Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 473 You don't want Guzheng to know about your affair, do you?

The water stains on the stone path in the courtyard had not completely dried, reflecting the gradually clearing blue sky. Twisted wisps of smoke spread out from the chimneys, drifting further and further away in the winter wind.

Gu Zheng initially thought Wang Lengqiu's grandfather was a taciturn old man, but after chatting for a while, she realized that this was not the case. Perhaps the old man was just used to being alone, which was why he seemed not to like talking. Once he started talking, he was just like most elderly people, with endless stories about family matters.

The old man had a heavy accent, and he couldn't understand the guzheng and bells at first, but he got used to it after listening for a while.

His conversation mostly revolved around his granddaughter, Wang Lengqiu, and consisted of happy and interesting things. Naturally, he also mentioned the photo that he had treasured for many years. However, although he had been helping to keep the photo safe, he had never seen its contents and only knew that it was a photo of his granddaughter and a boy.

As darkness fell, lights came on in every household, making the embers in the stoves glow even brighter, and the aroma from the kitchen wafted out through the cracks in the doors.

Gu Zheng twitched her nose, secretly swallowed, and couldn't help but ask, "So you've never seen that boy before?"

More than eating, she wanted to figure this out.

Zhong Ling, standing to the side, also looked curious. Although everyone was almost certain that the boy in the photo was Han Zhou, they still wanted to know more details. As Wang Lengqiu's grandfather, the old man might know something.

The charcoal in the stove glowed red, making the two girls' faces rosy and exceptionally cute.

"never seen it."

The old man shook his head and smiled, "It's been many years. Even if I've seen her, I'd probably forget most of it. I only remember that Youyou was very happy during that time. When I asked her, she just said that she had met a boy she really liked. I've never seen her so happy before, so I just let her be."

"A boy I really like..."

Gu Zheng paused, then hesitated, "Senior Wang Lengqiu must have only been a teenager back then. Having someone she liked so early, weren't you worried about her? I heard she even wrote a love letter later..."

It must be said that Wang Lengqiu is indeed somewhat different from ordinary people. In the domestic education environment, puppy love is strictly prohibited. Therefore, many people may not dare to easily express their feelings for someone, even in high school, let alone tell their elders at home.

But Wang Lengqiu clearly didn't care about such things. Not only did she start writing love letters at such a young age, but she also dared to tell her family. It's hard to say whether to call her precocious or naive.

"Eleven years old, I remember Youyou was eleven years old at that time, not long after she transferred schools."

The old man looked up and recalled for a while, a look of nostalgia on his face, and then smiled and said, "To be honest, I was a little worried at first, but then I felt that this might not be a bad thing."

"A good thing?" Gu Zheng looked puzzled.

Feeling depressed, she quickly thought of something else when she heard that Wang Lengqiu was only eleven years old at the time—Wang Lengqiu was two years older than Han Zhou, which meant that Han Zhou had started flirting with other girls when he was nine years old. Sure enough, he had been dishonest since childhood.

"Yes, that's a good thing."

The old man smiled and poked at the embers in the stove with the fire tongs. After a while, he said, "Youyou is always quiet at school and rarely expresses her thoughts. In the words of her teachers, she is not very sociable. Some of her behaviors are hard for her peers to understand, and many people think she is not normal."

Gu Zheng and Zhong Ling were taken aback. So Wang Lengqiu had always had this kind of personality since childhood?
They always thought this was a personality trait that developed later in life.

The old man took out a cigarette case from his inner pocket, but after glancing at the two girls beside him, he put the cigarette case back, took a sip of the hot tea from the thermos on the stool, sipped a few tea leaves in his mouth, and only continued speaking after a long while.

“Youyou is very sensible, but she is too sensible. I know she does this because she is afraid of getting into trouble. She always tries to reduce contact with others and is always alone. So when she told me that she had a boy she liked and that they often played together, I was worried, but I also felt that this might be a kind of just-right ‘rebellion’.”

"Just the right amount of rebellion..."

"I don't know how to say it, but as long as she's happy, that's enough."

The old man seemed unsure how to explain, and simply smiled, "I'm not afraid of Youyou causing trouble, I'm just afraid she keeps everything to herself."

Gu Zheng and Zhong Ling had heard about Wang Lengqiu's story. They knew that she was often bullied when she was a child. Her grandfather went to the school to demand an explanation but was retaliated against by the bullies' parents. When she called her parents to confide in them, she was accused of deliberately causing trouble. With no one to rely on, she could only try to avoid the bullies and even went so far as to gain weight to protect herself and her grandfather.

Thinking of this, Gu Zheng felt indignant and wished she could drag those people out and beat them up. Zhong Ling, on the other hand, had a complicated expression and tugged at the small cloth bag at her waist, seemingly lost in thought.

This topic was clearly not suitable to continue. After a brief silence, Guzheng couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa Wang, have you read the love letter that my senior wrote?"

"No." The old man shook his head.

"Has that love letter been sent out?"

"It must have been sent out..."

The old man recalled for a moment, "One afternoon, Youyou hurriedly ran out of the house with a piece of paper in her hand. When she came back, the paper was gone. I heard that the boy transferred schools after that day. That was the last time they met."

The last time we met... a confession before parting?!

Gu Zheng's heart tightened, and she asked casually, "Then...did that boy accept Wang Lengqiu's confession?"

She picked up her water glass, seemingly asking casually, appearing indifferent.

"I don't know, Youyou didn't tell me about what happened that day."

The old man shook his head and chuckled, "If you want to know, you can ask her yourselves, but I don't think she'll necessarily tell you."

Of course she wouldn't say that; her senior would only say "thank you"...

Gu Zheng was wondering to herself, but before she could speak, she heard the old man laugh and say, "The boy who came with you is called Han Zhou, right? If I'm not mistaken, you think Han Zhou is the boy who played with Youyou when you were little?"

Gu Zheng and Zhong Ling were taken aback. They exchanged a glance and asked, "Did Senior Wang Lengqiu tell you this?"

"No, but I'm not senile anymore. This is the first time in all these years that Youyou has brought a boy home. There shouldn't be anyone else besides that boy from back then."

"But that was many years ago. How can you be sure that your senior wouldn't bring other boys home?" Gu Zheng asked, puzzled.

"Because I understand my granddaughter."

The old man chuckled and replied, "Youyou told me a long time ago that she only brings home boys she wants to marry, and she had already decided who she would marry when she was eleven years old."

She had already decided who she would marry when she was eleven years old...

The guzheng and the bell were stunned and speechless for a long time.

At their age, they're either climbing trees to catch birds or swimming in rivers to catch fish, or playing jump rope and claw machines. They've never thought about love and romance, let alone deciding who to marry. Is Senior Wang Lengqiu really that precocious?
After a moment's hesitation, Guzheng couldn't help but say, "But that was when we were little..."

“You have to take what we say when we were little seriously. Youyou has never joked since she was little,” the old man said with a smile. Gu Zheng wanted to refute, but when she thought about how Wang Lengqiu had indeed persisted in this obsession for nearly ten years, so long that Han Zhou had even forgotten about it, she was completely speechless.

But... should I only bring the guy I want to marry home...?

Gu Zheng was dazed for a moment, but her eyes quickly hardened, and she asked in confusion, "Grandpa Wang, do you know why Senior Wang Lengqiu keeps thinking about that boy?"

The old man shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I'd also like to know why."

The implication was that he didn't know either.

It was completely dark outside, and the temperature was dropping. The old man exhaled a puff of white breath, stood up, and said, "It's cold outside at night. Come in and sit down."

Gu Zheng and Zhong Ling noticed the temperature was dropping and got up as well. Gu Zheng picked up the stove and was about to go inside when the old man behind her suddenly asked, "Is either of you Han Zhou's girlfriend?"

Gu Zheng was taken aback, while Zhong Ling nervously tugged at the small cloth bag at her waist.

"Han Zhou doesn't have a girlfriend yet," Gu Zheng replied, her tone somewhat subtle.

"Not yet..."

The old man seemed to understand something. His gaze lingered on the two girls for a moment, and then, as if he had thought of something, a bitter smile appeared on his face. He said, "I'm sorry, I apologize to you on behalf of Youyou. This child is too stubborn. She took the promise from when she was little seriously. I will try to persuade her to let go of this obsession."

"No, please don't do this!"

Gu Zheng quickly shook her head and said, "Senior Wang Lengqiu has persisted for so long, and you are only now advising her to give up. Isn't that very unfair to her?"

The old man paused, then said, "But..."

He'd lived most of his life; how could he not see that this girl liked that boy named Han Zhou? He wanted to say, "Isn't this fair to you?" but then felt it wasn't quite right, so he changed his words, "But I don't know if Youyou's obsession is even meaningful..."

As a grandfather, he naturally wanted to fulfill all his granddaughter's wishes, but if those wishes came at the cost of harming others, he would feel guilty. That's why he checked in advance whether one of the two girls was Han Zhou's girlfriend.

Gu Zheng took a deep breath and said seriously, "Let's not worry about whether it's meaningful or not. Even if it's something meaningless, it's meaningful to persist for so long. Besides, this is not a meaningless thing."

The winter night wind blew in from outside the fence, ruffling the girl's hair, and the embers of the stove glowed even redder, reflecting in her equally bright eyes.

"And didn't you just say that this might be a perfectly timed form of 'rebellion'?"

In fact, Gu Zheng's feelings were conflicted and complicated, but ultimately, Wang Lengqiu's years of persistence did not frighten her. On the contrary, she admired such an opponent, and even if it was Han Zhou's true childhood sweetheart, she would win fair and square.

She actually understood Wang Lengqiu. In a sense, the two of them had similar obsessions, and the other seemed to possess a "special" quality that she longed for.

But she won't lose.

Whether it was a childhood sweetheart in the past or a shameless person who came after, at least I am the one who is by Han Zhou's side now, and I have always been the one who has been with him the longest.

Han Zhou is mine, and no one can take him away.

With this belief in mind, Gu Zheng suddenly smiled and said, "If all this waiting is just a matter of being forgotten, I will definitely beat up Han Zhou to a good beating to avenge my senior."

The old man was stunned.

Zhong Ling smiled faintly. Although this could be considered an act of "aiding the enemy," it was not surprising at all that such words came from Gu Zheng's mouth.

Gu Zheng is that kind of person. Apart from not being open about her feelings and not being confident about her breasts, she dares to face any challenge.

For some reason, Zhong Ling's previously uneasy heart inexplicably calmed down.

It took the old man a while to come to his senses, and he laughed, "Youyou has really made a group of very interesting friends."

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not remind the two girls that although Youyou was usually very sensible, she would become restless once she had a goal... That was a nice way of putting it; to put it bluntly, she would be unscrupulous.

Of course, the phrase "any means necessary" needs to be put in quotes. Youyou wouldn't actually do anything without any bottom line, but due to her unique thought process, some of her behaviors might seem a little strange...

And now she has a goal—

That is, to find a way to marry the boy I like.

Since Youyou brought that boy named Han Zhou home, she must have been fully prepared and had a well-thought-out plan to win him over.

Thinking of this, the old man couldn't help but feel a little worried.

There shouldn't be any trouble in the kitchen, right?

As it turned out, the old man's worries were not unfounded. At that moment, Wang Lengqiu was standing by the stove in the kitchen, staring at Han Zhou's profile like a statue.

All the preparations in the kitchen were complete. All that was left was to pour the vegetables into the pot. This was naturally Han Zhou's job. He had wanted Wang Lengqiu to go out and rest, but she showed no intention of leaving and instead stood by his side, staring at him.

At first, he was naturally a little uncomfortable and even joked, "Are you afraid I'll steal some food?" hoping to persuade the other person to leave. Unexpectedly, the reply he received was, "If you're hungry, you can eat some first. Just say that I ate it, and Grandpa won't say anything."

He then realized that the girl wasn't good at joking, so he explained, "I was indeed a little hungry, but I didn't mean to actually steal food. I was just joking."

To everyone's surprise, Wang Lengqiu seemed to have only heard the first half of the sentence. He immediately picked up a steaming chicken leg from the plate and said, "You can eat mine first. It's okay if I eat a little less."

After much persuasion and repeated insistence that he wouldn't eat it now, Han Zhou carefully put the chicken leg back on the plate, covered it with the lid, and said, "Then you can eat my portion later."

Looking at the thin girl beside him, Han Zhou suddenly remembered the time when she insisted on treating him to steamed buns. He felt a pang of sadness and couldn't bear to let her go out to rest.

He stood by the stove cooking, while Wang Lengqiu watched from the side. The two chatted idly, making the conversation quite lively.

I wonder how we got along when we were kids… Han Zhou chuckled inwardly, gradually getting used to Wang Lengqiu's gaze. He was about to speak when, a chilling sentence suddenly came from Wang Lengqiu's mouth—

“You must have gone hiking with Mo Yixia before, and Gu Zheng doesn’t know about it.”

"You don't want Guzheng to know about your relationship, do you?"

(End of this chapter)