Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 356 The Forgotten Love Letter
When Han Zhou made the phone call, he didn't try to hide it from Xia Qing, so although she didn't hear much, she still keenly caught the words "Teacher Ouyang," "villa," and "several rooms," and her mind started racing.

However, having learned her lesson from last night, she didn't dare to overthink it this time, and didn't even plan to ask. Since Han Zhou didn't seem to be avoiding her, pretending not to hear was a polite thing to do.

She waited quietly until Han Zhou put away his phone with a complicated expression, then she asked, "What's wrong, Han Zhou? Is something on your mind?"

"It's nothing," Han Zhou said with a smile, coming back to his senses. "I just feel like my luck has been a little too good today."

"Does that include tonight's typhoon?" Xia Qing joked.

"From my personal perspective, the typhoon can indeed be considered a stroke of good luck."

"That's true for me too."

Seeing Han Zhou looking over, Xia Qing smiled and winked, "Student council work is quite busy, isn't it a good thing to be able to rest for a few days?"

Han Zhou smiled and said, "I thought you really enjoyed your work in the student council."

"Who likes working? If I had known that being the student council president would be so tiring, I wouldn't have run for the position."

"Then you might not be able to openly and casually conduct interviews on the playground anymore."

"It's not as terrible as you say... but that is indeed one of the reasons why I can still persist in serving as the student council president."

Han Zhou chuckled, but didn't continue the casual conversation. Instead, he got down to business: "Senior Xia Qing, you said you'd tell me some gossip. Can you tell me now?"

Xia Qing then realized what had happened and said awkwardly, "I'm so sorry, I forgot."

She had just listened to Han Zhou on the phone and then chatted with him, and almost forgot her original purpose.

She straightened her expression, looked around, and seeing that no one was nearby, she got straight to the point: "This gossip is related to Wang Lengqiu."

Han Zhou wasn't too surprised. Xia Qing cared a lot about Teacher Ouyang and Wang Lengqiu, so it was within his expectations that she would mention either of them.

He remained silent, waiting for the other person to continue.

Xia Qing didn't keep them in suspense and continued, "I asked my high school classmate about this last night. She and Wang Lengqiu were in the same class since junior high school, and they even lived in the same neighborhood, so she knows Wang Lengqiu quite well."

Han Zhou sensed something and asked curiously, "Did you know Senior Wang Lengqiu back in high school?"

“That’s right,” Xia Qing said with a wry smile. “We were actually high school classmates.”

Han Zhou was taken aback; this was something he hadn't expected.

Xia Qing looked reminiscing and continued, "Wang Lengqiu and I were in the same class in high school. Back then, she was very... very fat. But to be honest, a pretty girl like Wang Lengqiu would look cute even if she was chubby. Everyone wanted to be her friend, but Wang Lengqiu didn't seem to like us getting close to her, especially the boys."

"She never eats snacks normally, but whenever a boy approaches her frequently, she'll buy a lot of snacks to eat. At first, I didn't know why, but later I understood..."

Han Zhou was silent for a moment: "Because she thinks that as long as she gets fatter, no one will bother her anymore?"

Wang Lengqiu was stunned: "You know?"

"Yes, Teacher Ouyang mentioned it before."

Wang Lengqiu had an unhappy childhood.

As a left-behind child, she was harassed by older students many times because of her good looks. However, she never received care and protection from her parents. Instead, she was accused of causing too much trouble. Instead of complaining everywhere, she was told to learn to be polite and patient.

Her grandfather, the only one willing to stand up for her, went to the school to demand an explanation. Although the students were punished, he was subsequently retaliated against by the students' parents, resulting in him being injured and hospitalized.

At that time, Wang Lengqiu was not yet ten years old. With no one to rely on, in order to protect her grandfather and to avoid being harassed, the only thing she could think of was to overeat and make herself look unattractive by gaining weight, thereby isolating herself from harassment.

Han Zhou had heard Ouyang Lianyu mention this before.

It's not hard to tell from Xia Qing's words that even in high school, Wang Lengqiu was still using this clumsy way to protect herself.

Xia Qing sighed, "Back then, no one in the class made fun of Wang Lengqiu. I never thought that she would be given such a nickname in college. It's my fault for not paying much attention to school affairs back then, and I didn't even know that Wang Lengqiu was also at Linda University. I didn't protect her."

The nickname she was referring to was naturally "Immovable as a mountain".

Han Zhou could see Xia Qing's self-blame. This student council president was quite kind and still felt uneasy about what had happened two years ago, so he comforted her, "Isn't your nickname now 'The Unsmiling Princess'?"

"It's all because Wang Lengqiu successfully lost weight..." Xia Qing shook her head, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, do you know when Wang Lengqiu started losing weight?"

Han Zhou was taken aback, and guessed, "It should be from the first year of university, right..."

"You're wrong, she started dieting in her second year of high school."

Xia Qing corrected, "I've often seen her running laps on the playground since my second year of high school. It's just that there's so little time to exercise in high school, and she would eat snacks whenever she saw boys getting close to her, so she never lost weight."

"Wang Lengqiu had already lost a lot of weight by the end of summer vacation, but she still looked very fat. I heard that one of the reasons she was ridiculed was that the way she ran laps on the playground was so funny, like the earth was shaking."

At this point, Xia Qing's face showed disgust for the first time. "I really hate those boys in Wang Lengqiu's class. Not only do they like to cause trouble, but they also like to give other people nicknames behind their backs. One of them is that Zhang Ziwen."

Han Zhou was taken aback: "Are you talking about that 'basketball king' Zhang Ziwen?"

"It was him, but he was just a referee in a women's basketball game. He lost the game because a female player from outside the school kept staring at him. Yet a group of people said that he was the undisputed king of the court, able to help the school win the game without even lifting a finger. It was clearly because our school's players were strong that we won, as if it had anything to do with him."

Xia Qing clearly disliked Zhang Ziwen and continued, "Relying on his good looks, this guy changes girlfriends so frequently, probably once a week, and yet so many people like him. It's really baffling. In my opinion, both scumbags should be arrested and shot. What do you think, Han Zhou?"

Han Zhou coughed lightly: "I think this is such a waste of bullets..."

"That's right."

Perhaps realizing she had lost her composure, Xia Qing smiled apologetically and shook her head, saying, "Let's not talk about that spoilsport anymore. I'll continue telling you about Wang Lengqiu."

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "Senior Xia Qing, although I don't mind chatting with you about some gossip, I'm actually not very interested in Wang Lengqiu's affairs."

"Really?" Xia Qing winked at him. "Aren't you curious why she's clinging to you?"

"Do you know why?"

Didn't you say you weren't interested?

"I'm still very interested in things that concern me."

"Then you owe me an interview opportunity." Xia Qing had a confident expression on her face, as if she had him completely under her thumb.

"make a deal."

Xia Qing smiled with satisfaction and said, "Before I answer your questions, I have a few questions for you."

"Go ahead and ask," Han Zhou said helplessly. "But as before, I can only answer questions I can answer." "Don't worry, I won't ask any private questions, and these questions are all very simple."

Xia Qing waved her hand to reassure him and smiled, "First question, do you have a girlfriend now?"

You don't call this a privacy issue?
Han Zhou was startled, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem like a private matter at all, so he calmly replied, "No."

Xia Qing looked surprised: "You have so many beautiful girls around you, how come you don't have a girlfriend?"

"I don't have any plans to be in a relationship right now," Han Zhou replied against his conscience.

"Should I focus on my studies first... Han Zhou, you're very ambitious. I don't plan on dating for the time being either."

Xia Qing smiled and continued, "Second question, did you have a childhood sweetheart? You mean, a girl you were very close to since childhood?"

Han Zhou was taken aback, not understanding why the other party would suddenly ask this question. He shook his head and said, "I have been very ambitious since I was a child. I don't care about anything except studying."

The implication is that he didn't have a childhood sweetheart.

"Why don't you think about it again?" Xia Qing patiently reminded her.

Han Zhou shook his head again: "I thought about this question carefully before answering it. I'm very sure that I didn't have a childhood sweetheart when I was a child."

"Maybe I misspoke... Let me put it another way. It doesn't necessarily have to be a childhood sweetheart. It could also be a little girl you've liked since you were little, someone you'd hang out with whenever you had free time, and sometimes you'd even make plans to marry her in the future. She's like the girl next door."

Han Zhou found it increasingly strange and asked suspiciously, "You don't mean to say that I've known Senior Wang Lengqiu since I was a child, and that we even played this kind of pretend game about getting married in the future, do you?"

Xia Qing looked at him with a smile and nodded seriously.

"Yes."

"Impossible. I wasn't that naive when I was a child, and I have no recollection of it at all."

"Having no recollection doesn't mean it didn't happen. Who can say they can remember everything from their childhood?"

“You’re right. Even if I did know Senior Wang Lengqiu when I was a child, I’ve forgotten everything about her now. Logically speaking, she shouldn’t remember something from so long ago, let alone bother me with it.”

Han Zhou was going crazy. Xiao Xiaoxiao was already giving him a headache, and now even his childhood sweetheart had appeared. Could this status bar do anything right?

Hmm, why do I suspect it's the status bar that's causing this?

"I don't know that."

Xia Qing shook her head and said seriously, "However, what I just said was not made up, but based on evidence."

What is the basis for this?
Han Zhou was puzzled, but before he could ask, Xia Qing spoke first: "Do you remember any love letters you received when you were a child?"

Han Zhou paused, thought for a moment, and hesitated before saying, "There should be quite a few, definitely a dozen or twenty..."

He frequently transferred schools when he was a child. Each time he arrived at a new school, besides new textbooks, he probably received the most love letters.

"Specifically referring to primary schools," Xia Qing reminded her.

"Um, I was just talking about elementary school. I received even more love letters in middle school."

Xia Qing was shocked: "Is early romance so serious where you live?"

Han Zhou shrugged: "That's why I said I've only ever cared about studying since I was little."

"No, no, no." Xia Qing shook her head, took a deep breath, and said, "Think about it again. You must have received a special love letter, right?"

She looked at Han Zhou expectantly, hoping he could remember. After all, that love letter was of great significance to Wang Lengqiu. If Han Zhou had no recollection of it at all, then not to mention Wang Lengqiu, she would probably be the first to feel disappointed.

After all, you've accepted something precious from someone, and if you completely forget about it, it would seem somewhat disrespectful.

Han Zhou initially wanted to answer that he had no recollection, but when he met Xia Qing's expectant eyes, he decided to try to recall. However, after thinking for about half a minute, he still couldn't remember receiving any special love letters.

However, he remembered something else.

On the day he moved, he found a yearbook at home, and on one page was written this sentence—

"If we meet again, I will definitely marry you."

Among the many messages, this one contained the most reluctance to part. Han Zhou wasn't sure if it was called a love letter, but it was certainly quite eye-catching, even though the few words didn't even fill a single line.

In addition, a blurry image suddenly appeared in Han Zhou's mind. It seemed to be a scene of a beautiful sunset, with a reddish sky and rolling green grass. Someone seemed to ask him a question.

What if I want to see you again in the future?

“You can write to me.”

"But I don't know your address."

"Then let's use carrier pigeons."

He pointed to the flock of pigeons in mid-air and replied with a light laugh, "The pigeons will tell you where I am."

"What if they refuse to tell me?"

"Then you should be kinder to them, and even kinder to yourself... We'll meet again someday."

"..."

This was an unusually blurry fragment of memory, so blurry that Han Zhou even began to doubt whether it was a scene he had just conjured up in his mind. But he quickly recalled the scene of feeding pigeons in the square with Wang Lengqiu not long ago—

The sky turned red, and white doves flew about.

Against a backdrop of crimson sky and flocks of white pigeons, a girl dressed in white stands with her back to the setting sun, raising her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her expression indistinct.

This scene gradually overlapped with that distant and hazy memory.

"But a pigeon flew away."

The voice sounded extremely distant, and it was impossible to tell who was speaking.

But Han Zhou was very clear about one thing.

He must have heard that phrase more than once.

(End of this chapter)