Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 335 Sunny Day
As a frequent visitor to the hospital, Ouyang Lianyu was naturally familiar with it and had even become acquainted with many doctors and nurses. After entering the hospital, she quickly found out the location of Xiao Xiaoxiao's ward by asking around.

Upon arriving at the ward door, besides Xiao Xiaoxiao lying on the hospital bed, she also saw a familiar face. If she remembered correctly, this girl should be called Zhou Ting, a classmate of Han Zhou and Xiao Xiaoxiao.

As a counselor and a calculus teacher, Ouyang Lianyu is responsible for far more than just Han Zhou's class. Therefore, she still can't remember all the students' names. She only remembers Zhou Ting because she and Xiao Xiaoxiao have a good relationship and often sat together recently, so they can be considered regular deskmates.

But that's not the case now.

Xiao Xiaoxiao's current deskmate is Han Zhou. The two seem to be getting very close lately, but no one knows what their relationship is.

Gathering her thoughts, Ouyang Lianyu gently knocked on the door: "May I come in?"

Zhou Ting was dozing off by the hospital bed when she heard the sound. She rubbed her eyes, looked up, and saw Ouyang Lianyu in the room. She was instantly wide awake and overjoyed, exclaiming, "Teacher Ouyang, what brings you here?"

"Come and see Xiaoxiao."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled at her, put her index finger to her lips to make a shushing gesture, and said softly, "Xiaoxiao is still resting, right? Keep your voice down and don't wake her up."

She noticed as soon as she entered the room that Xiao Xiaoxiao was sleeping. Her face was slightly pale compared to usual, and she looked quite haggard, which was heartbreaking.

Zhou Ting then realized she had been too excited, quickly covered her mouth, nodded vigorously, and then quietly moved a chair for Ouyang Lianyu, whispering, "Teacher Ouyang, please sit down."

"Thank you."

Ouyang Lianyu sat down unhurriedly, placed the bag in her hand on the bedside table, thought for a moment, took out two pieces of pastry from the bag and handed them to Zhou Ting, saying gently, "You probably haven't eaten yet, take these to tide you over."

"No, no, I'm not hungry yet..."

"There's no need to be polite with the teacher. These pastries were given to the teacher by someone else. I can't finish them all by myself. Please take them."

"Really not..."

"Eat something even if you're not hungry, just to help the teacher out."

"Well... thank you, teacher."

Zhou Ting took the pastry somewhat shyly, took a reserved bite, and was immediately struck by its sweet and unique taste, which made her chew faster.

"Is it tasty?"

"It's delicious!" she nodded repeatedly. "Teacher, you're so kind!"

I mean this from the heart.

To be honest, as a university counselor, Ouyang Lianyu's workload is far greater than that of a high school homeroom teacher who is only responsible for one class. Even many homeroom teachers cannot do things like visiting students, but Ouyang Lianyu was able to take time out of her busy schedule to personally visit the sick Xiao Xiaoxiao, which moved Zhou Ting.

No wonder Teacher Ouyang is so popular at school... she thought.

"You're welcome. Eat slowly, there's more when you finish."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled gently and watched Zhou Ting finish a piece of pastry before getting straight to the point, "Could you tell the teacher about Xiaoxiao's situation?"

"of course can!"

Zhou Ting took a sip of water, swallowed the pastry in her mouth, and replied, "The doctor said Xiao Xiao is just overworked and has a slight fever. It's probably because she's been under too much stress lately. There's nothing seriously wrong. She can leave after she wakes up and has another check-up."

"It's good that you're alright."

Ouyang Lianyu breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly caught the key point in the sentence and asked worriedly, "What's wrong with you being under so much mental stress? Has Xiaoxiao encountered any difficulties in her life recently?"

"no……"

Zhou Ting was also puzzled. While eating pastries, she said, "I think Xiaoxiao is quite cheerful. She shouldn't be under a lot of mental stress. As for overwork, she often had insomnia a while ago, but it got better later. We were also wondering why she suddenly got so sick. Her face scared us. Fortunately, it's not serious."

She looked shaken. She and Xiaoxiao were the closest in the entire dormitory, and she was the most worried about Xiaoxiao's safety. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed up all night.

Ouyang Lianyu thought for a moment, then asked with some unease, "Is it possible that Xiaoxiao has something on her mind that she hasn't told you?"

Zhou Ting shook her head with a wry smile: "I don't know about that. Probably not. Xiao Xiao is usually very carefree and doesn't seem to have anything on her mind..."

As if she had thought of something, she looked around and then glanced at Xiao Xiaoxiao on the hospital bed. Suddenly, she lowered her voice and said, "Teacher Ouyang, I think you should ask Han Zhou about this. He probably knows more than I do."

"Why do you say that?" Ouyang Lianyu asked curiously.

"Because Han Zhou and Xiao Xiao are the closest, there are things I don't know that he might not know either."

Zhou Ting looked somewhat dejected; the feeling of having to admit that she was not as well-regarded as others among her friends was very disheartening.

When Han Zhou was mentioned, Ouyang Lianyu suddenly remembered that she still needed to report Xiao Xiaoxiao's situation to him, so she took out her phone and sent him a message.

"I understand, thank you, teacher." Han Zhou replied quickly. "Gu Zheng and I will come over later. Could you ask Xiao Xiao if there's anything she wants to eat?"

"She's still sleeping."

"Oh, then there's no need to wake her up. I'll bring some pork rib soup over later."

Ouyang Lianyu thought for a moment and said, "Han Zhou, answer one question honestly."

"You ask."

"Xiaoxiao, have you been having something on your mind lately? Do you know something?"

Han Zhou seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying after a few seconds: "I know, but it's a little secret, so please don't ask, teacher."

Why would you know such a small secret?

"Hmm... because that's my secret too."

"..."

Ouyang Lianyu put away her phone in a daze. What is this "your secret" and "my secret"? What are these two up to?

Just then, Zhou Ting exclaimed joyfully, "Xiao Xiao, you're awake!"

Ouyang Lianyu looked at the hospital bed. Sure enough, Xiao Xiaoxiao had opened her eyes at some point. Perhaps because she had slept for too long, her eyes were somewhat unfocused, and she was staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Little?"

Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Xiaoxiao's pupils gradually focused. She first glanced at the IV bottle, then looked out the window. The glaring sunlight made her squint slightly before finally looking at the two people beside the hospital bed.

"Tingting, Teacher Ouyang, am I in the hospital?"

His voice was weak, like that of a patient recovering from a serious illness.

Zhou Ting nodded happily: "Yes, you had a fever and fainted last night. We were so worried, so we brought you to the hospital. How are you feeling now?"

"Much better." Xiao Xiaoxiao nodded, forcing a smile on her pale face. "Thank you."

Her gaze shifted downwards to Ouyang Lianyu, whose face showed concern. "Thank you too, Teacher Ouyang. Did you come to see me?"

"Yes."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled gently, picked up some pastries from the bedside table, and said, "You must be hungry. Would you like something to eat?"

"Thank you, but no thanks, I don't have an appetite." Xiao Xiaoxiao shook her head, stared at the smiley face on the pastry for a while, and said, "I've eaten this pastry before. Han Zhou let me try it before. Did you buy it from the same shop, Teacher?"

“Yes, that shop is owned by Zhong Ling’s older sister.” Ouyang Lianyu smiled and asked with concern, “You haven’t eaten anything in a long time, you should eat something. Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”

"No, thank you." Xiao Xiaoxiao seemed to have no appetite and declined again.

Seeing this, Ouyang Lianyu didn't dare to persuade her any further. Suddenly remembering Han Zhou's message, she tentatively asked, "By the way, Han Zhou said he would come to see you with Gu Zheng in a little while, and he asked if there was anything you wanted to eat."

Xiao Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then turned to look out the window without saying a word.

Blue skies, white clouds, and bright sunshine—it was a lovely sunny day.

Just when Ouyang Lianyu thought she really didn't want to eat anything, she heard the other person suddenly ask, "Did he make this himself?"

Ouyang Lianyu was taken aback, then nodded hesitantly: "I think so."

Pork rib soup.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Xiaoxiao said softly, "I want to drink pork rib soup, preferably with some sausage in it."

"Add it to the soup?" Ouyang Lianyu asked, puzzled.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Xiao Xiaoxiao was a little different. If she had to find a word to describe it, it would be that she was more serene.

It must be because she's just recovered from a serious illness... she thought.

"Correct."

Xiao Xiaoxiao touched her earlobe, which had nothing on it.

"Add it to the soup."

……

Time goes back a little.

Silver Bell Pastry Shop.

"What? Someone saw me holding a girl tightly in my arms in the middle of the road, and I wouldn't let go no matter how much passersby pulled me away?"

Seeing Lin Anyu bringing up the past in various ways, with the focus on himself and Guzheng, Han Zhou would be letting Lin Anyu down if he still couldn't understand that Guzheng was angry with him because of something.

He had considered every possible reason, but he could never have imagined that the reason Guzheng was unhappy was because of such a baseless thing.

He always obeys traffic rules, so when did he ever hug a girl in the middle of the road?

It's no wonder that Guzheng got angry about this.

Lin Anyu coughed lightly and cautiously reminded them, "This is a topic that was just discussed in the class group chat. At least ten people said that this scene definitely happened, and they saw it with their own eyes."

Han Zhou was taken aback, then said irritably, "So, did you see it?"

He picked up his phone to check the group messages from his high school.

Lin Anyu was a little embarrassed: "No, but..."

"But what?"

"But I have seen it."

Bai Tongtong raised her hand, somewhat apologetically accepting Lin Anyu's words.

Han Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly. Seeing everyone staring at him, he sighed helplessly, "When did this happen?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it must have been during the Spring Festival of my first or second year of high school. I think there was a class reunion around that time, and many of my classmates attended. That's when we saw this scene," Bai Tongtong replied earnestly.

She didn't really want to expose Han Zhou at this time, but she also didn't want everyone to think she was lying by following the crowd.

"Seems like? Appears like? Or is there more to it than that?"

Bai Tongtong said with a wry smile, "To be honest, my memory is very vague, but this really happened."

Han Zhou looked down and scrolled through the group messages. He found that if he put all the previous chat history together, the content was almost the same as what Bai Tongtong had just said, and it even seemed to be quite convincing.

But he had absolutely no recollection of it.

and many more……

As if sensing something, he suddenly paused for a moment, then looked up at Bai Tongtong with sharp eyes and asked, "Are you talking about the first year of high school or the second year?"

Lin Anyu was startled, thinking that Han Zhou was about to make a move. He quickly got up to stop him, but seeing that the other party seemed to be just asking a simple question and had no intention of making a move, he could only sit down with an embarrassed smile.

Speaking of which, he should have attended all the class reunions in the first and second years of high school, right? How come he doesn't remember Han Zhou hugging any girl?

But Bai Tongtong wouldn't lie, and those high school classmates wouldn't be so bored as to spread rumors about Han Zhou...

Of course, what worried him most was Guzheng's attitude.

Based on his observation, Gu Zheng's level of trust in Han Zhou was ridiculously high. He estimated that even if Han Zhou seriously said one day that he was actually a time traveler, she wouldn't have much doubt. If she heard some unfounded rumors, she would just scoff at them, which would be considered good news for Gu Zheng. If she was in a bad mood, she might even go and find the person who spread the rumors and beat them up.

That's how exaggerated the level of trust is.

However, after learning about this news from the group, Gu Zheng quickly became sullen, which probably means that Gu Zheng did not think it was a rumor.

What puzzled Lin Anyu was that this was all old news, so why was Gu Zheng only now thinking of confronting Han Zhou?
Including those high school classmates who suddenly became interested in Han Zhou's gossip.

It's impossible that they had all lost their memories before and only regained them now, right?
Han Zhou also had a similar confusion to Lin Anyu. Although Gu Zheng was a little spoiled, she was by no means a person who would throw a tantrum. She would not easily doubt him, especially without any evidence. This girl would only trust him unconditionally.

It was clear that Gu Zheng didn't remember what Bai Tongtong had said, but she was still sulking, seemingly certain of the truth of the matter. Combined with the timeline Bai Tongtong pointed out, Han Zhou couldn't help but make a bold conjecture—

Gu Zheng may have witnessed this scene before, but she has forgotten it.

Even though she had forgotten, she might still remember it in her heart, which is why she believed what everyone said.

Han Zhou always remembered that he had lost a piece of his memory, and that the time when he lost that memory was probably about two years ago. If what Bai Tongtong said happened during the Spring Festival of his second year of high school, then it might explain why he had no recollection of it.

As for why Guzheng doesn't remember this either...

After a moment's hesitation, Han Zhou leaned close to Gu Zheng's ear and whispered a question: "Gu Zheng, have you ever seen me hug another girl?"

Gu Zheng was deep in thought when the sudden heat hitting her face startled her. Her face flushed slightly, and without even looking at Han Zhou, she shook her head with a stern expression, looking like she was "very unhappy."

As expected, he didn't remember... Han Zhou pondered for a moment and quietly asked the second question.

Do you still remember Xiaoxiao?

He noticed a hint of confusion in Guzheng's eyes.

(End of this chapter)