Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 289 "Starry Sky"

The dance ended at 10 p.m., and Han Zhou and Gu Zheng left the gymnasium before 9 p.m.

"It suddenly became much quieter."

A gust of cold wind slipped into the collar of the guzheng, making her feel a little chilly. Looking at the few people under the streetlights, she couldn't help but sigh.

"It's the weekend today, so students are either off campus or in their dorms. The rest are mostly in the gymnasium, so it's normal that it's quiet outside."

Han Zhou gave a casual explanation, then took off his coat and handed it to the girl next to him, saying, "Put this on, don't catch a cold."

Gu Zheng was taken aback. Her first reaction wasn't one of being touched, but rather one of suspicion: "Have you been reading too many romance novels lately?"

"You know I don't read novels much, let alone romance novels."

"So you did something to offend me and are trying to get my forgiveness by being overly attentive?"

Han Zhou's face darkened: "What do you mean? If you don't want to wear it, I'll wear it myself."

Gu Zheng clung tightly to her coat sleeve, saying, "It's nothing. I... I just felt that unless there was a special reason, you wouldn't be so considerate. Besides, I didn't actually feel cold..."

Without making a sound, he snatched the coat and quietly put it on.

You didn't feel cold, yet you so casually snatched my coat?

Han Zhou was greatly surprised and sighed helplessly, "Am I not usually a very considerate person?"

“I didn’t say no, it’s just that you’ve been acting especially strange today.”

"After all, we just danced together, so I have to maintain my gentlemanly demeanor," Han Zhou said calmly.

"I knew it was only temporary..."

Gu Zheng pouted, looked up at the sky, and said regretfully, "There isn't a single star tonight."

Ever since she saw the dazzling starry sky at Xiao Xiaoxiao's house, she has enjoyed looking at the night sky every now and then to see if she can find any stars. Unfortunately, Lincheng is not like a small village close to nature. Perhaps due to the continuous development of industry, there are hardly any stars to be seen in the city anymore.

"That's not necessarily true," Han Zhou said enigmatically.

"What do you mean 'not necessarily'?" Gu Zheng looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Whether there will be stars tonight is uncertain."

Before she could speak, Han Zhou said mysteriously, "Stand still and close your eyes."

Gu Zheng was stunned for a moment. Although she didn't understand why, she obediently closed her eyes and waited silently for a while.

"Ok?"

"Wait a moment."

"Oh... is it ready now?"

"Don't rush, it won't be that fast, just wait a few more seconds."

"It's been ten seconds already, it should be done by now, right?"

"All right."

Han Zhou seemed relieved and could open his eyes.

Gu Zheng thought of the gift that Teacher Ouyang had mentioned, so she opened her eyes expectantly. She saw that Han Zhou had put an object in his hand that looked like a crystal ball. It had no luster and its surface was pitch black. She couldn't tell that there was anything special about it.

She didn't show any disappointment, but instead asked curiously, "What is this?"

"The starry sky." A profound and unfathomable expression appeared on Han Zhou's face.

He didn't keep us in suspense, turning the crystal ball in his hand around once. Only then did Guzheng notice that a telescope-like device was connected to the dark crystal ball—

No, it's not just like that; this thing is a telescope. It appears to have been glued to the crystal ball, with the joint covered in black tape to block out light. The workmanship is undeniably rough. A crystal ball plus a telescope—this is the "starry sky" Han Zhou spoke of.

Gu Zheng took the crystal ball with great anticipation, examined it curiously, and then exclaimed in realization, "You mean we can see the starry sky through this telescope?"

“That’s right,” Han Zhou said with a smile. “Give it a try.”

With anticipation in her heart, Gu Zheng asked Han Zhou to hold the crystal ball for her while she peered into the telescope, about to ask how to use it, when she suddenly let out a gasp.

The moment she brought her eyes close to the telescope, countless tiny lights suddenly appeared in her vision. These tiny lights, varying in shade and scattered in a pleasing pattern inside the deep blue crystal ball, looked like a sky full of stars.

"This is……"

"You can try adjusting the focus of the telescope," Han Zhou said with a smile.

Gu Zheng followed suit, gently adjusting the focus of the telescope. The position of the light spot in her line of sight changed accordingly, as if it were flowing.

As the focal length changes, this "starry sky" seems to come alive, with the light spots varying in size, distance, and brightness, presenting a completely new starry sky with each adjustment of the focal length, as if it were a scene from a magical story.

"So beautiful..." Gu Zheng was mesmerized.

"Do you like it?" Han Zhou asked with a smile.

"I like it, I really like it." Gu Zheng snapped out of her reverie and nodded quickly, then asked with a puzzled look, "What is this thing...?"

"That's right, I made it myself."

Han Zhou puffed out his chest and said with a smug look on his face, "I got the telescope from Lin Anyu, and I asked a senior to help me buy the main material for the crystal ball. I even borrowed the chemistry and physics labs. Originally, I wanted to create a breathtaking galaxy effect, but it was too difficult, so I had to lower the standards. The telescope's effect was supposed to be magnified and rendered, but my calculations were wrong, and it actually created a flowing starry sky effect, which isn't so bad, so I didn't change it..."

"Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but the initial starry sky was based on astronomical knowledge. The stars that you can name were all placed in proportion to reality..."

Han Zhou stood under the streetlights, talking animatedly, but Gu Zheng didn't hear a word he said. She just stared at his face, then burst out laughing.

"I knew you made this."

She looked down at the sphere and telescope that were forcibly glued together, and smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Your handiwork has always been rough. I remember once in high school..."

"do not talk!"

Han Zhou's expression changed, and he quickly stopped the other party from bringing up his dark history.

Gu Zheng couldn't help but chuckle and didn't continue speaking. She carefully hugged the crystal ball to her chest, afraid of accidentally breaking it.

She knew Han Zhou's craftsmanship was rough, and that's why she showed such a surprised expression when she saw the dazzling starry sky hidden inside the crystal ball.

It's no exaggeration to say that if the appearance could be further refined, this thing could definitely sell for a lot of money.

And these non-sale items... were actually gifts that this clumsy guy specially made for himself...

Thinking of this, a warm feeling welled up in Guzheng's heart, and she asked casually, "There should only be one of these, right?"

"Yeah, it's for you."

Seeing that Gu Zheng was satisfied, Han Zhou was also very happy. "Starry Sky" was originally a birthday gift he prepared for Gu Zheng. Her birthday was coming soon, but he felt guilty about deceiving Gu Zheng today with Teacher Ouyang and others, so he gave her this gift in advance as compensation.

He originally did not have the ability to create a "starry sky", but having the ability to "learn by analogy" means that he can quickly master any ability that interests him, including the ability to create a "starry sky".

Of course, he knew very well that deception was unforgivable, especially deceiving someone who trusted him. The so-called compensation was just psychological comfort, which could not change the nature of the deception, nor could it erase the damage that had been done.

However, since he had already made his choice, there was no turning back. If telling the truth could solve the problem, he wouldn't have chosen to use deception.

Entrusting such a shameless deception to someone who trusted him almost completely was tormenting Han Zhou, but compared to that, losing either Gu Zheng or Mo Yixia was more painful. He was willing to accept whatever Gu Zheng might do to him in the future, but at least until then, he still needed to continue the deception.

Gu Zheng had no idea what Han Zhou was thinking. When she learned that "Starry Sky" was the only item, she couldn't hide the smile on her face. She planned to buy a box online when she got back to protect this gift.

It was originally 5,000 words long, but I stopped here because I wasn't satisfied with the later parts and deleted them.
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(End of this chapter)