Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 452 So this is your taste
The setting sun casts its slanting rays, its afterglow still warm.

At 5:30 p.m., the fun sports meet came to a successful conclusion amidst cheerful music.

Despite some setbacks, Han Zhou and his team still managed to win first place. Xiao Xiaoxiao went on stage as their representative to accept the award and gave a short but meaningful speech. Her triumphant appearance drew knowing smiles from many people in the audience.

This is partly due to her petite and cute appearance. If someone less cute dared to speak on stage with such an arrogant attitude, the audience wouldn't just smile knowingly; they would secretly curse her for being pretentious.

Under the blazing red sky, Zhong Yin pushed his wheelchair along the road leading out of the school. About ten meters behind him were Gu Zheng, Mo Yixia, and others, who were discussing where to eat. Ouyang Lianyu had left early because she had something to do.

Compared to his lively demeanor a few days ago, Han Zhou was quite quiet today. After all, he and Zhong Yin didn't have much in common, and the other party didn't seem to have any desire to talk.

However, everyone else went to the back to "care" about Wang Lengqiu, and even the senior who usually didn't care much about gossip unusually ran to join in the fun, leaving only the two of them in front.

Han Zhou had reason to suspect that this was a "pick-and-choose" tactic devised by Mo Yixia to prevent him and Wang Lengqiu from colluding. After "caring" about Wang Lengqiu, everyone would then "caring" about him.

Overall, today's competition was a close call. He and Wang Lengqiu gained a significant advantage in the second stage, so much so that even with subsequent mistakes such as Sister Yin's hearing aid falling off and Teacher Ouyang slipping repeatedly, they still managed to secure the final victory.

Unfortunately, perhaps because Guzheng and Mo Yixia went from being opponents to teammates, the progress of the event mission did not increase, and the inference about a draw can only be verified next time.

Han Zhou was silently pondering the mission, but just when he thought Zhong Yin wouldn't speak to him, she suddenly spoke up.

"You did a great job today. We wouldn't have gotten first place without you."

Han Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "This is all thanks to everyone."

In fact, everyone worked very hard today. If they hadn't pushed themselves too hard, Sister Yin wouldn't have lost her hearing aid, Teacher Ouyang wouldn't have slipped and fallen repeatedly, and everyone wouldn't have looked so exhausted after the competition.

That's why, when Xiao Xiaoxiao proudly declared on stage, "This first place has belonged to us from the very beginning," no one in the audience thought she was being arrogant.

Because that's just how it is.

This is the result of everyone's hard work.

Zhong Yin didn't reply, but after a while said, "Judging from your performance in the competition today, you shouldn't need me to help push your wheelchair, right?"

Her voice already had a stiff and cold feel to it, and now her tone suddenly dropped, making it sound even colder and ominous.

Han Zhou's heart skipped a beat. His first thought was whether he had done something to displease Sister Yin recently, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't remember anything. He could only give an awkward smile and say, "Of course, I can do it myself..."

"I'm just kidding."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhong Yin's voice rang out again from behind him.

joke?

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then turned to look at Zhong Yin. Across the continuous mountain peaks, he saw the smile on the other's face—though it was slightly stiff, it was indeed a smile.

...regarding his smile.

Does the sun come out in the west today?

He was suspicious. Although Sister Yin had smiled at him before, this was the first time she had smiled at him so proactively without doing anything.

Zhong Yin had no idea that her smile had startled Han Zhou; otherwise, she would have instantly reverted to her usual cold demeanor. Seeing Han Zhou staring at her with a complicated expression, she let out a soft breath and softened her tone, "So, is it funny?"

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, then said tactfully, "It doesn't sound like a joke..."

"I understand."

Zhong Yin wasn't angry. He nodded to show he understood, then said nothing more and continued pushing the wheelchair forward.

Walking through the tree-lined path, the winter wind rustled the leaves. These leaves seemed to never fall off. Even though winter had been here for some time, the trees still had leaves that hadn't turned yellow, stubbornly waiting for the spring of next year.

After a long pause, Zhong Yin withdrew his gaze and spoke again: "Han Zhou, from today onwards, I will try my best to treat you like a younger sister. Actually, I don't dislike you, it's just that my initial impression of you was too bad, and even if my impression changes later, it's hard to change my attitude."

Han Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction: "This is more like a joke."

Zhong Yin: "..."

“I’m serious,” she said.

"Seriously?" Han Zhou was taken aback.

“I’m serious,” she emphasized again.

"...Then I'd rather you were joking."

"why?"

Han Zhou's expression was complicated, and he said helplessly, "Because I'm a guy, it sounds really strange to treat me like a little sister..."

Zhong Yin: "..."

She patiently explained, "What I mean is that I will try to be nicer to you, after all, I treat men much worse than girls."

So you knew what was going on...

Han Zhou smiled and said, "I know, I was just joking."

Zhong Yin frowned slightly: "Were you joking just now?"

"Or am I really stupid...?"

Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he asked instead, "But Sister Yin, why did you suddenly bring this up?"

Zhong Yin hesitated for a moment before explaining, "You saved me not long ago, so it's only right that I treat you well."

It was clear that what she just said was not a joke. Compared to her usual coldness, her tone was much gentler today, although it sounded a little stiff.

"anything else?"

Han Zhou felt there must be another reason, otherwise why didn't the other party change their attitude sooner? "Xiao Ling hopes that I can get along with you amicably."

"Your senior must have told you this wish many times before, why are you only realizing it now? There must be another reason." Han Zhou shook his head.

Zhong Yin was silent for a moment: "My pastry shop was able to open thanks to you..."

"This is all old news, and it's not the main reason."

"That's because the store's sales have been increasing recently..."

"Didn't you just say that last night? I didn't see any change in your attitude then."

"...Are you ever going to stop?"

Faced with Han Zhou's persistent questioning, Zhong Yin could no longer contain herself, her tone returning to its usual icy coldness, "You just don't want me to be nicer to you? Does the reason even matter?"
Han Zhou chuckled awkwardly and said, "It is indeed quite important..."

He wasn't necessarily looking for trouble; he mainly wanted to confirm the reason for the appearance of the strategy mission, which might be related to Zhong Yin's change of attitude.

Zhong Yin glanced behind her and saw that everyone else was far away and wouldn't come closer anytime soon. Then she said coldly, "Think it over. If you insist on knowing the reason, I will treat you the same way I always have. If you don't ask, I will treat you as gently as possible in the future. Think it over before you speak."

No, it's just one reason. Is it that hard to say?
Han Zhou was suspicious, thinking that Sister Yin's reaction was a bit too much, as if it were some kind of unspeakable secret. Didn't she know that the more she acted like this, the more curious people would become?

and many more……

Is Sister Yin shy?

The real reason is hard to talk about, so she hoped to use this method to make me back down and not ask further.
Han Zhou wasn't just guessing randomly. The sudden appearance of the strategy quest couldn't possibly be due to a status bar glitch. He had always suspected that Yin Jie might have fallen for him, and the status bar had issued this quest with an open mind, hoping he would win her over.

In fact, the reason why he went from being an innocent young man to the shameful scumbag he is today is inseparable from the guidance of the status bar, so it is not impossible.

and so……

The real reason why Sister Yin's attitude towards me changed was because she fell in love with me?

Because this love cannot exist, she plans to bury it silently in her heart and is determined to treat me gently in the future. Once she expresses this love, she will have to return to her initial indifference and keep her distance from me.

That's why she didn't dare to reveal the real reason.
A hypothesis suddenly popped into Han Zhou's mind.

What to do? It actually seems quite reasonable...

He had a headache and hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to face it honestly. He and Sister Yin did not have a deep affection for each other, nor did they have a complicated relationship. If she really liked him, then what he had to do was to dispel her thoughts as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and said firmly, "Sister Yin, tell me, I want to know the reason."

"Are you sure?" Zhong Yin frowned, a strange look on his face. "You really want me to treat you coldly?"

She had heard that there was a type of person who seemed to enjoy this kind of thing; the more indifferent and disgusted someone was, the more they would relish it.

Han Zhou's subsequent answer seemed to confirm her suspicions—

"So what if you're a bit cold? I actually quite like this feeling. Everyone is so tolerant of me. Sometimes, being scolded a few times actually makes me feel much better."

Han Zhou smiled bitterly to himself. If Sister Yin really liked him, then keeping their distance was indeed necessary, and being a little cold was appropriate.

He didn't notice the increasingly strange expression on Zhong Yin's face and continued, "Besides, didn't you say you don't really like men? It's too much of a hardship for you to treat me with such gentleness. You should think more about yourself."

Zhong Yin was stunned.

Suddenly, melodious music rang out in the distance. It was the music club practicing their ensemble performance—New Year's Day was just a month away, and they were preparing for the upcoming New Year's Eve party.

It seemed as if someone had mismatched the beat; the originally melodious music gradually became somewhat discordant, like a heartbeat beating at an accelerated pace due to disordered breathing.

Amidst the discordant music, she glanced up at the green leaves firmly attached to the branch and said emotionlessly, "You're still a student yourself, yet you always like to lecture."

Han Zhou smiled and shrugged, saying, "I was just expressing my opinion."

"Are you sure you want me to treat you coldly from now on?"

"But don't be too cold..."

Han Zhou thought for a moment, "If possible, I hope the weather can be like it is now."

"weather?"

Zhong Yin looked up at the sky. The sun was gradually setting in the west, leading the reddened clouds as it slowly sank. The afterglow of the setting sun was not warm, but it still retained some warmth, kissing the skin along with the occasional passing wind.

"Yes, early winter with sunshine."

Han Zhou smiled and said, "Just like now, although it's a bit cold, it's still warm enough for me."

Zhong Yin hesitated, her brows furrowing and then relaxing, her expression growing increasingly complex before finally turning into helplessness.

"So this is your taste."

"what?"

"It's nothing. It's not good if this gets out. It's fine with Yixia and Guzheng, but I hope you won't tell Xiaoling and the others."

Han Zhou thought she was referring to falling in love with him, and nodded solemnly upon hearing this: "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret."

His expression turned slightly serious, as if he had already made some kind of preparation.

Zhong Yin hesitated for a moment, then shyly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, glanced back at Gu Zheng and the others behind her, and then slowly spoke.

"Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you the real reason."

(End of this chapter)