Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 339 A Friend Like You
As a cold front swept in, the temperature in Lincheng dropped again, with an average temperature of only seven or eight degrees Celsius, and even as low as four or five degrees Celsius at night.

Many people can feel that this winter is much colder than usual, and the temperature will probably drop below zero soon. Even if it warms up for a while in the future, the possibility of snow is quite high.

It was under these temperatures that the winter sports meet, which many students at Linyi University had been eagerly anticipating, was held as scheduled.

The sports meet will be held on Thursday, November 23rd, and will end on Sunday, lasting a total of four days. The first three days will be for various formal events, and the last day will be dedicated to various fun events. These events are said to have been added in response to the recent call for national fitness, and both teachers and students can sign up to participate.

To encourage participation, these fun activities also offer prize money, which shows they've gone to great lengths.

However, the results were quite good.

Most college students aren't really interested in sports meets; they're too lazy to even watch them and would rather stay in their dorm rooms all day. However, they are quite interested in fun events that can both entertain and earn money.

The school was also cunning. Not only did it not immediately announce what fun events were available, but it also stated that in addition to athletes who had participated in official events having priority registration, other students could also obtain priority registration by earning a certain number of points. The way to earn points was mainly related to doing troublesome things that many people were unwilling to do, such as being a spectator at the sports meet.

This resulted in a large number of students signing up for the opening and closing ceremonies and actively becoming spectators at the sports meet this year. The playground was not as deserted as in previous years; in fact, it was unusually lively, with noise that could be heard from afar.

It's not that the school necessarily wants to use this method to increase everyone's enthusiasm for participating in the sports meet, but there are just too many people in the university, and it's impossible to allow everyone to sign up for the competition, so a registration threshold must be set.

Since recreational activities don't inherently possess strong competitive elements, using physical fitness as the sole criterion for evaluation clearly deviates from the essence of "recreational." Therefore, this method is the only viable option for selection.

Those who are interested won't mind spending some time earning points, while those who aren't interested will still stay in their dorm rooms and not go anywhere.

The opening ceremony of the sports meet was at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday. All of Han Zhou's roommates arrived at the playground early. Chen Zheng and Huo Zhencheng were there as spectators. They were not official athletes in this sports meet, but they were very interested in the fun events, so they worked hard to get points early in the morning.

Han Zhou and Chen Long are official athletes, participating in the triple jump and 100-meter sprint respectively. The 100-meter race will be held tomorrow morning, while the triple jump will start the day after tomorrow afternoon. Neither of them is interested in the opening ceremony. Chen Long was only dragged along by Chen Zheng, while Han Zhou came to see the guzheng.

The guzheng ensemble appeared in the performance group at the opening ceremony. Although not as the leader, they were still quite eye-catching – these are the guzheng's own words.

The opening ceremony lasted nearly two hours, and the whole process was quite tedious, especially the speeches by the various leaders, which were utterly long and tedious. However, it still won thunderous applause at the end.

Because the end of the speech means the end of the opening ceremony.

There were no competitions in the morning. As the opening ceremony ended, the crowd let out a deafening roar of relief and then surged out of the stadium like a tidal wave. Han Zhou stood at the entrance of the gymnasium, looking at his phone while waiting for the guzheng to arrive.

"Han Zhou!"

A greeting sounded in front of me, but it wasn't Guzheng; it came from a few girls in the class. They seemed to be there as spectators, and they said with smiles, "Good luck in the competition! All the girls in our class have already decided to come and be your cheerleaders!"

Han Zhou put away his phone and gave a polite smile: "Thank you, but my match is the day after tomorrow."

He was fairly popular in class, especially among the girls.

"The day after tomorrow afternoon, we know. By the way, are you planning to sign up for this fun activity? We can team up!"

"I need to see if the program is suitable for me before I consider applying."

"I see... I heard the project announcement will be released tomorrow afternoon, remember to keep an eye on it."

"OK, thanks."

Han Zhou watched the girls in his class leave when Gu Zheng jogged up to him and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"I just chatted with the girls in my class for a few minutes."

Han Zhou turned his head and looked her over, puzzled, "You changed your clothes back?"

Gu Zheng, who was in the performance group just now, was wearing a light blue classical long dress and a headdress, which was quite unusual for her. She was a classic beauty and was indeed quite eye-catching. I just didn't expect her to change back into sportswear and a down jacket so quickly.

"Yeah, it's so cumbersome to wear these all the time." Gu Zheng exhaled a puff of hot air, rubbed her hands together, and answered casually, "Besides, it's so cold today."

"It's really cold today."

Han Zhou nodded, seemingly with some regret, and sighed, "It's a real pity, I thought I could have seen it a little longer."

Gu Zheng was taken aback, her face instantly turning red, and she muttered, "It's not like there won't be other opportunities in the future..."

"That's true, you're going to perform on stage on New Year's Day." Han Zhou smiled.

"Just wait and see." Gu Zheng smiled and puffed out her chest proudly.

The two walked towards the teaching building.

"I remember you're running the women's 3000 meters this afternoon?"

"Yes, I can't wait."

"I know you're more than capable of taking first place, but you still need to be careful. With your ability, there's no need to run too fast. Don't fall and get injured."

"I know, when have you ever seen me injured?" Gu Zheng smiled, her hands behind her back, looking confident and certain of victory.

Han Zhou smiled and said, "I'll cheer you on. If you win, I'll treat you to a big meal."

"What kind of feast?" Gu Zheng's eyes lit up.

"You choose."

"I don't think the fancy food outside tastes as good as your cooking..."

"I'll go ask Sister Yin and Teacher Ouyang if we can borrow their kitchen this afternoon," Han Zhou said with a light laugh.

"Really?" Gu Zheng asked with delight.

"of course it's true."

"Then I want to eat braised pork belly and sweet and sour pork ribs!"

"it is good."

"And that dish that takes so long to prepare, what's it called..."

"A simplified version of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," Han Zhou reminded him.

"Yes, yes, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall! But I've been wanting to ask this before, why is it the simplified version?"

"The complete version is too complicated; I'll need to study it for a while before I can make it."

Gu Zheng swallowed hard, looking on expectantly, "Then the simplified version..."

"I'll make it for you," Han Zhou said with a smile.

"Han Zhou, you're so great!"

Gu Zheng beamed, but suddenly sensed something was amiss. She looked at Han Zhou warily and asked suspiciously, "Wait...you don't actually want to ask me for something, do you?"

Han Zhou's heart skipped a beat: "Why would you think that?"

"intuition."

Gu Zheng knew she was right when she saw his nervous look. She said smugly, "You're definitely trying to bribe me with this meal so I'll agree to something, right?"

Han Zhou gave an awkward smile and nodded deliberately, "Yes..."

This reaction wasn't entirely feigned; what he was about to say was genuinely difficult for him to utter.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Gu Zheng was in a good mood, so she immediately crossed her arms, raised her chin at him, and gave him a bold look that said, "Speak your mind."

Han Zhou took a deep breath and said nervously, "Promise me you won't be angry after hearing this."

"Angry?" Guzheng was taken aback. "Why would I be angry?"

She couldn't think of any reason why she was angry with him.

Han Zhou cautiously emphasized again, "In short, you must first promise not to get angry."

Gu Zheng became increasingly suspicious. After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure out what Han Zhou wanted to say. She urged, "Okay, I promise I won't be angry. Tell me quickly."

"Then I'll have to say it." Han Zhou hesitated, looking undecided.

"Ah."

"Maybe I shouldn't say anything..."

"Say!"

After a moment's hesitation, Han Zhou tentatively asked, "Do you still remember Mo Yixia?"

Gu Zheng's expression stiffened for a moment, but she quickly recovered and said nonchalantly, "I remember. What happened to her?" Her tone was relatively calm, as if she didn't care about this person's existence, but her quietly clenched fist betrayed her uneasy heart.

Han Zhou hesitated for two seconds before forcing a smile and said, "She wants to come to our university this weekend to visit our sports meet and chat about some small things..."

He was watching Guzheng's expression.

The latter was silent for a moment, a fleeting look of disappointment crossing her face, before she forced herself to remain calm and said, "Oh, you told her about this little thing? It seems you two have a pretty good relationship."

She tried her best to put on an indifferent expression.

"Mm." Han Zhou nodded.

The air was quiet for a moment.

Guzheng really wanted to ask which question that "hmm" was answering. The uncomfortable feeling in her heart grew stronger, and she replied somewhat impatiently, "And then?"

Han Zhou gave a wry smile: "That's all. I just wanted to ask for your opinion."

"What can I say? Let her come if she wants. The school isn't my family's property. Can I stop her from coming in?" Gu Zheng snorted coldly, unsurprisingly becoming sullen.

"I was just worried you'd mind..." Han Zhou said awkwardly, "After all..."

"If I mind, you won't let her come?" Guzheng interrupted him.

"That's not true..."

"Then why are you asking me?"

Gu Zheng grew increasingly impatient with the music and initially intended to ignore Han Zhou. However, upon turning her head and seeing the bitter and troubled smile on his face, she couldn't help but soften her heart.

Her anger subsided slightly. After all, it was better for Han Zhou to ask for her opinion beforehand than to keep it from her. She preferred Han Zhou's frankness to deception.

In fact, she had no right to be angry with Han Zhou. Perhaps in Han Zhou's eyes, Mo Yixia was just a friend like Senior Zhong Ling. She never minded Han Zhou being with Senior Zhong Ling. The reason she disliked Mo Yixia was simply because she regarded her as a powerful imaginary enemy.

Gu Zheng is well aware that she is not a perfect person. Therefore, in matters of the heart, although she has the courage to compete with other girls, she lacks the determination to win.

She was even a little afraid, because she could find a chance to win back other competitions after losing them, but if she could no longer be number one in Han Zhou's heart, she might lose Han Zhou forever.

She doesn't want to lose, so she wants to keep winning.

She still doesn't have a clear answer as to how to win in a relationship. If confessing your feelings is like handing in an exam paper, then she is always worried that she hasn't checked the paper thoroughly enough, so she hesitates to hand it in.

Seeing the uneasy expression on Han Zhou's face, Gu Zheng felt a little discouraged. The fault wasn't with Han Zhou, but with herself for not being brave enough to hand in her paper.

Even though the other person gave her a gift engraved with "NO.1", she was still worried that she wouldn't be number one in their heart.

but--

Gu Zheng suddenly realized something.

She looked at Han Zhou, some things she had been too lazy to ask before, but now she had to get to the bottom of. Her tone softened slightly, and she asked casually, "Tell me, why are you asking me about Mo Yixia?"

Han Zhou knew she would ask this, and after hesitating, he gave the answer he had already thought of: "Because I feel like you don't really like her."

"No, I just don't like the look of her." Gu Zheng pouted and honestly told what she really thought.

She didn't dislike Mo Yixia, but she instinctively sensed that Mo Yixia had a close relationship with Han Zhou and made no attempt to hide her possessiveness towards Han Zhou, practically branding the word "love rival" on her forehead. Naturally, she couldn't possibly like someone like that.

"What's the difference between disliking something and not liking it..." Han Zhou smiled bitterly.

"Who says there's no difference?"

Gu Zheng instinctively wanted to retort, but she was too lazy to bother with hiding it, and said unhappily, "Since you know I don't like her, why did you mention her to me?"

This question was within Han Zhou's expectations. He smiled awkwardly, then took a deep breath and answered sincerely, "Because I hope the two of you can become friends."

Not just to be friends, but ideally to be inseparable best sisters... he added in his mind, then cursed himself for being shameless with his thoughts.

"Why?" Gu Zheng was taken aback.

It has to be said that Gu Zheng was always incredibly patient with Han Zhou. If it were any other girl, upon learning that the boy she liked wanted her to become friends with her rival, she would be lucky not to kick him twice, let alone patiently ask him why.

Han Zhou forced a smile and said, "Because as far as I know, neither of you had any other friends before you met me. I feel that you have some common qualities that make you good friends."

Gu Zheng glared at him: "Are you saying I'm unpopular?"

Han Zhou chuckled dryly twice: "She's even less popular than you."

"That's pretty much it..."

Gu Zheng nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly realized what she meant, frowned, and said, "Aren't you still saying I'm unpopular?"

Han Zhou chuckled awkwardly but didn't reply.

Gu Zheng didn't take it to heart, after all, it was true that she was not popular. However, thinking about her past experiences and recalling the story of the girl named Mo Yixia that Han Zhou had mentioned before, she could roughly imagine that the other party must have lived a very lonely life over the years.

If they lose Han Zhou, their only friend, their lives will likely become dull and colorless again.

It was precisely because she realized this early on that she never mentioned Mo Yixia to Han Zhou. After all, she couldn't bring herself to force Han Zhou to break off his relationship with her, but if she couldn't say such a thing, then there was no need to mention her.

Ultimately, compared to her love rival, she saw Mo Yixia more as a somewhat pitiful high school girl.

She vaguely remembered that the girl saying something like, "They are all special people." For some reason, that sentence resonated with her deeply, and she could still recall it to this day.

If even the most special can be given the title of first or second, then where would I rank?

Gu Zheng remained silent for a long time before suddenly asking the question she hadn't asked before.

"Han Zhou, answer me honestly... what exactly is your relationship with that girl named Mo Yixia?"

She stared intently into Han Zhou's eyes, her expression more serious than ever before, her aura aggressive, as if she would immediately turn and leave if he dared to utter a single lie.

If Han Zhou hadn't been prepared beforehand, he might have been genuinely frightened by the guzheng. Fortunately, he had anticipated that the guzheng would ask this question and had prepared accordingly.

"friend."

Under the guzheng's gaze, he gave this answer without changing his expression.

"only friends?"

Gu Zheng immediately pressed for answers, her gaze never leaving his face.

"Just friends." Han Zhou nodded firmly.

A friend like you… he silently added in his heart, his eyes growing more determined.

"You promise you're not lying to me?"

"I promise."

Although he had exploited a linguistic loophole, Han Zhou was certain that he had not deceived Gu Zheng.

More than friends, more than lovers, just one small confession away—that's their relationship.

A "friend" relationship.

Han Zhou was gambling that Gu Zheng wouldn't confess her feelings at this time, and that as long as the status quo was maintained, they would remain friends.

After a brief silence, Guzheng slowly looked away: "I believe in you."

She paused, then added, "If she's willing to be friends with me, then I'm willing to be friends with her too."

His tone was calm, though it carried a hint of emotion, but it didn't sound like he was being sarcastic.

Han Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

It's true that Mo Yixia will be coming over the weekend, but it wasn't Mo Yixia who suggested that the two meet and become friends; it was he who took the initiative to suggest it.

After all, it's not a solution to keep Mo Yixia and Gu Zheng from meeting. Rather than having them accept each other in the future when they know nothing about each other, it's obviously better to arrange for them to get to know each other in advance.

Han Zhou had a vague premonition that the two of them might get along very well.

of course……

The premise is that the chaotic situation doesn't break out prematurely.

(End of this chapter)