Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 25 I really deserve to die

Gu Zheng's smile brightened at the thought that Han Zhou would take her home, and she eagerly awaited his return. However, her expectations were dashed after a long wait.

As the banquet was about to end, Lin Anyu suddenly appeared and said that considering it might be unsafe after dark, the driver had to take the two of them home.

He looked nervous, glancing back frequently as if he were hiding from something. He hurriedly urged the two of them to get into the car, then quickly climbed in himself and slammed the door shut.

Seeing the small figure rapidly approaching outside the car window, he said urgently, "Uncle Zhang, hurry, hurry, drive!"

The car started, and Lin Youya's teeth-gritting shouts could be heard from behind.

"Hey shorty, don't run away! If you're so tough, don't come home!"

Lin Anyu kept slapping his thighs, letting out a loud laugh of revenge.

Lin Youya, her face covered in cream, was so angry she was jumping up and down. Han Zhou, sitting in the back seat, naturally saw this and thought that perhaps this was the main reason why Lin Anyu suddenly offered to take them home—to avoid the limelight.

The car first drove to Huadu Residential Area.

Gu Zheng remained silent throughout the entire process, only saying "thank you" before getting out of the car, and then quickly walked into the residential area.

Lin Anyu wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the other person seemed to look at him with some displeasure when they got out of the car.

He replied with a smile, "Of course," but the latter seemed even angrier, clenched his fists, and stormed off.

Lin Anyu was dumbfounded. He had only a casual relationship with Gu Zheng and didn't know her very well. He thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out why she was unhappy. He could only assume it was his imagination and sent Han Zhou home again.

Han Zhou rejected Lin Anyu's request to stay overnight with a clean and decisive "Get lost," and went upstairs alone.

He has always had the habit of going to bed early and waking up early. Although his status bar makes him look like a normal person, he has not forgotten that he is a patient. Therefore, he usually does not smoke or drink alcohol, goes to bed early and wakes up early, and tries his best to maintain good work and rest and eating habits.

"I used two extra points today, and it still hurts a little. I have to finish all four daily tasks tomorrow. The others are manageable, but the task to make Mo Yixia laugh is really troublesome. It takes a lot of effort every time. I need to think of a way to quickly farm points..."

"Oh, right, we also need to find a chance to verify if Guzheng's analysis is true..."

Han Zhou pondered as he walked into the bathroom. After taking a shower, he was about to go to bed when he suddenly heard a series of urgent knocks on the door.

He frowned slightly. It was almost eleven o'clock. Who would come knocking in the middle of the night? And the sound was more like banging on the door than knocking, which reminded him of some bad memories.

His door didn't have a peephole, so he couldn't see what was happening outside. Pretending no one was home was definitely not an option, since the lights were still on. So he put on his clothes, went to the door, listened for a moment, and then opened the door, but without lowering the security chain.

Just as Han Zhou had expected, as soon as the door opened, someone blocked it, trying to squeeze into the room. Their movements were as rude as a group of bandits, cursing and banging on the door.

If it weren't for the anti-theft chain, these people would probably have rushed in immediately.

"Damn it, you surnamed Han, do you think you can hide? Open the door now!"

Han Zhou took a few steps back, coldly looking at the fierce-looking men outside the door. He had basically figured out what they were up to, and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Seeing that a young man had opened the door, the burly man at the head gestured for the others to shut up and said in a deep voice, "Where is Han Long? Tell him to come out."

"I don't know Han Long."

"Bullshit!"

A burly, short man immediately sneered, "You fucking fool! This is Han Long's house. You don't know him, so why would you live here? Open the door for me right now!"

Han Zhou ignored him, looking down as he typed in a phone number, and said, "If you don't leave, I'll call the police."

The burly man, presumably the leader, showed no fear upon hearing this. He popped a cigarette into his mouth and said coldly, "You can call the police, or we can leave now. But the police are busy, while we are not. We'll be here every day from now on."

The others all wore cold smiles.

Han Zhou knew they were a bunch of scoundrels, so he didn't call the police for the time being, but still held up his phone as a threat, asking, "What do you want?"

"What the hell do you think? You know perfectly well, don't you?"

"Get Han Long out here! That guy owes us a huge sum of money, don't try to play dead!"

"You bastard, you've kept us up all night."

The burly man had a face full of scars, but unlike the others, he didn't swear: "Paying back debts is a matter of course. If Han Long hadn't been dragging his feet on paying back the money, you wouldn't be seeing us today, so you'd better not cover for him."

Han Zhou sighed inwardly, thinking that this was indeed the case; these people had come to collect a debt.

He shook his head and said, "He's not here."

The short man spat and yelled, "Damn it, still spouting nonsense! You think you're not here? Let us in and see!"

The burly man turned around and glared at him, who immediately wilted. He then looked Han Zhou up and down for a moment before asking, "What is your relationship with Han Long? Father and son?"

"That's it."

"Sort of?" The short man raised his head and sneered. "Didn't you just say you didn't know him? Did Han Long teach you that line?" Han Zhou said calmly, "He left here more than a year ago and hasn't come back. If you want to find him, you'd better go somewhere else."

The burly man peered carefully through the crack in the door and, sensing that no one seemed to be there, said in a deep voice, "Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. I don't want to make things difficult for a young man like you, so don't make things difficult for me either. Call your dad and tell him to stop hiding."

Han Zhou was somewhat surprised. He had seen many debt collectors since he was a child, most of whom were thugs who tried to force Han Long to submit by intimidating him. He did not expect that this debt collector was someone with principles.

He thought for a moment, then, in front of the others, found Han Long in his phone contacts and dialed the number. The phone quickly rang with a notification that it was a disconnected number.

“He changed his number a long time ago, and I can’t contact him anymore. Even if I could, he wouldn’t answer my calls.”

"You fucking kidding me?" the short man cursed, his temper flaring. "You think this is Han Long's phone number? You think you can fool us with some random, disconnected number?"

Han Zhou gave him a deep look, then held his phone in front of the burly man, showing him all the call records for the number. As he scrolled up, he said, "He canceled this number when he left a year ago. I live alone now."

The burly man didn't speak, seemingly not quite believing it. The others continued swearing. The neighbors probably heard the commotion outside; there were faint footsteps inside, but they didn't dare go out to check.

So Han Zhou simply went back to his room, took out the diagnosis report, and handed it directly to the people outside.

“This is a diagnosis record from a year ago. The doctor said I wouldn’t live more than two years. Not long after that, Han Long ran away. I don’t know where he is, and it’s no use looking for me.”

"Keep making things up, keep making things up. You won't live past two years? Why don't you say you won't live past tomorrow? You think you're..."

The short man chuckled and opened his mouth to retort, but the words suddenly caught in his throat.

For some reason, he inexplicably thought of his son left behind in the countryside, and his heart suddenly clenched.

If what this guy is saying is true, then doesn't that mean he only has less than a year to live? And he's an abandoned, orphan?
He knew that Han Long had a wife who had died a long time ago, so Han Long's son was motherless.

Han Zhou knew how troublesome it would be to get involved with these thugs; they were like a leech that he couldn't shake off. That's why he decided to completely sever ties with Han Long.

However, in reality, Han Long was no longer his father from the day he abandoned him.

He certainly understood the other party's choice, but the other party should have considered the consequences beforehand.

Han Zhou remained calm throughout. When he saw that everyone suddenly fell silent, he said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask the neighbors. I live alone now and have nothing to do with Han Long anymore, so please don't bother me anymore. I have no money, and even if I did, I wouldn't pay it back for him."

The people outside the door remained silent.

They had seen many guys who temporarily abandoned their wives and children to escape debts, but that was mostly out of necessity, not because they didn't care about their families. This was the first time they had seen a case like this.

It's one thing to be a gambling addict, but to actually abandon a seriously ill child and run away alone—if that's true, what's the difference between him and an animal?
The burly man stroked the diagnosis report, staring at Han Zhou for a while. The other man's face was slightly pale, but not sickly, and overall he did not look like a sick person.

"You had better……"

He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Never mind, let's go."

"Thank you."

Han Zhou seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then suddenly covered his mouth and coughed violently a few times.

Although he quickly hid his hands behind his back, the people outside the door still noticed the small red spots on his palms and were immediately startled.

The short man's expression froze completely. Could such a young man really not live past two years?

No, the two-year period was mentioned a year ago, and now there's less than a year left.

But I not only kept cursing him, I even cursed him not to live past tomorrow...

The others also felt bad. Although they weren't good people, they felt sympathy for such a person.

The burly man returned the diagnosis report to Han Zhou and quickly left with his men.

Seeing that the group had disappeared, Han Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief, closed the door, and went into the bathroom to wash off the ketchup on his hands.

He thought about it and figured that this should be enough. The diagnosis was absolutely genuine, and even if those people tried to verify it, they wouldn't find any problems. They probably wouldn't come back.

but……

More than a year later, someone suddenly came to collect a debt. Is this a debt from the past or a recent one for Han Long? Did he leak his home address to someone else himself?
Tsk, I thought that guy was already dead...

Looks like I'll have to keep ketchup on hand at home from now on, just in case someone else comes looking for money.

Han Zhou was in a pretty good mood today, but now he's in a terrible mood.

Meanwhile, the short man followed the burly man downstairs with a distressed expression, remaining silent throughout the entire process.

He kept his head down, feeling increasingly uneasy. Suddenly, he couldn't hold back any longer, raised his hand, and slapped himself hard, startling everyone.

"Brother Cheng," the short man said, his face filled with grief and indignation, "I fucking deserve to die!"

(End of this chapter)