Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 386 Collective Social Death
At 1 a.m., the torrential rain showed no signs of stopping.

The luxurious chandelier emits a warm white light, and the resulting halo falls perfectly into the elegant teacup placed on the coffee table directly below. As the water ripples slightly, steam rises continuously, filling the living room with the aroma of tea.

Taking the freshly brewed hot tea from Ouyang Lianyu, Zhong Yin thanked her and exclaimed, "Teacher Ouyang, you brewed such excellent tea! This is the first time I've ever smelled such a rich aroma of tea."

Sitting next to her, Zhong Ling smiled and nodded, indicating her agreement with her sister's statement.

Ouyang Lianyu was worried about Xiao Xiaoxiao and Han Zhou, so she was in a bad mood. Upon hearing this, she forced a smile and said, "You flatter me. I learned tea ceremony from my family for a while before, but now I only remember the process. The strong aroma of the tea is probably because the tea leaves are good."

"I remember that Teacher Ouyang's family seemed to care a lot about these etiquettes."

Gu Zheng held the teacup and blew on it loudly, saying, "Anyway, I don't think there's much difference between drinking tea and drinking hot water. Just put some tea leaves in the teapot and pour in boiling water. All that warming the cup and rinsing the tea is too much trouble."

She paused, then added, "Although the tea brewed by Teacher Ouyang is indeed very fragrant."

She knew that Ouyang Lianyu's upbringing was rigid and strict, and this was her way of speaking up for the other party.

Mo Yixia took a sip of tea and gracefully put down the teacup: "You are indeed more suited to drinking hot water."

Why do you always interrupt?

Gu Zheng immediately put on a stern face, looked at her with displeasure, and snorted, "So what if I like to drink hot water? Is it any of your business?"

"I never said I liked to interrupt."

Mo Yixia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said slowly, "But if you really find it troublesome, your best choice should be tap water."

"The trouble I'm referring to is doing unnecessary things. Don't misunderstand me!"

"Unnecessary stuff? Some people don't like hot water and will let it cool down even in winter before drinking it; some people have a sweet tooth and always add sugar to their water; some people use the most expensive teaware and buy the most expensive tea leaves, just for a carefully brewed cup of hot tea—"

Mo Yixia glanced at the guzheng. "Everyone has their own preferences. What you call 'redundant' might be something that's 'necessary' for someone else every day. I'm curious, how do you define the phrase 'redundant'?"

Gu Zheng pouted, unconvinced, and said, "I only said it's my opinion. Who wants to listen to your grand pronouncements?"

"I never intended to reason with you."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't want to do anything."

After a pause, Mo Yixia said calmly, "You can interpret this as something I 'necessary'."

Everyone wore wry smiles. This was the third time Mo Yixia had caused trouble for Gu Zheng since Han Zhou left.

Afraid that the two would start arguing, Ouyang Lianyu quickly changed the subject, saying, "What do you think Han Zhou went upstairs to do?"

It wasn't entirely to change the subject; she was genuinely concerned about the issue. If it weren't for Mo Yixia and Gu Zheng acting as guarantors for Han Zhou, she would never have felt comfortable letting him leave so mysteriously.

Han Zhou and Xiao Xiaoxiao were both her students. The disappearance of Xiao Xiaoxiao had already worried her a lot. If Han Zhou also disappeared, she would never be able to forgive herself.

Seeing that Han Zhou had not returned for a long time, she felt uneasy.

Mentioning Xiao Xiaoxiao and Han Zhou, varying degrees of worry appeared on everyone's faces, but they obviously couldn't answer Ouyang Lianyu's question.

No one knew why Han Zhou went upstairs, nor did they know why he was so sure he could find Xiao Xiaoxiao.

"Why don't we go upstairs and take a look?"

Wang Lengqiu, who had been mostly silent, suddenly made a suggestion.

"no!"

Gu Zheng was the first to object, her attitude firm: "Since Han Zhou told us to wait downstairs, he must have his reasons. No one is allowed to go upstairs until we receive his message!"

Before leaving, Han Zhou specifically instructed her to keep an eye on everyone and not allow anyone to go upstairs without permission before the other party returned. He also told her to hold it in as long as possible, even if she needed to use the restroom.

Han Zhou looked very serious at the time, clearly he was serious. Although Gu Zheng was also curious about what Han Zhou wanted to do upstairs, since the other party had entrusted her with this task, she could not betray his trust.

Anyway, Han Zhou said he would explain to everyone when he returned.

Wang Lengqiu lowered her head slightly and stopped speaking.

Ouyang Lianyu comforted her, "Guzheng, don't be angry. Wang Lengqiu is just worried about Han Zhou."

“I’m not angry.” Gu Zheng shook her head. “I’m also worried about Han Zhou, but he told me before he left that he would be back soon with Xiao Xiao, so let’s all wait patiently for a while longer.”

"Did he say how long it would take?" Zhong Yin asked.

"No, I just said that I'll be back soon if nothing unexpected happens."

"What if something unexpected happens?"

The air was quiet for a moment.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhong Yin explained, "I mean, what if Han Zhou never comes back?"

Since her parents passed away, she has been used to preparing for the worst in everything. That's why she taught her younger sister to yell at boys who approach her and solve the problem at its root.

Although she didn't say it, Zhong Yin was also very concerned about Han Zhou's safety and worried that something might happen to him alone.

It's pouring rain tonight, which always gives her a sense of unease.

Zhong Ling looked worried. She was also very worried about Han Zhou. Xiao Xiaoxiao had mysteriously disappeared, and it would definitely be very difficult for Han Zhou to find her. Perhaps the "unusual" methods he used were also risky, which was why he forbade everyone from going upstairs.

"One hour."

Just then, Mo Yixia spoke up, "We'll wait another hour at most. If Han Zhou doesn't come back, we'll go upstairs to find him."

She had just tried calling Han Zhou, but the call showed that he was out of service, which meant that he had likely gone to a place with no signal.

This is quite unbelievable. You have to understand that even if Han Zhou climbed out of the villa through the window and ran at a speed of 100 meters per second, he would not be able to run out of the signal area in just ten minutes.

Even if Han Zhou really had the ability to escape the signal zone in such a short time, there was no need for him to climb over the stairs of the villa. He could have just gone through the front door; there was no need for him to go upstairs.

Therefore, she guessed that Han Zhou might have entered a space where the signal could not reach, or that he was under some kind of force that could block signals within a small area.

Considering that Xiao Xiaoxiao disappeared without a trace, she was more inclined to the first guess—Han Zhou had most likely gone to where Xiao Xiaoxiao was, which might be another dimension.

Han Zhou had previously told Mo Yixia and Xiao Xiaoxiao about their experiences in the unfinished building, so Mo Yixia knew very well that this was not the first time something like this had happened.

However, according to Han Zhou's account, he and Xiao Xiaoxiao both lost part of their memories after returning last time, and it is unknown whether the same situation will occur this time.

What's also noteworthy is that there were clearly many strange things about Han Zhou and Xiao Xiaoxiao last time, but neither Zhang Tao and the others who went to the unfinished building together nor the many viewers in the live broadcast room noticed these abnormalities. In fact, if Han Zhou hadn't mentioned it, Mo Yixia herself would have had a hard time noticing it.

"Perhaps the reason this world seems so normal is because many of the abnormal things have been corrected..."

Mo Yixia seemed to be deep in thought. Just in case, she wrote down some keywords on paper and on her hand in advance to prevent her memory from being altered.

Gu Zheng didn't object to Mo Yixia's suggestion. An hour was plenty of time, and if Han Zhou hadn't returned by then, there was no need to wait any longer. "Okay," she said, "we'll do as you say, but I'll have to go upstairs first."

"Whatever you want," Mo Yixia said dismissively.

It was almost 1:20, but no one was sleepy. They kept checking their phones to see the time and chatting idly.

Whether it was because they were too worried about Han Zhou and Xiao Xiaoxiao, or because they felt awkward, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened in Han Zhou's room earlier.

As time ticked by, a resounding question suddenly rang in everyone's ears—

"Don't you feel you've wronged me?!"

Ouyang Lianyu was startled, then suddenly stood up and looked around, asking in confusion, "Did you hear Han Zhou's voice...?"

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly caught her breath, felt inexplicably guilty, and then uncontrollably shouted.

"Yes!"

The shout was extremely loud, carrying a hint of shame and self-reproach, echoing the question just now.

What am I doing?
Ouyang Lianyu's mind went blank. She couldn't understand why she had done such a thing. Her face flushed red instantly, and she was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"..."

Fortunately, before she could feel awkward for even two seconds, she heard everyone in the living room shouting out their heartfelt cries, just like soldiers counting off in military training. Even the usually composed Mo Yixia raised her voice and her eyes showed a hint of blankness.

Even more exaggeratedly, even the usually quiet bell blushed and made a faint response that everyone could hear, showing how hard she was trying to make a sound.

The air became quiet.

The girls stared blankly, their gazes meeting in the air before quickly shifting away in a panic, looking down at their toes.

Thinking about their heart-wrenching responses, some even with tears in their voices, everyone felt incredibly embarrassed.

However, the thought that they weren't the only ones feeling awkward made everyone's expressions soften a little.

After a long silence, Gu Zheng looked down at her curled toes and asked casually, "Um... you all heard Han Zhou's voice just now, right?"

She gripped the ground with her toes, resisting the urge to grab the sofa, otherwise she might tear the sofa leather to shreds.

"Okay, it seems there is such a thing..."

Zhong Yin also kept her head down, her teeth clenched, but her toes were not visible.

"Hmm..." Ouyang Lianyu said, barely suppressing her embarrassment, "It seems like she's asking if someone feels sorry for him..."

"Then we all answered 'yes'."

Wang Lengqiu was an honest man, and his words made everyone, who were already in an awkward situation, feel even more embarrassed.

Compared to others, her reaction was not intense, and she did not seem to deny that she had wronged Han Zhou.

After the initial shock, Mo Yixia remained calm, though a faint blush lingered on her face. She said thoughtfully, "The sound just now didn't seem to come from upstairs; it sounded more like Han Zhou shouting in my ear."

After thinking for a moment, she pointed to a spot near the window, "It's probably around here."

“Yes, I feel the same way.” Ouyang Lianyu nodded repeatedly, echoing, “It’s like Han Zhou is standing right there.”

Everyone nodded.

Gu Zheng frowned and said, "But Han Zhou is clearly not here."

"Could he possibly be able to turn invisible?" Zhong Yin asked in surprise.

Mo Yixia shook her head: "It's not necessarily invisibility, but he may have already found Xiao Xiaoxiao."

"Why do you say that?" everyone asked hurriedly.

"Do you remember the rumors about the haunted girls' dormitory that Han Zhou just mentioned?"

Mo Yixia said unhurriedly, "The reason why the ghost story is so widespread is because more than one person has heard strange voices and footsteps in the dormitory corridor, but has not seen the corresponding source of the sound. And this matter is closely related to Xiao Xiaoxiao."

Gu Zheng immediately understood her meaning and exclaimed in surprise, "You mean Han Zhou's current situation is the same as Xiao Xiao's, where you can only hear his voice but not see him? Is this actually the truth behind the ghost story? Do you think Han Zhou is with Xiao Xiao now?"

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Mo Yixia nodded.

“This is incredible…”

Ouyang Lianyu's expression was complicated; everything that had happened tonight had completely overturned her understanding of the world.

"So, if we just wait a little longer, Han Zhou will come back with Xiao Xiao?" Zhong Yin asked.

"should be."

Ouyang Lianyu breathed a sigh of relief. In any case, it was a good thing that they were able to find Xiaoxiao.

Everyone fell silent, their faces showing relaxed smiles, but they all tacitly avoided mentioning the "counting" incident.

However, the honest Wang Lengqiu once again tore away everyone's pretense of decency, nodding and saying, "That question just now had the ability to make people answer it honestly without thinking. I believe Xiao Xiaoxiao is just like us. After hearing the question, she will answer loudly. In this way, Han Zhou can easily find her."

The smiles on everyone's faces froze.

Mo Yixia revealed an expression of interest: "You also think that everyone's answers just now were the truth?"

"Isn't that right?" Wang Lengqiu tilted his head.

Mo Yixia did not answer, but said, "But everyone's answer just now was 'yes'."

Wang Lengqiu asked, puzzled, "Doesn't this mean everyone feels sorry for Han Zhou?"

Mo Yixia couldn't quite understand the girl's thoughts, so she wasn't sure if she said those things on purpose. However, she noticed something else: the other girl's pronunciation of Han Zhou's name was noticeably awkward, as if she was forcing herself to change it, as if she rarely addressed Han Zhou that way.

"You have a point."

Gathering her thoughts, Mo Yixia picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and then glanced around at everyone in the living room with a half-smile.

"There should still be some time before Han Zhou returns. Would anyone be interested in discussing whether there's anything we've done wrong to him?"

(End of this chapter)