Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 239 Temporary Mission
Han Zhou paused for two seconds when he saw the steamed bun.

"You skipped dinner and came all the way here just to get me some steamed buns?"

Wang Lengqiu shook her head, her pupils reflecting the other person's image: "I did it just to see you working part-time while studying."

If Mo Yixia's voice is cool and clear, the guzheng's voice is light and ethereal, and the bell's voice is soft and sweet, then Wang Lengqiu's voice is ethereal and otherworldly.

Unlike a clear spring flowing through a mountain stream, it is more like a deep pool in a dense bamboo forest, adding a touch of secluded coldness.

Her speaking speed is slightly slower than that of ordinary people, and coupled with her tone that has little variation, it gives people a sense of deliberate seriousness, as well as a touch of natural naiveté, no matter what she says.

Han Zhou opened his mouth, then sighed and said, "Have you seen enough?"

"No."

Wang Lengqiu shook her head honestly, handed the steamed bun in her hand to him, and asked again, "Want some?"

Although he couldn't see any expression on her face, he could still tell from her eyes that she was definitely not going to eat the starch sausage if he refused the steamed buns.

"Thanks……"

After hesitating for a moment, he had no choice but to take the now-cold steamed bun.

Thankfully it's not winter, otherwise this thing might already be rock hard.

He turned around to pack up his stall, and as he looked back, Wang Lengqiu followed him, seemingly wanting to help.

"My work-study program is over, can you please stop following me?" He couldn't help but sigh.

"it is good."

Wang Lengqiu stopped and stood by the streetlight, looking at him. "Then I'll wait for you."

"..."

Is this woman genuinely oblivious to the atmosphere, or is she just pretending to be clueless?
"As you wish."

Han Zhou felt a sudden toothache, so he quickly packed everything into the cart, put the books he had borrowed from Zhong Ling in a plastic bag, and then pushed the cart toward the school.

Wang Lengqiu followed along quite readily.

Han Zhou hesitated, ultimately unable to say something like "Can you stay away from me?", but his tone was anything but polite.

"On the head."

"what?"

"There's a leaf on your head, can't you feel it?"

Seeing Wang Lengqiu staring blankly at the top of his head, Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he said irritably, "I'm talking about your head, not mine. Stop staring at me."

"Thank you."

Wang Lengqiu belatedly realized what was happening, raised his hand to touch his head, brushed the leaves off his head, held them in his hand for a while, and said softly, "These are autumn leaves."

Han Zhou was reluctant to respond, but seeing the other person's absent-minded look, he couldn't help but say helplessly, "It's autumn now, isn't it normal to see autumn leaves?"

"Really? It's already autumn."

Wang Lengqiu was stunned for a moment, looked up, reached out and took a leaf that was falling in the wind, and said seriously, "But this leaf is from spring."

Han Zhou was taken aback. He stared at her palm for a while and found that this leaf was not much different from the one before. They were both yellow and green, and even the same species. He wondered how this girl came to such a conclusion.

He was somewhat helpless. Instead of asking why, he casually replied as if dealing with a child, "Can you find leaves in summer and winter?"

Wang Lengqiu stopped, looked up and around, then looked down and carefully surveyed the ground before shaking his head.

"There is no winter or summer, only spring and autumn."

She paused, then added earnestly, "But most of the time it's springtime."

There are no winters and summers... Does this guy only see two seasons a year?
Han Zhou was truly confused: "Why?"

"what?"

The girl turned to look at him, her tone gentle and patient.

"I mean, why is it springtime more often?"

Wang Lengqiu tilted her head and thought for a moment before answering very seriously, "Because I don't like autumn."

"All right……"

Han Zhou looked bewildered. He had previously thought that this girl wasn't as difficult to communicate with as the rumors suggested; aside from the incomprehensible "stick figure," her other words and actions weren't entirely without basis. Now he realized he was wrong—

He couldn't understand a word the guy was saying.

Not intending to continue the topic, he glanced at the uneaten starch sausage in Wang Lengqiu's hand and reminded her, "It'll get cold if you don't eat it soon."

"You too."

Han Zhou's lips twitched: "I shouldn't be completely out of the picture anytime soon..."

“I meant steamed buns,” Wang Lengqiu corrected.

Basically, it means if I don't eat, you won't eat either...

Han Zhou pushed the cart with one hand, picked up a steamed bun with the other, took a big bite, and sighed as he chewed, "This thing is already cold."

Wang Lengqiu had just brought the starch sausage to her lips when she heard this and paused for a moment: "Is it cold?"

Noticing the serious look in the other person's eyes, Han Zhou immediately added, "It's a bit cold, but it doesn't matter. I like it cold."

Wang Lengqiu shook her head, clearly not believing him: "Give me the steamed bun, I'll heat it up for you."

"Heat it up? What are you going to use to heat it up?" Han Zhou asked suspiciously.

"I have a solution."

Seeing Wang Lengqiu staring intently at him, looking as if to say "trust me, you won't go wrong," Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, put the half-eaten steamed bun back into the plastic bag, and then hesitantly handed the plastic bag over.

This guy isn't fantasizing about having the ability to breathe fire from his palms, is he...?

He muttered to himself, and the next second he saw Wang Lengqiu calmly unzip his coat a little, revealing a light gray knit sweater underneath.

Han Zhou looked bewildered: "What are you doing?"

"I'll heat up some steamed buns for you."

"...What should we use to heat it?" He suddenly had a bad feeling.

"body temperature."

"You are joking?"

"I'm not joking."

After a long silence, Han Zhou quietly took back the steamed bun he had just handed out and said seriously, "I still prefer cold steamed buns."

"But……"

"There's no 'but' about it; oral heating is much more efficient than body temperature heating."

This guy is definitely a lunatic… he thought.

To avoid the other party insisting, he wolfed down the steamed bun.

Wang Lengqiu stopped talking and silently followed beside him, eating her starch sausage in small bites.

“It’s delicious,” she said.

"Eat it while it's hot if it's delicious." Han Zhou swallowed a steamed bun, his voice muffled. "This time it's on me, but next time you'll have to pay."

"Yes, I have money."

Wang Lengqiu nodded, unconsciously slowing her chewing pace, as if the food in her hands had suddenly become precious. After a pause, she continued, "I'll bring you steamed buns again next time, no charge."

Han Zhou was taken aback.

An autumn wind suddenly rose, ruffling the girl's long hair.

Before he could speak, a little girl in front of him suddenly released a balloon from her hand, which was then blown high into the air and floated towards Han Zhou.

He casually grabbed the string holding the balloon, smiled, bent down, and handed it to the little girl who had caught up with him. Amid her surprised and grateful thanks, he patted her head and brushed away the fallen leaves that had just landed on her head.

Watching the girl skip away with her mother, Han Zhou smiled, then suddenly asked curiously, "Were those spring leaves just now?"

"No."

Wang Lengqiu looked in the direction the girl had left and gently shook his head.

"It's autumn."

"Really... then I really don't understand."

Han Zhou sighed, no longer trying to understand the other person's thoughts, "But Senior Wang Lengqiu..."

Call me Qiuqiu, or Qiuqiu.

"Call it whatever you want, I just want to tell you that I really don't like steamed buns that much."

"But you just said you liked cold steamed buns."

That's relative.

"If so what do you like?"

"In short, I don't like steamed buns, so please don't send me steamed buns again in the future."

"Okay." Wang Lengqiu thought for a moment, "Then do you like pigeons?"

I wouldn't say I like it, nor would I say I hate it.

Han Zhou told a lie; he actually quite liked pigeons.

"I also like pigeons. Would you like to come with me to feed them tomorrow?"

Han Zhou paused for two seconds, thinking to himself that this guy's mental fortitude was quite strong, and asked blankly, "What do you mean you like... I don't think I said I like pigeons?"

Wang Lengqiu tilted her head and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Isn't not disliking someone the same as liking them?"

Han Zhou fell silent instantly.

“Um… Senior Wang Lengqiu.”

Call me Qiuqiu, or Qiuqiu.

"Call me whatever you want, but I have a question for you."

"what is the problem?"

Do you know a girl named Mo Yixia?

"Ok?"

……

Han Zhou never expected to hear the phrase "not disliking means liking" from someone other than Mo Yixia, so much so that he subconsciously thought there was some kind of relationship between the two.

However, it turned out that he was overthinking it. Wang Lengqiu did not know Mo Yixia. Her social circle was very small, so small that she still did not know all her classmates. The person she was most familiar with at school was Ouyang Lianyu, because the other party had talked to her several times.

Han Zhou walked back to his dormitory, feeling somewhat conflicted.

He eventually agreed to accompany Wang Lengqiu to the square to feed the pigeons.

However, he also made a condition: the other party was not allowed to bother him anymore. But Wang Lengqiu didn't seem to think it was bothering, so he had to change his wording and tell the other party not to come and see him working part-time.

Wang Lengqiu agreed, but only on the condition that it would last until she became a stick figure. Once she became a stick figure, she would be eligible to have suitors, and at that point, the condition would no longer be binding on her.

Han Zhou agreed.

Taking this opportunity, he asked again what a stick figure was, but Wang Lengqiu still didn't give a clear answer, or perhaps even she herself didn't know how to describe a stick figure.

Anyway, as long as I finish feeding the pigeons with this guy tomorrow, at least he won't bother me for a while.

Taking a deep breath, Han Zhou began to examine the temporary task before him.

[Temporary mission activated: Please meet with the target, Wang Lengqiu, at Qingyuan Square at 5:30 PM tomorrow and feed at least ten pigeons.]

[Task Requirements: A feeding session is considered complete only when you and the target simultaneously feed a pigeon. Forced feeding is not allowed, and the pigeon must not be harmed.]

[Mission Time: Within one hour after both sides meet at Qingyuan Square]

[Task Reward: 30 points]

This temporary task suddenly popped up when he had just agreed to go feed the pigeons with Wang Lengqiu.

Judging from the task requirements alone, the task is not difficult, and there are no awkward parts such as "fancy hand-holding". Moreover, the task reward of thirty points is quite generous, which can be regarded as a welfare task. Han Zhou thought about it for a while and decided to complete it as much as possible.

Since accompanying Mo Yixia to climb the snow mountain, he has used up a lot of points, and there hasn't been a chance to replenish them. So, if he doesn't want to miss out on these rewarding point-earning missions, he needs to find as many people as possible to complete missions and accumulate points to upgrade his status bar as soon as possible.

When he passed by Angel Lake, he stopped and observed it for a while.

However, perhaps because there was no moon tonight, or perhaps because he and Xiao Xiaoxiao had different aesthetic tastes, he didn't think Angel Lake at night was anything special, far inferior to its shimmering beauty under the bright sunshine.

There were no classes the next morning, so after returning to his dorm, Han Zhou asked Lin Anyu to play a few games. While waiting in the lobby, Lin Anyu seemed very excited. Before Han Zhou could ask anything, he saw that there was a girl in the team. Judging from her voice, she seemed to be a very gentle girl.

Han Zhou didn't ask any further questions.

After the game, Lin Anyu excitedly boasted to him that the girl was a sophomore he had just met. The two met by chance and felt like they had known each other for a long time.

At this point, he specifically thanked Han Zhou, saying that the chubby doll Han Zhou gave him was indeed very intelligent, and that he would definitely ask for a few more to carry with him if he had the chance in the future.

Han Zhou said helplessly, "If you think this senior is your destined partner, then what you should do is find a way to hold onto her tightly. That way, you won't need to pray for vague blessings anymore. Are you thinking of asking for more chubby babies because you're worried that you two won't be able to stay together?"

Actually, the doll he got from the temple in Lincheng had a fancy name, but after hearing Lin Anyu call it that so often, he started calling it Fatty Doll too.

Lin Anyu was taken aback, and pondered, "Now that you mention it, it does seem to make sense... But why do I feel like our relationship can't last? Could it be that I don't really like her?"

"Aren't you talking nonsense?"

Han Zhou said irritably, "You said yourself that you two just met. Unless it was love at first sight, how could you possibly really like her?"

At this point, confusion welled up in his heart again.

Wang Lengqiu had only just met him... no, it's hard to even call them acquaintances, they'd only met a few times at most, but the other party's attitude was so unusual, he clearly treated her like a close friend.

But why?
Could it really be because he can get along well with that dog named Qiuqiu?

Han Zhou couldn't think of any other reason besides this.

But isn't that just too absurd...?

He was completely baffled when Lin Anyu suddenly realized and said, "What you said makes sense. Since I don't really like my senior yet, it means we haven't even started. So what's so strange about me asking a few more chubby girls for help just to be on the safe side?"

Han Zhou was silent for a moment: "Your way of thinking is always so unique..."

"You think so too? Sigh, a beautiful appearance is a dime a dozen, but an interesting soul is one in a million. I clearly have such an interesting soul, but it seems that no one but you can see it."

Lin Anyu wholeheartedly agreed and sighed, "Han Zhou, when will a girl who appreciates my inner beauty finally appear?"

Han Zhou thought for a moment and then seriously suggested, "Why don't you take a stroll in the hospital elevators more often on rainy days?"

"what?"

(End of this chapter)