Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 296 Undeterred by Wind and Rain
As evening self-study ended, freshmen girls could be seen returning to their dormitories one after another outside the cafeteria.

Han Zhou stood at the door for a while, but he didn't hear any terrified screams or see any girls rushing out of the dormitory. This meant that the "haunting" was probably over for the night.

He thought Wang Runxue was just unlucky. If she hadn't returned to the dormitory early, she might not have witnessed the scene that would leave her with psychological trauma.

Having staked her worthless fortune-telling title and repeatedly assured everyone that there would be no more problems today or in the future, Wang Runxue finally felt a little relieved. She was about to ask something else when her expression suddenly changed. She then gritted her teeth, her face contorted with rage, and rushed into the dormitory building with a group of girls, looking extremely impatient.

"What's wrong with her?" Han Zhou asked, looking at her hurried departure with a puzzled expression.

"But...maybe something urgent has happened..."

Gu Zheng looked at her strangely. She knew that Wang Runxue had originally planned to go back to the dormitory to use the toilet, but now she probably couldn't hold it in anymore. However, it was obviously inconvenient to say such a thing.

"If she had been able to project that kind of presence before, even if there really were ghosts, they probably wouldn't have been able to scare her."

Han Zhou didn't care. Not long after, he received a message from Zhou Ting. She had just returned to the dormitory and said that Xiao Xiaoxiao was asleep and looked to be in good health, so she should be fine.

He felt a little relieved. It seemed that Xiao Xiaoxiao herself was fine. He really wanted Zhou Ting to wake Xiao Xiaoxiao up and ask her if she had really taken both cold medicine and sleeping pills at the same time, and if there had been any abnormalities during the process, but he ultimately held back.

This guy finally got a good night's sleep, there's no need to disturb his sweet dreams, we can ask him tomorrow.

Gu Zheng bought two grilled sausages at the cafeteria and came over to ask, "Han Zhou, do you know the truth about the ghost story in the girls' dormitory?"

He took a bite as he spoke, not minding that it was hot.

Han Zhou took the other grilled sausage and laughed, "Didn't you say you were going to lose weight? Why are you eating late-night snacks?"

"I'll be running laps on the track later, don't change the subject." Gu Zheng glared at him.

Han Zhou smiled and shook his head, saying, "I can't say I know, I just have some guesses."

Gu Zheng hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Is...is it related to Xiao Xiao?"

She remembered that during the last social event, Han Zhou suddenly asked if the dormitory had continued to be haunted during the days they went to Beicheng. She already felt strange about it, and when Han Zhou sent her the message just now, he didn't try to hide it from her. So she happened to see him asking someone about Xiao Xiao's situation, and immediately a lot of thoughts came to mind.

Han Zhou wasn't surprised that Gu Zheng could connect the matter to Xiao Xiaoxiao. He sighed and said, "I think it's related."

"So, those footprints in Beicheng before..."

"It should also be related to her."

"Why is this happening..." Gu Zheng was full of doubts, her face showing both confusion and worry, and she even forgot to eat the sausage in her hand.

She couldn't understand why Xiao Xiaoxiao would be involved in the ghost story in the girls' dormitory, but since Han Zhou had said so, she was willing to try to believe it.

"I do not know either."

Han Zhou shook his head. He was completely baffled. Xiao Xiaoxiao was just too special. Judging from her usual demeanor, she obviously didn't know what was special about her. Even if he asked her directly, he wouldn't get any answers. He didn't know whether he should tell her about it or not.

He had a headache.

"Should you tell her?"

Guzheng was clearly thinking about the same thing, looking troubled.

Han Zhou remained silent for a moment, having already made up his mind. He took a deep breath and said, "Tell her. It's better to have the person involved help think and provide clues than for the two of us to guess blindly."

"But what if she doesn't accept it..."

"Some things you just have to face."

He interrupted Guzheng and said with a smile, "And do you remember what I said before? That girl doesn't like people pitying her, so she has nothing to worry about."

Gu Zheng paused for a moment, then nodded, her eyes crinkling into a smile as she said, "I understand."

"correct."

As if suddenly remembering something, Han Zhou abruptly asked, "What did you mean when you said in the message not to tell Wang Runxue to 'seize the future'...?"

"It doesn't mean anything!" Guzheng quickly interrupted, "In short, it's not allowed!"

She glared at Han Zhou with a warning look that said, "You're dead if you dare ask again." Her expression was a little unnatural. She couldn't very well tell this guy that she was worried that Wang Runxue would fall for him because of that sentence, could she?
"I have a feeling you're hiding something from me..." Han Zhou looked suspicious.

"No...no!"

"If not, then there won't be."

Han Zhou smiled nonchalantly, finished his grilled sausage in a few bites, stretched, and said, "Alright, let's go."

"Where?"

"The playground, didn't you say you wanted to run a few laps?"

"Are you going too?"

Gu Zheng looked Han Zhou up and down for a while, and suddenly a thought struck her: Could it be that this guy wanted to spend more time with her?

Her heart raced, and just as she was about to test the waters, Han Zhou sighed, "There's nothing I can do. Teacher Ouyang specifically asked me to participate in the sports meet, so I need to get back into shape with my current physical condition." Gu Zheng was immediately disappointed and rolled her eyes at him, saying irritably, "Exercise is something that requires perseverance. What's the use of cramming at the last minute?"

She thought Han Zhou meant to take advantage of this time to improve his athletic ability, but little did she know that Han Zhou just wanted to study his current physical limits so that he wouldn't accidentally do something outrageous.

Han Zhou said seriously, "Of course I know that last-minute cramming is useless, so I've decided to go to the playground with you to exercise from now on. When it comes to sports, following your lead is definitely more useful than cramming at the last minute."

"W-What do you mean by 'grabbing my leg'... You're just talking nonsense!"

Seeing Gu Zheng's flustered expression, Han Zhou chuckled. This girl was really too innocent; she actually blushed because of such words.

He lowered his head and glanced at Guzheng's legs without making a sound.

"What are you looking at?" Gu Zheng keenly noticed his gaze and asked in an unnatural tone.

"Let's see what legs look like after long-term training." Han Zhou turned his gaze away seriously.

"Then what did you see?"

Gu Zheng tried her best to keep a straight face, but suddenly remembered that Lin Anyu had said that Han Zhou wanted to see her wearing black stockings that afternoon. Her expression immediately became a little awkward, and she subconsciously put her legs together.

It's beautiful, I love watching it, but I can't watch it too much.

Han Zhou pretended to ponder for a moment, then said without looking to the side, "I think I've fallen in love with exercising."

He had to admit that Guzheng's legs were slightly fleshy, straight and long, which was his favorite type.

"oh oh."

Gu Zheng clearly understood Han Zhou's meaning, and turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly. Suddenly, she asked in a low voice, "Do you really want to see... do you really like black stockings?"

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then nodded honestly.

Considering that Guzheng had completely turned her head away and couldn't see her nodding, she said aloud, "I like it."

What's wrong with liking black stockings? There's nothing to deny about it.

As he thought about it, he suddenly realized that he might not have been able to face his own heart so openly in the past. Now that he was like this, he didn't know whether to call it growth or just becoming more shameless...

"Oh."

Gu Zheng nodded, and after a long while, she turned her head back, looking straight ahead with an indifferent expression, as if her question had just been asked casually.

Han Zhou hesitated for two seconds, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to ask, "You don't mean you're planning to wear black stockings for me, do you?" lest Gu Zheng get angry and punch him twice.

Today is the Beginning of Winter, and the weather is a bit cold. The two walked silently toward the playground, each lost in their own thoughts, their breaths dissipating under the streetlights.

After a while, Guzheng suddenly reminded her, "It's very hard to exercise with me. You have to run every day, rain or shine. You'd better reconsider whether you want to come to the playground with me."

Although she said that, she actually really hoped that Han Zhou could train with her.

Since entering university, she and Han Zhou have had less and less time to spend alone. She hadn't cared too much about it before, but Wang Runxue's words today gave her a strange sense of crisis. She felt that other girls would definitely fall for Han Zhou, and she had to be careful.

Of course, even without that reason, she wanted to spend more time with Han Zhou.

"Rain or shine?" Han Zhou recalled for a moment, his expression strange. "I remember you used to not go to the playground on rainy days, right? Occasionally you would..."

"It's changed now!"

Gu Zheng seemed a little exasperated. She glared at him and snorted, "If it's windy or rainy in the future, you can go jog a few laps around the track every day for half an hour. You can't stop."

"Okay, but aren't you going to rest?"

"Of course I will, but my way of resting is a little different from others. Even if I'm tired, I can't stop. At most, I can only take a walk on the playground. You have to stay close to me and not fall behind." Guzheng was a little guilty.

"Taking a walk?" Han Zhou was taken aback.

"Yes, I've thought it all out. I'll run for ten minutes, then walk for five minutes, repeating this at least twice a day."

"okay."

"Afraid?"

"That's not true..."

Seeing Gu Zheng's serious expression, Han Zhou almost burst out laughing. This girl really can't lie at all.

All you want is to take a walk together on the playground every day, you're really beating around the bush.

He pretended not to notice the other person's intentions at all, nodded and said, "I understand, none of that is a problem. But I'm a little tired now. Could we take a walk on the playground first, and then start exercising?"

Gu Zheng was startled; this was clearly the speech she had prepared, but she hadn't expected the other party to beat her to it.

Could it be that they figured it out?

(End of this chapter)