Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 249 Shell City by the Sea

"Han Zhou, were you really asleep or just pretending?"

"Really sleeping." Han Zhou glanced helplessly at his friend. "Who would fake sleeping when they have nothing better to do?"

Bai Tongtong smiled without saying a word, looking down at her phone screen as if the words had nothing to do with her.

Lin Anyu lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Do you know what Guzheng just did to you?"

"At most, they might pull your ear or flick your forehead, what else could they do?"

Han Zhou didn't care. Unless Gu Zheng kissed him while he was asleep, he didn't care about anything else.

However, if that were the case, Lin Anyu wouldn't just have this "I've had a good piece of gossip" expression; instead, she would excitedly shout in his ear, urging him to kiss her back quickly.

So it's probably not a big deal.

"Although it's not much different from what you said, the difference in meaning is huge." Lin Anyu chuckled, speaking with an eager tone, "You don't know, just now Guzheng..."

"What's wrong with me?"

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of the guzheng suddenly rang out behind him.

Lin Anyu's expression froze.

Turning around, I saw Guzheng holding an apple staring down at me. Perhaps because she had just washed her face, her hair was slightly damp. Her eyes were not fierce, but they were definitely not friendly either.

He glanced at Bai Tongtong across from him and immediately felt a pang of bitterness. He thought to himself that this woman still hadn't let go of her grudges; she hadn't even informed him that Guzheng was back.

In fact, Bai Tongtong didn't mean to notify him; she simply didn't have time to react before the guzheng appeared behind Lin Anyu in the blink of an eye.

She paused for two seconds, then stood up to make room for Guzheng and gestured for her to sit back down.

Gu Zheng shook her head and said, "I came back to ask if you want to eat apples. If you do, I'll wash a couple more."

"I'm not eating it. I'm tired of eating it in the dorm."

Lin Anyu knew that Gu Zheng had probably heard what he had just said, but he still sat up straight, trying his best to act as if nothing had happened and make the other person forget about it. "What about you?"

"I won't eat either."

Han Zhou showed no intention of helping him out of the predicament, and leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed to rest.

"I don't want it either, thank you." Bai Tongtong smiled politely.

Xiao Xiaoxiao was still sleeping and did not speak.

Seeing that no one wanted to eat the apple, Guzheng sat back down and said, "That's a problem. I can't finish such a big apple by myself."

Han Zhou knew Gu Zheng's appetite perfectly, and he knew she was talking nonsense as soon as he heard her, so he closed his eyes and didn't say anything.

Lin Anyu chuckled and said, "There's nothing we can do if you can't finish it. After all, we can't bring knives on the bus, and we can't share apples. Why don't you get a smaller one?"

"But this one looks sweeter."

Gu Zheng shook her head, and then, to Lin Anyu and Bai Tongtong's astonishment, easily broke the apple in half. Her movements were as effortless as tearing a piece of toilet paper. Although the cross-section was not as smooth as if she had used a knife, it was still quite even.

And whether intentionally or unintentionally, she turned her face toward Lin Anyu when she was breaking the apple.

"Look, it's easy to divide even without a knife. Aren't you going to eat any?"

Lin Anyu was sweating profusely.

He could tell that the other person was warning him not to speak carelessly, otherwise the consequences might be just like this apple, easily torn in two.

"Well... I'll eat something then..."

……

The nearly twelve-hour drive would be quite long for most people, but with five people in Han Zhou's group, it wasn't too boring. Xiao Xiaoxiao woke up around 11 o'clock, but unfortunately, she had a stiff neck and could only tilt her head to the left, making Han Zhou laugh out loud at her comical appearance.

Gu Zheng and Xiao Xiaoxiao had limited time together and their relationship was so-so. The others had only just met Xiao Xiaoxiao, so although they all found her interesting, they didn't laugh as loudly as Han Zhou.

With several more hours to go before arriving in Beicheng, after finishing their unpalatable and expensive boxed lunches, Lin Anyu took out a deck of cards he had prepared beforehand and suggested that everyone play Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game).

Since they had nothing better to do, everyone quickly agreed, except they changed the game of Dou Dizhu to Texas Hold'em.

Each seat has two chairs, which can usually fit two adults. However, Gu Zheng and Bai Tongtong are both slender girls, and Xiao Xiaoxiao is even more petite. The three girls sitting together do not feel crowded at all.

It's worth mentioning that Xiao Xiaoxiao sat in the window seat that originally belonged to Guzheng. Because of her stiff neck, her head could only tilt to the left. Sitting in the middle would make her look like she was peeking at other people's cards, and it would be too funny to look at the cards sideways. So she could only sit in the window seat. Most of the time she tilted her head and looked out the window, which didn't seem too strange.

However, this meant she ended up sitting right across from Han Zhou. Whenever he saw him "facing the wall in contemplation," Han Zhou couldn't help but chuckle. But if Xiao Xiaoxiao noticed, the girl would gesticulate wildly, warning him not to laugh, only to be stopped by Gu Zheng, who was trying to suppress her laughter.

Watching Lin Anyu deal the cards, Han Zhou couldn't help but sigh. The last time he played Texas Hold'em was on the snowy mountain with Mo Yixia and Xiao Yuyan. Now he was playing with Gu Zheng and others. He wondered if he would ever have the chance to play with a different group of people again...

This can be considered a case of "the game of Texas Hold'em remains constant, but the players come and go"...

The punishment for this game was simple: the loser had to stick a small piece of paper on their face. Lin Anyu was clearly prepared; he had already prepared the small pieces of paper as props.

After several rounds, everyone had their wins and losses, and most of them had notes stuck to their faces. Time slipped away quietly as they played around.

As the train whistle sounded, bright lights appeared ahead, and a huge city came into view outside the window. Before you could take a closer look, the train pulled into the station, slowed down, and came to a stop. The doors opened automatically.

"arrive."

Xiao Xiaoxiao gave a reminder, and then impatiently tore all the paper strips off her face.

She had a really bad day. Not only did she sleep with a stiff neck, but she also lost the most at cards. Her little face was almost covered with notes.

The group got up, picked up their luggage, and got off the bus, taking out their phones to check the time.

"It gets dark really early here," Lin Anyu muttered.

It's only a little past six o'clock now; in Lincheng, it wouldn't even be dark yet.

“It’s good that it gets dark early, the night view of Beicheng is so beautiful.” Xiao Xiaoxiao glanced at him sideways and said with a smug look, “I’ll take you for a walk later.”

It wasn't that she wanted to look at people askance, but rather that her stiff neck hadn't fully healed. "Can we see the sea at night?" Lin Anyu asked.

"Why not? You can see the sea just a short walk from the train station."

Is there a beach?

"Aren't you talking nonsense?"

Where's the parasol?

"Have."

"Where's the beauty?"

"I am a beauty! Aren't you annoying me?" Xiao Xiaoxiao was getting impatient.

This isn't just boasting; although she's petite, she's definitely a cute girl with a charm rating of 7 out of 10.

Where are the beautiful women in bikinis?

"Well, no, not really..." Xiao Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. "It's cool at night, who would wear a bikini? Maybe during the day."

"Then why did you say the night view is beautiful?"

Lin Anyu shook his head and sighed, revealing an expression that said, "It's nothing special."

"Do you really like bikinis that much?" Bai Tongtong's voice rang out beside him.

Lin Anyu was a little afraid of her, but he still said without changing his expression, "What's so strange about that? Boys all like bikinis. Han Zhou can vouch for me."

He did not hesitate to bring Han Zhou into the united front.

Gu Zheng hadn't been paying attention to the topic and was thinking about what to have for dinner, but upon hearing this, her expression changed immediately, and she looked at Han Zhou warily: "Is it true?"

Seeing that several girls were looking at him, Han Zhou touched his nose and said somewhat awkwardly, "There's no point in denying it, but I was mainly looking at them with admiration..."

Xiao Xiaoxiao looked at him with disdain and said, "Nonsense, bikinis cover less than underwear, what's so admirable about that?"

"You just don't understand," Lin Anyu waved his hand and laughed. "Everyone has a love for beauty. Just like girls admire men's abs, men also admire women's figures. Bikinis are just one way to show beauty. Please don't look at it with such vulgar eyes, okay?"

"That's all nonsense," Xiao Xiaoxiao said, scoffing. "They're wearing bikinis at the beach, but why don't you let them walk around the streets and see what happens?"

“That’s not right.” Lin Anyu’s expression turned serious. “If you’ve ever watched a fight match, you’ll have seen that many male fighters are shirtless. It’s not strange for them to be there, but if a man walks down the street shirtless, he’ll be subject to public order penalties.”

Without giving Xiao Xiaoxiao a chance to speak, he continued, "Similarly, if you've ever watched a beauty pageant, you'll find that most of the contestants dress very provocatively. You know, they're exposed to the world's cameras. Since it's called a beauty pageant, doesn't that mean it's a way of expressing beauty?"

"That's still fallacy." Xiao Xiaoxiao was too lazy to argue with him and snorted coldly, "Anyway, I don't like this way of expressing myself."

Gu Zheng stared intently at Han Zhou and asked, "Han Zhou, is that what you think too?"

Why are you asking me again...?

Han Zhou sighed inwardly and said solemnly, "I generally only appreciate beauty and do not make any comments on the way it is expressed."

Gu Zheng understood what he meant and rolled her eyes at him, saying, "Vulgar."

Han Zhou shrugged. If it were Mo Yixia, she probably wouldn't have said anything vulgar at this point, but rather asked if he wanted to appreciate her unique "expression"...

He was actually quite looking forward to seeing Mo Yixia in a swimsuit.

As for the guzheng, he would much rather see this guy in a maid outfit than in a swimsuit; this guy has the potential to be a tsundere maid.

Seeing that Lin Anyu was still going on and on about the many benefits of bikinis, and even describing from an appreciative perspective what kind of body type is suitable for wearing a bikini, he couldn't help but sigh and stopped him in time before the other party uttered the word "big breasts" to prevent this guy from getting himself into trouble.

Gu Zheng's competitive nature has never changed, even when it comes to the issue of her breasts. However, this is mainly a matter of genetics, and cannot be changed by effort. Since she can't compete with others, she can only try to avoid this topic when there are many girls around, so as not to "humiliate herself".

Therefore, this is a major sore spot for her. If Lin Anyu insists on nagging, even Han Zhou wouldn't dare to guarantee his safety.

As the group left the station, the night view that came into view was indeed exceptionally charming. However, it was not much different from that of Lincheng. The reason why it gave people a refreshing feeling was mainly because it was the first time that everyone had come to this place.

Xiao Xiaoxiao was not very satisfied with everyone's reaction. She immediately raised her eyebrows and said that the scenery by the sea was the most beautiful. However, everyone was not concerned about this issue at the moment. Instead, they were thinking about where to eat.

Bai Tongtong seemed to have something to take care of. Seeing that it was almost time, she smiled and said goodbye to everyone. Lin Anyu symbolically tried to persuade her to stay, but to his surprise, she actually accepted his invitation to have dinner together. He said somewhat embarrassedly, "Sorry to bother you."

Lin Anyu wanted to slap himself, but after holding it in for a long time, he couldn't bring himself to ask, "So you're not going to deal with your matter?"

To get to the fishing village where Xiao Xiaoxiao lives, they need to take a passenger bus, which usually stops running at six o'clock. Since they can't go there today, they need to stay in the city overnight.

The group chose a seafood restaurant. While eating, Lin Anyu booked a hotel. This time, he wisely refrained from asking Bai Tongtong where she would stay that night. He booked two double rooms: one for himself and Han Zhou, and the other for Gu Zheng and Xiao Xiaoxiao.

Gu Zheng was initially a little down about the bikini incident, but once she started eating a big meal, she forgot all about it. Xiao Xiaoxiao's appetite couldn't compare to hers, but their eating habits were pretty much the same.

In contrast, Bai Tongtong's eating manners were quite elegant, her every move as if she had practiced many times, giving people the feeling of a well-bred lady.

Lin Anyu and Han Zhou exchanged a glance, still unable to imagine that such a girl would have such a fierce-looking bald father. The styles between father and daughter were just too different.

The restaurant is located near the sea, and everyone chose an outdoor seating area, which offered a great view of the beach.

As night falls, the sea and sky merge into one, the sea surface is lit up by twinkling stars, and the glowing waves surge from time to time. In the distance, you can vaguely see flashing lights, which seem to be fishing boats on the sea.

Along the coast, lights were already lit, and rows of buildings shimmered in the night, like a dazzling three-dimensional painting.

The moon wasn't very bright tonight; its light was somewhat dim, but it had a unique charm. It reflected against the deep blue sea, and seagulls could be seen flying by from time to time, emitting clear cries.

The sea breeze carries the fresh scent of the sea with a hint of saltiness, along with a touch of the coolness of the night, which can be smelled from afar by those in the restaurant.

Apart from Guzheng, who was engrossed in eating, everyone else slowed down their movements and quietly appreciated the rare scenery.

“It looks good, doesn’t it?”

Xiao Xiaoxiao wiped the oil from her mouth, her eyes sparkling with a bright light, and said triumphantly, "When I have money in the future, I want to see every beautiful place in the world."

The bright, soft light overhead illuminated the rose earrings on the girl's earlobes.

(End of this chapter)