Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 278 Let's be together?
Han Zhou was already immune to Wang Runxue's shocked expression. He thought to himself that this guy really had professional ethics. Even though he disliked him so much, he still put on a good performance when it was time to perform, as if he was afraid that he would not be able to show the magic of divination.

Unlike his indifference, Zhong Ling still held a certain reverence for divination. Upon seeing this, she immediately tensed up, unconsciously tightening her grip on Han Zhou's hand, a look of panic appearing on her face.

Han Zhou originally wanted to remind her that she could let go of his hand. Helping was one thing, but he had already informed Yi Xia about participating in the event later, and she had agreed and said she would come and check it out.

Although it's customary to hold hands during events, it's a bit inappropriate to hold hands beforehand. However, seeing Zhong Ling's worried expression, he didn't say anything for the time being and turned to look at Wang Runxue, who had a blank expression.

"What was the result this time?"

The two are now enemies who have each other's weaknesses, so there's no need for pretense of politeness; his tone was quite direct.

However, perhaps still harboring resentment, Wang Runxue did not answer, but simply glared at him silently before picking up the tarot cards to continue the divination.

However, the more she did the divination, the more frightened she became. When the divination was over, she was completely stunned. Her mind went blank, and the playing cards slowly slipped from her hands and scattered randomly on the table. She seriously doubted whether she had been possessed by an evil spirit today.

“Same…” she murmured.

"What's the same?"

Han Zhou's hearing is now very good; he can hear even when the girl's voice is very low, but he doesn't quite understand what she means.

"Exactly the same..."

Wang Runxue looked at him with a complicated expression, "The divination result is exactly the same as the girl's before..."

She was shocked when she saw the results of the crystal ball divination, because the pattern in the crystal ball, in terms of both color and shape, was exactly the same as the one in the last divination!
This does happen, but the probability is extremely low, let alone consecutive occurrences.

That's why she suspected there was something wrong with the crystal ball.

However, what truly terrified her were the subsequent divinations, all of which yielded the exact same results as the previous ones! Including the revelation that she would "die a violent death"!

In other words, the future trajectory of this scumbag and Senior Zhong Ling is the same as that of the girl with the mask.

The same male lead, different female leads, yet they share the same fate.

This can no longer be explained by coincidence...

Is this guy really destined to be a scumbag?
Wang Runxue's gaze toward Han Zhou grew increasingly hostile.

If she weren't certain that her eyes weren't blind, she might have really doubted whether the senior student Zhong Ling in front of her was the same person as the girl wearing a mask from before.

Exactly the same?
Han Zhou was also a little confused, wondering if this guy was deliberately talking nonsense to sow discord between him and his senior. Only Zhong Ling was clueless, so she turned her questioning gaze to her junior.

Han Zhou hesitated, unsure whether to tell her that he had only casually asked Wang Runxue a divination question to approach her and threaten her not to tell Gu Zheng about what happened today. He had no intention of actually divining, but not only did he do it, he also got such an absurd result.

Was the result terrible?

A soft, gentle voice reached his ears. He turned to look at the girl beside him. She seemed to have been observing his expression the whole time. She said softly, "Wu Fang is urging me to go back. The final stage is about to begin. Let's go."

Zhong Ling could tell that her junior was somewhat embarrassed, so she didn't insist on asking for an answer.

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment: "It's not that it's bad, it's just a little strange... I'm worried that you won't be happy to hear this, senior."

"Why?" Zhong Ling tilted her head.

The fact that her junior was willing to answer her questions made her feel somewhat happy.

"Do you remember the question I just asked in the divination?" Han Zhou smiled awkwardly.

"Remember, will we really be together in the future?"

Don't you think this question is very impolite to you?

"I don't think so. Why would it be impolite?"

Han Zhou gave a wry smile: "...After all, we're just friends."

Zhong Ling paused for a moment, then suddenly tugged at her small cloth bag and asked somewhat uneasily, "Can't friends always stay together?"

Han Zhou was taken aback; he hadn't expected that this was the first thing the other person was concerned about: "That's not what I meant, but what I said about being together..."

Zhong Ling breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gently, "I know what you mean, but my sister said that friendships are sometimes more reliable than romantic relationships, because lovers may break up for various reasons, but friends often stay together the longest..."

At this point, her expression changed slightly, and she quickly added nervously, "I didn't mean you would break up with me, I just... I'm sorry, I'm so bad with words, please don't be angry..."

Her cautious explanation was incredibly cute, and her weak appearance made her seem somewhat aggrieved. Han Zhou chuckled and shook his head, saying, "It's okay, you're overthinking it. I'm not angry. What Sister Yin said makes a lot of sense."

Friendships do indeed last longer than romantic relationships. Unless there is a serious conflict, most friendships will only fade due to a lack of contact over a long period of time, but they are still friends, and may even remain by each other's side in old age.

Couples who can stay together for life are relatively rare. Once they separate, they will no longer be lovers. The once passionate feelings will eventually be given to the next person, but there is still no guarantee that they will be able to stay together until the end.

From this perspective, friendships do indeed last longer than romantic relationships because friends are less likely to initiate a breakup.

Han Zhou gave a wry smile: "But by the time you find out what 'being together in real life' means, you'll probably be angry with me."

"Will not."

Zhong Ling quickly shook her head, "Unless...unless you do something really bad, I won't be angry with you."

"What if it's something really bad?"

Han Zhou chuckled; this senior was truly a very gentle person.

Zhong Ling paused, seemingly stumped by the question. As someone lacking in assertiveness, she usually sought answers from her older sister to such difficult problems, but there was clearly no time for that now; she had to rely on herself.
After hesitating for a while, she said nervously, "Then...then you should apologize to them properly, and I will ask them to forgive you and not be angry with you..."

"What if they refuse to forgive?"

Zhong Ling was stumped again. She swallowed hard and tentatively asked, "Then...then shall we go and beg them together?"

Perhaps feeling that the answer was too naive, her face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head awkwardly, the autumn wind blowing her hair across her forehead and sticking to her fair cheeks.

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment: "I was the one who did something wrong, why are you coming with me to beg for forgiveness?"

The problem was finally solved, and Zhong Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, smiling faintly, "Because we're friends."

On an autumn afternoon, the sunlight should have carried a slight coolness, but the moment it fell on the girl's face, time seemed to instantly return to that scorching late summer, the sunlight so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

Senior, are you an angel...?

Han Zhou couldn't help but have this thought pop into his mind, and said with a helpless smile, "I'm afraid you won't think that way when the time comes, and you might even hate me instead."

"Will not."

Zhong Ling quickly shook her head. Perhaps sensing the bitterness in the other person's smile, she hesitated for a moment before carefully clenching the large hand in her palm, as if that would offer some comfort.

"I told you, I won't hate you... as long as you don't hurt my sister."

After a moment's hesitation, she still chose to add this additional condition.

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then half-jokingly said, "I remember you didn't mention this condition before, did you?" "This is something I just added..."

Can a verbal promise be subject to additional conditions?

"Then...then I won't add it," Zhong Ling said weakly.

Han Zhou chuckled, and after a couple of seconds exclaimed, "I'm starting to understand why Sister Yin wanted you to use 'get lost' as an answer when someone tried to pick you up."

"Why?" Zhong Ling asked curiously.

"Because you... are just too easy to bully, senior," Han Zhou said sincerely.

Zhong Ling was a little embarrassed: "My sister often says that too..."

The two deliberately lowered their voices while speaking. Of course, Zhong Ling didn't need to lower her voice, so Wang Runxue didn't hear what they were saying at all. However, judging from their expressions, she knew it wasn't anything good and they were definitely saying some cheesy love words.

One is a blatant scumbag, and the other is a blatant victim of scumbag behavior; they're both truly bizarre...

Seemingly sensing what she was thinking, Han Zhou suddenly leaned closer again and earnestly reminded her, "You can have many assumptions about me, and even if you write a novel about it and it gets out, I won't bother you. But please don't make assumptions about anyone around me, or I'll get angry, understand?"

Wang Runxue snorted coldly, intending to retort, but perhaps because the other person's gaze was too sharp, she felt inexplicably afraid and could only reluctantly reply, "I know without you saying it."

Han Zhou smiled with satisfaction, his tone becoming more amiable: "I knew I hadn't seen it before. You seem like a smart person. I forgot to ask earlier, what's your name?"

"What do you want?"

Wang Runxue looked wary. Just thinking about the other party's threatening statement that started with "You don't want to either" made her realize that this guy was no good. Could it be that he wanted to use something on her to blackmail her into doing something shady?

Han Zhou had no idea what the girl was imagining. Although he had just spoken confidently and said he wasn't afraid of her exposing his "evil deeds" in the future, he was actually quite worried about being exposed.

He didn't know the specifics of the hidden camera incident, but if this guy were to confess to the president one day, this incriminating evidence would become invalid, and the backlash from the old and new grudges would be quite terrible. Therefore, he needed to plan ahead and find ways to increase his leverage.

So he smiled and said, "Actually, I've always been very interested in divination. I've been studying it on my own for a while and I consider myself to have achieved some success, so I'd like to ask you for some advice."

"Seeking advice?" Wang Runxue sensed that he had ill intentions.

Han Zhou didn't explain, but took out a bamboo stick from his pocket and said, "You just need to carry this with you for half a day, and then give it to me. I will tell you the results of my divination a week later."

Wang Runxue took the bamboo stick with a suspicious look. She first examined it carefully, then brought it to her nose and sniffed it. There was no strange smell, so she was sure it was just an ordinary bamboo stick. She said cautiously, "I have never heard of this kind of divination method."

I've never heard of using playing cards for divination...

Han Zhou silently recited to himself, then said mysteriously, "This is my divination method. It's normal that you haven't heard of it. Trust me, my divination has never been wrong."

It would be a miracle if I trusted you...

Wang Runxue felt something was amiss and initially wanted to refuse outright, but then she thought that a bamboo skewer couldn't possibly lead to any tricks, so she asked, "Carry this thing for half a day... and then what?"

"Then leave it to me."

"How should I hand it over to you? When and where?" Wang Runxue asked cautiously.

What kind of look is that? It's like I'm thinking of calling you to a hotel in the middle of the night...

Han Zhou's lips twitched: "You should be going to the gymnasium tonight, right? You can give it to me then, or have Guzheng pass it on. I'll have Guzheng tell you the divination results a week later."

“Great!” Wang Runxue’s eyes lit up. “It’s settled then!”

She had been worried about not having a chance to talk to Guzheng, and now this guy actually dared to create an opportunity for her. He was probably laughing at her for not being able to tell on him. She was so naive.

Hmph, one day, this bullet will bounce back and hit this scumbag!

She put the bamboo skewers into her pocket and said, "Alright, alright, you guys go ahead and leave, don't get in my way of doing business."

Han Zhou feigned doubt and asked, "Isn't there a limit to the number of times you can perform divination in a day?"

"Don't you know why I said that? Get out of here!"

Han Zhou shrugged, turned around and left with Zhong Ling, letting go of their clasped hands.

Zhong Ling asked curiously, "Junior, can you also do divination?"

"know a little."

"Oh... is it accurate?"

"It's fairly accurate, but I can't control the direction," Han Zhou answered honestly.

"Oh...where's that girl from earlier?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but at least her expression was spot on."

"Oh……"

"You want to know what the result of the divination was, right?" Han Zhou looked at her with a smile.

"Mmm." Zhong Ling nodded shyly.

"Just listen to it, but don't take it seriously."

"it is good."

"The result is... although the process was tortuous, we will eventually be together."

After a pause, Han Zhou continued, "To be precise, we're really together."

"Mm." Zhong Ling smiled gently.

"that's it?"

"What else should we do?" Zhong Ling tilted her head.

"No, it's just that I always feel your reactions are too bland."

"Didn't you say you'd just listen and be done with it?" Zhong Ling looked at him questioningly.

Han Zhou was taken aback, then half-jokingly said, "What if it's true?"

Zhong Ling paused, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Is that possible?"

That's why I said it was just in case.

"Then... then let's be together?"

(End of this chapter)