Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 291 Silver Bell
Pure white cream transforms into fine lines, gradually outlining the upturned corners of the mouth and the eyes, a radiant smile blooming on the pastry, adding a touch of liveliness to it.

Giving smiley faces to pastries is not a difficult task, but Zhong Ling was still very focused and even acted very carefully.

This was a task her older sister had given her, and she was determined to complete it well.

When she finished drawing the last smiley face, she breathed a slight sigh of relief. She held the pastry and stared at it blankly for a while. Suddenly, she raised the corners of her mouth and tried to make the same smiley face as the pastry, but it didn't look right. So she stopped trying and turned to call her sister over to see if she was satisfied.

However, as soon as she turned her head, she saw a face with a half-smile. Her junior had been standing next to her at some point, looking quite interested.

Recalling her childish actions, Zhong Ling smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"Junior students, you've arrived."

Han Zhou had already activated his enhanced hearing, and upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "I've been here for a while now, I hope I haven't disturbed you?"

"No," Zhong Ling shook her head and said softly, "I'm drawing smiley faces."

"I saw it, it's really well drawn."

Han Zhou praised it sincerely, saying that he certainly couldn't draw such a bright smile on his own. He had only average talent in handicrafts and painting, unless he put in the effort to learn.

He was a little curious. When he called Zhong Yin on the day of the social event, he misheard Zhong Yin's question and suggested that she should draw more smiley faces. Although it was a coincidence, he didn't know if Zhong Yin decided to draw smiley faces on the pastries because she took his advice.

"Thank you."

Zhong Ling smiled gently and nodded to Lin Anyu and Gu Zheng behind Han Zhou, "You two sit for a while, I'll go call my sister over."

Although they couldn't hear her voice clearly, Lin Anyu and Gu Zheng roughly understood what she meant. The latter asked curiously, "What is Sister Yin doing?"

"We're tidying up the rooms at the back."

Since Zhong Yin opened her shop near the school, it means she won't be able to travel back and forth between home and the shop in the future, so she plans to live in the shop. It is precisely because she knows that she can see her sister more often in the future that Zhong Ling is so happy today.

Han Zhou told the two of them what Zhong Ling had said, and then they waited together in the shop.

Not long after, Zhong Yin and Zhong Ling came out of the room together. It is worth mentioning that the former's expression changed very interestingly. Her gaze swept over the faces of Gu Zheng, Lin Anyu and Han Zhou in turn, and the smile on her face went from deep to shallow, and finally disappeared.

Han Zhou felt a little uncomfortable, as he felt that the other person's gaze was full of hidden meaning, and he didn't know if it was because he was still bothered by the content of their conversation on the phone last time.

Zhong Yin's gaze did not linger on Han Zhou's face for too long, so as not to let the other party realize her thoughts.

Her feelings towards this guy were quite complicated. She was grateful for his care of her sister and his help to their family, but she also had a strange worry that he might kidnap her sister.

This wasn't unfounded. She had already learned about the games from Xiaoling at the last social event. She wasn't angry with Han Zhou for the hugging and cuddling, or for taking advantage of her sister. After all, Xiaoling had mentioned more than once that she had asked Han Zhou for help with this matter.

What truly worries Zhong Yin is that, perhaps even Xiao Ling herself hasn't realized, her guard against this man is far too low. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't even let them touch her hand, yet she allows Han Zhou to hold her.

"Being forced by the game rules" is not a valid reason. Zhong Yin knows very well that Xiao Ling is just naive, not stupid. She should have anticipated the situation from the moment she first heard about the rules. If she was unwilling, she would definitely refuse to continue participating in the game.

Zhong Yin originally thought that Xiao Ling cared about Han Zhou because he had a special meaning to her, but now it seems that this may not be the case.

Of course, it's hard to say. She knows that Xiaoling is very oblivious to feelings, and this younger sister who has never been in a relationship knows nothing about love. She has thought about having a good talk with him, but she is worried that such a talk will make him realize or become curious about her feelings, and thus truly fall in love with Han Zhou.

Even though the first impression wasn't good and the negative impact hasn't completely disappeared, making Zhong Yin unable to help but give Han Zhou the cold shoulder, she also admitted in her heart that this young man was capable of bringing happiness to her sister, and entrusting her sister to him wasn't unacceptable.

The problem is... there are just too many girls with whom this guy has ambiguous relationships.

Recalling the many girls she saw at the hospital that day, and Gu Zheng, one of the strong contenders for Han Zhou's girlfriend who was present now, Zhong Yin felt a headache coming on. Her intuition told her that Xiao Ling should not and could not be with Han Zhou.

It seems we still need to find an opportunity to talk about this, but first I need to think about how to say it...

Gathering her scattered thoughts, Zhong Yin smiled and said, "Thank you all for taking the time to come. I appreciate your help."

If Zhong Ling's smile was gentle and approachable, then Zhong Yin's smile had a touch of aloofness, perfectly described by a line from a song lyric—

You are not truly happy.

Han Zhou knew that this was because he was there; if only Gu Zheng were left alone, this guy would definitely be laughing happily.

"No trouble at all, we don't have classes this afternoon anyway."

He asked, "Sister Yin, I see the shop is almost ready. When do you plan to open for business?"

"We'll have to wait a few more days," Zhong Yin replied calmly.

Gu Zheng smiled and said, "Then let us know when the time comes, and we'll come and help."

“Okay.” A smile appeared on Zhong Yin’s face.

Their attitudes were completely different.

"Hey, Han Zhou," Lin Anyu nudged Han Zhou's shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Did you offend your senior's sister somehow?"

"That's not wrong," Han Zhou shrugged, looking nonchalant. "I offended him on our first meeting."

"What?" Lin Anyu was startled. "You still hold a grudge about what happened the first time you met? Are you that petty?"

He glanced at Zhong Yin discreetly, shook his head, and sighed, "They say a great mind is tolerant, but it seems we can't always believe everything the ancients said..."

Han Zhou's lips twitched: "Next time you speak, remember to check if Sister Yin has a wrench in her pocket..."

"What do you mean?"

"What are you two talking about so suspiciously?" Gu Zheng looked at the two of them with suspicion.

Lin Anyu's expression tightened, fearing that Han Zhou would retaliate in kind, betraying him just as decisively as he had betrayed him before, and saying something like, "Lin Anyu said Sister Yin is great."

Fortunately, Han Zhou didn't say that. Instead, he calmly replied, "It's nothing. We were just talking about the sports meet."

"Brothers……"

Lin Anyu looked at Han Zhou with emotion.

Han Zhou ignored him and asked, "Can we eat the pastries now? I'm a little hungry."

Guzheng, who had been craving food for a while, nodded quickly and said, "I'm a little hungry too."

Zhong Ling brought over the plate of pastries. Zhong Yin looked down at the smiling faces on the pastries, her expression softening, and said, "These are it, please try them."

She took out disposable gloves and distributed them to several people.

Han Zhou picked up the pastry and examined it carefully for a while, then leaned closer to smell it. He thought to himself, no wonder Zhong Yin asked about the color, aroma, and taste last time. This pastry was indeed perfect in both color and aroma, but he wondered how it tasted.

He took a bite and tasted it.

Before he could even speak, Lin Anyu exclaimed in surprise, "It's a very unique flavor, and the texture is also good, but it's a bit cloying and too sweet. Maybe it's because I don't really like sweets."

The main purpose of this tasting was to provide an honest evaluation of the pastries so that they could be improved in the future, so he did not only mention the advantages.

"I don't think it's greasy at all, it's delicious." Gu Zheng puffed out her cheeks and offered a different opinion. "But it is indeed a bit too sweet. It would be better if it had a touch of sourness." Zhong Yin noted down what the two said, then looked at Han Zhou, who thought for a moment and said, "The taste is indeed very special. The first bite gives people a refreshing feeling. The sweetness may indeed be a bit high, but in my opinion, it's within an acceptable range. It varies from person to person. As for suggestions for improvement, I won't mention them. I don't usually eat sweets."

"Is it too greasy?" Zhong Yin asked.

“A little…” Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, “But I don’t think being a little greasy is necessarily a bad thing. Even the most special flavors become less special after a while. If we can keep it within a suitable range and use the greasiness to limit the amount of food each time, without making the customers feel nauseous, we might be able to gain a stable number of repeat customers.”

Zhong Yin nodded: "That's a good idea."

Since she had decided to open a cake shop after careful consideration, she naturally couldn't simply gamble everything on her beauty like Lin Anyu, who was just an observer. In fact, she never thought about that and focused on her own abilities.

The strength of a pastry shop does not lie in how good-looking the owner is, but in whether the pastries in the shop can attract customers.

As a new store, if it can only offer the same old pastries, it naturally won't have much profit margin. At most, it can only squeeze out some profits from other stores. It is precisely because Zhong Yin is well aware of this that she decided to open the store after developing new pastries and make them the store's featured products during the opening period.

However, unless they can keep researching new pastries, the shop obviously can't keep launching new products. So Han Zhou's idea is worth considering. It can keep the newly developed pastry popular for a longer period of time and make the shop famous.

Even the right amount of "sweetness" could be a selling point.

Zhong Yin pondered for a moment, then turned to look at his younger sister beside him, who had a faint smile on her face: "Xiao Ling, what do you think?"

"Everything my sister makes is delicious."

Han Zhou helped translate what Zhong Ling said.

Zhong Yin seemed somewhat helpless, gently patting his younger sister's head and smiling indulgently, his tone devoid of any blame: "You should start to have some self-respect too."

Zhong Ling just smiled sweetly.

After the tasting, the next step is product naming. As the saying goes, clothes make the man and a saddle makes the horse; a good name is more likely to leave an impression.

Several people sat around a table. Lin Anyu pondered for a moment and spoke first: "How about calling it 'Haha Cake'? Look, this smiley face is quite an idea. We can use it to create something..."

Everyone's expression turned complicated the moment they heard "Haha Cake," and none of them said a word.

"Well, your silence is deafening..."

Lin Anyu's smile froze, and he wisely lowered his head to continue pondering.

After a while, Guzheng spoke up: "Although 'Haha Cake' is difficult... and not very pleasant to hear, I think it is indeed possible to name it using a smiley face as a starting point. Or how about calling it 'Spring Breeze Cake'?"

She was still very considerate of Lin Anyu, and deliberately changed "unpleasant to hear" to "not so pleasant to hear".

Lin Anyu lowered his head and remained silent, shaking his head inwardly in rejection; this name was clearly inferior to "Haha Cake."

"What does 'a beaming face' mean?"

Unexpectedly, Zhong Yin did not remain silent this time. Instead, he considered it seriously for a while, but ultimately shook his head, "It's not intuitive enough and doesn't quite match the name of the pastry."

Lin Anyu quickly said, "To be honest, haha ​​cake should be..."

Seeing that no one paid any attention to him, he could only lower his head in grief and indignation, thinking to himself, "The three-point line is like the river east of the river, and three minutes later it's west of the river. Sooner or later you'll use the name I want."

Han Zhou said, "I think that you don't necessarily have to draw smiley faces on pastries. You can draw all kinds of faces and let customers choose for themselves. This might be a selling point."

Zhong Yin's eyes lit up: "So, what's the name?"

"shameless."

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

"Face-changing cake is fine too, don't let the unpleasant name fool you, actually..."

"Enough, I know what you mean, but I'm not considering using this naming method." Zhong Yin gave Han Zhou a cold look, interrupting him.

“Yours is not even as good as ‘Haha Cake’…” Lin Anyu seized the opportunity to speak up for his “Haha Cake” again.

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to him.

"Mood Cake." Just then, Han Zhou spoke up again, "My senior said we can keep my suggestion and draw various expressions on the cake, and call it Mood Cake."

Everyone seemed thoughtful and thought the name was feasible. Gu Zheng hesitated and said, "But generally, no one would specifically buy pastries meant to evoke a bad mood, right? Even if someone is in a bad mood, they would hide them..."

"That's not necessarily true," Han Zhou shook his head. "I feel this thing would be more popular with couples. It's perfect for expressing your feelings when you have a fight, and it can also be used as an apology gift."

"I still think Haha Cake is the best..."

The following sentence seemed to float in the air. Guzheng pondered, "That's true, but it also has its drawbacks..."

"..."

After discussing for a long time, the group still couldn't decide on a name for the pastry, leaving only a few undecided options.

Zhong Yin wasn't in a hurry and said, "Since we can't reach a conclusion for the time being, let's decide on the name of the signboard first."

Lin Anyu, who had been disheartened, suddenly brightened up, thinking that his moment to prove himself had finally arrived. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, exclaiming, "I had an idea!"

Everyone looked at him.

Lin Anyu cleared his throat and began to speak eloquently: "In my opinion, the signboard must be able to fully showcase the atmosphere and selling points of the store. And what is our store's biggest selling point?"

"That's right—it's you, Sister Yin!"

"Don't think I'm joking. As a stunning beauty, your image will definitely be one of the biggest selling points of our shop. If you add your senior's help, it will be an absolute killer. And since our shop specializes in desserts, we can definitely try combining 'beauty' and 'sweetness' in the name..."

The crowd became interested, and a hint of anticipation crept in: "So, what do you think it should be named?"

Lin Anyu smiled confidently, his face beaming.

"How about the Twin Flowers Pastry Shop?"

The air grew quiet, and the silence of the crowd was deafening once again.

"We really shouldn't have had any expectations of this guy..." everyone thought in unison.

Just then, Han Zhou suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said thoughtfully, "The idea of ​​combining 'beauty' and 'sweetness' in the name is worth trying, but Lin Anyu's approach has some problems. I think there is a name that is very suitable, sweet, pleasant to hear, and easy to pronounce."

"what name?"

Having heard the name "Shameless" before, Zhong Yin didn't have high expectations for Han Zhou's naming strategy, but she still listened attentively.

Unlike Lin Anyu, Han Zhou did not show a confident smile; he simply uttered two words slowly and deliberately.

"Silver bells".

(End of this chapter)