Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 442 Why is there still one guy missing?
Unfortunately, Han Zhou was unable to obtain any useful information from Xiao Xiaoxiao.

According to Xiao Xiaoxiao, there are no decent holidays in December, so there are no special days. If we have to say which day is special, then it would probably be Christmas.

Although there is no holiday, this day can indeed be considered the only day in December with special significance.

"Christmas...?"

Han Zhou pondered for a moment, recalling the girl's longing expression when she mentioned Santa Claus. He chuckled to himself, thinking that he would try using the mysterious brocade pouch on Christmas Day and prepare a Christmas gift for the girl as well. Whether he succeeded or not, he would play the role of Santa Claus.

Speaking of Christmas gifts, he suddenly remembered the "wish list" that Xiao Xiaoxiao had hung on the tree when he went to Beicheng not long ago; it was filled with her wishes—

"First, grow up quickly, and grow ten centimeters taller for every year you grow older."

Second, study hard so you can earn lots and lots of money in the future.

"Third, buy a house of your own, with three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom."

"Fourth, have a different kind of birthday. Buy a three-tiered cake, each tier has a different flavor, and put in double the number of candles."

"Fifth, don't go home alone during the Chinese New Year. Invite at least ten friends over to play."

"Sixth, may your health improve and may you become a successful person in the future."

"Seven, confess your feelings to the person you like, and the two of you will become very happy together."

"..."

With his photographic memory, Han Zhou quickly recalled all the contents of the "wish list." These wishes ranged from big to small, some of which he could never help fulfill, such as helping the other person find someone they liked to confess their feelings to, but others could be granted.

Thinking of this, he suddenly asked, "By the way, Xiaoxiao, what's your birthday?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao, who was about to enter the house, paused, turned around to look at him, and a wary expression appeared on her face: "Anyway, it's not December, what do you want to do?"

"I was just asking casually," Han Zhou smiled. "Besides, we're all such good friends, so it's only right that I tell you your birthday."

Xiao Xiaoxiao looked incredulous, but still answered, "The day before the New Year," and then went inside.

She didn't seem curious at all about why Han Zhou would specifically ask her such a strange question as which day in December was special.

Han Zhou waited at the door for a while, and soon saw Zhong Ling, Wang Lengqiu and others carrying bags walking over from a distance, presumably having finished buying groceries.

Seeing him alone outside, Zhong Ling quickened her pace and jogged over, pushing his wheelchair as she asked with concern, "Why are you outside alone? It's cold outside, come inside quickly."

Her voice was soft, like a marshmallow that melts in your mouth.

Just as Han Zhou was about to explain, Wang Runxue's tired voice rang out from behind him: "I never want to go out with these two senior sisters again. One doesn't talk, and the other doesn't like to talk. I was so bored the whole way. I picked out almost all the dishes by myself."

Wang Runxue didn't mean to complain; she was just bored. She thought she could find out some embarrassing things about Han Zhou along the way so that she could expose this scumbag's true colors in the future. But the two senior students either didn't say a word or occasionally said "thank you," so she didn't find out anything.

Seeing Zhong Ling's apologetic expression, Han Zhou turned to Wang Runxue and smiled, "Thank you for your hard work."

"At least he said something sensible..."

Wang Runxue snorted and asked, "Where's Guzheng? Is she alright?"

"never mind."

"Where is she? Isn't she with you?"

"She helped Sister Yin in the kitchen."

Wang Runxue said "Oh". Although she was reluctant to admit it, this scumbag did have some skills. He was probably the only one who could comfort Guzheng so quickly.

The group went inside. Lin Anyu sat alone at the counter, temporarily acting as a waiter, while the others returned to their rooms.

Zhongyin's pastry shop is doing very well, with customers coming in from time to time. So, they decided to take turns watching the shop and wait until around 8 o'clock, when it's almost time for dinner, before closing up shop.

When Zhong Yin is alone in the shop, the opening hours are usually later, usually closing at 10:30 pm, and sometimes even until 11 pm. Fortunately, her residence and shop are connected, so she doesn't have to worry about safety when going home late at night.

"You guys go in first, I'll watch the shop for you," Lin Anyu said.

"Okay, we'll switch with you later."

Han Zhou nodded and entered the room with Zhong Ling and the others.

Zhong Yin's place wasn't big, and it felt a bit crowded with a group of people crammed inside, but it was also very lively. Everyone's faces lit up with smiles as they watched Lin Youya gesturing wildly and telling them about the interesting things that happened at school.

Han Zhou also had a smile on his lips. He was used to being alone, but that didn't mean he liked it. He had longed for such a lively scene many times, and now that he was in it, he felt especially warm.

For some reason, he thought of Xiao Xiaoxiao's "wish list" again—

"Fifth, don't go home alone during the Chinese New Year. Invite at least ten friends over to play."

The fact that this guy would record such a wish on a wooden plaque suggests he must have had a rather lonely life before.

Rather...

For most of the people in this room, the past has been more or less accompanied by loneliness.

Fortunately, that won't happen in the future.

He looked around the room, his gaze finally settling on Xiao Xiaoxiao's face.

Under the warm, soft lighting, the girl sat on the sofa with her knees drawn up to her chest, her eyes smiling, and she was so quiet that she seemed like a completely different person.

The peach blossom earrings on his earlobes gleamed slightly, as if wanting to capture this moment. He thought, "Let's all get together like this during the New Year..."

Just then, Guzheng walked out of the kitchen while wiping her hands, and asked with a smile, "What are you all talking about?"

"Ya Ya said she ranked fifteenth in the midterm exam, a significant improvement of twenty places," Wang Runxue replied with a smile.

Despite it being their first meeting, everyone liked the adorable little girl.

"really?"

Gu Zheng's eyes lit up, and she bent down to pat Lin Youya's head. "You're really amazing."

"Sister Guzheng is even more amazing!" Lin Youya said with admiration.

Gu Zheng beamed with delight. Instead of replying, she looked around and asked, "Why is there still one person missing?"

"You mean Lin Anyu? He's minding the shop outside," Wang Runxue replied.

"not him."

Gu Zheng shook her head, then looked at Han Zhou and said irritably, "Where's Mo Yixia? She's still here, why don't you call her over for dinner?"

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the kitchen.

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Youya's eyes lit up with delight, and she exclaimed, "Sister Yixia is here too?"

No one had told her about this before.

Wang Runxue looked puzzled: "Mo Yixia... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before... Hmm! Isn't she a guzheng player—"

Before she could even utter the word "love rival," her mouth was suddenly covered by Xiao Xiaoxiao, who appeared behind her from nowhere, leaving her only able to make "mmm" sounds.

Zhong Ling stole a glance at Han Zhou, then looked towards the kitchen, apologetic smile on her face, and quietly made a "shh" gesture to her.

Wang Runxue stared wide-eyed in horror. What was going on? Were all these people helping to protect that scumbag?

Han Zhou pretended not to notice what was happening here and sent a message to Mo Yixia, inviting her to Zhong Yin's house for dinner.

In fact, he had already sent many messages to Mo Yixia, but she hadn't replied. If the messages hadn't shown as read, he would have suspected that she might have encountered some danger.

Fortunately, perhaps sensing his worries from afar, Mo Yixia finally replied with a message this time.

"I see."

"...Don't you want to say anything more?"

Han Zhou felt a little guilty. He knew that Mo Yixia must have gone to the playground to watch the guzheng competition this afternoon. The reason she hadn't shown up yet was probably to avoid causing him any unnecessary trouble. This action made him both touched and ashamed.

If things had ended there, he could have found a way to make it up to Yixia. But he didn't know which bastard had signed Yixia up for tomorrow's fun activities. Wasn't this clearly a way to make Yixia compete with the guzheng, while he had to choose between them?
A competition is a competition, and he wasn't given the option to have it all. No matter who he chose, it would inevitably hurt the other person.

What's most infuriating is that that bastard used an open scheme! With Yi Xia's mindset, even if she found out that someone had signed her up for the guzheng competition without her knowledge, she would never choose to ignore it, but would compete with the guzheng to see who is better.

So even if he tried to persuade Yixia to give up the competition, it would be useless; she would definitely face off against Guzheng tomorrow.

What a vicious thought!

Just as Han Zhou was wondering which bastard was so vicious as to want to harm him, Mo Yixia replied.

"I signed up myself."

"?"

Han Zhou was dumbfounded. It took him a long time to come to his senses. He tapped the screen blankly.

"It's one thing for you to sign up yourself, but why are you also targeting Teacher Ouyang and the others?"

The reason he never suspected that Mo Yixia was behind it was because he felt that Mo Yixia wouldn't intentionally drag Teacher Ouyang and Sister Yin into it; it would be pointless, and she had no reason to do so.

Fortunately, Mo Yixia quickly answered his question.

"I wasn't the one who registered them."

With Mo Yixia's explanation, Han Zhou finally understood the whole story and realized that it was Chen Fei who wanted to harm him. However, since Yixia hoped that he would not seek revenge, he could only give up.

It wasn't entirely because of Mo Yixia.

In fact, since Guzheng's friend intends to apologize to her, Guzheng will most likely choose to forgive him. To be honest, there isn't much of a conflict between them, and it would be best if they could reconcile. Even if they can't reconcile, at least they can resolve a misunderstanding, which is actually a good thing.

Given Guzheng's personality, she probably wouldn't want him to make things difficult for her former friend, including her friend's current boyfriend, afterwards.

If even Guzheng herself doesn't mind, then he has no reason to say anything more. After all, the worst thing the two of them have done so far is to make Guzheng lose the competition. Apart from that, they haven't caused Guzheng any real harm.

Mo Yixia had obviously anticipated this, which is why she casually agreed to help Chen Fei resolve his troubles. She knew very well that even without her, someone would give up on "revenge" out of consideration for Gu Zheng.

In other words, she didn't have to pay anything to get Chen Fei to help her fill out an application form, and incidentally, she could also teach that greedy guy a lesson.

After explaining the whole story, the girl sent her last message.

"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's game."

(End of this chapter)