Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 340 Big News

At 3 p.m., the playground of Linda University was packed with people.

The weather is rather cold today. If it were last year, most students wouldn't be on the playground, except for athletes who need to participate and spectators who were forced to come.

The reason the playground was so lively this year, besides the school's "points strategy" being effective, was that there were rumors that a very beautiful girl was participating in the upcoming women's 3,000-meter race.

Upon hearing this news, most people didn't care at first, after all, everyone has seen plenty of beautiful girls. But when someone said that this girl's looks were comparable to the "mute bride" and the "smiling princess", and that the three of them appeared on the playground at the same time, the boys' dormitory instantly erupted in excitement.

The girls' dormitory was a little agitated. Actually, girls also like to look at beautiful women, and often their lewd tendencies are even greater than those of boys.

Of course, the main reason why so many college students flocked to the playground at the same time was because a very exciting message suddenly spread in various chat groups—

Teacher Ouyang has a boyfriend!
As the most famous and "approachable" of the six celebrities of Linda University, Ouyang Lianyu may not be as beautiful as Zhong Ling and Wang Lengqiu, but she has always been very popular at school. It is no exaggeration to say that she is a top star of Linda University. Therefore, various rumors about her have always been a topic of conversation.

Of all the rumors, the one that has garnered the most attention is naturally the topic of Ms. Ouyang's boyfriend.

As everyone knows, Ms. Ouyang does not have a boyfriend. Since enrolling in school, she has never been involved in any scandals. It is said that many teachers have pursued her, but she has politely declined them all, saying that she does not want to be in a relationship at this stage.

Upon hearing this, countless teachers and students were saddened, including the girls. Now that they learned that Teacher Ouyang suddenly had a boyfriend, the entire school was naturally shocked. Everyone wanted to see who this boyfriend was, so they gathered on the playground, intending to ask the insider who had revealed the news for more details.

When asked about this, Chen Long, an insider, remained tight-lipped, saying that he needed to clean his office and could not disclose any further details.

The camera followed Chen Long's lonely figure until he completely disappeared from sight, before turning its attention to a long-haired girl.

The girl nodded slightly to the camera, held the microphone, and said in a standard broadcasting voice: "As you can all see, this student has been silenced by Teacher Ouyang. The office he needs to clean is Teacher Ouyang's office. This is obviously a warning, and it may indirectly confirm the truth of that rumor."

The so-called "rumor" naturally refers to the rumor that Ouyang Lianyu has a boyfriend.

As the camera panned, the girl pointed the microphone at a bespectacled boy next to her and said with a smile, "Young man, you seem to have a good relationship with that insider. Do you know anything about the information he revealed earlier?"

"me……"

Chen Zheng awkwardly pushed up his glasses, looked at the burly young man carrying a camera in front of him, and had no idea what to say. He turned to leave.

The girl grabbed his arm and said with a smile, "Please don't be nervous. We're from the news agency, and we're doing on-campus interviews to record interesting things that happen during the sports meet and publish them on the campus's official WeChat account."

"I've never heard of any on-campus interviews for the sports meet at Linda University..." Chen Zheng looked puzzled, finding the two men's behavior suspicious.

"Please rest assured that our interview was authorized by the student union. If you are worried about your privacy, we will blur your face later."

The girl smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Xia Qing, and I am the new student council president."

"My name is Tang Hai, and I'm the vice president of the student council." The burly boy carrying the camera smiled kindly.

Chen Zheng was dumbfounded. Why were the student council president and vice president here conducting a campus interview? Were these two so free?

It's also his fault for being too negligent lately and forgetting to gather information. He didn't even know that the student council president had been replaced... Speaking of which, it seems that the fun events added to this sports meet were organized by the student council, right?

No wonder they dared to carry a video camera around to find out about Teacher Ouyang; this year's student council isn't as rigid as the last one...

Chen Zheng sighed inwardly, regretting that Chen Long had run away too quickly. Now, facing the camera, he was so nervous that he couldn't even speak properly. It seemed that he would have to miss this great opportunity to become famous at school.

Of course, he was just talking nonsense in his mind. Even if he really had the chance, he wouldn't dare to talk about Teacher Ouyang behind his back. He didn't want to be punished by having to clean the office for a month.

Composing himself, Chen Zheng stammered, "Nice to meet you, but I'm sorry, I don't know anything about this or any interesting stories. You should ask someone else."

Xia Qing could tell he was lying at a glance, and coaxed him gently, "Please don't worry, although the on-campus interview is an interesting column, it still needs to be approved by the student council. I promise we will be careful and will not reveal any privacy on the official account."

I don't know if you're mindful of boundaries, but I really don't want to clean the office with that guy Chen Long...

"I'm sorry, I really don't know anything."

Chen Zheng shook his head again. Seeing that the other party was persistent in sticking to him, he looked around and suddenly his eyes lit up. He pointed in a direction and said, "Look over there, do you see that very handsome guy? Trust me, if you go and interview him, you will definitely get a lot of results."

Seeing Xia Qing and Tang Hai turn their heads at the same time, he lowered his voice and added, "That person is very familiar with Teacher Ouyang. What I dare not say, he may not dare not say."

"Really?" Xia Qing's eyes lit up.

"It's true." Chen Zheng said with certainty, "My name is Chen Long. If I'm lying to you, you can punish me anytime!"

"You're joking. The student council doesn't have the right to punish students arbitrarily. Thank you for reminding us, we'll head over now!"

After speaking, Xia Qing quickly called Tang Hai and they ran away.

At the same time, Han Zhou, who had just arrived at the playground, was looking around for the guzheng when he suddenly saw a girl rushing over. She shoved a microphone to her mouth and asked, "Hello, excuse me, may I ask you a few questions?"

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment: "Who are you?"

"My name is Xia Qing. I am a member of the news agency and also the president of the student council. I am responsible for recording all the interesting stories from this sports meet and I am currently conducting an on-campus interview."

Is the student council president that free?

Han Zhou felt the same confusion as Chen Zheng, and forced a smile as he asked, "Hello, what would you like to ask?"

He roughly guessed the questions for the interview; they would mostly be about his views and suggestions on the sports meet, and how to publish a report in response to the recent "sports for all" slogan. All he had to do was say the good things.

Seeing how cooperative this handsome young man was, Xia Qing excitedly asked, "Excuse me, do you know Teacher Ouyang Lianyu?"

"Of course I do."

Han Zhou smiled, but inwardly he was puzzled. Why was he asking Teacher Ouyang for no reason? Was he going to write a feature article on "disability with a strong will"?

Well, speaking of which, the Paralympics aren't far off...

"What is your relationship?" Xia Qing continued to ask.

"She is my counselor and also our class's advanced mathematics teacher."

"I heard you two get along quite well?"

Where did you hear that? Han Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering if he had guessed wrong again, and if the topic of this report was actually Teacher Ouyang?

Could it be for a professional title evaluation?

Thinking of this, he nodded firmly: "It's not bad. Teacher Ouyang is a very responsible teacher and a very dedicated counselor. She often tutors me, who has poor grades. A couple of days ago, a classmate of ours was hospitalized, and she went to the hospital to take care of him. That classmate was so moved that he cried."

"Such a thing is true?" Xia Qing was greatly shocked.

"Yes, in order to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, Teacher Ouyang accidentally bumped her head and got a bump that day," Han Zhou said earnestly.

"What a wonderful teacher..."

Xia Qing sighed, but didn't forget the main point, and tentatively asked, "This student, you seem to know a lot about Teacher Ouyang. It seems you have a really good relationship with her?"

She was looking forward to it.

"It's good."

Han Zhou smiled and nodded, about to continue praising Ouyang Lianyu, when she suddenly asked, "Do you know who Teacher Ouyang's boyfriend is?"

Han Zhou froze for two seconds, a question mark appearing above his head.

"what?"

Xia Qing gently coaxed, "Please don't worry, we..."

"Where did Teacher Ouyang get a boyfriend?" Han Zhou interrupted her, frowning. "Where did you hear that from?"

He knew very well that Ouyang Lianyu could never have a boyfriend.

"Haven't you heard? It's all over the school now," Xia Qing asked curiously.

"I haven't heard of it, but I'm curious, is the purpose of your campus interviews just to find out this kind of gossip?"

Han Zhou finally understood what this person really wanted to ask, and was speechless for a moment. The student council president actually came to the playground to ask about the teachers' gossip. He must have had nothing better to do.

Xia Qing sensed his dissatisfaction and patiently explained, "Please don't misunderstand, we have no intention of digging into Teacher Ouyang's privacy, we are just curious whether she really has a boyfriend."

"Isn't this a matter of privacy? Never mind, if you really want to know, you can ask Teacher Ouyang directly. I have something to do, so I'll be going now. Goodbye."

Han Zhou didn't want to say anything more, thinking to himself that this person was really inexplicable. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something that had happened yesterday afternoon—

Just yesterday afternoon, he saw Ouyang Lianyu on the phone in the school garden. She looked anxious and seemed to be trying her best to argue something. After seeing him, she hesitated for a moment, then waved for him to come over.

It wasn't until he got closer that he realized Ouyang Lianyu was on the phone with her parents, whom she hadn't contacted in a long time. From the few words they exchanged, it was easy to tell that her parents seemed to be urging her to go home for blind dates, and even hinted at threatening suicide. Helpless, Ouyang Lianyu had no choice but to declare that she had already found a boyfriend.

However, her parents were not easily fooled and insisted that she produce evidence. Left with no other choice, Ouyang Lianyu asked Han Zhou, who happened to be passing by, to say a few words to her parents, indicating that he was her boyfriend.

It was clear that Ouyang Lianyu's parents did not believe her story, but they did not press the matter further and hung up the phone shortly afterward.

After hanging up the phone, Ouyang Lianyu remained in low spirits, and Han Zhou didn't know what to say, so he simply sat down next to her to keep her company.

Ouyang Lianyu didn't speak for a long time.

"It must be my aunt's doing. Yesterday she asked me to go on a blind date with a so-called elite from the upper class. I didn't agree, so she told my parents that I should find a man to carry on the family line as soon as possible. I don't even need to ask to know."

That was the first time Han Zhou had seen Ouyang Lianyu display a self-deprecating expression.

“My parents don’t actually believe what I say. The reason they were willing to hang up the phone is because they feel that I have compromised with them. They think that as long as they use the same method again, I will obediently listen to them. And that is indeed the case. If they really want to die, I can’t bear to ignore them.”

Han Zhou didn't know what to say at the time, so he just made a joke: "So it's good to be like me, at least I don't have to obey my parents."

These words were actually meant to comfort Ouyang Lianyu, but the other party clearly misunderstood his meaning and apologized, saying, "You're right. Compared to what you've been through, what I've encountered is indeed a minor problem. I shouldn't be so depressed. I'm sorry for making you worry."

The conversation ended there. Ouyang Lianyu was unwilling to say more, and Han Zhou didn't ask any further questions. He told her that she could contact him anytime if she needed anything, and then he left.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou suddenly realized—

Could it be that Ms. Ouyang herself spread the rumors about having a boyfriend, just to appease her parents who are eager for their daughter to get married?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, but he didn't dare to draw any conclusions. He took out his phone and moved away from the camera, intending to call Ouyang Lianyu to ask about the situation.

"Classmate, please wait a moment!"

To his surprise, the two guys followed him like glue, determined to get inside information, much like paparazzi who stalk celebrities all day long.

Han Zhou sneered inwardly, too lazy to waste words with the two, and immediately took off running, running all the way back to his dormitory, finally getting rid of the two who wouldn't stop bothering him.

The guzheng competition is scheduled to start at 3:20, and there are still more than ten minutes before it starts, so he can easily get back in time.

There was no one in the dormitory at the moment. He closed the dormitory door and dialed Ouyang Lianyu's number.

"Hello?" The call was quickly answered, and Ouyang Lianyu's gentle voice came from the phone, "Han Zhou, what's the matter?"

Without hesitation, Han Zhou told the other person what had just happened on the playground, and then asked the question that had been bothering him: "Teacher Ouyang, you wouldn't have deliberately spread the news that you have a boyfriend, would that have worked?"

Ouyang Lianyu was both amused and exasperated after hearing this, and said helplessly, "Who said I deliberately spread this news? How could a teacher be so bored? You and Chen Long are roommates, don't you know what he did?"

Han Zhou was taken aback: "What did he do?"

“My parents called me again today, asking if I really have a boyfriend. Of course, I answered yes. Chen Long overheard this and soon spread the news everywhere. I’ve already punished him by making him clean the office.”

Han Zhou's lips twitched; he hadn't expected it to be like this.

To transition a bit, the sports meet is a major storyline and will be written in a longer way.

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(End of this chapter)