Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 398 Two Heavyweights

The withered reeds swayed in the wind, creating dark golden waves that rippled across the lake, connecting with the ripples drifting from afar to form a new circle of ripples.

The lake surface resembled a constantly shattering mirror; the blurred surface was insufficient to reflect the scenery along the riverbank, only vaguely revealing two slender silhouettes.

"I said, aren't they tired?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao yawned, looking listlessly at Guzheng and Mo Yixia in the distance.

The two have been struggling with bamboo poles and fishing rods for almost half an hour, and there is still no clear winner. However, from the perspective of achieving their goal, Guzheng is at a disadvantage. After all, her goal is to collect fish bait, and with Mo Yixia's constant interference, her collection plan has been very ineffective. She has only collected a little bit so far.

However, Guzheng doesn't seem to be in a hurry at all, as if she has plenty of patience.

“Yixia might get tired, but Guzheng definitely won’t,” Han Zhou shook his head.

Zhong Yin was a little worried: "Aren't they going to keep this stalemate going until nightfall?"

"No, unless Yixia's stamina doesn't run out." Ouyang Lianyu said with a wry smile, "Look, Yixia's movements are already starting to slow down. If it goes on any longer, she might not be able to stop Guzheng from catching the fish bait in time."

Zhong Yin nodded: "It seems that Guzheng is also well aware of this, which is why she lets Yixia keep causing trouble."

Han Zhou didn't speak, but Zhong Yin was right. With Gu Zheng's abilities, she could actually use one hand to catch the bait and the other hand to use the fishing rod to suppress Mo Yixia's fishing rod. The reason she didn't do that was to see the other party's disheveled appearance when she was exhausted.

This is most likely revenge for Mo Yixia deliberately giving her an empty bottle to embarrass her.

Just as everyone expected, Gu Zheng was well aware of her physical advantage, so she wasn't in a hurry at all. As long as that annoying guy ran out of energy, even if she stayed in place to catch fish, he wouldn't be able to stop her anymore.

Just when Gu Zheng thought that Mo Yixia had completely fallen into her trap, she heard Mo Yixia suddenly say, "I thought you really didn't intend to restrict my movements, but it turns out you just changed your approach."

Her voice remained calm, but it sounded more tired than before; clearly, half an hour of swishing the fishing rod had taken a toll on her.

"I just don't want to restrict your actions in that boring way."

Gu Zheng snorted coldly, turned her head and glanced at her, "What, you can't hold on anymore and want to say I 'cheated'?"

Mo Yixia did not answer, but simply said, "It seems you do have an extraordinary desire for victory."

Gu Zheng pouted: "So you want to admit defeat?"

"I'm not particularly competitive, but I also don't like to admit defeat."

Mo Yixia tried to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, but she no longer had the strength to lift her arm. So she raised her head and flicked the hair behind her ear. "I still think today will be a draw."

"why?"

"Because your tool is broken."

Gu Zheng was startled and quickly looked at the bamboo pole in her hand. Only then did she notice that the box attached to the bamboo pole had fallen off and into the lake, drifting away into the distance.

She put down the bamboo pole and tried to hook the box over with a longer fishing rod, but Mo Yixia had already made the first move, using her last bit of strength to push the box towards the center of the lake, beyond the reach of the fishing rod.

"You guy..."

Watching the box drift further and further away, Guzheng gritted her teeth, thinking that no wonder this girl had been deliberately hitting her bamboo pole with her fishing rod. She thought she wanted to prevent her from catching any bait, but it turned out she was trying to loosen the box.

"Are you trying to say I'm awful?"

Mo Yixia released the fishing rod as if she were exhausted, her chest heaving slightly, as if she had used up all her strength, but there was a slight smile on her face, "I sometimes feel that way too."

A cold wind blew across the lake, lifting the girl's long hair.

"Not ashamed, but proud..." Guzheng muttered softly.

“I can hear you,” Mo Yixia said lazily.

"It was said specifically for you to hear!" Gu Zheng glared at her, annoyed.

"That's why I said I heard it."

"you……"

Gu Zheng took a deep breath, thinking that she shouldn't have wasted her breath on this guy; she was just asking for trouble.

However, she didn't want to say more, but Mo Yixia continued on her own: "I'm out of energy. If you still have the energy, you can pick up the bottles over there and continue to fish for the remaining bait."

"No need, I'm already going to win anyway."

Gu Zheng was afraid that this guy had some other scheme, so she immediately rejected his suggestion and started to take off her coat.

Seeing this, Mo Yixia was unusually taken aback for a moment: "What do you want to do?"

"What else can we do? Go into the water and catch fish, that way you won't be able to cause trouble."

Gu Zheng snorted coldly, and continued to take off her sweater while speaking, leaving only a thermal undershirt, not at all like she was joking.

Mo Yixia was taken aback.

"Guzheng, what are you trying to do!"

Just then, a furious shout suddenly rang out behind the two of them, and Han Zhou rushed toward them with a solemn expression.

On such a cold day, Gu Zheng actually planned to jump into the water to catch fish. This development terrified Han Zhou. Even if he wanted to win, there was no need to be so reckless about his own safety.

Just before Guzheng was about to jump into the water, he grabbed her arm and launched into a tirade: "It's winter now, tell me what you're doing taking off your clothes?"

Gu Zheng wanted to talk back, but it was the first time she had seen Han Zhou so angry. She didn't dare to look him in the eye, and after a long while, she lowered her head and whispered, "Catch...catch fish."

"Catch fish?" Han Zhou laughed in exasperation. "Jump into the water to catch fish?"

“You know I can do it…” Guzheng said cautiously.

"Of course I know you can do it, but since you're going to jump into the water to catch fish, what's the point of this fishing rod?" Han Zhou picked up the fishing rod from the ground and said with a headache.

"I... that's why I wanted to go into the water to catch them because I couldn't catch any fish..."

"Shall we catch it for extra food tonight?"

"no……"

"So you're going to catch them and release them?"

"It's not..."

Han Zhou looked exasperated: "Then why do you absolutely have to catch the fish?"

"I want to win," Gu Zheng said somewhat unhappily. "You know me well enough."

"Of course you can win."

Han Zhou took a deep breath, picked up the clothes from the ground and helped her put them on, saying helplessly as he did so, "But I don't want you to joke about your life. This is much more important than winning or losing."

He certainly knew what winning or losing meant for the guzheng, and his tone was no longer angry as before, but rather quite gentle.

His movements were equally gentle. Guzheng, like a child who had just come of age, was uneasy yet obediently waiting for the other person to help her put on her clothes.

"You...you be careful, don't put it on backwards."

She looked down at her toes and said, feigning nonchalance.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Han Zhou said, both amused and exasperated. He quickly helped the girl put her clothes back on.

"You're dressed terribly."

Gu Zheng looked at her disheveled reflection in the lake and muttered something under her breath, her face flushed.

"You have the nerve to say that? If you didn't take your clothes off randomly, would I need to help you get dressed?"

Han Zhou glared at the girl, picked up the fishing rod from the ground, and shoved it into her hand. "I can let it go before, but from now on, you can only use a fishing rod to fish. You can't use any other methods, understand?"

"oh oh."

Guzheng was somewhat unconvinced, but still nodded obediently.

"And you!"

Han Zhou turned to look at Mo Yixia, his face full of dissatisfaction, and said, "You too, you can only fish with a fishing rod, and you're not allowed to harass others in any way, understand?"

Mo Yixia looked at him with a half-smile, until he felt a little guilty, then she nodded slightly.

"Yes, but we've run out of bait."

"Without bait, it's all down to luck."

Han Zhou coughed lightly and said without changing his expression, "Only when those who are willing to take the bait can you demonstrate your skill."

He would suddenly rush over, not only because he was worried that Guzheng would fall into the water, but also to smooth things over. After all, if these two were allowed to continue their nonsense, who knows what kind of accident might happen? It would be better to come over and help them set some rules.

As for the lack of bait... isn't that perfect?

From a selfish perspective, a draw between Gu Zheng and Mo Yixia was exactly what he wanted to see; neither side had any bait, which made this outcome possible.

After saying that, fearing that Mo Yixia would see through his thoughts, he quickly covered his face and left.

"Why is he covering his face?" Gu Zheng asked, puzzled.

"Who knows? Maybe she's just shy," Mo Yixia said casually.

Upon hearing that the person who answered was Mo Yixia, Gu Zheng snorted coldly, then sat back down on the small stool, humming a light melody as she started fishing.

Mo Yixia, also holding a fishing rod, sat down and asked, "You seem quite happy?"

"none of your business?"

"Was it because Han Zhou helped you get dressed?"

Guzheng did not answer, but simply raised her head slightly, her smugness evident.

Mo Yixia shook her head sadly and said casually, "It's nothing to have someone you like help you get dressed; the real fun is having them help you get undressed."

Gu Zheng's smile froze, as if she realized something, and she quickly asked, "What do you mean...?"

"Shhh."

Mo Yixia interrupted her question, "I'm about to start fishing, please don't make any noise and disturb me, that's against the rules."

Guzheng was so angry she wanted to bite her teeth, but she could only shut her mouth and stop talking.

Meanwhile, Han Zhou had already returned to the group of girls. As soon as he sat down, Xiao Xiaoxiao teased him, "Han Zhou, you're something else. Acting so intimately with Gu Zheng in front of Mo Yixia, aren't you worried that she'll get angry?"

She's probably already angry...

Han Zhou sighed inwardly, but his face remained impassive as he said, "I don't know what you're talking about. They and I are just ordinary friends."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Zhong Ling and Wang Lengqiu wore expressions of disdain.

Oh no, I usually say it so naturally that it just slipped out without me realizing it...

Although he realized he had misspoke, Han Zhou didn't bother to explain further. Even though everyone knew he was a scumbag, he still had some pride and didn't need to emphasize it verbally. So he coughed and changed the subject, saying, "I've already made sure they can only fish with fishing rods and I don't allow them to harass each other. There shouldn't be any more trouble now."

"But it seems they've run out of bait," Zhong Ling said softly after thinking for a moment. "Should I go back and get some?"

"no need."

Han Zhou quickly stopped her. What he wanted was a draw without bait; if there was bait, the outcome would be unpredictable.

"You want them to be unable to catch any fish?" Zhong Yin saw through his thoughts at a glance.

Han Zhou was thick-skinned. Although that was indeed what he thought, he was reluctant to admit it. He shook his head mysteriously and said, "Like Jiang Taigong fishing, those who are willing will take the bait."

"Who is Jiang Taigong?" Ouyang Lianyu asked, somewhat puzzled.

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment: "It was my great-grandfather."

Xiao Xiaoxiao punched him in annoyance: "Who are you trying to fool? Aren't you surnamed Han?"

Han Zhou casually replied, "My mother's surname is Jiang."

"Have you had enough of lying?" Xiao Xiaoxiao punched him again and pouted, "Your mother's surname is clearly Zhou."

Han Zhou was taken aback and looked at the petite girl beside him with a puzzled expression: "How did you know that my mother's surname is Zhou?"

His mother passed away when he was very young and was almost never in his memory, so he rarely mentioned his mother to others, let alone told them his mother's surname.

He met Xiao Xiaoxiao in college. At that time, he had already unlocked the ability to remember everything he saw, so he immediately closed his eyes and reviewed all his memories after meeting her. He did not remember when he had mentioned his mother's name to Xiao Xiaoxiao.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou's doubts deepened. He stared intently into Xiao Xiaoxiao's eyes, not giving her a chance to lie.

Seeing Han Zhou's expression suddenly turn serious, Ouyang Lianyu asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Han Zhou? Isn't your mother surnamed Zhou?"

As a counselor, she naturally had access to the students' files, and she had paid special attention to Han Zhou's information before, so she knew his mother's name.

Han Zhou shook his head and continued to stare into Xiao Xiaoxiao's eyes: "What my mother's surname is doesn't matter. What matters is that Xiaoxiao shouldn't know."

Everyone was stunned, not quite understanding the meaning of her words. Ouyang Lianyu recalled for a moment, and suddenly a hint of apology appeared on her face: "Xiaoxiao probably knows because she happened to be in the office the day I looked at your file. I'm sorry, I didn't know you minded so much."

This time it was Han Zhou's turn to be stunned. He looked at Ouyang Lianyu with a surprised expression: "Did Xiaoxiao learn my mother's name from you?"

"What else do you think?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao pushed his head away with a dissatisfaction, "So what if I know your mother's last name? Why are you so excited? You scared me to death."

"Okay." Han Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood."

"It's okay, just don't be so startled next time." Xiao Xiaoxiao waved her hand and turned to look at the scenery in the distance.

Han Zhou smiled awkwardly, thinking that he had indeed been a bit too startled. He thought that Xiao Xiao had regained her memories, and he didn't know why he thought that way so quickly.

However, at that moment, something even more unexpected happened—

"I remember Jiang Taigong is Jiang Ziya, isn't he?"

Beside him, Wang Lengqiu, who had been deep in thought for a long time, tilted his head in confusion.

(End of this chapter)