Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 345 Let's get a dog from now on.
"The setting sun casts golden fragments on the backs of crows, and the slanting moon shines like jade on the treetops."

As he watched the setting sun gradually disappear on the horizon, a line of poetry he had seen in his previous life quietly surfaced in Han Zhou's mind.

Although it was dusk, there were no crows, no crescent moon, and no tree branches; there were only bustling streets and a constant stream of pedestrians at dusk.

And beside her, a long-haired girl wearing a mask and a baseball cap, with her hands behind her back, walking leisurely.

The reason he deliberately recalled such an inappropriate line of poetry was mainly to test whether Mo Yixia truly possessed the ability to read minds.

"No need to test me anymore. I've said it many times: mind reading doesn't exist in this world. There's only micro-expression analysis, which I'm good at, and you just happen to be very good at it. That's all."

Mo Yixia glanced at him and slowly began to explain.

Han Zhou looked incredulous and asked suspiciously, "How did you know I was testing you if you don't have mind-reading abilities?"

“Since I left the hospital, you’ve looked at me at least twenty-three times, with a look on your face that said, ‘Look what I’m thinking.’ Isn’t that a test?”

Mo Yixia sighed, seemingly a little sad, "Since you stopped tutoring me, has your diet gotten so bad that you can't even eat fish anymore?"

Han Zhou chuckled dryly twice: "Why do you sound like you're mourning a dog..."

"I didn't say that, but I happen to have a bag of dog food here, want to try some?"

Han Zhou thought Mo Yixia was talking about sweet dog food for single people, but to his surprise, she actually took out a bag of "Want Want Broken Gold" from her backpack—a kind of expensive dog food.

He looked surprised and asked, puzzled, "Why do you carry a bag of dog food with you?"

"I was able to leave school early thanks to Ya Ya, so I wanted to buy her a gift. But I have to go straight to school after I get back, so I won't be able to see Ya Ya. You have to give her the gift for me."

Han Zhou suddenly realized: "So this bag of dog food is for General Weiwu?"

Ya Ya is a bit of a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) sufferer, changing her hobbies every few days. Even her older brother, Lin Anyu, sometimes doesn't know what gifts to give her, let alone others. It can only be said that Mo Yixia is truly worthy of her name. Knowing that Ya Ya has always doted on General Wei Wu, she actually came up with a unique gift for General Wei Wu. I think Ya Ya will be satisfied.

To his surprise, Mo Yixia gave him a strange look: "Who is General Weiwu?"

Han Zhou was taken aback: "The dog that Ya Ya keeps at home, didn't you know?"

"I know now."

Mo Yixia nodded slightly and handed him the dog food in her hand.

"But you're wrong, this bag of dog food is for you."

Han Zhou: "?"

Before he could ask, Mo Yixia continued, "How about we get a dog in the future? It can guard the house and keep me company when I'm bored."

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then looked at the dog food in his hand: "I guess its name is..."

"That's right, his name is Han Zhou. Doesn't it sound friendly?"

"Hehe, it does feel quite familiar..."

After all, this is my name... Han Zhou thought to himself.

In winter, darkness falls quickly. It was just dusk, and soon the sun had completely set, leaving only a few red clouds stubbornly illuminating the remaining light on the horizon.

As darkness fell and the surrounding lights gradually came on, they stretched the shadows of the two people.

A cool breeze blew by, lifting the girl's long hair high, and her shadow on the ground swayed gently.

"Han Zhou, I'm serious, let's get a dog in the future."

Mo Yixia tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, looked up at the crescent moon in the sky, and whispered, "The kind that can live a long time."

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."

After thinking for a moment, he solemnly added, "But we can't name it Han Zhou."

The girl gave him a charmingly disdainful look: "That's my freedom."

Han Zhou warned impatiently, "If you insist on doing this, then I'll have to get a dog named Yixia."

"I don't really care, but you're not talking about the kind that requires a collar and makes it call you 'master'..."

"Please, just shut up..."

Han Zhou's lips twitched as he noticed the increasingly strange gazes from passersby. Even with his thick skin, he couldn't quite handle it and wished he could cover his face with his hands.

Mo Yixia thoughtfully handed him a face mask.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, this is what I just used."

"..."

Han Zhou had a headache, but he still put on a mask and asked, "By the way, why didn't you even tell me you were coming?"

Mo Yixia glanced at him: "Do you think I don't know? You're planning to make thorough preparations before I meet that girl playing the guzheng. Who knows, you might even try to be all lovey-dovey with her before I arrive. What's that word again... Oh right, checking up on someone. I came here early to check up on someone."

She looked completely justified.

Han Zhou had informed Mo Yixia in advance that he wanted Gu Zheng and Mo Yixia to become friends. To his surprise, Mo Yixia was very interested in it and agreed without hesitation. She was also willing to try her best to get along with him as a friend.

"What's the point of investigating this..."

Han Zhou felt a little embarrassed and couldn't help but recall the scene that had just happened in the ward. He asked strangely, "Speaking of which, since you can't read minds, how come you could even see through that kind of thing?"

Mo Yixia said calmly, "Your guilty reaction was so obvious back then, it would be strange if I didn't notice."

"I know you can tell, but you shouldn't be able to tell that accurately..." Han Zhou certainly believed that Mo Yixia was capable of seeing the problem, after all, he had acted somewhat guilty at the time. But the question was, how exactly did this girl manage to read his complete thoughts so accurately?

Do you mean 'it's a bit small'?

Mo Yixia seemed to suddenly realize something, and said unhurriedly, "Oh, actually I'm not too sure about that either, it's just a girl's malicious slander against her love rival."

To put it simply, she wasn't entirely sure what had happened in the ward, only guessing that something ambiguous had likely occurred. As for what came next, it wasn't Han Zhou's true feelings, but rather hers.

As soon as she finished speaking, Mo Yixia deliberately or unintentionally puffed out her full chest, as if to prove that she had the right to maliciously slander an airport.

Han Zhou really didn't know how to respond, so he changed the subject and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. I heard you were planning to cook a big meal for Guzheng, so I came here on an empty stomach."

Han Zhou gave a wry smile and looked up at the sky: "Given the situation today, I'm afraid I can't make a big meal. I still have to go to the school to deal with the guzheng matter."

"The child's parents?"

Mo Yixia had heard Wang Runxue talk about what happened that afternoon long ago. Although Wang Runxue, as a staunch supporter of the guzheng, did not want to reveal any information to her, such information could be obtained with a little trickery.

Han Zhou nodded: "Yes, they kept causing trouble at the school hospital, which attracted a lot of students to watch. I didn't want them to affect Guzheng, so I sent her to the hospital."

"You're really considerate."

Mo Yixia commented unhurriedly, then turned to look at him, "To be honest, if a girl is willing to fight tooth and nail for a meaningless first place, she must really value your place in her heart. Aren't you afraid she'll kill you after discovering your shameless scumbag behavior?"

Han Zhou smiled wryly and remained silent.

Mo Yixia didn't press further, but simply said, "Another reason I came early this time was to carefully observe my rival in love and see if she's qualified to compete with me for what I want—you said she's injured now, so will she still participate in the competitions tomorrow and the day after?"

"of course."

Without hesitation, Han Zhou nodded firmly, "Unless she is completely unable to get up, she will definitely go."

"She plays the guzheng."

"The zither that always strives to be the best."

……

When the two arrived at the school hospital, there weren't many people left outside; they probably left after watching the excitement.

However, the domineering parents still haven't left.

In fact, most students thought the parents' behavior was quite despicable. They were not people who couldn't distinguish right from wrong. The fact that they didn't spit on the two of them was already a sign of high quality. They had gathered here not just to watch the show, but also to speak up for Lin Anyu, who had been arguing with the two of them.

Even several school leaders tried to reason with the parents, but they remained unmoved, refusing to acknowledge that their child had wandered onto the track and insisting that the girl who bumped into their child was cold-blooded and heartless.

The school leaders were also at a loss. In fact, the main reason for this accident was the parents' poor supervision and their children's willful and playful nature. However, the school also had to bear some responsibility. They did not want the matter to spread, so they maintained a policy of keeping quiet.

However, to the dismay of the leaders, just when they were about to get rid of the unreasonable parents, the boy who had been advocating "reasoning with them" kept interrupting, causing the two, who had been somewhat acquiescing, to revert to their previous ferocious expressions. They angrily declared that if the student who hit the person did not apologize or compensate them, they would stay and not leave.

The leaders, having reached their limit, questioned the boy about his department. To their surprise, he smugly claimed to be from another school, which infuriated them. They decided to hand the matter over to the student union and then left.

As the student council president, Xia Qing naturally took over the matter. She had to admit that it was the student council's fault for letting a child into the track at the sports meet, especially since it had caused an injury to a student. Therefore, she took it very seriously and came over with the school leaders from the beginning. She hadn't left yet and was watching Lin Anyu negotiate with the parents from afar.

Well... if we exclude the foul language, then let's call it negotiation.

"Why are you here?"

Han Zhou was somewhat surprised to see Xia Qing, but he quickly remembered her identity as the student council president. He pointed to the parents who were stubbornly refusing to leave the school hospital corridor and tentatively asked, "You're not here to deal with this, are you?"

"Yes."

Xia Qing wasn't surprised to see Han Zhou here, after all, she had seen him carry the injured girl away with her own eyes. She was just a little puzzled as to why the pretty girl next to him had changed again after only an afternoon.

Her gaze lingered on Mo Yixia for a moment, then she asked with concern, "How are you? I think the injured classmate's name is Guzheng? Is she alright?"

Gu Zheng has become a household name at this sports meet. Her amazing speed in the competition and her spirit of pushing forward even after being injured have impressed many people. Moreover, she is a very beautiful girl, and now many people in the school have heard of her.

Han Zhou smiled and shook his head: "It's nothing, just a minor scratch, nothing serious."

In fact, Gu Zheng's initial injury was not a minor superficial wound. The reason it became a harmless superficial wound was because he kept treating the other party with "miraculous quack doctor" techniques while taking them to the hospital.

After all, he knew Guzheng well. This girl had already signed up for the competition, and even if she was injured, she wouldn't be willing to lie in the hospital. Rather than persuading Guzheng to give up the competition, he was more willing to help her return to the competition as soon as possible.

The guzheng injury happened in full view of everyone. If he hadn't been worried that it would be too unbelievable if he went to the hospital and they couldn't find any injuries, he would have insisted on healing the guzheng.

"Senior Xia Qing, since you're here, I'll just ask directly: what is the student council's stance on this matter?"

Han Zhou looked at Xia Qing. He hated the school's approach of trying to be safe by assigning equal blame to both sides in any situation. Although the school had its reasons, he didn't want Gu Zheng to get hurt and suffer injustice in this matter.

Xia Qing's expression was serious, completely different from the paparazzi image she had been chasing people around like crazy that afternoon. She said earnestly, "Please rest assured, the student council is completely biased towards Guzheng. The school has a responsibility in this matter, and the student council has a responsibility, but Guzheng will never take responsibility. However, if possible, we would prefer to handle this matter by minimizing its impact. What do you think?"

Han Zhou nodded and glanced at the parents not far away: "If those two are willing to cooperate."

Xia Qing's attitude was very good, and Gu Zheng didn't seem to care about the family's behavior, so he was willing to give them face.

"I'm glad you can accept this. Please rest assured, I will handle this matter properly."

Xia Qing smiled, then suddenly remembered something, turned to look at Lin Anyu who was passionately arguing with the parents, and hesitated, "By the way, I'd like to ask... is that person your friend?"

"Yes."

Han Zhou could tell from Lin Anyu's spittle-flecked manner that he couldn't possibly be trying to persuade them with reason, or that he had failed in his attempt. At this moment, his expression looked as if he wanted to smear his phone, worth tens of thousands of yuan, on the faces of the parents in front of him.

He understood Xia Qing's meaning and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, I'll try to persuade him to stop."

(End of this chapter)