Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 224 Afraid of Not Seeing You

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the heavy rain showed no signs of stopping. The sky was so gloomy that it seemed as if night had fallen early. The water on the ground was deep enough to cover the soles of shoes. The entire city was reflected in the water by the high beams of cars, constantly breaking apart under the onslaught of the heavy rain, leaving only blurry reflections.

Large raindrops pelted down, stinging pedestrians who were only wearing raincoats, forcing them to roll up their trousers and run wildly in the rain.

"To be honest, I've always had a question."

Lin Anyu stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the heavy rain outside the door. Suddenly, a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Han Zhou, you said they're all pretty much the same style, so why is the thin one called a raincoat, while the thick one like the one I'm wearing is called a windbreaker?"

"Because a thicker material can prevent wind damage."

"Of course I know that. What I mean is that wind and rain always go hand in hand, so why can't a raincoat also be windproof?"

"Hmm... that's probably why umbrellas and trench coats aren't selling."

"Makes sense."

Lin Anyu suddenly realized, but then a new question arose: "Then why can't a trench coat also be waterproof?"

Han Zhou was silent for a moment: "What's the difference between this and the raincoat you just mentioned that also has windproof function?"

"Of course, the primary and secondary aspects are different, and the names are also different. You should know that even things of the same nature can have very different impressions depending on the name."

"for example?"

"For example, a snow-covered volcano and a cold tomato salad sprinkled with white sugar."

"..."

Han Zhou sighed: "Have you been watching anime with Ya Ya again lately?"

"How did you know?" Lin Anyu asked in surprise.

“Every time you finish watching an anime, you’ll say stupid things for days on end. At times like these, I’m always worried that you’ll drag down my IQ.”

"There's a guzheng to help you raise the pitch."

Lin Anyu shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze falling on the pure white pet dog in Han Zhou's arms. "Let's leave the guzheng aside for now. I wanted to ask you this when I arrived: where did you get this dog? It must be a Pomeranian, right?"

"This dog is named Qiuqiu, and you can treat me as its temporary babysitter."

Han Zhou looked at the Pomeranian in his arms with a helpless expression, recalling what had just happened—

Dealing with Wang Lengqiu was much easier than he had imagined.

Similarly, the success rate of "animal affinity" was lower than he had imagined.

After much persuasion from Ouyang Lianyu and others, Wang Lengqiu finally accepted their suggestion and decided to temporarily entrust the dog to their care while he returned to his hospital room to visit his grandfather.

However, things took a turn for the worse. The Pomeranian named Qiuqiu was very shy. It was well-behaved when it was in Wang Lengqiu's arms, but became unusually uneasy as soon as it was separated from her. As soon as Yan Mei took it, it struggled and kicked the air with its four short legs. Anyone could see its anxiety.

Ouyang Lianyu and the others tried to hold the Pomeranian in their arms, but the results were all similar. The Pomeranian seemed to only recognize Wang Lengqiu as its owner and would only calm down in her arms. It wouldn't cooperate with anyone else.

Han Zhou had considered whether his "animal-friendly" nature would win the favor of this loyal dog. However, he picked her up not because he suggested it, but because Zhang Xinyue, who had been disliked by Qiuqiu, couldn't stand his ridicule and said defiantly, "If you're so good, then you do it."

So, in order to prove himself, he went ahead without hesitation.

The "animal affinity" worked its magic. The pet dog, which only quieted down in Wang Lengqiu's arms, resisted briefly before silently snuggling into his embrace.

This scene stunned everyone present, including Wang Lengqiu, who had remained expressionless throughout.

For the first time, she scrutinized Han Zhou with a serious look for a moment, as if trying to remember his face, before leaving with the words, "Please be gentle, don't hurt it, thank you," and then hurriedly departing.

If Lin Anyu hadn't been there at the time, he would definitely have burst out laughing at that remark.

Ouyang Lianyu and the others followed Wang Lengqiu upstairs. Han Zhou waited alone at the hospital entrance for about five minutes, but instead of seeing the others return, he saw Lin Anyu arrive by car.

During this time, he tried several times to use his "animal affinity" telepathic ability on the ball in his arms, but he didn't know if it was because the success rate of this skill was not high or because the dog's brain was empty. He tried five times in a row but did not hear his thoughts.

This disappointed him, as the low success rate meant that the skill was not very practical, although the impact was not significant.

After hearing about Wang Lengqiu, Lin Anyu clicked his tongue in amazement: "This is a university that only top students can get into. How come your school has all sorts of strange and unusual people? I wonder if Guzheng can be selected as the seventh great celebrity..."

He then sighed, "But if the rumors aren't exaggerated, and the girl you mentioned really was bullied a lot in the past, then it's not surprising that she turned out this way."

Bullying is never an unfamiliar word to people. Although few people may have personally experienced it, most have heard of it or even witnessed it firsthand.

From elementary school to university, and even in the workplace, bullying is a common occurrence, and the tragedies it causes are numerous. Whether it is physical mockery or psychological insults, it is enough to form an invisible sharp knife. Over time, the bullied will inevitably develop indelible pain, which may never be healed in their lifetime.

Putting aside his complicated thoughts, Lin Anyu stopped talking. Talking too much about the bullied person was not necessarily a friendly thing. He reached out to touch the head of the dog Qiuqiu in Han Zhou's arms, but was met with resistance and dodged away.

"Yo ho."

He was slightly intrigued and said with a smile, "This guy is quite clever, much better than that idiot General Weiwu. Maybe this is what they mean by being influenced by one's surroundings."

Han Zhou said helplessly, "This is a female dog, she's not your buddy no matter what. Also, she's a bit shy, so don't scare her."

"Shy? Aren't you a stranger to it too? This guy is afraid of me but not you. Is this what they call judging people by their appearance?"

"It's also possible that he's a sucker for good looks," Han Zhou chuckled.

Lin Anyu was even more puzzled: "But I'm clearly just as good-looking as you. It's one thing for you to be popular with girls, but why are even female dogs powerless against you? Are you cheating or something?"

He looked at his friend suspiciously.

You're very close, but I think you need to re-evaluate your looks...

Han Zhou shook his head inwardly and said, "Anyway, my task now is to take good care of Qiuqiu. Let's wait here for a while. We can leave after they come back. Please take the guzheng back for me first."

Guzheng's IV drip should finish before Mo Yixia's. The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and we don't know when it will stop. Guzheng's home is a bit far from the hospital, so it would be better to take her home first.

The reason why they didn't choose to take a taxi but instead called Lin Anyu was twofold: firstly, the situation had been critical and he urgently needed someone to save the day; secondly, Gu Zheng was rather shy and wouldn't ask questions in front of Lin Anyu, as were her parents. In this way, at least today could be considered peaceful.

Nothing unexpected happened during the wait. After about seven or eight minutes, Wang Lengqiu, Ouyang Lianyu, and the others came out of the elevator. During this time, Han Zhou tried to read the dog's mind twice more, but failed again, so he simply stopped wasting his points.

He suspected that he might have opened it incorrectly.

Wang Lengqiu took the ball from Han Zhou, carefully hugged it to her chest, and whispered "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Han Zhou shook his head, then suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder as Lin Anyu crept up to him furtively and whispered, "I think I can do it."

"What can?"

These abrupt and nonsensical words left Han Zhou momentarily stunned.

Lin Anyu said solemnly, "I feel I can dedicate my entire life to healing this girl."

Han Zhou was silent for a moment, then sincerely suggested, "I think you should try to heal the dog in her arms first."

"?" A question mark appeared above Lin Anyu's head. He looked down and examined Qiuqiu carefully for a while, then gritted his teeth and nodded hard.

"It's not impossible."

"?"

This time, it was Han Zhou's turn to have a question mark on his head.

Seeing that he had nothing more to do, he bid farewell to Ouyang Lianyu and the others and hurriedly returned to his ward.

He had been waiting outside for almost twenty minutes, fearing that Mo Yixia and Guzheng had already woken up. He still remembered Mo Yixia's warning very clearly; if they woke up and couldn't see him, there would be a big problem.

Fortunately, Guzheng and Mo Yixia were still asleep, and their complexions were much better than before, so their fevers should have subsided. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in his chair.

Lin Anyu seemed to be deep in thought. He wisely refrained from asking any questions in the ward and instead found a place to sit outside, where he chatted with someone.

It was five o'clock when Gu Zheng woke up first. She immediately saw Han Zhou by the bedside, her eyes crinkling into a smile. Then she looked at Mo Yixia, who was still asleep on the other bed, and thought to herself, "I was the first one to wake up."

She had no objection to Han Zhou's suggestion to take her home in a little while. Although she could stay and let Han Zhou take Mo Yixia home first and then take her, that would be too late, and it might be a bit troublesome for Han Zhou to get home.

So after Han Zhou notified the nurse to remove the IV drip, she got into Lin Anyu's car with him and didn't ask anything along the way. When they arrived at the apartment building, she went upstairs alone.

Although he knew this was mostly because Lin Anyu was there, Han Zhou still felt nervous. Gu Zheng's attitude was a bit unusual, and he didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

With some apprehension, he got back into Lin Anyu's car and returned to the hospital. Lin Anyu dropped him off at the hospital entrance and then left, saying he had an appointment to go to an internet cafe.

This guy didn't ask anything.

Back in the ward, Han Zhou turned on the light and quietly approached Mo Yixia's bedside.

Just then, the girl on the hospital bed opened her eyes and looked at him without saying a word.

After a brief eye contact, he asked, "Are you feeling better?"

“You can feel it and see.”

Han Zhou pretended not to hear, carefully examined Mo Yixia for a while, and hesitated before asking, "Were you awake a while ago?"

This guy doesn't look like he just woke up.

"Ah."

He gave a wry smile: "Then am I finished?"

"It's alright," the girl said calmly. "I only opened my eyes after I heard your voice."

"Why?" Han Zhou was taken aback.

"Because I'm afraid I won't be able to see you."

On a rainy afternoon, the smell of disinfectant wafted through the tightly closed ward. The girl on the hospital bed spoke matter-of-factly, her deep eyes reflecting the ceiling light, calm as if she were gazing at the only bright spot under the gloomy sky, making Han Zhou dare not meet her gaze.

“I won’t leave,” he said.

Mo Yixia remained noncommittal, turned to look out the window, and asked, "Has the rain never stopped?"

"No, in fact, it's getting heavier and heavier."

"Yeah."

Mo Yixia gazed at the old tree outside the window, battered by the heavy rain. "Do you think if we wait any longer, the rain could reach the point where the hospital is flooded?"

She suddenly asked a strange question.

Han Zhou was taken aback. Looking at the girl who seemed to be seriously considering the question, he shook his head and chuckled, "I'm afraid that's impossible."

"What if we have to wait a little longer?"

"Unless there is a problem with the drainage system in Lincheng, it is still impossible."

"That was really terrible weather."

Mo Yixia sighed and looked away. "Take me back to school."

"Now?"

"Now."

"But the rain is still pouring down."

"Then let's buy an umbrella."

"One?"

"Looking like this, you don't expect me to walk back to school by myself with an umbrella, do you?"

Mo Yixia glanced at him and said matter-of-factly, "You carry me on your back, and I'll hold the umbrella for you. It's a fair deal."

Han Zhou smiled wryly and said, "Then I might as well buy a raincoat."

"I hate raincoats, raincoats in every form."

Mo Yixia got up and picked up her water glass. She noticed that the water in the glass had been changed and was still slightly warm. Her gaze softened, and she slowly put on her mask and baseball cap.

"Why... never mind."

Han Zhou wisely stopped asking the question, his intuition telling him that this guy would give a very bad answer.

Under the nurse's strange look that seemed to say, "This guy is really busy," he ignored Mo Yixia's suggestion that "theoretically, it's easier to hold an umbrella while being carried in a princess carry," carefully picked her up, and headed downstairs.

Many people in the hospital cast strange glances at him.

Seeing that Mo Yixia had remained silent the whole way, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous and cautiously probed, "Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"

What do you want me to ask?

Mo Yixia's cool voice came from behind him, throwing the question back at him.

Han Zhou was speechless.

If possible, he would prefer not to ask anything, at least for now.

"Speaking of which, I do have a question I'd like to ask you." After a while, Mo Yixia's voice rang out again.

"You said."

What is romance?

(End of this chapter)