Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 327 Acid Rain Is Falling
Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't know why she was willing to tell this guy she was meeting for the first time about her past experiences.

Perhaps it's because this guy looks sickly, like he's never had a proper meal.

She wasn't unconscious for long; in fact, she woke up quite quickly. Upon waking, she overheard the doctors and nurses discussing two things—

Firstly, my leg may never fully recover, and I may never be able to stand up again in my life.

Secondly, the boy who brought her to the hospital looked familiar; he seemed to be the patient who was diagnosed with a terminal illness three months ago, whose name was Han Zhou.

The doctor didn't have a very good memory, and a female nurse said the name. She seemed to have a deep impression of the boy named Han Zhou, and her words were quite regretful.

It was because of this that Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't ask Han Zhou's name when she first saw him enter the ward, because she was worried that this guy's name really was Han Zhou.

The reason she asked again later was because she was worried that this guy's name really was Han Zhou.

Of course, despite the identical names, it's not impossible for two people to share the same name. Therefore, Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't plan to ask Han Zhou if he really had a terminal illness. She simply made a mental note of the nurse's appearance, intending to find an opportunity to ask the person with the same name, "Han Zhou," what kind of terminal illness they had and whether a bone marrow transplant was possible.

This guy saved her life, and she has to find a way to repay him.

Aside from her biological parents, no one knew that she had the extremely rare Rhnull blood type. Doctors said she was compatible with any blood type, meaning she could donate blood to anyone. However, it was unknown whether bone marrow transplantation had this characteristic...

While lost in thought, Xiao Xiaoxiao listened to Han Zhou recount his story about his gambling-addicted father, and then, under Han Zhou's gaze, she told her own story.

She was frail and sickly from a young age, and had to go to the hospital every few days, which gradually made her a burden on her family. Her parents could not bear the pressure and finally sold her to another family one day.

And that's not the end.

Because she missed her parents so much, she acted quite rebelliously in her new family, hoping that her "new parents" would not be able to stand her and send her back. However, things did not go as planned. After being beaten a lot, although she was sent away as she wished, she did not return to her original family. Instead, she was sold to a new family.

She didn't give up, but instead became even worse, to the point that she was sold to a new family. To this day, she has been sold a total of four times, enduring countless beatings along the way, yet she remained unchanged in her vicious nature. This enraged her last "parents," who then contacted human traffickers to sell her to the mountains.

Xiao Xiaoxiao hadn't originally planned to escape, but unlike the previous times, this time during the transfer, she saw many other abducted children, so she resisted for the first time, seized the opportunity to jump off the car, and tried to pass on the message.

As for why she hadn't resisted before, Han Zhou understood without asking. Xiao Xiaoxiao clearly knew that selling children was illegal. If she resisted or called the police, her biological parents would inevitably be arrested. From what she had just said, it was easy to tell that she had deep feelings for her parents and didn't want them to be punished even if they were sold as commodities.

The reason why they were in such a hurry to be discharged from the hospital and did not disclose any information to ask the police to help find their biological parents was obviously partly due to this.

Nearly ten years have passed since Xiao Xiao last saw her parents. Perhaps she herself doesn't know whether she truly has such deep feelings for them or whether she treats these feelings as some kind of spiritual sustenance.

Han Zhou was also unaware of this, and did not ask, simply acting as a silent listener.

However, he was clear about one thing.

Despite forcing herself to become a "defective product" and even developing a rather bad personality, the girl's kind nature deep inside has never changed.

As a "commodity" that has been sold multiple times, Xiao Xiaoxiao's resistance this time is not for herself, but for other trafficked children.

Despite their own suffering, they are used to risking their lives for the pain of others.

Just as she clearly represents the typical example of family misfortune, she immediately felt indignant for someone else's bastard father.

Han Zhou pulled himself out of his thoughts and picked up the still-warm hot water from the table: "Would you like some?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao glanced at him, then raised her head with a ferocious expression.

Han Zhou supported the back of her head, feeding her water as he said, "You can only move your neck freely, are you still in such a hurry to be discharged?"

"You want... gurgle gurgle?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao was anxious, but the water had already entered her mouth, and she couldn't speak.

Han Zhou shook his head and said, "I don't intend to go back on my word. I'm just giving you a suggestion: it would be better for you to rest and recuperate in the hospital for a while."

"No way... glug glug!"

"I know you don't like hospitals, isn't it because you have no one to keep you company? I heard from the police that they successfully found the children being held in custody at the place you mentioned, and the children are all clamoring to come and take care of you."

"Don't let them... gurgle!"

“The police can’t do anything about them coming, and I can’t stop them either. Don’t worry, I’ll call my friends to come and take care of you.”

"You...GuluGulu!"

"I told you I don't intend to go back on my word. If you really insist on going... what's wrong with you?"

"Gulu gulu..."

Xiao Xiaoxiao was almost rolling her eyes when Han Zhou was startled. He finally realized what was happening and quickly moved the cup away from her lips.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao coughed violently several times, gasped for breath, and said with difficulty, "You...you bastard...are you trying to kill me?!"

She almost suffocated.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't notice."

Han Zhou looked embarrassed and quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe the water that had spilled from the girl's mouth. After hesitating for a moment, he gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes.

Under the other party's angry glare, he said in a serious tone, "It's been raining acid rain in Lincheng lately, so it's better to wipe it off."

"You always meddle in other people's business."

Xiao Xiaoxiao snorted coldly, looked away, and stopped talking.

Han Zhou smiled and picked up the half-eaten bowl of hot porridge on the table: "Want some more?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao ignored him.

Han Zhou waited for a moment, and regardless of whether the girl was willing or not, he lifted her head, scooped up a spoonful of porridge, and brought it to her lips.

"If you dare to feed me like that again, I'll smash your windows once I'm better."

Surprisingly, Xiao Xiaoxiao did not resist. She gave a fierce warning before eating the porridge.

She stole glances at Han Zhou's pale face, hesitated several times, but still couldn't get the information out of him whether he really had a terminal illness.

"Ask whatever you want to ask." Han Zhou saw through her thoughts and even put the spoon back into the bowl to give her a chance to speak.

"I don't have anything to ask." Xiao Xiaoxiao looked away.

"Really?"

"Of course it's true, you're such a chatterbox."

"Well, I do have something to say, I hope you don't mind."

"What?" Xiao Xiaoxiao looked at him.

Han Zhou was silent for a moment, then said seriously, "You should also understand that what you just told me needs to be told to the police."

Xiao Xiaoxiao was taken aback, a dark glint flashing in her eyes. She said impatiently, "I've already told the police enough. Even if I didn't say anything, they would have found out sooner or later."

"I know, and I respect your choice."

Han Zhou looked at her for a while, said nothing, and continued, "But as you just said, the police will find out what your parents did sooner or later, and they will be sent to prison one day."

"What does this have to do with me?" Xiao Xiaoxiao bit her lip. "I've already paid back what I owed them."

Han Zhou looked at her for a while: "Do you really think so?"

"Ah."

"That's good." Han Zhou smiled. "Now that you've paid back what you owed them, there's no need to worry about them being taken by the police. They can just stay in the hospital and recover."

"It has nothing to do with them, I just simply don't like hospitals." Xiao Xiaoxiao said impatiently, "You've never experienced the daily grind of getting injections..." She stopped mid-sentence.

No, this guy might have experienced it before.

Han Zhou didn't notice Xiao Xiaoxiao's unusual expression and casually said, "I don't like hospitals either. I'm afraid there aren't many people in the world who like hospitals, but in order to live better, sometimes we have to suppress our 'dislike'... Speaking of which, do you know what kind of people like hospitals?"

"Who is it?" Xiao Xiaoxiao was taken aback.

"Only those who want to live but have no hope left will place all their hopes on the hospital. The hospital can fulfill their expectation of continuing to live, and they like that feeling."

Xiao Xiaoxiao was silent for a moment, then asked, "And what about you?"

"Me? Didn't I already say I don't like hospitals either?"

"I'm talking about the feeling of surviving. Do you like that?"

Han Zhou was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "Of course I like it. No one would dislike it, right?"

"That's right."

Xiao Xiao responded absentmindedly. In fact, before jumping out of the car, she had already prepared herself for death, since there was nothing in this world to miss anyway.

However, when she actually jumped, she desperately wanted to survive.

Now that she's survived, she feels a sense of emptiness, completely unsure of what to do or where to go next.

Humans are truly strange creatures.

Xiao Xiaoxiao looked petite, but she had a big appetite. Perhaps she was starved by those heartless human traffickers. She finished all the remaining porridge in one go and then reluctantly said "thank you".

"Are you full? I have another portion here." Han Zhou pointed to his own dinner.

"You're full, hurry up and eat yours, you skinny stick like a bamboo pole." Xiao Xiao, having finished her meal, immediately became rude.

Han Zhou didn't mind and sat on the edge of the bed, quietly eating his dinner.

"What time is it? Why aren't you going back?" Xiao Xiaoxiao glanced at him.

"It's eleven o'clock. It's too late to go back now. I plan to stay here for the night."

Xiao Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, "Get out of here! I don't need your care!"

Han Zhou gave her a strange look: "When did I say I was staying to take care of you? It's dangerous around my house at night. There's been a dog-killing maniac nicknamed 'Midnight Butcher' wandering around lately. I might run into danger if I go back now. Otherwise, who would want to stay in the hospital?"

After saying that, he lowered his head and started shoveling porridge into his mouth; he was really hungry.

Xiao Xiaoxiao knew that this guy was talking nonsense, but she couldn't be presumptuous and insist that he stayed to take care of her, so she sneered: "Tch, whatever."

The ward fell silent, save for the sound of Han Zhou constantly shoveling food into his mouth.

This was the first time Xiao Xiaoxiao had ever experienced being accompanied while lying in a hospital bed. Although no one spoke to her, she didn't feel lonely at all.

"Hey, who is that?"

Han Zhou had just finished eating and was tidying up the bedside table when he said without looking up, "I'm not called 'Hey,' nor am I called 'that person.' If you really don't want to call me by my name, you can call me Chu Yuxun."

"Who is Chu Yuxun?" Xiao Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"Yes, hello."

"Neuropathy……"

Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't understand what he was saying, so she pouted and said, "Then Han Zhou, do you think... there's any possibility that my leg can be cured?"

Han Zhou paused in his movements. He had consulted the doctor who diagnosed Xiao Xiaoxiao about this issue the first time he left the ward, and the answer he received was, "The probability of recovery is extremely low."

“Of course,” he replied with a smile.

"Very unlikely" does not mean "absolutely impossible," so of course there is a possibility of restoration.

Xiao Xiaoxiao knew he would say that, but she still had some confidence and asked again, "Then do you think the probability is high?"

"That depends on you." Han Zhou put the trash into a plastic bag. "If you're willing to stay in the hospital and receive proper treatment, the chances of survival will definitely increase by several times."

"You really want me to stay in the hospital that badly?"

"Once you're almost fully recovered, you can go wherever you want. If you feel homeless, you can even stay at my house for a while."

Xiao Xiaoxiao was taken aback, and immediately looked wary, saying, "I admit you saved me, but I don't believe in repaying you with my body!"

"I'm not interested in children," Han Zhou shook his head. "Besides, if you really repay me with your body, wouldn't you not have to pay back the money you owe me? I can keep track of that."

"I told you I'm not a child!"

"No, and I'm not interested either."

Han Zhou yawned and sat down on another bed in the ward. "Anyway, let's focus on recovering first. If you don't want to stay in the hospital, get back to health as soon as possible."

underestimate me?

Xiao Xiaoxiao glared at him fiercely: "Once my leg is healed, I'm going to race you and make you eat my dust!"

"Really?" Han Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm really looking forward to that day."

The ward fell silent again. The wind howled outside the window, a flash of white light streaked across the sky, and a deafening clap of thunder made Xiao Xiaoxiao shudder. She felt a sharp pain all over her body, but she forced herself to remain silent.

Seeing that the temperature was getting lower and lower, Han Zhou came to Xiao Xiaoxiao's bedside and helped her pull the blanket up to her shoulders.

Xiao Xiaoxiao looked away somewhat awkwardly, and only spoke after the other person left.

“I said… Chu Yuxun.”

"Just call me Han Zhou." Han Zhou almost didn't realize the other person was calling him.

Xiao Xiaoxiao ignored him and hesitated, "Are you so nice to everyone? I know you're only looking after me because I look familiar... but aren't you being too nice to me?"

They had clearly only met for the first time, yet instead of getting angry at her initial rudeness, this guy went back to take care of her, and it seemed he intended to take care of her until she was discharged from the hospital, even claiming that she could live at his house in the future...

Even if this guy is a good person, he shouldn't be this good, right?
Han Zhou seemed to have anticipated her question and smiled, "I can't be nice to everyone. It's true that I took care of you because I recognized you, but that's not the whole story."

He paused, then continued, "I just feel that those who can repay evil with kindness to the world should one day be treated kindly by the world—I'm just representing the world temporarily."

Xiao Xiaoxiao was stunned.

"Clap."

In November, Lincheng, where there was still little sign of winter, welcomed its first rain of the season.

Raindrops pattered against the hospital room window, leaving streaks of water on the glass. As the rain intensified, the view outside became increasingly blurry.

"what happened?"

Seeing Xiao Xiaoxiao turn her head to look out the window without saying a word, Han Zhou asked with concern, worried that she might not even be able to move her neck freely.

Are you blind?

Xiao Xiaoxiao's tone was quite harsh. She bit her lip tightly, trying to hide the sobs in her voice by the sound of the downpour.

"...It's raining acid rain."

Originally, this dialogue was intended to be supported by a storyline, with the emotions developing gradually. However, in order to speed up the pace, it had to be condensed.

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(End of this chapter)