, Han Zhou quickly laughed it off: "Let's talk about it another time. You guys rest now."

"I hate perfunctory answers."

"Um, what do you mean by 'not giving a perfunctory answer'?"

"Come here, come here and I'll tell you."

The nurse covered her mouth and chuckled, picking up the treatment tray to leave. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she whispered, "By the way, last time I came here I saw a very pretty girl standing outside the door, and she hasn't left yet. Is she one of your friends?"

"pretty girl?"

Han Zhou looked puzzled, then noticed two suspicious gazes on him. His face stiffened, and he said indignantly, "No, why do you all think of me whenever a pretty girl is mentioned? Can't she be your friend?"

"I have no friends," Gu Zheng said, pouting.

"Neither do I." Mo Yixia nodded slightly.

Wait, what's with the arrogant tone you two are using?

Han Zhou almost coughed up blood, followed by a feeling of heartache.

Having no friends is not something to be happy about. Although he knew that the two people he was referring to were close friends, he still couldn't hide his complicated feelings at this moment.

He sighed and said, "Alright, I'll go out and take a look, but I think you all know the people outside."

Thinking it over carefully, among all the girls he knew, the only one who met all three conditions—beautiful, someone who might not dare to come in and greet him if she saw him with other people, and someone who might appear in the hospital—was Zhong Ling.

Sure enough, he saw Zhong Ling outside the ward.

An elder in my family passed away, and I'm not feeling well.
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(End of this chapter)