Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 351 I know my way around Guzheng's body

As night deepened, a pale crescent moon hung in the dark sky, far above the treetops.

"You mean, that girl isn't your sister? And you're not Teacher Ouyang's boyfriend?"

On the way to the hospital, Xia Qing looked at Han Zhou with a hint of surprise.

"of course not."

Han Zhou looked helpless. Although he was a scumbag, his reputation wasn't that bad. He patiently explained, "Yi Xia's surname is Mo, and mine is Han. We're just friends. Teacher Ouyang has a boyfriend, but it's not me. Dating your sister and dating a teacher who has a boyfriend—either of these two things sounds absurd, right?"

Despite telling two lies, he spoke with an air of righteous indignation, especially the line "we're just friends," which he almost believed himself.

"You're right..."

Xia Qing felt a little embarrassed. She had already reflected on it and realized that all her current speculations were just conclusions drawn from snippets of information, without any substantial evidence. It was really irrational and impolite to make wild guesses about others based on such unfounded rumors.

Thinking of this, she immediately felt apologetic and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, Han Zhou, I misunderstood you. I'm very sorry."

"It's okay, it's mainly because Yixia said something that could be easily misunderstood."

Han Zhou smiled nonchalantly. This student council president came from a very wealthy family, but he didn't have an arrogant air about him at all; on the contrary, he was exceptionally polite.

He shook his head, looking a bit annoyed, and said, "That guy always likes to make nasty jokes. I hope you don't mind, senior."

"No, no, it's my fault. I was too curious."

“Being curious isn’t a flaw,” Han Zhou smiled. “However, I suggest you don’t try to test Yi Xia; she can see right through people.”

He could roughly guess why Mo Yixia was teasing Xia Qing. She probably sensed the other party's probing and made up a few words in response.

"really?"

Xia Qing looked surprised and immediately remembered how Mo Yixia had seen through her thoughts many times during the meal.

"real."

Xia Qing hesitated for a moment, swallowed quietly, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, Han Zhou, you shouldn't have mentioned it. Now that you've brought it up, I'm even more curious about you guys..."

Han Zhou was taken aback, then said with a wry smile, "Just ask me any questions you have, and I'll answer them as best I can."

"May I?"

Xia Qing's eyes lit up, and an excited expression immediately appeared on her face.

"Sure, but I can only answer what I can answer. What I can't answer, I'll just have to keep secret," Han Zhou reminded him with a smile.

Xia Qing had been showing goodwill, and in return, he was willing to satisfy her curiosity as much as possible.

"I understand, I understand, I will never ask private questions!"

Xia Qing was overjoyed and said excitedly, "Han Zhou, you're such a nice person."

Are you giving me a friend card...?

Han Zhou thought to himself, "I heard from the dorm supervisor downstairs that you get along well with a lot of girls. Is that true?"

He paused, then hesitated before saying, "You could say that..."

Thinking about it carefully, he did have quite a few girls with whom he had good relationships.

Xia Qing pressed on, "Not only that, I heard you know some of the most famous girls in school, including Zhong Ling and Wang Lengqiu. Is that true?"

"That's true." Han Zhou did not deny it.

"But as far as I know, they haven't had a single familiar boy since they enrolled. How did you manage to make friends with them?"

After a pause, Xia Qing said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, this is a question that bothers me. You don't have to answer if it's inconvenient for you."

"Nothing inconvenient."

Han Zhou laughed, "I knew Senior Zhong Ling before I enrolled. There was a little misunderstanding when we first met, but we became friends after it was cleared up. As for Senior Wang Lengqiu, my relationship with her is rather complicated. It's hard to say whether we're friends or not. We first met at the hospital. She seemed to recognize me, but to be honest, I have absolutely no recollection of her..."

He briefly recounted his first meeting with Zhong Ling and Wang Lengqiu.

Xia Qing listened intently; if she hadn't been without paper and pen, Han Zhou suspected she might have been taking notes as she listened.

Xia Qing remained silent for a long time, then asked in confusion, "Wait, I didn't quite understand... Han Zhou, do you mean Wang Lengqiu has been bothering you all along?"

“That’s not what I meant, but you could interpret it that way: I still don’t understand her motives.”

"Han Zhou, I don't mean to doubt you, but based on my understanding of Wang Lengqiu, although she's a bit strange, she's definitely not the type to actively harass others. In fact, she often instinctively resists others getting close, so I don't quite understand what you're saying..."

"I don't understand either," Han Zhou said with a wry smile.

Xia Qing asked in confusion, "Then why don't you ask her directly?"

"I asked her, but she didn't seem willing to tell me, and I couldn't understand what she was saying."

"That's it, I understand..."

Xia Qing didn't ask any further questions, and seemed somewhat downcast, as if she was thinking about something.

Han Zhou asked curiously, "Senior Xia Ji, you seem to care a lot about Senior Wang Lengqiu?"

"Ah."

Xia Qing smiled and nodded, but did not continue the topic. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Han Zhou. I have asked all the questions I wanted to ask. I really regret not meeting you sooner, otherwise I would have heard a lot of interesting things from you."

She had a satisfied expression on her face, as if she had reaped a great harvest.

Han Zhou said half-jokingly, "Now that you've finished asking the questions, you probably won't ask me to do any more campus interviews tomorrow, right?"

"That's not necessarily true." Xia Qing winked playfully. "Even if it's just for the sake of 'ratings,' I'll try my best to focus my attention on the handsome guys and beautiful girls at school."

Han Zhou said, both amused and exasperated, "Compared to you, the student council presidents of the past were indeed too rigid."

"To be honest, the reason I was elected president is because my campaign manifesto and ideas are more interesting than others."

"Isn't it because you're the daughter of the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau?"

"Han Zhou, you're such a spoilsport."

"Feel sorry."

"..."

Amidst their laughter and conversation, the two arrived at the hospital entrance.

Xia Qing only came to the hospital to check on Gu Zheng's condition, so she left after a short time. However, even though she only spent a short time in the ward, she still discovered quite a few interesting things—

The first thing that is really unbelievable is that the girl named Guzheng was obviously seriously injured in the afternoon's match, but when she entered the ward, the other party was actually jumping around in the room. If Han Zhou hadn't patiently persuaded her, the other party might have gone back to school.

Not only that, she also saw the "mute bride" Zhong Ling in the ward, and met her equally beautiful sister Zhong Yin for the first time. The latter made a deep first impression on her, after all, she had occasionally fantasized about having such a good figure.

I have to say, it's just too big...

Of course, what surprised her wasn't that Zhong Ling had a wealthy older sister, but rather that this sister wore a hearing aid—Zhong Ling's muteness was common knowledge at school, and the fact that her sister had hearing problems made it hard not to speculate. What surprised her most, however, was Han Zhou's performance. He was not only quite familiar with the girls present, but he could also clearly hear what Zhong Ling was saying. This scene shocked her to the point that she doubted she was dreaming, and even as she walked out of the hospital, she still felt a sense of disorientation.

A girl with exceptional athletic talent who can easily overtake other competitors by a full lap even when injured...

A pair of deaf and mute sisters who seem to have many stories to tell...

A stunningly beautiful girl who can see right through people's hearts...

And a guy who can have close relationships with several such special girls at the same time...

If she didn't leave soon, Xia Qing felt she might not be able to suppress her restless curiosity.

"The future is starting to get interesting..."

With a sigh, she glanced back at the gate behind her, then left the hospital contentedly.

……

"Han Zhou, try to persuade Gu Zheng. She's injured like this, but she insists on participating in the competitions tomorrow and the day after. She should stay in the hospital and rest more."

In the ward, Zhong Yin looked helplessly at Gu Zheng, who was lying on the hospital bed with an unhappy expression. She knew very well that at this moment, the only person who could persuade Gu Zheng was probably Han Zhou.

Unexpectedly, Han Zhou not only did not try to dissuade her, but also said nonchalantly, "I asked the doctor, and Gu Zheng only suffered superficial injuries, which will not affect her mobility. The person who just came was the president of our school's student council. She came to check on Gu Zheng's condition and concluded that Gu Zheng can continue to participate in the competition. I also think that Gu Zheng can continue to participate in the competition without any problem."

Gu Zheng, who had been somewhat sullen, suddenly beamed and said arrogantly, "See, Sister Yin, I told you Han Zhou would support me."

Before Han Zhou arrived, everyone advised her to stop participating in the competition. No matter what they said, it was useless. She was so eager to prove herself that she wanted to do a somersault on the spot. Seeing that Han Zhou was willing to support her, she was overjoyed.

Han Zhou gave her a disgruntled look: "Don't be too happy yet. Luckily, your injury was minor this time. If it had been serious, I wouldn't have let you continue the competition no matter what."

He knew, of course, that there might be some risks in letting Guzheng continue competing, but since "experience is the best teacher," he would certainly try his best to satisfy Guzheng's competitive spirit.

He will keep a close eye on the competitions to ensure that the guzheng is not injured again.

"Humph."

Guzheng turned its head away defiantly.

Zhong Yin was anxious: "Han Zhou, you can't let Gu Zheng play with her health like this. She's in such a condition and she's not resting properly, so what if she suffers from long-term effects?"

She completely treated Guzheng like a younger sister, and she cared more about Guzheng's health than about satisfying Guzheng's competitive spirit.

"No, Sister Yin," Han Zhou said with a smile. "I know Gu Zheng's health; she will definitely not suffer any aftereffects."

Hmm, something sounds a bit off about that...

"No, I don't support letting Guzheng continue competing. Taking care of her health is the most important thing," Zhong Yin said firmly.

"I'm not really supportive either..."

Zhong Ling nodded in agreement. As two sisters who had lost family members, they were clearly more concerned about the safety of those around them.

Han Zhou realized this and patiently explained, "Sister Yin, senior, please believe me. First of all, Gu Zheng's injury isn't serious. The doctor knows this better than I do. If you don't believe me, you can ask the doctor. Secondly, with Gu Zheng's skill level, she can easily defeat her opponent even without going all out. This level of exercise intensity isn't high for her. And I promise I'll watch over her the whole time and make her stop if there's any problem. Is that alright?"

Seeing Han Zhou's persistent guarantee, Zhong Yin's attitude seemed to soften, and she hesitated, saying, "But I still don't think so..."

"Winning every first place you can win is Guzheng's dream," Han Zhou interrupted her earnestly.

“Yes, this is my dream!” Guzheng chimed in.

Zhong Ling was clearly persuaded, and cautiously looked at Zhong Yin, who was hesitating beside her: "Sister?"

"Alright." Zhong Yin sighed and compromised, "Anyway, you're the one responsible for the guzheng, not me, so you can decide."

Gu Zheng was initially delighted, but then she was stunned. What did Sister Yin mean by that? What did she mean by Han Zhou having to take responsibility for her?
"Phew... I'm going out for some fresh air."

Seeing Zhong Yin turn and leave the ward, Han Zhou was a little worried and turned to Zhong Ling and said, "Senior, please keep an eye on the guzheng for a while. I'll be right back."

"Ah."

Zhong Ling smiled and nodded, then thought for a moment and said softly, "Don't worry, I'm not angry."

She clearly understood what Han Zhou wanted to do when he went out.

"I know."

Han Zhou smiled, turned around and said something to Gu Zheng, then left the ward.

Winter nights are cold, and the hospital corridors are even colder. Han Zhou looked around and finally found Zhong Yin, who looked a little lonely, by the window at the stairwell.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, its sparse light casting a shadow on Zhong Yin's slightly dazed profile. A cold wind blew, ruffling her long hair.

"Aren't you scared standing here alone at night? I heard that the morgue is at the bottom of this staircase."

Just as Zhong Yin lifted her hair, a smiling voice rang in her ears.

Without turning her head, she said, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would be afraid of corpses?"

"No, you're more like the kind of person who'd be afraid of corpses."

Han Zhou walked to her side, put his hands in his pockets, and casually looked at the scenery outside the window.

"Because I'm scary?" Zhong Yin looked at him expressionlessly.

"No." Han Zhou shook his head. "Because the body needs to be preserved at low temperatures, and you're too kind-hearted."

The air was silent for two seconds.

"A cold joke?"

"Is it cold?"

"Yes, it's cold."

Zhong Yin withdrew his gaze, tightened his coat, and exhaled hot breath turned into a cloud of white mist, dissipating into the night outside the window.

"What about something to eat?"

Han Zhou handed him a piece of chocolate, "To replenish your energy."

He bought this on his way to the hospital.

"Thank you."

Zhong Yin hesitated for a moment before taking the chocolate, but only held it in her hand without intending to eat it.

“It’s not poisonous,” Han Zhou said.

"I know."

The two fell silent, gazing out the window, their breaths mingling and dissipating into the night outside.

(End of this chapter)