Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 426 Unique
"Everyone is in your place!"

"preparation--"

"boom!"

With the sound of a gunshot, the crowded playground seemed to be ignited in an instant. Shouts of "Go! Go!" rose and fell, and the continuous sound waves swept to every corner of the school like an tidal wave, even breaking through the school walls, attracting the frequent glances of people outside the school.

"Holy crap! When did our school's sports meet become so exciting?"

Below the podium, Chen Fei stared in shock at the athletes sprinting on the track, feeling as if his ears were about to be deafened. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xia Qing! Did you drug the people at the school?! Why are they shouting so loudly?!"

There was no way around it; the noise level on the playground was too high. If you didn't shout loudly, even two people standing next to each other might not be able to hear each other.

"Even if it was drugged, it was done by the school leaders! Didn't you see the media on campus?"

A student council member next to Xia Qing said loudly, "I heard that the louder you shout, the more credits you get!"

"I heard? Isn't it your student council that decides how many credits you get? How many credits can you get with that loud voice? You're about on par with me, so ten credits wouldn't be too much to ask!"

"This...you'll have to ask the president!"

"Tch! You guys just love doing all this useless, superficial stuff!"

Chen Fei suddenly felt bored. He thought the school had really become more enthusiastic, but it turned out the audience was just "bought" to appease the leaders. He turned his head and suddenly felt that the uncle next to him looked familiar. He immediately became interested and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Uncle! Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

The student council member who had just spoken twitched. He knew, of course, that Chen Fei was a notorious playboy who often flirted with pretty girls. Who knew that this guy would even harass older men?

He turned his head away and continued shouting encouragement, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

The middle-aged man glanced at Chen Fei expressionlessly without answering, clearly not wanting to shout and yell like him. However, Chen Fei persisted, grabbing his sleeve and asking, "Uncle! What's your last name? I might know your daughter!"

The middle-aged man's forehead veins were bulging, and his face was tense. He moved his lips, but his voice was too soft to hear what he was saying.

"Uncle, speak louder! I can't hear you!"

"Speak louder! Like me!"

"Don't be shy! Learn from us young people!"

Chen Fei held onto the middle-aged man tightly, shouting incessantly in his ear. The man, finally losing his temper, yelled, "My surname is Sun! I'm from the Education Bureau—"

Before he could finish speaking, not only Chen Fei, but all the students nearby changed their expressions. Their previously high enthusiasm seemed to have been extinguished instantly, and they dared not shout encouragement as they had before.

Everyone says that leaders from the Education Bureau will be coming to inspect today's sports meet. Could this person be one of them?

But isn't he a little too early? In the past, leaders would only show up and give a speech when it was almost time for the closing ceremony.

Throughout history, students, regardless of age, have always had a natural "fear" of teachers and leaders, making it difficult for them to let loose in front of them.

Therefore, the crowd that was just moments ago extremely noisy seemed to wilted instantly.

"Don't mind it, everyone—"

Realizing he had ruined the atmosphere, the middle-aged man's expression changed slightly. He was about to raise his voice to comfort everyone, but quickly realized that there was no sound around and he didn't need to shout. So he coughed a few times and said awkwardly, "Please don't mind me, I haven't finished speaking yet. Actually, I sell fried skewers outside the Education Bureau..."

No one would believe that, of course.

Only Chen Fei was bold enough to tentatively ask, "Could you grill me a couple of skewers? I'm actually a little hungry..."

The uncle's face darkened.

……

"What's going on over there? Why isn't anyone cheering anymore?"

On the other side, Lin Anyu stood on tiptoe and tried to see what was happening, but unfortunately there were too many people surrounding the stage and he couldn't see what was going on inside.

Gu Lang's attention was entirely focused on the track. He wondered, "Is Gu Zheng actually running the last leg? I thought she would run the first leg. This child has always liked to run in the lead since she was little."

"I was supposed to be the first runner, but I was notified at the last minute this morning that I was moved to the last runner," Han Zhou, in his wheelchair, explained.

He had only been "awakened" for a short time, and with the help of a sixth of a sleeping pill, his acting when he woke up was superb. His reaction when he saw Gu Lang and his wife was also very realistic, and he did not reveal any flaws.

"It's okay, being the last one is fine too, we'll win anyway." Miao Yan'er said with a smile, glancing down at Han Zhou.

"Sister Guzheng is amazing, she'll definitely win!" Lin Youya said proudly, as if she were the one participating in the competition.

Everyone has great confidence in the guzheng.

At this point, a quarter of the competition had been completed, and almost all teams had just finished their first baton exchange. The athletes were evenly matched, and there was no significant gap between them.

On the track, Gu Zheng's gaze followed the relay baton constantly. Although her expression remained calm, her heart gradually grew tense.

It wasn't because of the competition, but because she was reminded of the scene where she confessed her feelings to Han Zhou after the competition.

The thought of saying "Han Zhou, I like you, be my boyfriend" in the afterglow of the setting sun and the cold winter wind made her heart race and her breathing become rapid.

really weird.

Reciting poems, studying, exercising, and even dancing, which I've only recently started learning... I've never been afraid of any competition, yet a simple confession always makes me feel so nervous.

It was clear that Han Zhou would never refuse.

Now that Gu Zheng no longer doubts whether Han Zhou might not like her, why does she still feel uneasy and even a little scared when she already knows the outcome?

She always had the answer in her heart, but she never dared to find out.

Especially as she was about to confess her feelings, she subconsciously wanted to forget about the question—

What exactly does Han Zhou like about himself?

Or, to put it another way, is there anything about me that makes me likable?
Gu Zheng knew she was pretty, and many boys liked pretty girls, just as she liked Han Zhou's handsomeness. She assumed Han Zhou was no exception, and she believed that this was one of the reasons he liked her.

But she was terrified of only hearing this one answer.

You have to understand that guy is surrounded by beautiful girls, so if you only look at his appearance, he doesn't actually have much of an advantage.

But besides that, what other qualities does she have that are attractive enough to Han Zhou?

she does not know.

She never really knew what unique qualities she possessed.

From childhood to adulthood, I have received a lot of praise for my guzheng playing.

The grandma next door praised her for being smart and cute, the grandpa across the street said she was kind and lively, and the village kids all recognized her as their leader. Whenever there was a place they were afraid to go, she would always be the one to lead the way. Back then, her parents were often away from home, and she lived with her maternal grandmother in the village. Her daily life was not boring; she caught birds in trees, fished in the river, and even fought with vicious dogs. She ran all over the mountains and fields every day, often not returning home until dark.

Whenever this happened, Grandma would come out with a flashlight to look for her. Later, because she was afraid of the dark at night, she took the only flashlight in the house with her. So Grandma started carrying a torch when she went out, and wherever she went, the village was lit up.

After this happened many times, the villagers would laugh whenever they saw the torch, asking if Xiao Guzheng hadn't come home on time again, and then they would help look for her everywhere.

Grandma never got angry when she found her. She would wipe her hands first, then hand her a hot steamed bun with a smile. She never said a word of blame from beginning to end. She would just quietly watch her finish eating, and finally take her home with a torch.

Back then, there were still fireflies in the village. She used to think that the light of fireflies was so bright and beautiful, but after seeing her grandmother's torch, she realized that her grandmother's torch was still the brightest.

Grandma always laughed after hearing this, saying that fireflies are much more precious than torches. They are unique, and if you don't remember them quickly, you may not be able to see them again next year.

The nights were long back then, and she would get tired easily. Every time she came home, her grandmother would carry her on her back. Her grandmother usually walked very slowly and looked unsteady, but she always walked very steadily when she carried her.

Every time she looked at the bright torches overhead, she would ask her grandmother curiously why these torches could burn for so long. Her grandmother would smile and shake her head, saying that she couldn't tell her yet, otherwise she would definitely run around setting fires everywhere.

She was a little unhappy, feeling that her grandmother was wronging her. She was just a little afraid of the dark. If she learned how to make a torch, she wouldn't be afraid of being alone in the dark in the future.

Playfulness is a child's nature, and she was no exception back then. After starting elementary school, she didn't listen to the lessons or do her homework. Every day after school, she would still run around the mountains and fields with her friends as before. In the evening, her grandmother would still come to find her with a torch and hot steamed buns, still smiling and not angry, as if nothing had changed.

She just hadn't noticed that her grandmother was walking slower than before.

If I remember correctly, it was an evening with the annoying chirping of cicadas when my grandmother suddenly agreed to teach her how to make a torch.

In the flickering firelight, the wrinkles on Grandma's face were more pronounced than during the day. She smiled and said, "Haven't you always wondered why Grandma's torch could burn for so long? It's because Grandma used a unique material."

"What materials?" she couldn't help but ask.

Unique, this was my grandmother's favorite word, but at that time she didn't quite understand the meaning of the word, she just thought it sounded impressive.

"If you do your homework well tomorrow, Grandma will tell you and teach you how to make a torch."

"But I don't want to do my homework..."

She hugged her grandmother's arm and said sweetly, "Grandma, can you ask me to do something else? How about catching ten fish, catching ten birds, or skipping stones on the water? I'm good at all of those."

“No.” Grandma was still smiling, but her tone was a little different from usual. “Something unique has to be exchanged for something else unique.”

"I don't understand, does doing homework make something unique?"

"It's not a 'thing,' it's a 'person.'"

Grandma smiled and said, "Doing homework certainly won't make you unique, but learning can. It will help you understand yourself someday."

"Know yourself?"

"That's right, know yourself."

The firelight flickered, and Grandma's aged face wore a gentle smile. "Guzheng, you must understand that everyone is unique. You must find the most special thing about yourself. Otherwise, without the most important material, even if you make a torch, it won't burn as long as Grandma's."

"Oh."

Although she didn't quite understand, she felt that her grandmother seemed to want her to be a unique person, so she promised to do her homework well the next day.

However, after a good night's sleep, she quickly forgot about it and went out to play as soon as school was over. It wasn't until the sun was about to set that she remembered her promise to her grandmother the night before. She hurriedly found a paddy field ridge to finish her homework, checked it as much as she could, and then went home in the night.

At that time, she did not realize why her grandmother, who always appeared at this time, did not come out to look for her.

It was a very hot day, and the village had a power outage that night. She heard that almost everyone in the village had gone to the river to cool off. She didn't see her grandmother by the river and was worried that if she didn't go home soon, her grandmother would come looking for her again. So she ran home breathlessly, but couldn't find her anywhere.

As darkness fell, she grew increasingly frightened, as it was the first time she had been without her grandmother's company. She began calling out her grandmother's name loudly, and then called out to her grandparents who lived nearby, hoping they could help her find her grandmother.

No one responded.

Everyone went to the riverbank to cool off.

She wanted to go to the river to ask someone where her grandmother was, but it was a long way to the river, and it was already completely dark with no stars in the sky. She couldn't see the road outside at all, and the flashlight at home was out of power; it only flashed once before going out.

There were strange noises outside, and she became more and more frightened. She tried to shout her grandmother's name again, but her grandmother seemed to have completely disappeared and did not respond.

She hid in her room and suddenly remembered that her grandmother often went to the bamboo grove behind the house. So she mustered up her courage, found a lighter by the stove, and, using the faint flame, groped her way into the bamboo grove.

In the bamboo forest, she saw her grandmother lying on the ground, and an unfinished torch beside her.

By then, she already knew what death was. She forced back her tears and ran to her grandmother's side. Fortunately, her grandmother was still breathing and seemed to have just fainted temporarily. She was terrified and cried for help again. After shouting several times, she realized that there was no one nearby. So she tried to light a torch on the ground and wanted to hold it up to the river to ask for help.

Everyone in the village knew Grandma's torch.

In the past, my grandmother would always hold up a torch and beg the villagers to search for her. Now, she also holds up a torch and begs everyone to save her grandmother.

...but the torch wouldn't light at all.

No matter how many times I try, it won't light.

She didn't know what was wrong. She tried to light the lighter again and again, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. She suddenly felt so regretful. She regretted not finishing her homework and going home sooner. If she had gone home earlier, her grandmother would have taught her how to make a torch, and she could have gone out to find someone to save her grandmother.

It's all because she didn't keep her promise that Grandma has been lying here for so long.

The bamboo forest is filled with the chirping of cicadas, which is quite annoying, but the fireflies that used to be a common sight are nowhere to be found.

I need light.

She stood up while wiping away her tears, and finally came up with a solution—to set the bamboo forest on fire.

As long as the bamboo forest is set on fire, someone will surely follow the light and come looking for her, and then Grandma will be saved.

However, just as she was about to make a move, her grandmother suddenly reached out and grabbed her.

She woke up.

Grandma said a lot of things, but she couldn't remember most of them. She only remembered that by the faint light of the lighter, she and Grandma could see each other's expressions—one crying, the other laughing.

Grandma looked at her for a long time, and finally raised her hand with great effort to wipe away the tears on her face.

As the last flame of the lighter went out, Grandma's hand also lost its strength.

It was a very hot day, but Grandma's body was getting colder and colder until she had no warmth left.

Guzheng has always been afraid of the dark and ghosts.

No one knew that on that night when the cicadas were chirping unusually loudly, she stayed quietly in the bamboo forest with her grandmother all night long, without crying or making a fuss.

(End of this chapter)