Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 223 Experimental Subjects
It's time to come.

Han Zhou sighed inwardly. He knew that Ouyang Lianyu would ask about this sooner or later. Although he had promised to tell her the truth, now that the time had come to confess, he still found it hard to say it, thinking about how he had to explain his journey to becoming a scumbag.

"Hello? Han Zhou, are you listening?"

"Yes, Teacher Ouyang, what did you just say?"

"I'm asking if it's convenient for you. If it's really inconvenient, then forget it and I'll ask you again at another time."

Asking at a different time is still asking the same question...

Han Zhou remained silent, walked to the ward door, observed for a while, and only after confirming that Mo Yixia and Gu Zheng were still asleep did he lower his voice and say, "It's fairly convenient..."

He had prepared himself mentally, but to his surprise, Ouyang Lianyu suddenly changed her mind: "Wait, no rush, I have something to take care of right now. You can tell me in person next time you have time."

Her tone became more serious. Han Zhou's hearing was exceptional at this moment, and he could hear the arguing coming from the other end of the phone. He couldn't help but frown slightly: "Are people arguing on your end?"

“It seems so, but I’m not entirely sure…” Ouyang Lianyu seemed to still be observing.

Han Zhou sensed something amiss: "You want to mediate a fight?"

"Ah."

The sound of a wheelchair rolling rapidly came from the other end of the phone. Ouyang Lianyu hesitated and said, "One of them seems to be Wang Lengqiu."

Teacher Ouyang, you're a counselor, not the principal. You don't need to manage every single student. Being too lenient isn't a good thing...

Han Zhou wanted to offer her some advice, but in the end he could only sigh and ask, "Are you on the third floor?"

"How did you know?" Ouyang Lianyu was taken aback.

"I am coming over now."

Han Zhou didn't explain, hung up the phone and rushed downstairs.

He was very fast, and it took him less than a minute to walk up the stairs to the third floor of the hospital. He didn't need to call Ouyang Lianyu to confirm his location, because as soon as he went downstairs, he could see a group of people gathered not far away. Ouyang Lianyu, who was in a wheelchair, was very conspicuous. Zhang Xinyue and Yan Mei stood behind her, and behind them was Wang Lengqiu, who was bowing his head and not saying a word.

At this moment, Ouyang Lianyu was apologizing repeatedly. Han Zhou heard words like "we will leave immediately" from afar, so he quickened his pace and walked over.

"Sister Xinyue, what happened?"

Instead of interrupting Ouyang Lianyu's conversation with the man opposite her, he went to Zhang Xinyue's side and asked her about the situation in a low voice.

Zhang Xinyue was startled, but relaxed after seeing that it was Han Zhou. She said in an even lower voice, "It seems that Sister Lianyu's student brought a dog into the hospital. A patient's family member was very dissatisfied and thought that it would pollute the hospital environment and affect his family member's condition, so he got angry and wanted to drive Sister Lianyu's student away."

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at the girl behind her, who was soaking wet.

Han Zhou suddenly realized why Zhang Xinyue had kept her voice so low; she didn't want Wang Lengqiu to hear her.

After all, bringing pets into the hospital is not something to be encouraged, and it's understandable that the patient's family members were furious about it. She probably didn't approve of Wang Lengqiu's behavior either, but she didn't want to directly condemn him, so she spoke in a low voice to avoid upsetting the other party.

"If nothing goes wrong, shouldn't you just apologize and take your pet out again?" Han Zhou asked.

He also believed that Wang Lengqiu's behavior was inappropriate. It was not an extreme reaction for the patient's family to be angry, but it would be troublesome if the patient's condition worsened due to an allergy to dog hair.

However, this was also somewhat related to him. When he saw Wang Lengqiu carrying her pet dog into the hospital, he didn't think anything was wrong and didn't think to remind her.

"Hmm, she shouldn't have caused any trouble. The girl kept the dog in her arms the whole time, preventing it from running around," Zhang Xinyue said softly. "Sister Lianyu is negotiating with the other party."

Meanwhile, faced with the repeated and sincere apologies from such a beautiful woman as Ouyang Lianyu, the patient's family member, who had been looking at her with unfriendly eyes, finally softened a bit: "Fine, don't blame me for getting angry. My mother has a phobia of dogs and is afraid of them. I really don't dare let her see this thing while she's in the hospital."

"Sorry, we'll definitely be more careful next time."

"It's alright now. Anyway, my mom wasn't scared. I was just too emotional. But you'd better take the dog away quickly. I'm not the only one with a bad temper in the hospital."

The patient's family member was not an unreasonable person. Seeing that the beautiful woman apologized with a sincere attitude from beginning to end, and considering that the woman was in a wheelchair and belonged to a vulnerable group, they did not intend to make a fuss anymore. After saying that, they waved their hand and left.

This disappointed some onlookers who were expecting a good show.

Ouyang Lianyu waited until the patient's family had completely left before she felt relieved. When she turned around, she saw Han Zhou standing next to Zhang Xinyue, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"You came."

Han Zhou nodded, then suddenly raised an eyebrow: "Teacher, what happened to your hand?"

"It's nothing. I just scraped my skin a little while pushing the wheelchair. It'll be fine after a little treatment," Ouyang Lianyu said with a nonchalant smile.

Han Zhou recalled the rapid rolling sound of the wheelchair he had just heard on the phone, and shook his head with a sigh: "You can't even walk now, yet you still act as a vanguard. No wonder you're either injured or on your way to being injured every day."

Yan Mei was somewhat surprised by the blunt tone.

Ouyang Lianyu was used to this, so she ignored Han Zhou, pushed her wheelchair to Wang Lengqiu's side, and said softly, "Wang Lengqiu, do you know me?"

Wang Lengqiu looked up at her and nodded: "Thank you, Teacher Ouyang."

Ouyang Lianyu was very famous at the school. Almost every student knew her, not only because of her status as one of the six famous people and her title as the youngest professor, but also because of her gentle and approachable personality. In addition, she often appeared on the podium in a wheelchair. Except for some freshmen who had just entered the school, almost all the other students knew her.

"You're welcome."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled, her tone devoid of any reproach, "But you must have heard it just now, right? Dogs aren't allowed in the hospital. You have to take your dog out before you can come in, understand?"

Wang Lengqiu remained silent.

Yan Mei thought for a moment and figured that the woman might have some concerns, so she said, "If you're in a hurry to visit your family, we can take the dog downstairs for you first, and you can pick it up after you've finished visiting your family."

"Thank you," Wang Lengqiu said softly.

Zhang Xinyue assumed that Yan Mei had agreed to her suggestion, and a kind smile appeared on her face. She opened her arms and said, "Can I hold the dog? It's such a cute puppy. What's its name?"

Wang Lengqiu did not answer, nor did she show any intention of handing the dog over to her. She just stood there motionless. If she didn't occasionally blink, people might have wondered if she had turned into a block of wood.

She seemed to ignore Zhang Xinyue's words.

Zhang Xinyue awkwardly hung in mid-air, her smile gradually freezing. Finally, she forced herself to relax and stiffly clapped her hands, muttering to herself, "Yeah, my hands are a bit dirty, so it might not be appropriate to hold a dog..."

From a certain perspective, this guy's mental fortitude is quite strong... Han Zhou suppressed the urge to laugh out loud and remained silent, acting as a background figure.

He just came to check things out; he'd help if he could, and if not, he'd just stand by. There's clearly nothing he can do to help right now, so there's no need for him to chime in.

"Wang Lengqiu?"

Seeing that Wang Lengqiu seemed to completely ignore everyone and even tried to continue walking deeper into the corridor, Ouyang Lianyu quickly stopped her, "Did you hear what the teacher just said?"

Wang Lengqiu was silent for a moment, then nodded gently: "Thank you."

This guy definitely has something going on...

Han Zhou sized up Wang Lengqiu.

Her slender figure, delicate features, and fair skin, coupled with her wind-blown hair and damp clothes, gave her an air of vulnerability even without expression, making her irresistibly endearing. Saying thank you is polite, but only saying thank you is rather impolite.

Ouyang Lianyu was still trying to negotiate with Wang Lengqiu, and said patiently, "Wang Lengqiu, do you understand what the teacher means? We need to take the dog out first, otherwise it will affect the other patients."

"Thank you."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled bitterly, having no choice but to give up.

Yan Mei pressed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and tentatively asked, "Excuse me, do you have a really good reason for bringing this pet dog to the vet?"

"Ah."

After a brief silence, Wang Lengqiu finally gave an answer other than "thank you".

The three were overjoyed. Zhang Xinyue forced a smile and quickly asked, "Can you tell me the reason?"

Wang Lengqiu once again turned into a wooden figure, remaining silent for a long time.

Zhang Xinyue's smile froze.

Do you have a problem with me?

At least other people can say thank you, so why am I completely silent?
Ouyang Lianyu sighed and said softly, "If there's a really important reason, we can help you negotiate with the hospital. Maybe then they'll allow you to bring the dog into the hospital."

Wang Lengqiu looked down at the puppy in her arms and said expressionlessly, "Thank you."

This guy seems to just say thank you when he doesn't want to answer a question...

Han Zhou observed silently, when he suddenly saw the patient's family member who had just left walking over angrily. He said in a deep voice, "That person is back. I suggest you take the dog away quickly. He might not dare to lay a hand on you, but it's uncertain whether he would dare to lay a hand on the dog."

These words were, of course, directed at Wang Lengqiu.

Several people looked at him with different expressions, including Wang Lengqiu, who was overly polite.

"You are..." She seemed to only notice the boy who had been standing there the whole time, and recognized Han Zhou's appearance. She nodded slightly and said, "Thank you."

Han Zhou could tell that the other person was thanking him for helping her up downstairs earlier, but Ouyang Lianyu and the others didn't hear it that way. They thought that this girl had this perfunctory and indifferent attitude towards everyone, which made them feel a little better.

To their surprise, after saying "thank you," the girl actually turned around and walked towards the elevator, seemingly intending to leave.

All three of them were taken aback, and looked at Han Zhou with surprise again before following Wang Lengqiu toward the elevator.

Han Zhou didn't want to get involved anymore; he figured Ouyang and the others could handle it. He planned to go back to the ward to take care of Gu Zheng and Mo Yixia, but before he could even take a step, Ouyang Lianyu turned around and called him back.

"Han Zhou, wait a minute."

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at him questioningly.

"Could you come downstairs with us?"

"That's possible...if it doesn't take too much time." Han Zhou nodded. "But what's the point of going downstairs?"

Ouyang Lianyu said somewhat embarrassedly, "As you just saw, it seems that Wang Lengqiu can only listen to what you say right now. I've told you about her situation before, and I'm worried that she might do something unusual..."

Han Zhou understood; they wanted him to teach Wang Lengqiu a lesson, to prevent a repeat of the situation where he said "thank you" but did nothing.

He chuckled and said, "Teacher, you've misunderstood. She didn't listen to me, but to the dog in her arms. You can just use that dog to 'threaten' her."

He had noticed it when he was downstairs. Wang Lengqiu cherished the pet dog in her arms very much, preferring to get wet and injured herself rather than let it suffer any grievances.

Her frequent glances at her lap revealed her deep affection for the dog, focusing almost all her attention on it, which explained her somewhat absent-mindedness.

Ouyang Lianyu was taken aback. Although she understood what he meant, she still insisted, "It shouldn't take too long. Why don't you go downstairs with the teacher?"

"Is this really necessary? I could do this or not..."

Han Zhou looked suspicious, wondering if she was trying to lure him downstairs so she could ask about what had just happened on the phone.

“It’s necessary.” Ouyang Lianyu nodded with a slight reluctance, “because the teacher isn’t good at threatening others.”

"Look at what you're saying. I'm not good at it either, and I meant the threat as an exaggeration." Han Zhou felt he had been misunderstood.

"Even teachers aren't good at making threats that aren't exaggerated."

Seeing Wang Lengqiu about to enter the elevator, Ouyang Lianyu became anxious and gritted her teeth, saying, "If you refuse to help the teacher, then I'll ask Gu Zheng about today's..."

"I see."

Han Zhou interrupted her solemnly, "It is a student's duty to help the teacher solve problems, and I will naturally do so without hesitation."

As he spoke, he pushed his wheelchair toward the elevator.

Ouyang Lianyu nodded with a smile: "Then thank you."

"You're welcome, but Professor Ouyang..."

"Ok?"

"Aren't you quite good at threatening people?"

……

Downstairs, Ouyang Lianyu patiently asked Wang Lengqiu why she had come to the hospital. As expected, the latter continued to answer in the most polite way, replying with "thank you" for each question. However, she did say something, and from the few words she spoke, everyone understood why she had come to the hospital.

It wasn't that Han Zhou had originally planned to take the dog to an orthopedic clinic for treatment, but rather to visit her injured grandfather. She had rushed back from school, and it started pouring rain as soon as she got off the bus. She had only bought an umbrella temporarily, which is why she looked so disheveled.

The reason is known, but Han Zhou can't figure out what the necessary connection is between visiting his injured grandfather and bringing the dog to the hospital. Could it be that this guy's grandfather also likes dogs?

Moreover, although she said it was important to take the dog to the hospital, Wang Lengqiu did not show any corresponding insistence. She did not even struggle. As soon as she heard that the dog might be injured, she obediently went downstairs.

Incomprehensible.

Han Zhou felt that dealing with this kind of person required a Mo Yixia; otherwise, it would be a real hassle. It was only because Teacher Ouyang had a good temper and patience that he didn't want to waste time on someone who was completely uncooperative.

Of course, this is also because he doesn't need to interact with more unlockable characters now. If he were to encounter the same situation as before with Mo Yixia, he definitely wouldn't be as assertive. Putting aside everything else, he would certainly be more patient.

After all, it's all about points...

While idly lost in thought, Han Zhou suddenly remembered something and looked down at the dog in Wang Lengqiu's arms.

I hadn't noticed it before.

Isn't this a perfect candidate for testing a new skill?

(End of this chapter)