Forced into a romantic relationship

It was still raining when I left the high-speed rail station.

The flow of people outside the high-speed rail station was huge. Colorful umbrellas formed a torrent in the rain, flowing in all directions. The cool raindrops kept dripping onto the colorful umbrellas, forming a misty water vapor on the street.

"The rain is getting heavier."

Han Zhou looked up at the gloomy sky and said, "Let's just take a taxi to town. Going to the bus station will take too much time, and it will be troublesome if it rains heavily."

In such cold weather, it's easy to catch a cold outdoors if the rain intensifies, not to mention that there's Wang Lengqiu, who has a weaker constitution, and Zhong Ling, who is afraid of heavy rain, in the team.

Seeing that no one had any objections, he held up his umbrella and walked to a taxi, asking, "Uncle, how much will it cost to go to Songshan Town?"

The man rolled down the car window and said with a simple smile, "Young man, you've come to the right person. I'm from Songshan Town, and I was just about to go back. I'll be leaving at sixty."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man in another car shouted, "Young man, don't listen to him! I only need fifty, fifty will get you to Songshan Town!"

Drivers who frequently linger outside the station seem to possess two skills. First, they have exceptional hearing, able to accurately hear the information they want even from a great distance. Then, they quickly employ their second skill—using their loudest voices to drown out all other noises and promote their "good quality and low price" products, thus securing hesitant customers.

Han Zhou had already checked the price to Songshan Town on a ride-hailing app before asking the price. Fifty yuan was a fairly normal range, so he called Gu Zheng and the others to get into the second car.

Songshan Town is not remote, but it is still more than 20 kilometers away from the county seat, which takes about half an hour by car.

Han Zhou naturally sat in the passenger seat again. Unlike in the morning, now with a strange driver beside him, he couldn't chat freely with Gu Zheng and the others. Instead, he checked the items updated in the monthly shop at the end of last month.

【Product 1: Memory Freeze Pill, a single-use item. For ten natural days before and after taking it, you will retain/acquire a memory that should not exist. Note: Please use it in conjunction with related items. The specific effect will be affected by the item description. The effect of taking it alone is unknown. Please use with caution. Price: 200 points】

【Item 2: Anchor Point Fixing Device, disposable item. Specific effects will be shown after purchase. Price: 1000 points】

【Product 3: Entrance Detection Recorder, a disposable item. After activating the detection function, the recorder will actively search for items within a 50-meter radius that contain obsessions. You can select one item to detect and record the related obsessions. If you wish to retain the record, please take the Memory Freeze Pill before the recording ends. The record will be implanted into your mind in the form of a memory. Price: 200 points】

【Product Four: Connecting Lines, a disposable item that can be used twice. After pressing the dial button, individuals at both ends of the connecting line can communicate briefly for one minute through the microphone. For details on the effects, please refer to the instruction manual after purchase. Price: 100 points】

Looking at the items that start at a minimum of 100 points, Han Zhou was speechless. When shopping online, big data always accurately pinpoints his price range and recommends a bunch of things he can afford. He didn't expect the status bar to be the same. As soon as he had points, it refreshed with a bunch of expensive items, and there was even an anchor point freezing device worth as much as 1,000 points.

For some reason, he felt that the name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

He thought he had over 800 points and could buy any item he wanted, but the items that appeared at the end of last month were all so expensive, and there were two items he had no choice but to buy.

First and foremost is the "Picture Detection Recorder." Claiming it can search for items imbued with obsession is far too subtle. It's clearly a prop prepared for Wang Lengqiu's photo. The status bar practically screams "You need me." How could he not buy it?
Secondly, there's the "Memory Freeze Pill," which is used in conjunction with the "Image Detection Recorder." You can't do without it, and Han Zhou clearly remembers that one of the items in his inventory also requires the "Memory Freeze Pill."

[51% Future Simulator (Temporary): A one-time use item. Select a human other than yourself as your binding target. When you and the target both enter a sleep state, you will travel to an unknown future in a dream. This future has a 51% probability of becoming reality and is unaffected by the simulation process. (Note that the target is in a semi-conscious state during the dream simulation. The simulation time is fixed at one week. The simulation will automatically end after the dream ends. Related memories cannot be retained. If you need to retain them, please purchase a Memory Freeze Pill in advance and take it before the simulation begins.)]

This is one of the rewards Han Zhou received after completing the hand-holding mission last time. The other reward is the [Custom Status Generator]. Because the effects of these two items are too exaggerated and they look very precious, and he has not been able to find a suitable time to use them, these two heavyweight items have been gathering dust in his status bar for a long time. If he hadn't seen the "Memory Freeze Pill", he might not have remembered them.

As for why Han Zhou had so many points, the main reason was that he completed Ouyang Lianyu's activity task last month, earning a full 500 points. He thought he had already achieved a "comfortable" life, but who knew that buying two items would almost deplete them.

In addition to the points, he also gained the authority to proactively issue a strategy task, but this reward was not as useful to him as a point, unless he used it on Ouyang Lianyu.

But he wouldn't do something so pointless.

Han Zhou had read the product description of the "Photo Detection Recorder" many times because he realized one thing—this product might not only be used on Wang Lengqiu's photo, but also in his home.

He could not possibly forget that there was a very important item hidden in his house, an item that might be related to his memories with Xiao Xiaoxiao. He couldn't find it, but could the "Painting Detection Recorder" find it? This thought had been lingering in his mind ever since the monthly store update last month. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to find the time to go home these past few days, so he hadn't been able to verify his suspicions. He could only wait until he returned from Wang Lengqiu's house to do so.

The taxi drove along the highway, and the tall buildings on both sides of the road gradually disappeared, replaced by low houses and fields, with continuous mountain ranges visible in the distance.

Songshan Town is nestled against the mountains and beside the water. Most of the original residents made a living by farming, and many still do so today. However, many more cannot accept the life of toiling in the fields all day long and have chosen to work elsewhere, sometimes not even returning home once a year.

Similar situations are not uncommon across the country, resulting in a large number of left-behind children in many small towns and rural areas.

These children lack parental companionship from a young age and spend most of their time living with their grandparents. They may not even know what fatherly and motherly love is. When writing essays on related topics, they can only rely on making things up. Even though they only see each other once a year, they still have to force a friendly smile each time.

In reality, those who lack companionship from childhood are, in essence, just strangers with blood ties.

Gu Zheng and Wang Lengqiu are both left-behind children. However, Gu Zheng is relatively fortunate. She was soon taken back to her parents' side. Uncle Gu and Sister Miao are also trying their best to make up for the lack of companionship in the past, so as not to leave her with a childhood full of trauma.

Wang Lengqiu, on the other hand, had only her grandfather during her childhood. Whenever she was hurt, she would receive not comfort from her parents on the phone, but blame for not obeying them and instead provoking others.

But she clearly did nothing wrong.

Before returning to Songshan Town, Han Zhou asked Wang Lengqiu why she dared not go back to her hometown. She replied that it was because her parents had another baby sister while they were working away from home, and she had raised her from a young age. She was afraid to see her sister.

That's right, it's not that I don't want to see it, it's that I'm afraid to see it.

Han Zhou didn't quite understand what "dare not" meant, but he suddenly thought of Ouyang Lianyu's father—that old-fashioned "future father-in-law" who had started to quit smoking and drinking, just to live a few more days, fearing that one day he would be gone and there would be no one to support his daughter.

However, he did not believe that Wang Lengqiu's "fear" was because she had no one to support her. This girl was more independent and opinionated than most people imagined, even though her behavior was sometimes hard to understand.

According to the description in the status bar, the girl seems to be trapped, trapped in the past, trapped in a certain memory.

Han Zhou was never sure whether what was trapping the other person was himself or that terrible childhood memory.

He hoped it would be the former.

It's not that being remembered by a girl for so long is something to be proud of, but rather that compared to terrible childhood memories, my memories of myself are probably relatively better.

Even just a little bit.

The rain outside the window had stopped sometime ago, and in the thin mist not far away, a town gradually became clear.

Looking through the car's rearview mirror, he saw the frail Wang Lengqiu in the back seat. Wrapped in a thick down jacket, the girl looked incredibly delicate, so much so that Guzheng and Zhongling carefully maintained their original positions, not wanting to disturb her as she slept soundly.

Han Zhou withdrew his gaze and looked at the "Painting Detection Recorder" in the monthly mall. He suddenly felt that the significance of this thing might be more important than he had imagined.

Without hesitation, he bought one copy and also purchased a "memory-freezing pill".

If he truly is the one who has trapped her, then he will set her free.

(End of this chapter)