Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 248 is really interesting!

"So this is what it feels like to ride a train."

Lin Anyu yawned, drowsily looking out the window at the faintly bright sky. The city under the lights rushed past amidst the train whistles, gradually blurring and soon disappearing from sight.

This was his first time riding a train since he was a child, so he was inevitably a little excited. But this excitement came and went quickly, and he soon lost interest, but he still kept his eyes fixed on the outside of the window.

Bai Tongtong was sitting opposite him, quietly watching him, which made him very uncomfortable.

He believed that he had a grudge against Bai Tongtong, and that the grudge had not been completely resolved. Although they had exchanged a few blows before, he had not been able to find out her true strength.

He did consider pursuing her afterwards, since she was someone he liked in high school, but the thought of her unfathomable scheming made him feel uneasy, so he decided to keep his distance from her.

I never expected to run into you again today.

Pretending not to notice Bai Tongtong's gaze, Lin Anyu casually asked, "By the way, when will we arrive at our destination?"

Knowing he couldn't get rid of Bai Tongtong, he gave up the idea of ​​picking up Han Zhou and the others. Both sides went directly to the station, which saved time, and boarded the train around 7 o'clock.

"Six o'clock in the afternoon," Han Zhou, sitting next to him, replied.

"It's been almost twelve hours... I don't even know if it was dark by then."

Gu Zheng sighed, her excitement waning somewhat. This meant that she would spend most of the next three days on the road, with little time to play with Han Zhou, which was quite different from what she had imagined.

She stole a glance at Han Zhou across the room and saw him quietly looking out the window. For some reason, she suddenly remembered what her roommate had said last night, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

"Um... Han Zhou, there's something I forgot to ask before."

"Hmm?" Han Zhou turned to look at her.

Where will we stay tonight?

“Of course, we’ll stay in a hotel.” Lin Anyu answered excitedly. “Beicheng is a coastal city, so I suggest finding a seaside hotel with a large balcony for the night.”

Han Zhou nodded, then added, "We're staying at a hotel tonight, but it's not certain about tomorrow night. We might have to stay at someone's house. Xiaoxiao's place is in the countryside, and she's not sure if there are any hotels there."

"There isn't even a hotel; that place is way too remote..."

Although he had heard about it before, Lin Anyu was still somewhat moved, as he had only seen such remote and impoverished places on television.

Xiao Xiaoxiao did not speak up to defend her hometown, because at that moment she was sitting on the table across the aisle, asleep.

This guy was so sleepy early in the morning that he was practically sleepwalking when he went to the station. If Guzheng hadn't been carrying him, he probably would have disappeared in the station by now.

Even if she were still conscious at this moment, she probably wouldn't defend her hometown—it is indeed a poor and remote place, and there's no denying that.

"It's a bit remote, but I heard it's a fishing village by the sea, so at least it won't be too boring. If you're really bored, you can go to the beach to collect seashells," Han Zhou said with a smile.

"A beach? That sounds great!" Lin Anyu's expression brightened with anticipation. "Are there any pretty girls in swimsuits?"

Han Zhou said with some helplessness, "If it were, it wouldn't just be a remote little fishing village."

"That's right..."

Lin Anyu was somewhat disappointed, but then his eyes suddenly lit up. However, before he could say anything, Gu Zheng glared at him fiercely. "I don't care about others, but I definitely won't be running around outside in a swimsuit."

She seemed to have figured out what he was thinking.

Lin Anyu chuckled awkwardly and said nothing more.

Bai Tongtong had been listening quietly, and upon hearing this, she smiled gently and asked, "Are you going to Beicheng for fun?"

“You could say that,” Han Zhou replied.

Although the main purpose was to go and see the place Xiao Xiaoxiao mentioned in person, it wouldn't take much time, so it could also be described as a trip to Beicheng.

He was actually quite looking forward to it. As someone who had never been to the seaside in either of his lives, a city near the sea was quite attractive to him.

"And you?" Gu Zheng asked Bai Tongtong, "What are you going to Beicheng for?"

"I have something to take care of," Bai Tongtong said with a smile.

"You took the train specifically for this?"

"I originally planned to take a plane, but it's a rare opportunity to spend time with old classmates, so taking a train would be quite interesting, and it's not urgent anyway."

"Really..." Gu Zheng was skeptical.

Since meeting Mo Yixia, her mindset has changed significantly. She becomes instinctively wary whenever she sees a girl near Han Zhou. However, after careful recollection, she realized that Han Zhou and Bai Tongtong had almost no interaction during high school, so the latter probably wouldn't be interested in Han Zhou.

But that's not always the case. It's often hard to tell if someone has a crush on you. If you don't confess, others might never realize it, and sometimes they might even think the two of you are mortal enemies.

That's how exaggerated it is.

However, Gu Zheng knew nothing about love and didn't think too much about it. But she still felt that Bai Tongtong's appearance today was a bit strange. After all, if it wasn't something important, there was no need for her to get up at six o'clock to catch a plane. But if it was something important, her behavior of taking the train with them was a waste of time.

She wanted to ask about it, but Han Zhou stopped her with a look.

What does that mean? Does Han Zhou know something?
Gu Zheng was a little puzzled, but didn't ask any further questions.

Everyone got up very early in the morning and was somewhat sleep-deprived. As the train traveled along, the occasional whistle sounded like a lullaby, and everyone gradually became sleepy and closed their eyes to rest.

Gu Zheng woke up at almost ten o'clock. She opened her eyes groggily and saw that the sky outside the car window was already bright. She could see the sun and felt its warmth on her skin.

She stretched and shook her neck, which was a little sore from not moving for a long time. She turned her head and looked around, and found that everyone else was still asleep. She was the first one to wake up.

This discovery made her somewhat proud.

As the train passed through the tunnel, there was no signal on the phone. Gu Zheng had just put her phone away when the train left the tunnel. As the light gradually appeared, Han Zhou's handsome profile became clearer in front of her.

Gu Zheng glanced at it casually, intending to look away, but her gaze was uncontrollably drawn to it, and her heart inexplicably raced.

It's strange, I watch it almost every day, and I've watched it so many times, but I never felt anything special. Yet right now, I can't help but want to take a second look...

Has this guy become more handsome?

A thought suddenly popped into Guzheng's mind.

She wasn't entirely sure about this, but it at least showed that she hadn't intentionally tried to peek at Han Zhou's sleeping face, but rather that she had to make the observation to verify her suspicions.

Yes, there are no problems.

Despite having a perfectly good reason, she still glanced around guiltily. Seeing that Bai Tongtong and Lin Anyu were still asleep, she felt a little relieved and began to observe Han Zhou's profile more closely. Hmm, his nose hadn't changed, his mouth hadn't changed, and his eyelashes... she hadn't paid close attention before, but they probably hadn't changed either. His skin did look healthier, but it was still very pale. Honestly, does a boy's skin really need to be paler than mine...?

There doesn't seem to be much change, so why do I feel like this guy has become better looking?

Gu Zheng muttered to herself, her eyes gradually curving upwards, her hands supporting her chin, becoming more and more engrossed in her gaze.

There weren't many passengers on the train during the holidays, and many seats were empty. The entire carriage was quite quiet, and if you listened carefully, you could hear the train running on the tracks.

As she looked around, she subconsciously reached out her hand, but quickly stopped. She then cautiously looked around and, seeing that no passengers were looking in her direction and that Lin Anyu and Bai Tongtong were still asleep, she mustered up her courage and extended an index finger to gently poke Han Zhou's face.

The latter frowned slightly, as if she might wake up at any moment. Gu Zheng quickly withdrew her fingers, closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, revealing her inner turmoil.

“This is really interesting…”

Lin Anyu had actually woken up long ago. He was just about to get up when he saw Gu Zheng's furtive movements. He kept squinting and peeking at her. When he saw what she was doing, he clicked his tongue in amazement and silently sighed to himself.

Unfortunately, the girl was playing the guzheng, and he didn't have the courage to take out his phone and secretly take pictures right under her nose. Otherwise, whether out of anger or embarrassment, he believed she would have torn his phone in half.

I have no idea what terrible impression the guzheng left on him during high school.

He continued to pretend to be asleep, satisfied, but as soon as he changed his position, he saw Bai Tongtong across the table. She was also sleeping with her head on the table, staring at him with her eyes open.

Lin Anyu was slightly taken aback, then felt a chill run down his spine. Combining what he had just done, he immediately realized something—this woman had also been pretending to be asleep!

However, besides secretly watching the guzheng, she also seemed to be secretly watching herself at the same time.

No... this is blatant staring!
“This is really interesting…”

Observing the changing expressions on the other person's face, Bai Tongtong thought to herself.

After a brief eye contact, neither of them spoke, and they closed their eyes simultaneously in perfect unison, as if afraid of attracting the attention of the guzheng.

After pretending to be asleep, Gu Zheng listened carefully to the sounds around her. Seeing that Han Zhou hadn't made a sound, she opened her eyes a crack and silently observed the situation.

Good, no one is awake yet.

She opened her eyes, pretending to stretch while continuing to observe, making sure everyone wouldn't wake up for the time being, before resting her chin on her hands and continuing to observe Han Zhou's face in front of her.

She definitely looks better now...

She was certain her intuition was correct, but strangely, she couldn't find any change in Han Zhou's face. In the end, she could only conclude that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Since he stopped subconsciously denying his own feelings, Han Zhou seems to have become more and more handsome.

Thinking this, she unconsciously reached out again. She had pulled her hand back too quickly before, and she hadn't had time to properly feel the touch on the other person's cheek.

The finger slowly approached, stopping just before it landed on Han Zhou's face.

Because Han Zhou suddenly opened his eyes.

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

In this critical moment, Guzheng had a flash of inspiration and quickly picked up the apples on the table with her outstretched hand, making sure to choose a large one.

These apples were brought by Lin Anyu. His family sent him a lot of fruit, which he couldn't finish by himself, so in addition to sharing some with his roommates, he also brought some to the train today.

"Guzheng, what are you doing?"

Han Zhou opened his eyes and saw Gu Zheng's little movements. Although she withdrew her hand in time, he could still guess that she was trying to hurt him.

what's the situation?
Did this guy draw a funny face on my face?
He touched his face suspiciously.

Gu Zheng's heart was pounding, and she quickly cupped the apple in her hands, holding it in front of her face.

"N-nothing, I just wanted to get an apple..."

The bright red apple, bathed in direct sunlight, cast rosy blushes onto the girl's cheeks, making her look as tempting as a ripe apple.

The apple was quite large, and Gu Zheng's face was rather small. With half of her face obscured, Han Zhou couldn't see her blushing immediately, but he could still sense a hint of guilt from her tone and eyes.

However, he didn't mind. He took out his phone and looked at his face in the screen to make sure there were no messy graffiti before saying, "These apples haven't been washed. Give them to me, I'll wash them before you eat them."

"No, I can go by myself."

Gu Zheng shook her head repeatedly, holding onto the apple tightly. She knew that if the apple was taken away, Han Zhou would definitely see her blushing. "Besides, I just woke up, so I'm going to wash my face."

This guy really can't lie. Nobody asked him, so why did he have to emphasize that he just woke up?

Han Zhou chuckled inwardly: "Fine, you should know where the water is, right?"

"know."

Gu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, used the apple as a mask to cover her face, and got up to leave. However, seeing that Bai Tongtong, who was sitting near the aisle, was still sleeping, she hesitated.

If she wants to go out, she has to ask Bai Tongtong to make way, but that would disturb the other person's rest.

Noticing this, Han Zhou reached out and tapped the table under Bai Tongtong, while also giving Lin Anyu a hard slap on the shoulder, and said irritably, "You two, stop pretending. Who sleeps like this?"

These two's poor acting skills are far inferior to Mo Yixia's; it's obvious at a glance that they're pretending to be asleep.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean by pretending to be asleep? I'm just a little reluctant to get out of bed."

Lin Anyu got up and muttered something in dissatisfaction. He yawned sleepily, looking like he had just woken up and didn't know anything.

Bai Tongtong didn't have as much drama as him; she simply got up slowly and tidied her somewhat disheveled hair.

Seeing that Guzheng was about to leave, she smiled and nodded at the other person, then got up and walked to the corridor, gesturing for her to leave.

Gu Zheng said "thank you," then hurriedly walked to the sink with the apple in her hand.

Water gushed from the tap, carrying a slight coolness. Guzheng put the apple in her pocket, first splashed water on her face a few times, and took several deep breaths. Seeing that the blush on her face had almost faded, she took out the apple and washed it carefully.

As she washed, her expression suddenly became serious; she felt something was amiss.

and many more.

Those two people...

Were you pretending to be asleep the whole time?
Normally, the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" shouldn't appear in the world where Guzheng exists. Similar idioms with historical allusions may have been used incorrectly before, so please don't dwell on it too much. You can think of them as equivalent idioms in that world.
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(End of this chapter)