Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 401 I want it all
The guzheng was too close to the water.

In order to make it easier to "catch fish", she stood almost entirely on the riverbank. When she forcefully cast her fishing rod, her body was leaning forward, making her somewhat unsteady. So when her foot suddenly slipped, she could no longer maintain her balance and fell uncontrollably into the lake.

"It happened."

Just as she was about to fall into the water, a thought uncontrollably popped into Guzheng's mind.

It wasn't that she was worried about falling into the water, but rather that at the moment she lost her balance, the fishing hook she cast must have deviated from its original position, and was probably completely off course.

She was unwilling to accept defeat, unwilling to lose to such an unexpected event.

Whether I fall into the water or not doesn't matter, as long as I swim to shore quickly, even though I might get a scolding from Han Zhou...

As Gu Zheng was thinking this, she suddenly felt a tremendous force in her chest, stopping her from leaning forward any further.

Looking down, I saw a fishing rod lying across my face, its slender shaft bent into a dangerous curve, as if it might break at any moment.

"This is……"

Gu Zheng was stunned for a moment, then quickly turned her head to look at the fishing rod. She saw that Mo Yixia, who had been sitting on the stool, had stood up at some point, gripping the fishing rod tightly with both hands, the end tucked under her armpits. Her body was trembling violently, and she was clearly about to give up.

Gu Zheng immediately realized that it was Mo Yixia who had used the fishing rod to support her body in time, which prevented her from falling into the water immediately.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

A long fishing rod seemed to connect the two of them, but Gu Zheng had no idea what Mo Yixia was thinking at the moment, just as she didn't know what she was thinking.

I wonder if that guy is the same...

Although her thoughts were complicated, Guzheng knew that now was not the time to think about these things. After all, that guy was about to give up, so she quickly adjusted her center of gravity and leaned back. She quickly regained her balance, staggered back a few steps, and used the fishing rod in her hand to support herself on the ground so that she would not fall.

"call……"

Although she didn't care about falling into the water, the feeling of being soaked was still unpleasant. Gu Zheng breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned to look at Mo Yixia, who was exhausted, with a complicated expression.

In the still-bright sunlight, she could clearly see a few beads of sweat on the other person's forehead.

"Um... thank you..."

After a while, she turned her head away uncomfortably, but before she could finish her words of thanks, there was a loud "plop," as if something heavy had fallen into the lake.

"Yisha!"

A gasp of surprise rang out from behind them.

Gu Zheng's expression changed drastically. She quickly turned her head and saw that Mo Yixia, who had been standing on the shore panting heavily, had disappeared without a trace. Only a baseball cap was left on the lake, swaying violently with the waves. Large ripples spread out in all directions, and splashes of water cascaded down the shore, hitting the small stools on the shore with a pattering sound.

Did that guy fall into the water?

Gu Zheng's heart skipped a beat. Thinking of Mo Yixia's exhausted appearance just now, she didn't care whether the other person could swim or not. She rushed towards the riverbank where the other person was, took off her coat, threw away her phone, kicked off her shoes, and jumped into the cold lake water.

"thump!"

Another huge wave surged across the lake, the ripples spreading outwards before quickly subsiding.

"Yixia! Guzheng!"

As soon as they saw Guzheng about to fall into the lake, Ouyang Lianyu and the others sensed something was wrong and quickly got up and ran over. When they saw Mo Yixia fall into the water, they panicked even more. Just as Guzheng jumped into the water, everyone arrived at the shore. They didn't care about being splashed with water and quickly lay down on the shore to try to grab the two people in the water, but they couldn't reach them.

This means that the two may have sunk to a much deeper place.

Zhong Yin looked serious and had already started taking off his coat and shoes. He said in a deep voice, "You all stay here. I'll go into the water and take a look."

Although Ouyang Lianyu was anxious, she did not lose her composure. Before rushing over, she had already asked Xiao Xiaoxiao to inform Han Zhou. Upon hearing this, she asked with concern, "Can you swim?"

She had never learned to swim, otherwise she would have already jumped into the water with Guzheng. She knew that she had to stay calm in this situation. If you can't swim, you shouldn't go into the water easily, otherwise you might not only fail to save someone, but also cause trouble for others.

"Yes, but I'm not a very good swimmer."

Zhong Yin was very frank. She understood that she couldn't be reckless in this situation, but she wasn't sure if Gu Zheng and Mo Yixia could swim. If neither of them could swim, they might keep sinking, and it would be too late to go into the water to save them then.

She had always treated Guzheng and Mo Yixia as her younger sisters, and as their older sister, she felt obligated to take responsibility for their safety.

"So I'll have to trouble you later, Professor Ouyang."

Zhong Yin spoke quickly, picking up the fishing rod from the ground and continuing, "You and Xiaoling put the fishing rod into the water, and make sure you hold on tight. I might need to use it to bring Yixia and the others back."

She knew her swimming skills were limited, so she needed help. She didn't know if a fishing rod would be of any help, but it should be somewhat useful.

Zhong Ling looked at Zhong Yin with a worried expression, wanting to tell her not to go into the water, but when she thought of Gu Zheng and Mo Yixia underwater, she felt she couldn't stop her sister. So she could only take the fishing rod and hold it tightly to show that she understood.

Ouyang Lianyu knew that every second counted, so she nodded heavily and said, "I understand. You must be careful and don't push yourself."

"I must learn to swim properly after I get back this time..." Both of them felt guilty and shared the same determination.

Zhong Yin gave the two a reassuring smile, turned his back to them, left them with the words "Please take good care of Xiao Ling," and then jumped into the water without hesitation.

Zhong Ling and Ouyang Lianyu looked at the lake with worry, exchanged a glance, and then dipped their fishing rods into the water, gripping them tightly.

……

When Han Zhou arrived at the riverbank and found that only Zhong Ling and Ouyang Lianyu were there, he realized just how serious the trouble was.

He knew Gu Zheng's abilities very well. She had emphasized more than once that she was a very good swimmer, and with her amazing physical fitness, even if she really fell into the water, she should be able to swim to shore with Mo Yixia very quickly. There was no need for Sister Yin to go into the water with her.

Although he reached the riverbank quickly, that should have been enough time for Gu Zheng to get ashore. Since no one else had appeared, it clearly meant they were in trouble underwater. Han Zhou's heart sank. The immediate concern was no longer who to save first, but how to get everyone to safety.

Seeing Han Zhou appear behind her, Zhong Ling looked anxious and wanted to speak, but Han Zhou interrupted her: "Don't worry, senior, I'll go into the water and take a look right away."

He had taken off all his clothes, including his pants, before he arrived, so he could go into the water at any time. Now he was only wearing a thermal undershirt and long underwear. After saying that, he jumped into the water.

"Han Zhou!"

Ouyang Lianyu cried out, but it was too late. She was worried because four people had already gone into the water. If something happened to them, she really didn't know how she would explain it to their families.

Xiao Xiaoxiao and Wang Lengqiu were much slower than Han Zhou, arriving a dozen seconds later. When they saw that Han Zhou and the others were not on the shore, their expressions turned cold. Xiao Xiaoxiao was alright, but Wang Lengqiu was about to rush to the lakeside and jump in, but fortunately Xiao Xiaoxiao caught her in time.

Ouyang Lianyu also noticed what was happening behind her and quickly spoke up to reassure her, "Wang Lengqiu, calm down! Han Zhou has already gone into the water, they'll be back soon!"

Despite her best efforts to dissuade her, Wang Lengqiu seemed not to listen. She dragged Xiao Xiaoxiao, whom she was carrying, and tried her best to walk towards the shore. However, she was too thin and naturally did not have much strength. She was not even as strong as the petite Xiao Xiaoxiao. After walking for a long time, she was still in the same place.

Xiao Xiaoxiao plowed the ground with both feet, gritted her teeth, and shouted, "Can you swim?! Jumping in like that will kill Han Zhou!"

"Killed...Han Zhou?"

These words seemed to have an extraordinary meaning for Wang Lengqiu. Upon hearing them, she immediately stopped in her tracks, causing Xiao Xiaoxiao, who was being dragged back from behind, to stumble and fall to the ground along with her.

Wang Lengqiu seemed oblivious to the pain, turning to look at Xiao Xiaoxiao as if waiting for her explanation.

Xiao Xiaoxiao winced in pain, rubbing her bottom as she said, "With Han Zhou's personality, do you think he would have the heart not to save you if he saw you fall into the water too? There are already three people waiting for him underwater. Do you think you'll get him killed if you go down! Get up now, don't let me sit on you!"

Wang Lengqiu seemed not to have heard what followed. Upon hearing this, her face showed worry, and she showed no intention of getting up. She hesitated and said, "Then what should I do..."

"What else can we do? Hurry up and help grab the fishing rod! That guy might climb up the rod in a little while!" Xiao Xiaoxiao urged.

Wang Lengqiu didn't care about anything else, but she was quite concerned about Han Zhou's safety. Upon hearing this, she immediately got up, not even bothering to brush the dirt off her body, and hurriedly ran to Ouyang Lianyu and Zhong Ling's side, gripping the fishing rod tightly.

Xiao Xiaoxiao also hurriedly moved over, grabbing the fishing rod while earnestly reminding everyone, "Remember, everyone, make sure you hold onto the fishing rod firmly, otherwise Han Zhou might not come up, and we might be dragged down instead."

Ouyang Lianyu nodded, then suddenly asked with some doubt, "Xiaoxiao, how can you be so sure that Han Zhou will climb up the fishing rod?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao's expression changed slightly, but she said calmly, "Think about it, Gu Zheng and the others have been in the water for so long. Han Zhou definitely won't let them stay in the water for too long, so he definitely won't rescue them one by one. That would be too wasteful of time. He'll probably drag all three of them up at once. Swimming would be very difficult for them, so they'll need some help. They'll definitely grab the fishing rod to come up."

Ouyang Lianyu was stunned for a moment, and was about to say that it was unrealistic to bring all three people up at once, when she heard Wang Lengqiu's voice.

"Correct."

“What’s right?” Ouyang Lianyu asked.

"Han Zhou wanted to bring all three of them up at once."

"why?"

Wang Lengqiu looked down at the lake and gripped the fishing rod tightly: "He broke the fishing line."

Ouyang Lianyu was stunned for a moment, then followed the other person's gaze to the lake. She then noticed that only half of the fishing line on the fishing rod was floating on the water, as if it had been forcibly torn off before Han Zhou went into the water.

……

As Xiao Xiaoxiao said, Han Zhou did indeed intend to bring all three of them ashore in one go. After all, his swimming skills were not very good, and rescuing them one by one would waste a lot of time. If he was delayed, the last person to be rescued might be in danger.

Moreover, he didn't want to face the potentially fatal question afterward: "Did you save me first or her first?"

He wants them all.

The lake wasn't large, but it was much deeper than he had imagined. Han Zhou swam to the bottom as fast as he could and soon saw the three people at the bottom of the lake, and understood why they hadn't come ashore yet.

Mo Yixia accidentally fell into the water because she was exhausted. She can't swim, and she encountered a dangerous situation that only happens in TV dramas - one of her feet got tangled in underwater plants. At this moment, Zhong Yin is doing his best to remove the plants for her.

But she clearly didn't have that kind of power. She tried everything but couldn't get Mo Yixia out of trouble. Although they were underwater, Han Zhou could see the cold sweat on her forehead.

The only creature with the power to clear the weeds, Guzheng, landed a little further away from the two of them and was climbing towards them by gripping the bottom of the lake with her hands—she could only exert force with one leg, as the other leg seemed to have cramped.

Mo Yixia looked exhausted and couldn't speak. She just kept giving Zhong Yin meaningful glances, signaling her not to worry about her and to take Guzheng away quickly. But the latter wasn't oblivious and still refused to give up, continuing to pull up water plants with her head down.

Han Zhou understood the situation the three were facing at a glance. He frowned slightly, thinking that these three were really unlucky. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. In any case, at least the worst situation had not occurred. The three were still conscious. It seemed that they may have swallowed some water, but there was no sign of drowning.

In fact, the situation of the three was not as good as Han Zhou had imagined. Mo Yixia and Zhong Yin were almost exhausted. Gu Zheng, the only one who still had strength, suffered a leg cramp as soon as she jumped into the water and had almost no ability to swim to the surface. The only thing she could do was to get close to Mo Yixia as quickly as possible, remove the weeds from her leg, and let her leave with Sister Yin.

Zhong Yin had a similar thought. She knew that if she went just a little further upstream, she would see the fishing rod, and then she could be saved even if she couldn't swim. Therefore, she didn't want to give up and tried to bring Mo Yixia and Guzheng back with her.

The reason she didn't save Guzheng first was because she clearly felt how difficult it was to remove the weeds tangled around Mo Yixia's legs. If she didn't find a way to solve the problem now, she was afraid she would be completely exhausted by the time she returned after sending Guzheng away, and could only watch helplessly as Mo Yixia drowned at the bottom of the lake.

As for why we didn't send the guzheng to Mo Yixia first so she could help pull out the water weeds?
It was purely because she was too nervous and anxious, and all her attention was focused on Mo Yixia's legs, that she completely forgot about this matter.

The tension exacerbated the physical exhaustion. After drinking several mouthfuls of water, Zhong Yin no longer expected to be able to swim ashore. He only hoped to quickly remove the weeds and get Mo Yixia and Guzheng to the fishing rod.

As for Mo Yixia, she knew from the beginning that she was a burden because she couldn't swim and was tangled in the weeds. She kept signaling to Zhong Yin and Gu Zheng to leave quickly with her eyes. However, the two of them were like blind people. One was only staring at her feet, and the other was only looking down and digging at the bottom of the lake. Neither of them noticed her eyes.

She felt a mix of helplessness and amusement.

And so, none of the three, who all hoped that the other two could leave safely, got their wish, and their consciousness gradually began to fade.

Just then, they saw a figure rapidly approaching.

(End of this chapter)