Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 391 Going Home
The sky grew increasingly dark, the crimson hue faded, and the sun gradually disappeared below the horizon, casting long shadows on the ground.

As evening approached, the streetlights along the road were already on. In the afterglow of the setting sun, you could see several pigeons flapping their wings, chasing the setting sun, flying further and further away until they became a few blurry black dots.

It was a weekday, but the streets seemed rather deserted today. Perhaps it was because it wasn't yet time to get off work or school, and there weren't many pedestrians on the road. The withered yellow leaves were blown everywhere by the cold wind, giving the scene a somewhat desolate feel.

Han Zhou supported the wheelchair with one hand and took out his phone from his pocket with the other to answer the call.

"Hello, yes, Xiaoxiao is with me now, she's fine, I see... I understand, we'll be right back, thank you."

After hanging up the phone, Han Zhou sighed slightly and was about to continue pushing the wheelchair when Xiao Xiaoxiao in the wheelchair suddenly spoke.

"Are you going back?"

Perhaps because she had just woken up, her voice sounded a little hoarse.

"you're awake?"

“I woke up a long time ago.” Xiao Xiaoxiao lowered her head and complained, “You pushed the wheelchair like a tractor, no wonder I woke up.”

Han Zhou smiled helplessly: "It's such a steep slope, you should at least be considerate of me."

"I never said I didn't understand you..."

Xiao Xiaoxiao pouted and held the mineral water bottle on her lap high above her head. "Here, take it."

This is water she bought specifically before returning, and she hasn't drunk it yet.

Han Zhou knew that Xiao Xiaoxiao's hand hadn't recovered yet and she was having some difficulty unscrewing the bottle cap, so he took the water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and handed it back.

"I won't drink." Xiao Xiaoxiao pushed his hand away.

"Why did you give me the bottle if you're not going to drink it?"

The girl closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said impatiently, "You're so stupid! I'm telling you to drink it!"

"But I'm not thirsty," Han Zhou said, puzzled.

Xiao Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, and said incredulously, "You've been pushing the wheelchair for so long and you're not thirsty?"

"I'm not thirsty."

Aren't you tired?

"I'm tired, but I'm not thirsty."

"You have to drink even if you're not thirsty!" Xiao Xiaoxiao said angrily.

"Drinking too much water is harmful to your health."

"Stop arguing, give it back if you're not going to drink it!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao felt that her good intentions had been taken for granted and tried to snatch the water bottle back.

"No, after chatting with you for a while, I'm actually getting thirsty."

Han Zhou couldn't help but chuckle. He avoided the girl's outstretched hand, stopped teasing her, and took a big gulp of water.

The temperature was low, and the water in the bottle was slightly cold, with a refreshing chill that made him cough a few times.

"I'll choke you to death..."

Xiao Xiaoxiao muttered something to herself, then looked up and gazed into the distance. She could see the hospital's bright signboard in the distance, standing out prominently in the city as dusk fell.

She felt that the light from these signs resembled the setting sun about to disappear below the horizon—yellow and dim, not pretty at all, and also unlucky. She didn't know why the hospital would use such a color of light.

Even if these lights aren't very attractive, they're still better than a hospital room with only four pale white walls.

Even the ominous twilight outside the hospital was beautiful; she never wanted to go back into the ward.

Thinking of this, the girl gently tapped the head of the piggy bank in her arms, making a "thump thump" sound, and asked, "Hey, when can I be discharged from the hospital?"

"When do you want to be discharged?" Han Zhou asked curiously.

"Of course, the sooner the better. I told you, I don't like hospitals."

“You are not fully recovered yet, and you will need to continue rehabilitation training to stand up again. There is no need to rush to be discharged from the hospital.”

“Rehabilitation training can be done anywhere,” Xiao Xiaoxiao said discontentedly. “I don’t want to stay in the hospital anymore. I can only lie in bed every day and can’t do anything. It’s so boring.”

"Didn't I already let you play with my phone?"

"Your phone is so old and broken, what's so fun about it? And it keeps getting all sorts of random messages popping up..."

“I also bought you some yarn and taught you how to knit a scarf. You can knit it to pass the time.”

"How dare you say that! The scarf you knitted using your method is hideous, and it made me the laughingstock of the nurses!"

"impossible."

Han Zhou looked incredulous. "You must not have listened to me properly, that's why your knitting is so bad. But I was wondering why all the yarn balls disappeared. You said you accidentally lost them, but you probably hid them all, didn't you?"

"It's clearly your method that's wrong!"

"It's because you didn't study well."

"Then do you dare to take some time to knit a scarf and see what it looks like?"

"I'll talk about it when I have time."

Xiao Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and persisted, "Tell me quickly, when can I be discharged from the hospital?"

Han Zhou smiled and pushed the wheelchair toward the hospital: "First, answer me, where do you want to go after you leave the hospital?"

"As long as I don't stay in the hospital, I can go anywhere..." Xiao Xiaoxiao was getting impatient. Suddenly, she felt a weight behind her and immediately said irritably, "What did you put in my hat? Take it out now!"

She turned around and glared at Han Zhou.

Han Zhou coughed lightly and took the water bottle out of the girl's hat without changing his expression: "It's more convenient to get water this way."

He then tilted his head back and took another sip.

"How childish."

Xiao Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes, snatched the water bottle and placed it on her lap, saying with a displeased look, "You're not allowed to drink anymore unless you answer my question first."

I think you're the one who's childish...

Han Zhou thought to himself, and said with a hint of helplessness, "It's not that you can't be in a hurry to be discharged, but you have to wait until I've figured out how to take care of you after the discharge procedures are completed, right?"

"I'm fine with going anywhere." Xiao Xiaoxiao seemed a little unhappy. "Don't worry about it."

"You can go anywhere?" Han Zhou chuckled. "The wheelchair you're using now is rented from the hospital. Once you're discharged, you won't have a wheelchair anymore, and you won't even be able to walk. Where can you go then?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao said defiantly, "I can walk on my hands too!"

"But your hand hasn't healed yet," Han Zhou shrugged.

Xiao Xiaoxiao froze, lowered her head, and couldn't speak.

From the moment Han Zhou first helped her wash her face, she felt like she had become a useless piece of trash.

I can't do anything, I can only cause trouble for others.

And now, this idea seems to be getting stronger.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, Han Zhou was right; she couldn't even sneak out of the hospital.

This world is truly disappointing. Every time she was sold to a new family, she would think that if one day she couldn't even walk, she would become a genuine defective product, and no one would be willing to pay for her anymore.

But now that I'm so close to freedom, I've actually become a detestable, flawed person.

Xiao Xiaoxiao cannot predict the future, but she can remember the past.

Therefore, she knew very well that she hated herself even more now that she was unable to take care of herself, compared to when she was always sick and hospitalized in the past.

How annoying is it?
She hates herself.

She used to be a well-behaved child, but now she doesn't even have that last bit of goodness left.

So much time has passed, she has almost forgotten how to be a good child, and has now become a completely defective product.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have preferred to have died when I jumped out of the car..."

As she gazed at the increasingly bright hospital sign in the distance, Xiao Xiaoxiao couldn't help but have this thought in her mind.

She lowered her head, and with the reflection from the wheelchair armrest, she could vaguely see Han Zhou's face.

Pale, tired, but with a smile.

She suddenly remembered the conversation she overheard between the doctor and nurse at the hospital that night.

Judging from what they said, this guy seems to have some kind of incurable disease and won't live for more than a few months.

Even so, he can still laugh... This guy really has a big heart.

Xiao Xiaoxiao originally wanted to laugh at the other person in her heart, but she couldn't laugh at all. Instead, she felt more and more heartbroken.

It is said that good people don't live long, while evil people live for thousands of years.

This guy was a good person, so does that mean he deserved to die young?

She felt she couldn't die. Even if she had to die, she had to wait until she had repaid this guy's kindness before she died. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to die in peace and would definitely be unable to resist crawling out of her coffin in the future.

"I heard it's going to get colder again in a few days."

Just then, the wheelchair suddenly stopped. Han Zhou released the wheelchair, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Although winters in Lincheng aren't too cold, wearing only one or two layers of clothing is definitely not enough. There's a clothing store up ahead; come with me to buy two down jackets."

He had no idea what Xiao Xiaoxiao was thinking, and his face still wore a relaxed smile.

"Suit yourself, but don't even think about putting anything on my lap."

Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't care; whether or not he bought clothes was his own business. She was just a little worried that he would use her wheelchair as a shopping cart, so she immediately became wary.

Han Zhou smiled without saying a word and pushed the wheelchair into the clothing store.

Xiao Xiaoxiao originally thought that Han Zhou was only buying clothes for himself, but who knew that he would actually ask the shop assistant to pick out two down jackets for her. No matter what she said, it was no use.

She really wanted to tell this guy not to waste money, but when she put the soft down jacket on, looking at herself in the mirror and seeing how different she looked from before, and seeing Han Zhou behind her haggling with the shop assistant as if facing a formidable enemy, she felt speechless and even wanted to laugh.

She had never worn clothes that fit her so well before.

As I left the clothing store, the last vestiges of dusk in the sky vanished, and the world was enveloped by night. The evening breeze, carrying a chill, kept creeping into people's collars like a rogue.

All sorts of lights lit up in the city, and every single one of them was more attractive than the hospital's sign.

Han Zhou was immersed in the joy of successfully bargaining and completely ignored Xiao Xiaoxiao's previous warning, placing all the bags of clothes on the girl's lap.

These clothes weren't heavy enough to break the other person's legs, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to do that.

To his surprise, Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't complain at all. Instead, she hugged all the clothes to her chest like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

It seemed to be time for school to let out, and suddenly there were more pedestrians on the street, many of them children in school uniforms, skipping and jumping with fried skewers they had bought from street vendors.

Han Zhou sighed inwardly, thinking that being a primary school student was the most carefree time. There was little homework and no worries, unlike high school students, who not only had a lot of homework, but also had to wait almost an hour after school.

"That's great," he said with envy.

Xiao Xiaoxiao also stared blankly at the laughing children, but unlike Han Zhou, her gaze was more focused on the parents behind the children, who wore loving yet helpless smiles.

"Yeah, that's great."

She tightened her oversized coat—Han Zhou had suggested she change into her new down jacket, but she felt this coat was warmer, so she didn't change.

Seeing the girl staring at the children, Han Zhou smiled and said, "What, do you want to try some of their fried skewers?"

"No."

Xiao Xiaoxiao shook her head, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You ask."

Why were you so nice to me today?

Han Zhou was taken aback: "What do you mean by 'I was so nice to you today'?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao lowered her head and looked at the piggy bank in her hand: "You skipped class to take me out to play today, bought me clothes, and gave me delicious food... My parents did the same things the day before they sold me."

She paused, then continued, "I still don't know whether they did this to compensate me or to make me more valuable when I sell myself."

A night breeze blew by, and the old trees overhead rustled.

Han Zhou was silent for a moment, then laughed and said, "What, do you think I also want to sell you off?"

“No.” Xiao Xiaoxiao shook her head. “I mean if you don’t want to take care of me anymore, you don’t need to make any compensation to me. I owe you anyway, and I wish you would just stop taking care of me.”

"I get the feeling you're saying one thing but meaning another," Han Zhou chuckled.

"That's just your imagination." Xiao Xiaoxiao pouted. "Take me back to the hospital and don't come looking for me again. I don't want to see you again."

Rather than waiting until the day when this person can no longer bear the pangs of conscience and abandons you, it's better to make the choice for them first.

Han Zhou remained silent for a long time, simply securing his wheelchair and crouching down to look at her suspiciously.

"What are you doing!" She turned her head away guiltily.

"Are you worried that I'll abandon you like your parents did?"

After a brief hesitation, Han Zhou pointed out her thoughts with a strange expression.

"No, that's not true!" she quickly denied.

"Really?"

"no!"

"Not the best."

Han Zhou seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and as he stood up, he said with a sigh, "I don't know why, but you always give me the impression of a child who overthinks things."

"You're the child!" Xiao Xiaoxiao said angrily.

By saying that, he was clearly preventing her from saying those things again!
Han Zhou remained noncommittal, then, as if suddenly remembering something, asked, "By the way, are you really in such a hurry to be discharged?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao was taken aback: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"Let's go then."

Han Zhou sighed, "Go and complete the discharge procedures, then go home."

(End of this chapter)