Forced into a romantic relationship

"Brother, eat this."

"Brother, you should try this too."

"Brother, this is delicious, you should eat more."

"Brother, let me get you some more rice!"

"..."

Han Zhou couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Chen Doudou run off with her short legs to get more rice.

He could obviously see why this girl was trying so hard to "flatter" him. Her attitude had clearly only changed after she ate that piece of braised pork—she was willing to bend over for a piece of braised pork, so there must be a reason why she was so fat.

Sure enough, the girl who had just returned from refilling the rice bowl immediately revealed her true colors. She held the rice bowl above her head with a pious expression, her eyes full of anticipation: "Brother, my house has lots of delicious food and fun things. Can you and Sister Wang Lengqiu come to my house to play tomorrow?"

Guzheng, who was diligently eating nearby, couldn't help but look up and ask, "What about me and the other sister?"

Chen Doudou was stunned for a moment. She first looked at the guzheng, then at the bell on the other side. She was a little troubled. The quiet older sister was fine, but this older sister had a huge appetite. What if she came to the house and ate all the good food?
She felt a pang of heartache, but quickly remembered her grandparents' teachings: one must know how to share. So she gritted her teeth and said, "You all come and play too!"

The child looked so strained… Gu Zheng felt annoyed, but she wouldn’t argue with a child and continued eating.

Han Zhou smiled and took the bowl of rice, saying, "Thank you, Dou Dou. My older brother and sister are busy these days, but they will definitely come to your house to play when they have time."

"Oh……"

Chen Doudou looked a little disappointed and said dejectedly, "Sister Wang Lengqiu never stays for long when she comes back. Are you leaving soon?"

Like Wang Lengqiu, Chen Doudou is also a left-behind child. She has lived with her grandparents since she was a child and may not see her parents even once a year. Therefore, although she is never short of playmates of the same age and snacks and toys, she still hates being separated from them.

"It certainly won't be long."

Han Zhou could tell that the girl was in a low mood and understood why she was unhappy, but he still answered truthfully, "We're going back after the weekend."

"Is Sister Wang Lengqiu one too?"

"Correct."

"Oh……"

Seeing that the girl was keeping her head down and not speaking, Han Zhou continued, "I've been making braised pork every day these past few days. If you have time, could you come over and help me taste it?"

"I'm free, I'm free every day!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Doudou, who had just been looking dejected, immediately brightened up and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, his dejected expression vanishing in an instant.

Children at this age are prone to sentimentality, but they are also easily distracted by other things.

"You really know how to coax a child," the guzheng player beside her said softly.

Han Zhou smiled and said, "Greedy kids are easy to coax."

Gu Zheng nodded, but soon realized something was off. Was this guy indirectly talking about her?

"I'm not easy to coax..." she muttered under her breath.

Han Zhou remained noncommittal. In fact, Gu Zheng was easy to coax, but there were exceptions in certain matters, such as concealment and deception, which were things that everyone hated, especially Gu Zheng. That was why he had such a headache.

To be honest, although he firmly believes that there will always be a way to resolve this, he still doesn't know when to tell Guzheng everything.

He couldn't imagine the expression on Guzheng's face when she learned the truth.

Without a suitable opportunity, he was certain that Guzheng would not listen to any of his explanations after learning the truth, and that would most likely be his only chance to speak.

Therefore, before confessing, he must make Guzheng understand and accept Mo Yixia as much as possible, subtly changing their relationship. Ideally, this relationship should be somewhere between rivals and friends; otherwise, if their relationship becomes too intimate, Guzheng will feel betrayed by both of them.

Vice versa is also true.

Yixia once said that she accepted the premise of having two relationships on the premise that she needed to see a certain possibility. Han Zhou didn't know what that possibility was, but it was better to know more about the other relationship than to know nothing at all.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Noticing Han Zhou's gaze, Gu Zheng asked in confusion, "Is there something on my face?"

She touched the corner of her mouth, trying to wipe away any rice grains that might be there.

"Stop rubbing, there's nothing on your face."

"Then why are you still staring at me?" The girl rolled her eyes at him.

Han Zhou looked her over for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "I just think you look especially beautiful today."

The guzheng player was stunned.

The next second, a blush immediately appeared on the girl's cheeks, spreading across her face like a fiery sunset, and then down to her neck. "Oh...oh."

She was used to Han Zhou's teasing and mockery, but this was the first time she had heard him praise her beauty so directly. She was speechless for a moment. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she could only hurriedly look away and pretend to continue eating.

"You said you were hard to please..." Han Zhou chuckled inwardly, then turned his head and noticed that everyone was staring at him with different expressions. He was taken aback and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No...nothing."

Just as everyone looked away and the atmosphere was about to become awkward, Chen Doudou suddenly exclaimed, "Brother Han Zhou, I also think you look especially handsome today!"

Han Zhou couldn't help but chuckle: "This is the first time you've met me, how did you know I looked especially handsome today?"

Chen Doudou was stunned for a moment, and after holding it in for a long time, she said with a blush, "Brother Han Zhou is so handsome every day!"

It wasn't entirely for the braised pork; in fact, this older brother was really handsome, even more so than the princes on TV. After thinking for a moment, she asked expectantly, "Brother Han Zhou, can I marry you when I grow up?"

"no!"

Before Han Zhou could answer, Gu Zheng, who was pretending to eat, couldn't sit still any longer and immediately voiced her objection.

By now, she no longer hides her possessiveness towards Han Zhou. If she hadn't lost the match that day, she would have confessed her feelings to Han Zhou long ago.

"Why not?" Chen Doudou asked, somewhat unconvinced.

"Because you're too far apart in age, by the time you grow up, your brother Han Zhou will have long since become a decrepit old man," Gu Zheng said sternly.

"It's not that exaggerated..."

Han Zhou was both amused and exasperated. Before he could finish speaking, Gu Zheng glared at him fiercely, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth and stop talking.

"Even if... he becomes an old man, Brother Han Zhou will still be a handsome old man!"

Although she spoke with great conviction, Chen Doudou was clearly hesitant. Of course, she didn't want to marry an old man when she grew up. After a moment's hesitation, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she excitedly said, "Then... then let Sister Wang Lengqiu marry Brother Han Zhou. They're the same age!"

As a child, Chen Doudou's thoughts were simple: Brother Han Zhou was handsome and cooked very well. Marrying him would surely bring happiness. Since she couldn't marry him, she would let Sister Wang Lengqiu marry him. That way, not only would Sister Wang Lengqiu be happy, but she could also come over for meals every day. It was like killing two birds with one stone!
Gu Zheng's expression changed slightly, but this time she didn't object. Zhong Ling, on the other hand, looked somewhat troubled, carefully observing the expressions of the two girls.

Wang Lengqiu remained expressionless, seemingly having heard nothing.

Grandpa Wang smiled apologetically, gently patted Chen Doudou's head, and said, "Doudou, getting married isn't as simple as you think. It has to be mutual."

What is mutual affection?

Chen Doudou's chubby face was full of confusion; she didn't quite understand the meaning of the idiom.

"You can go back and ask your grandparents about that," the old man replied with a smile.

"Oh...so aren't Brother Han Zhou and Sister Wang Lengqiu mutually in love?"

"This one……"

The old man's smile froze, and he was about to shake his head when Wang Lengqiu, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Not yet."

His tone was flat, revealing little emotion.

The winter wind howled outside, rattling the wooden doors.

Gu Zheng turned to look at her, but didn't say anything.

Chen Doudou didn't notice the change in the atmosphere at the dinner table. She looked at Wang Lengqiu with curiosity and couldn't help but ask, "Will it be like that in the future?"

She really hoped that Sister Wang Lengqiu and Brother Han Zhou would fall in love with each other, so that she could eat braised pork every day.

Wang Lengqiu did not answer, but turned to look at Han Zhou, seemingly waiting for his reply.

"Once you've seen the photos, the pigeons will fly away, right?"

Do you think it will fly back?

For some reason, when Han Zhou met Wang Lengqiu's empty eyes, he couldn't help but think of the two questions she had asked him in the kitchen not long ago.

Before he could answer, he was interrupted by Chen Doudou, who suddenly barged in.

Now he can answer these two questions again—

“Pigeons don’t fly far,” he said.

The embers in the stove had dimmed somewhat, with sparks flickering from time to time, like twinkling stars in the night sky.

But it won't fly close... he silently added to himself.

(End of this chapter)