Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 378 What's pushing against me?

"Is this exactly what you wanted to tell me?"

Ouyang Lianyu was pondering whose two pairs of slippers belonged to when she heard Han Zhou's voice. She then took the medicine bottle from his hand and listened patiently.

"Then tell me," she said gently, glancing at the medicine bottle as she spoke.

Under Ouyang Lianyu's gaze, Han Zhou coughed dryly, frantically winked at her, and lied through his teeth, saying, "Teacher, haven't you noticed yet? You took my slippers, and yours are here with me."

Ouyang Lianyu was taken aback, looked down at her slippers in confusion, and said blankly, "When did I...?"

"Teacher, please have a seat!"

Han Zhou interrupted her again, gesturing for her to find a place to sit down, while continuing to wink at her in the meantime.

"No need, I should go back now that I have the medicine, otherwise Xiaoxiao will worry."

Ouyang Lianyu seemed completely oblivious to Han Zhou's gaze and showed no intention of sitting down, which made Han Zhou extremely anxious.

She wasn't ignoring Han Zhou on purpose; she had simply forgotten to wear her glasses when she left the house. That's why she hadn't noticed how "bloated" Han Zhou's figure was on the bed.

Han Zhou had already realized this, which was both a good thing and a bad thing for him. The good thing was that Ouyang Lianyu would not be able to find out that there were two girls hiding in the bed, which would avoid creating new problems. The bad thing was that it would be difficult for the other party to receive his eye signals.

This means he needs to find another way to subtly persuade Ouyang Lianyu to lie.

Of course, he couldn't leave the bed right now, and he couldn't even move around, so he couldn't get up to stop Ouyang Lianyu. He could only persuade her to sit down and get closer, and remind her in another way.

So he said seriously, "Teacher Ouyang, I have something very important to tell you."

"Is it something important?"

Ouyang Lianyu was stunned. She was still waiting for Han Zhou to explain about the slippers, but she didn't expect him to suddenly say something like that.

"Yes, teacher, don't worry, it won't take up too much of your time."

"Is there something that absolutely must be said now?" Ouyang Lianyu asked, somewhat puzzled.

Han Zhou's thoughts raced as he tried to come up with a suitable reason. Suddenly, he said in a deep voice, "It's about Wang Lengqiu. I've thought of some strange things from the past."

In fact, he hadn't remembered anything. The reason he said that was because Ouyang Lianyu was quite concerned about Wang Lengqiu's affairs, and this reason would most likely keep the other party there.

He sighed inwardly, realizing that one lie really does require countless others to cover it up, and that he seemed to be getting more and more used to lying.

"Are you saying that what you remembered is related to Wang Lengqiu?"

As expected, Ouyang Lianyu's attention was drawn. After a moment's hesitation, she straightened her nightgown and carefully sat down on the edge of the bed. "What kind of past events?"

She temporarily forgot about the slippers.

Under the covers, Guzheng, who was in Han Zhou's arms, was equally curious. Of course, she didn't know that this was a lie that Han Zhou had made up to keep Ouyang Lianyu. She thought that Han Zhou was really going to say something amazing, so she immediately pricked up her ears.

"I told you, it's a strange story from the past," Han Zhou said in a sighing tone.

"Of course I know that. The teacher is asking you why you said this was strange?"

"That's a long story."

"No rush, tell me slowly," Ouyang Lianyu said patiently.

"Actually, I don't remember much, and I'm not even sure if it was a dream or a real memory."

"But didn't you just say that this is a long story?"

"That's why it's such a long story, because I can't remember it," Han Zhou said seriously.

Ouyang Lianyu hesitated for a moment: "I have a feeling that you are deliberately stalling for time..."

"Of course not, I was just organizing my thoughts," Han Zhou said without changing his expression. "After all, I only remembered this while I was sleeping."

In fact, he was indeed stalling for time, mainly to fabricate a memory that could withstand scrutiny as much as possible—because the person he wanted to deceive was not only Ouyang Lianyu, but also the guzheng under the covers.

"Alright, I misunderstood you." Ouyang Lianyu didn't doubt it and smiled gently. "Then let's talk about it again when you've organized your thoughts."

With nothing to do, she took a closer look at the small white bottle in her hand and found that it was just an ordinary little bottle, quite different from common medicine bottles. What was strangest was that there was no label on the bottle, making it seem like a legitimate medicine.

While he was puzzled, Han Zhou, who had been "organizing his thoughts" for a long time, finally spoke up and said in a deep voice: "I remember when I was about eleven or twelve years old, I saw a girl being bullied by a lot of people on my way to school. I wanted to go and see, but before I could get close, all of them ran away. The girl at that time seemed to be Wang Lengqiu."

When I was eleven or twelve, that was probably in fifth or sixth grade...

Ouyang Lianyu silently calculated the time and asked curiously, "Is there anything strange about this?"

She remembered that Han Zhou had just said he was recalling a strange past event, but this event was clearly not strange at all.

Han Zhou recalled for a moment: "The strange thing is that it was still early and there were no people on that road. Without anyone stopping them, the group of children suddenly scattered as if they had seen something scary."

Ouyang Lianyu opened her mouth: "You mean that the group of children who were bullying Wang Lengqiu suddenly got scared and ran away?"

"That's it."

Han Zhou nodded, and at the same time quietly took out the slippers hidden under the pillow and handed them to Ouyang Lianyu without making a sound.

Ouyang Lianyu was still pondering what Han Zhou had just said, and asked in confusion, "You think there's something wrong with their escape? Could it be that it's been too long and you've forgotten some details from that time, such as whether an adult actually stopped them?"

"I don't recall anyone stopping me, but I might be mistaken."

Ouyang Lianyu nodded thoughtfully, confirming, "But no matter what, you're certain you've met Wang Lengqiu before, right?"

"Correct."

Han Zhou spoke with certainty, then changed the subject, "Speaking of which, Teacher Ouyang, haven't you noticed yet that you accidentally wore my slippers by mistake?"

He shoved the slippers he was holding into Ouyang Lianyu's hands.

"what?"

Ouyang Lianyu took the slippers blankly, completely confused. She didn't know why Han Zhou had suddenly changed the subject or why he had given her a pair of slippers. Han Zhou, confident that she would understand, said seriously, "I'm saying you're wearing my slippers now, but the slippers on the floor are yours."

"I...did I wear the wrong clothes?"

Ouyang Lianyu looked puzzled. It wasn't that she didn't recognize her own slippers. Even without her glasses, she could clearly feel that the slippers in her hand were very big. They should have belonged to Han Zhou. What did this child mean by giving her his slippers?
Oh, and there are two pairs of slippers in the room…

No, if we add the pair Han Zhou just gave me, that makes a total of three pairs of slippers. Could it be...?

As if suddenly remembering something, Ouyang Lianyu's expression changed slightly, and then she looked at Han Zhou, who was huddled in the quilt, with a complicated look in her eyes.

Han Zhou awkwardly met her gaze.

After a moment of silence, Ouyang Lianyu let out a barely audible sigh and said helplessly, "Alright, it seems that I really did wear the wrong slippers. But I'm not wearing my glasses, so I can't see them very well. Could you tell me where I put my slippers?"

If I'm not mistaken, I need to put on the right pair of slippers and leave this place now.

Han Zhou was overjoyed. It seemed that Ouyang Lianyu not only understood his meaning, but was also willing to help him get through this ordeal.

He peeked over the edge of the bed and chuckled, "It's right next to your left foot, teacher."

The slippers belonged to Mo Yixia. Ouyang Lianyu's task was to take Mo Yixia's shoes and put his slippers back on the ground, thus creating the illusion that the two had swapped slippers.

Ouyang Lianyu felt somewhat helpless. She took off her slippers and put on the slipper next to her left foot. After thinking for a moment, she put Han Zhou's things on the ground.

She was glad she hadn't brought her glasses, otherwise many people would probably have felt awkward tonight.

Just then, Han Zhou suddenly coughed and reminded him, "Teacher Ouyang, could you lend me my slippers? I'm not feeling well right now..."

Ouyang Lianyu was taken aback, thinking, "Didn't you just hand me your slippers? Why do you want me to take them back now?" But she quickly realized that what Han Zhou really wanted wasn't his own slippers, but hers.

After a moment's hesitation, she bent down, picked up her slippers, and hesitantly handed them to Han Zhou.

Although slippers aren't exactly private items, she felt a little embarrassed at the thought of Han Zhou holding the warm slippers she had just been wearing.

She felt even more embarrassed when she saw the student put the slippers under the pillow, and even wondered if the student had some kind of unusual fetish.

Han Zhou didn't notice Ouyang Lianyu's strange behavior. He just thought that Teacher Ouyang was indeed not stupid. At the same time, he was a little worried and hoped that Mo Yixia would not hate wearing the slippers that Teacher Ouyang had worn.

Seeing that the slipper problem had been resolved and there shouldn't be any further issues, he finally felt much relieved. Just as he was about to send Ouyang Lianyu away, he heard another knock on the door.

No, do people not sleep at night?
Han Zhou was somewhat numb. Including Mo Yixia and Gu Zheng, who didn't knock, this was the fourth person to come to his room door tonight. He just didn't know who it was.

Aside from the continuous knocking, there were no shouts from outside, and it's unclear whether this was intentional.

Is it Xiao Xiaoxiao?

Or perhaps Wang Lengqiu?
Han Zhou was suspicious, feeling it was more likely the latter, because Xiao Xiaoxiao's temperament was similar to Gu Zheng's; she was the type to knock twice and push the door open if there was no response, and wouldn't be so quiet.

Ouyang Lianyu was initially quite calm, after all, there was a reason for her to come here, and she had enough reasons to explain it. However, she quickly realized that there were other girls hiding in this room besides her, and there might even be more than one. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

The fact that so many girls gathered in Han Zhou's room late at night makes it hard not to have some unsettling thoughts.

Especially considering that Han Zhou had placed her slippers under her pillow, she felt a strange sense of guilt and hesitated, "Should I find somewhere to hide?"

Han Zhou was stunned. Ouyang Lianyu's question had stumped him. He immediately gripped the edge of the blanket tightly and said solemnly, "You can't hide under the blanket."

This place is already full; we can't fit any more people in.

The zither inside the quilt blushed.

Ouyang Lianyu thought for a moment, then got up and walked to the wardrobe against the wall. She opened the wardrobe door, carefully crawled inside, and then closed the door, leaving only a small gap.

In fact, she regretted asking that question as soon as she did it. "A clear conscience fears no accusation" is a principle she has always taught her students. But now, even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she inexplicably felt guilty and even offered to hide.

She didn't know why she did it subconsciously, even though it would make it easier for people to misunderstand.

She was hesitating whether to get out of the closet when she suddenly heard the door being pushed open. She immediately held her breath and held the closet door tightly, afraid of being discovered by the person who entered the room.

It's too late to get out now.

The door was too narrow for Ouyang Lianyu to see who had entered, as could Guzheng and Mo Yixia inside the blanket. Fortunately, Han Zhou answered their questions.

"Senior, what brings you here... what are you doing here?"

Clearly, the person who just entered the room was Zhong Ling.

No wonder no one could hear the shouts.

Zhong Ling was clearly surprised that Han Zhou didn't lock the door while sleeping, and even more surprised that he wasn't asleep yet. She panicked for a moment and quickly tried to explain.

Han Zhou quickly sharpened his hearing and, upon hearing this, suddenly realized, "So that's it, you're here to deliver my phone?"

Zhong Ling nodded gently, a sheepish smile on her face: "I'm sorry for troubling you."

"Please don't say that. If I had to say something, it's my fault for being careless and forgetting to bring a towel. Otherwise, you wouldn't have taken the wrong phone," Han Zhou said with a laugh.

He spoke casually, saying that Zhong Ling was probably the one he trusted the most and that she was unlikely to cause any new trouble.

Seeing Zhong Ling smile faintly and remain silent, he shook his head helplessly and said, "Actually, you don't need to rush to bring the phone over. You can give it to me tomorrow morning."

That's just how this senior student is; she's always worried about causing trouble for others.

Gu Zheng couldn't hear the bells, so she could only judge the content of their conversation by Han Zhou's words. Feeling a bit bored, she secretly poked Han Zhou's arm to feel his presence.

The room was already quite warm from the air conditioning, and the temperature under the covers was even higher. Moreover, she had been kept being held in someone's arms the whole time. Her forehead was already slightly sweaty, but she didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

Han Zhou usually looks thin, but he is actually quite sturdy. Seeing that the other party did not react for a long time, Gu Zheng suddenly mustered up her courage and wanted to press the other party's chest.

If it was an accident, Han Zhou shouldn't have noticed, right?
Gu Zheng's breathing gradually quickened, and she quietly reached her arm behind her. However, before she could touch Han Zhou's chest, she suddenly felt a pain in her lower back and her whole body trembled violently.

What was that bumping against me just now?

(End of this chapter)