Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 337 Group photo
What did I just say?
The cool sunlight poured down, spreading through the gaps in the leaves and quickly climbing onto the girl's flushed cheeks.

A cool breeze blows, the shadows of the trees sway, and withered yellow leaves drift in the wind, swirling back and forth on the ground. Also blown by the wind is the girl's hair, which shines slightly in the sunlight.

The world seemed to fall silent, and even without holding her breath, Guzheng could clearly hear her own heart pounding.

Rapid and powerful, like someone wielding drumsticks inside a chest cavity.

She pressed her hand to her chest and kicked a pebble in a panic.

"Boom."

A pebble fell into the small stream beside the tree-lined path, making a crisp sound, but it still couldn't hide her racing heartbeat. The splashing water droplets landed on her fingertips, feeling icy cold, but the colder the water was, the more she could feel the heat on her face.

Her vision was obscured by strands of hair blown about by the wind. While fixing her hair, Gu Zheng quickly covered her increasingly hot cheeks and mustered the courage to steal a quick glance at Han Zhou's expression.

The wind was quite strong just now; Han Zhou probably didn't hear it...

The self-deceptive comfort was quickly and ruthlessly shattered by reality.

At this moment, Han Zhou looked dazed and his eyes were vacant, as if he were doubting his own ears.

Clearly, he not only heard it, but he heard it very clearly.

Her cheeks felt as if they had been burned, and shame, anger, and frustration erupted from the bottom of her heart. Gu Zheng wished she could slap herself.

What am I saying?! What do you mean, unless I can hug you? How could I say something like that?!

Her thoughts raced as she tried to think of a way to change the subject, but before she could come up with anything, Han Zhou hesitated and spoke.

"what did you just say?"

Gu Zheng's heart skipped a beat, her cheeks flushed crimson, and she managed to compose herself before saying calmly, "It's nothing, if you didn't hear it, that's fine..."

"Did you mean you wanted me to give you a hug?" Han Zhou continued to ask.

You heard it all, so why are you asking?
Gu Zheng was both embarrassed and annoyed, so she steeled herself and tried to act nonchalant: "Yeah, didn't you say that friends can hug each other? Aren't we very, very good friends?"

She subconsciously emphasized the pronunciation of "very, very close," as if emphasizing it would prevent her words from sounding abrupt.

Han Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Of course it counts, but why is your face red?"

"That's because it's too hot!"

"But it's winter now..."

Can't it be hot in winter?

Guzheng unzipped her coat and gently fanned her face with her small hands, pretending to be sweltering in the heat.

However, her acting was so bad that Han Zhou actually laughed.

"what's so funny!"

Gu Zheng blushed slightly, but still forced herself to continue fanning, asking fiercely, "Tell me! Since we're such good friends, why can't I hug you?"

"I didn't say it was not allowed."

Han Zhou shook his head and chuckled, "But as I just said, after a long separation, we're about to part ways... Even if we're friends, we need a reasonable reason to hug, right?"

I don't just want to be friends with you, so I don't want to make up any excuses...

Gu Zheng was initially a little guilty, but for some reason, when she saw the slightly helpless smile on Han Zhou's face and heard his tone that sounded like he was fooling a child, she inexplicably became bolder, and the impulse in her heart grew stronger.

You... do you really think I'm afraid to hug you?
I didn't want to hug you in the first place, but you forced me to do it!

After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly clenched her fist, turned her head to the side, and said in a voice as loud as a bell, "There are... there are reasons..."

"What reason?"

"Does today... today count as my birthday?"

"what?"

"I said--"

Gu Zheng took a deep breath and suddenly raised her voice, "Today is my birthday, does that count as a reason?!"

Han Zhou was taken aback.

Before he could answer, he suddenly felt a violent impact in his arms, as strong as a high-speed train. He was completely unprepared and stumbled back several steps before crashing heavily into a tree behind him.

In early winter, the trees had few leaves left. The remaining withered leaves could not withstand the force and fell down like golden raindrops, enveloping the two people embracing each other.

Han Zhou's mind went blank for a moment until a fragrant breeze entered his nose and he felt the immense force surrounding him. Only then did he truly realize that he was being held tightly in Guzheng's arms.

"antiquity……"

He stared blankly at the girl who had buried her head in his chest, opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.

He gently swept the fallen leaves off the other person's head, then softly embraced the other person's body, which was trembling slightly from nervousness.

The world quieted down.

Even the usually unrestrained winter wind became cautious, as if afraid of disturbing the two people embracing each other.

The two embraced each other, remaining silent for a long time.

After a while, the guzheng broke the silence.

"Han Zhou, I had a dream last night."

She buried her head in Han Zhou's arms, showing no intention of letting go, so much so that her voice sounded somewhat muffled, and her tone unusually carried a hint of unease.

"Mmm," Han Zhou responded softly.

"I dreamt that you suddenly disappeared in front of me, and I couldn't find you no matter how hard I looked."

"Don't worry, it was just a dream."

"But it feels so real, so real it doesn't feel like a dream. What if..."

"Unless something unexpected happens, I will always be by your side."

"Really...really..." Guzheng seemed stunned for two seconds before muttering, "You're not allowed to lie to me!"

"This is the only thing I will never lie to you about..." Han Zhou murmured to himself, then whispered, "I won't lie to you."

Gu Zheng didn't speak, but simply tightened her embrace.

"Guzheng."

"what happened?"

"You're hugging too tightly," Han Zhou said with a wry smile.

"Did I hurt you?" Guzheng seemed startled and reduced the force slightly.

"That's not true, it's just..."

"If not, just bear with it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Guzheng regained her strength and said defiantly, "I'm going to use all my strength. I don't care how many good friends you have. Whether in the past or in the future, no one can hold you tighter than me."

The sunlight suddenly became dazzling, the stream became rapid, and an unknown bird folded its wings and gently landed on the treetop where the two were leaning against, tilting its head and staring at the two below.

Han Zhou was slightly lost in thought, then said helplessly, "But I can hardly breathe."

"Nonsense! Your breathing is clearly so rapid!" Han Zhou thought to himself, "Your breathing seems even more rapid..." and sighed, "Guzheng."

Gu Zheng hesitated for two seconds: "Just bear with it a little longer, one minute... no, half a minute will do."

She had finally mustered up the courage, and she didn't want to give up so easily.

"..."

"It's been a minute."

Give me one more minute.

"Two minutes."

"The last minute!"

Han Zhou was both amused and exasperated. Seeing that Gu Zheng was going on and on, he had no choice but to use his trump card. He pretended to be puzzled and said, "Why do I feel something sticky on my chest? Did you get snot on my clothes?"

"You're the one with a runny nose!"

Gu Zheng finally looked up and glared at him fiercely, but the next second she met Han Zhou's smiling eyes and realized that she had been tricked. However, she had no choice but to reluctantly let go and take a few steps back as if she didn't care.

A sense of loss lingered in my heart.

Han Zhou noticed that the girl's face was flushed and she looked beautiful. No wonder she hesitated to look up; she was obviously afraid of being seen in her shy state.

Noticing the other person's gaze, Gu Zheng felt a little uncomfortable and quickly resorted to her old trick, unzipping her coat again and fanning her face vigorously: "What's wrong with today? It's getting hotter and hotter."

Han Zhou couldn't help but chuckle.

He looked away, brushed the fallen leaves off his clothes, and laughed, "Alright, it's time to go. Xiaoxiao is still waiting at the hospital."

"Oh."

Gu Zheng stole a glance at him, feeling a little dissatisfied. She thought to herself that Han Zhou was acting far too indifferent. She had just encouraged herself with the motto "Be brave and proactive, don't let anyone call me husband" before daring to hug him, so why didn't this guy react at all...

In fact, Han Zhou wasn't unresponsive; rather, he dared not react. He realized that his self-control was getting worse and worse. The moment he saw Gu Zheng's rosy cheeks, he almost couldn't resist kissing her.

Fortunately, she held back, otherwise, given Guzheng's personality, she would definitely have pressed her advantage, and if they had directly confirmed their relationship, things would have been really difficult to handle today...

As he was thinking this, he suddenly felt a burning gaze. He turned his head and saw Guzheng staring intently at his face.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No, nothing..."

Gu Zheng hurriedly looked away, but soon turned her head back to steal a glance at his lips.

Han Zhou's heart tightened, and he was inexplicably worried—could this guy be planning to force himself on her?
Fortunately, as the road ahead widened, many people appeared in the distance. Given Guzheng's personality, she would never dare to do anything out of line under these circumstances.

Gu Zheng clearly saw the crowd in the distance, and her face immediately fell. The momentum she had been building up for so long receded like the tide. No matter how much she silently chanted the slogans, she just couldn't muster the courage to "just kiss Han Zhou right now."

If only I had been a little braver...

She felt annoyed, realizing she was such a coward, when all those girls on TV didn't hesitate to date the men they liked.

But there will be another chance next time!

She shook her head to clear her mind of the jumbled thoughts, took a small box out of her pocket, and changed the subject, saying, "Han Zhou, you still haven't told me what your birthday present for me is."

"You'll know once you open it." Han Zhou glanced at her.

"How dare you say that!"

Gu Zheng glared at the other person fiercely, "I opened your gift box seventeen times, and each time there was an even smaller box inside. Who's as bored as you?"

Although she said that, she was not actually unhappy, because Han Zhou had already told her that today was her eighteenth birthday, so the gift box needed to be opened eighteen times.

Lin Anyu told Gu Zheng that Han Zhou had been staying up all night preparing a gift for her until last night. Gu Zheng was very touched and deliberately left Han Zhou's gift until the very end to open it. However, she hadn't had a chance to open it one last time before she left with him.

"There's only one left, let's open it and take a look," Han Zhou said with a smile.

"Hmph, if it's just another small box inside, you're dead meat..."

Gu Zheng muttered a disgruntled remark, then eagerly opened the gift box—

Inside the box lay a small silver sun, slightly larger than a coin, surrounded by gilded patterns. A silver thread connected one end of the sun, with two delicate crescent moons engraved at the connection point, making it exquisite and elegant.

so beautiful……

Gu Zheng was stunned, and hesitated before asking, "Is this a commemorative coin?"

Han Zhou smiled and said, "It can be opened. Open it and take a look."

Gu Zheng wiped her hands before carefully taking out the "Little Sun" to check it. She found that it was indeed a flip-top design. She opened it gently, afraid of breaking it by using too much force.

The "Little Sun" can open up to 180 degrees. One side is slightly concave, as if something can be embedded in it. On the other side, the words "NO.1, Dedicated to Guzheng" are engraved at the top, and below it is a picture of a short-haired girl holding a trophy.

The art style is very simple, but slightly more complex than stick figures.

Gu Zheng paused for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing: "This painting is so ugly... Could this be me?"

Han Zhou looked slightly embarrassed: "Sorry, I was too confident in my drawing skills..."

"I didn't say it was bad, it's very cute."

"But you just said it was ugly..."

Gu Zheng smiled and was about to speak when she suddenly realized something and widened her eyes, saying, "Wait, did you make this?"

"Not at all."

Han Zhou shook his head and smiled. "Some parts require specialized equipment to make, but I did most of it myself. So, do you like it?"

"like……"

Gu Zheng stared at the little sun in her hand for a long time, completely unable to imagine that such an exquisite thing was actually made by Han Zhou himself over many days and nights, and couldn't help but feel a little heartache.

"Actually, you don't need to go to so much trouble. I already said I would like it even if you gave me foxtail grass."

"How could I possibly give you foxtail grass?" Han Zhou said irritably.

Gu Zheng smiled and looked at the words "NO.1" and said, "So this is actually a medal for me?"

"I guess so. That was indeed my initial idea. I planned to make a medal-like accessory for you, but then I felt it was too plain, so I changed it to a flip design. You see, you can put a photo in here."

"photo?"

"Yes, for photo booth pictures and such, but I didn't prepare the size in advance, so it may need to be cut a little."

Hearing Han Zhou's words, Gu Zheng finally understood why he had been preparing a gift until last night; this gift was of extraordinary significance.

She carefully accepted the gift and said earnestly, "Thank you, Han Zhou. This is the most precious gift I have ever received. I will always keep it with me."

Han Zhou chuckled: "You said that on your last birthday, didn't you? If this continues, won't you be wearing more than seventy gifts when you turn ninety?"

"So what if I hang up? It's not like I can't walk."

Gu Zheng rolled her eyes at him, but then quickly imagined that scene and couldn't help but smile.

Just as she was about to continue speaking, she suddenly noticed the crowd of people chatting and taking pictures ahead. Her heart began to race, and she casually tidied her hair.

"Han Zhou, um...we don't think we've ever taken a photo together before, have we?"

(End of this chapter)