Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 41 Status Bar Upgrade
【Name: Han Zhou】

【Intelligence: 7】

【Charm: 7】

Stamina: 3 (Weak)

[Skills: Efficient learning, culinary expertise, speed reading, practical medical knowledge gained through experience, powerful throwing ability, photographic memory]

[Current Status: On the verge of death (modified) → On the verge of death: Ten breaths remaining, can survive for one day, will enter a near-death state after twenty-four hours]

[Status bar level: 2, current points remaining: 81]

Han Zhou was dumbfounded when he saw the extra "photographic memory" skill and the sudden surge in points.

The mission is over just like that? That's far too hasty...

Just one panda eye is enough to make Mo Yixia not dislike me. If I were to have panda eyes on both of my eyes one day, wouldn't this guy fall in love with me?

Han Zhou felt enveloped by an intense sense of joy, and he had to suppress his excitement and not laugh out loud. In addition, he was confused and his mind was in a mess. He started to think wildly until Mo Yixia's voice pulled him back to reality.

"Are you listening to me?"

Han Zhou came to his senses and found the girl in the mask and baseball cap increasingly pleasing to the eye. With tears welling up in his eyes, he said, "Of course I'm listening. She's speaking so well that I'm almost crying with emotion."

As he spoke, he even pretended to wipe the corner of his eye under his sunglasses.

He was wearing a mask and sunglasses, even more so than Mo Yixia, his face almost completely covered, making it difficult to discern his expression without close inspection. Mo Yixia thought he was being sarcastic and sighed, "I'm starting to regret going against my conscience."

Han Zhou smiled to himself, thinking that conscience was worthless compared to points, but before he could speak, he suddenly raised an eyebrow and noticed something strange—

【Name: Mo Yixia (Unlocked)】

He looked at the top of Mo Yixia's head, where only a name stood alone, without any additional information below.

According to Han Zhou's understanding, this means that his relationship with Mo Yixia has not improved at all, and they are no different from strangers.
The problem is that now that all the side quests are completed, it means that Mo Yixia no longer dislikes him. Since she no longer dislikes him, why shouldn't their intimacy level increase?

This is just too contradictory...

After a brief moment of thought, Han Zhou came up with two guesses about the situation.

First, his judgment may be wrong. The amount of information presented in the status bar may not be a direct indicator of his closeness with other people. Or there may be some special cases, such as unlockable characters being special and they may not follow such rules.

After all, there are only three unlockable characters right now, so the sample size is still too small.

Secondly, Mo Yixia is too outrageous. What she just said might not have been a joke, but she might actually be able to deceive her own "conscience" at any time, and thus arbitrarily adjust and manipulate her own emotions...

It shouldn't be this outrageous, right?

Han Zhou shivered, thinking to himself, "Could this guy really be a secret agent who escaped from some remote corner of the world?" He tentatively asked, "So, can I take that as you've gone against your conscience and stopped disliking me?"

“That’s right,” Mo Yixia said calmly. “So now you can go out and spread the word, proudly telling everyone that after living for so long, you’ve finally met someone who doesn’t dislike you.”

Han Zhou laughed angrily: "Am I really that repulsive to you?"

Not to brag, but he is actually quite popular. He is handsome, academically excellent, and has a good temper. It's just that his physical strength and family background are a bit lacking. If he hadn't been perceived as a sycophant and lost some points, he would have been even more popular.

Mo Yixia didn't answer, but suddenly thought of something and said with interest, "Your lost tone just now seemed to tell me that you've confirmed my feelings for you have really changed, but this change doesn't seem to match your expectations, so you came to me for confirmation, right?"

She was clearly not referring to the phrase "disliked by both men and ghosts," but rather to Han Zhou's first question. Okay.

Han Zhou felt a chill run down his spine and had to admit one thing: perhaps this guy really was that outrageous...

I was just asking casually, and you could actually tell what I was thinking?
He said with a forced smile, "Didn't you study psychology and micro-expressions?"

The implication is that young people shouldn't talk nonsense, and judging their thoughts based on their tone of voice is a bit too exaggerated.

Mo Yixia retorted, "Can't you see my expression just by looking at my forehead?"

"..."

The two remained locked in a standoff for a while before Han Zhou broke the deadlock by asking, "Are you really confident about tomorrow's test?"

Although she knew he was changing the subject, Mo Yixia nodded and said, "I'm confident. Unlike you, I rarely lie."

"It's definitely different. I never lie..." Han Zhou's eyes darted around, and he suddenly remembered something interesting. He said with a half-smile, "I remember you said before, 'Not disliking someone means liking them,' right? Was that true or false? Look, you don't dislike me anymore..."

"That's true, but it's a lie to say I don't hate you," Mo Yixia said succinctly. "You don't deserve it."

Han Zhou secretly regretted it, thinking he would see the guy get angry and embarrassed. He and Mo Yixia chatted idly, the topic drifting further and further away, and the two tacitly avoided mentioning studying again.

Consider it a vacation for myself.

During this time, Han Zhou took a moment to glance at the "photographic memory" skill.

Similar to his understanding of photographic memory, this skill is exactly what it sounds like; it's incredibly practical. Anything you see at a glance can leave a clear impression in your mind, making it an amazing tool for learning.

However, photographic memory is an enhanced version of one of Mo Yixia's skills, which means that her memory must be quite good, at least possessing a skill similar to "extensive knowledge and strong memory," otherwise she certainly couldn't have been enhanced to have photographic memory...

He seemed to be deep in thought, but he didn't voice his idea, still pretending to know nothing.

It was four o'clock quickly, and he left Mo Yixia's house on time, saying before leaving, "I hope to see you again after tomorrow."

This statement is meant sincerely.

He boarded the subway to Guzheng's house and didn't hesitate to spend sixty points to upgrade his status bar.

After confirming the upgrade again, my points dwindled to just 21.

But he didn't care at all. Upgrading the status bar was a priority, no matter what. The level 2 status bar could only do so much. Only by upgrading to level 3 could he possibly find a cure for his terminal illness.

He watched the constantly flashing text prompts with a hint of anticipation.

Status bar upgrade complete, current level: 3

The monthly in-game store is now open.

[New Task Acceptance Channel]

[Added selection of job status and random status]

The upgrade notifications weren't many; more information still needed to be discovered by oneself. Han Zhou ignored the newly added status options and immediately looked at the shop, because it was the only place where he was most likely to find what he wanted.

The next second, his breathing became rapid, and his eyes were fixed on the item called "State Temporary Solidifier," which cost 20 points.

(End of this chapter)