Forced into a romantic relationship

Wang Lengqiu's suggestion was naturally rejected by everyone present. The final solution was for the four girls to squeeze into one night. Although Chen Doudou was a chubby girl, she was still young and wouldn't take up much space on the bed.

Whether intentionally or by forgetting, Wang Lengqiu did not suggest showing the group photo to everyone and went straight back to her room after taking a shower.

Han Zhou wasn't sure if she was upset. Logically speaking, given her personality, she shouldn't be like that. But perhaps because she was back home, he felt that Wang Lengqiu seemed a little different than usual today, and there was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

If I had to find a good word to describe it, it would be "more proactive"—

It's not just that he's proactive; this guy has completely stopped pretending. While he might occasionally say something surprising, he usually pays attention to the occasion. But now, he seems to have no scruples at all.

What surprised Han Zhou even more was that Gu Zheng's emotions seemed a little too stable today. Whether at the dinner table or just now at the door, she didn't seem to feel dissatisfied with Wang Lengqiu's words.

I thought she would be furious, but she just glanced at the people present with an ambiguous look, and then went back to her room to dry her hair as if nothing had happened.

Surprising.

It's really weird.

Could it be that she didn't hear anything?
Han Zhou thought it was unlikely, otherwise Gu Zheng wouldn't have shown that kind of look at the time. But he couldn't possibly go and dig into the matter, otherwise he would only end up being the one who suffered. So he simply put it out of his mind for the time being.

As for the photos, it doesn't matter if we can't see them today. To be honest, Han Zhou is still a little nervous about the truth he's about to face. The image of the flock of pigeons flying in the square keeps flashing through his mind, as does Wang Lengqiu's ambiguous words under the setting sun.

"Because a pigeon flew away."

At the time, he didn't understand the meaning of those words.

But now he understood that the pigeon that flew away clearly referred to himself.

As for whether he was the only pigeon among many that flew far away, or the only one worth paying attention to, he had no way of knowing for the time being.

He shook his head, collected his somewhat chaotic thoughts, and turned to walk into the room.

Wang Lengqiu's family doesn't have air conditioning, so in winter each room has an electric heater and two thick quilts. Because it's so cold, the windows are covered with frost, and the white mist makes the starlight in the night sky faintly visible.

Han Zhou walked to the window and stood there for a while. As soon as he drew the curtains, he looked down and noticed the small bookshelf on the desk. Most of the bookshelves were suspenseful mystery novels with horror elements, and some were folk tales about paranormal phenomena and aliens.

Han Zhou wasn't surprised, after all, he had known for a long time that Wang Lengqiu liked this style of novel—Teacher Ouyang had once found a wallet and a mystery novel outside, which actually belonged to Wang Lengqiu's grandfather and was a gift for Wang Lengqiu.

In Han Zhou's knowledge, there are quite a few girls who like suspense novels, but it is rare to find one who likes them along with supernatural phenomena and aliens. He did not know that Wang Lengqiu was also interested in supernatural phenomena.

Thinking about it carefully, he realized that he didn't know much about this senior, especially her hobbies, but she seemed to know him very well and was never surprised by his occasional unusual behavior.

Even Gu Zheng and Lin Anyu, who had known him for a long time, were incredulous when they first saw him walking so fast, but Wang Lengqiu seemed to have taken it for granted.

Of course, it could also be due to personality; the other person simply doesn't care about such things.

A faint fragrance wafted through the room, exactly like the scent on Wang Lengqiu's body. In addition, there was a pleasant, refreshing fragrance, the smell of some kind of floral water.

Even though the chances of mosquitoes appearing in winter are slim, Wang Lengqiu was still worried that he would be bitten by mosquitoes, so she specially came to the room after dinner and sprayed some mosquito repellent around the room.

This girl has a kind of earnest, adorable awkwardness.

This wasn't the first time Han Zhou had stayed in a girl's bedroom. He knew that many things in the room might involve privacy, so he just picked up a book, flipped through it briefly, and put it back. He didn't intend to rummage around. Just as he was about to go to bed, there was a knock on the door.

The door opened, and a girl in pajamas, carrying a blanket almost twice the width of her body, with only her slender neck and delicate chin visible, asked softly, "Would you like an extra blanket?"

It is Wang Lengqiu.

She was so thin, her frail figure so delicate that a gust of wind could blow her away. At this moment, she seemed to be even less heavy than the thick quilt in her arms, as if she could be crushed at any moment.

Han Zhou quickly took the blanket, but only realized it was an illusion when he felt its weight. No matter how thin the girl was, she couldn't be lighter than a blanket. So he half-jokingly said, "No need. There are already two blankets in the room. If I add another one, I probably won't be able to breathe."

"Will you be unable to breathe if you have three quilts?" Wang Lengqiu tilted her head, a hint of confusion appearing on her pitiful face.

"Uh... no, I was just exaggerating," Han Zhou said with a wry smile.

Wang Lengqiu nodded slightly to indicate that she understood, and after thinking for a moment, said, "You don't have to cover yourself with it all."

Han Zhou had originally intended for her to take the blanket back, but since she had already said so, he decided not to bother her and said with a smile, "I understand, thank you, senior. You should go back to your room and rest. It's cold outside, don't catch a cold."

Wang Lengqiu did not respond.

The electric heater in the room emitted a red glow, casting a faint red hue on the girl's ankles and cheeks.

"Senior?"

Han Zhou felt a little uncomfortable being stared at and called out softly.

Wang Lengqiu glanced back and whispered, "There are only the two of us here now."

Han Zhou immediately realized what he meant and changed his words, saying, "Qiuqiu, go back and rest. Good night, see you tomorrow."

Wang Lengqiu seemed to be taken aback for a moment, then gave a soft "hmm".

"See you tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

When they returned to the room, Chen Doudou was already asleep on the bed, curled up like a fluffy ball in Zhong Ling's arms, her chubby face full of contentment, her little feet resting on Gu Zheng's thigh.

Hearing the door open, Guzheng asked, "Senior Wang Lengqiu, has the blanket been delivered?"

"Ah."

Wang Lengqiu nodded, took off her shoes, and got into bed.

Gu Zheng moved aside to make room for her and asked casually, "Did Han Zhou say anything?"

Wang Lengqiu pulled the blanket over himself, silently felt its weight, and replied, "He said three blankets would make it hard for him to breathe."

Gu Zheng paused for a moment, then asked, "Besides this?"

"See you tomorrow."

Wang Lengqiu said earnestly, "He also said see you tomorrow."

"That's it..."

Gu Zheng wanted to say something more, but suddenly her eyes widened, and she stared at Wang Lengqiu's chest with an incredulous look.

How come you're so skinny but have bigger breasts than me?!
She suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, gritted her teeth, and abruptly turned her head to the other side.

Forget it, out of sight, out of mind.

However, she quickly regretted turning her head away—the moment she looked at Zhong Ling, she was struck dumb, her face turning ashen.

After a long while, Guzheng closed her eyes in pain, pulled the blanket over her head, and soon a muffled voice came from under the blanket. "Next time I'll sleep on the outside."

She never wanted to sleep in the middle again.

"Okay... okay."

At this moment, Zhong Ling's face was slightly flushed because Chen Doudou's head was completely buried in her chest, and his hot breath made her chest itchy. Not only that, Gu Zheng's ghost-like expression just now made her feel embarrassed and a little apologetic.

It's worth mentioning that, like Han Zhou, Zhong Ling also felt that Gu Zheng might be angry with Wang Lengqiu. Therefore, after entering the room, she had been secretly observing the two's reactions and had even prepared to mediate their fight. However, after being on tenterhooks for so long, the two actually got along quite harmoniously and would chat for a while from time to time.

She couldn't understand why Gu Zheng could act so indifferent when she was facing her love rival.

What is Senior Wang Lengqiu thinking?
Putting herself in either of their situations, she felt she couldn't be as brave as either of them.

Thinking of this, Zhong Ling felt a little lost. She didn't even dare to muster the courage to tell her junior about her past. Compared to him, she was too cowardly.

Lost in thought, she heard the sound of a guzheng.

"Senior, how about letting DouDou sleep next to me?"

Turning my head, I saw that Guzheng had somehow poked her head out from under the covers. Perhaps she had been cooped up for too long, because her little face was flushed and her breathing was a little rapid.

"No, I'm fine."

Zhong Ling smiled and shook her head, indicating that there was no need to trouble herself.

In fact, Guzheng wasn't worried about her being in any danger, but rather about whether DouDou would suffocate to death the next morning because she had buried her head so deep.

After hesitating for a moment, she ultimately decided not to voice her concerns. She looked away and asked casually, "Um... senior, could you tell me what you usually eat every day?"

Zhong Ling was taken aback, not understanding why the other person would suddenly ask this, but she still thought about it seriously and counted on her fingers, saying, "Steamed buns, soy milk, porridge, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried corn..."

These are all foods she used to eat in the cafeteria. Although she still eats them recently, she eats meat more often.

My older sister somehow found out that she always ordered cheap food at school to save money, and she kept telling her that she must eat better from now on, and even asked everyone to help keep an eye on her.

She weighed herself yesterday and found she had gained several pounds. She had planned to eat less recently, but her junior's cooking was so delicious that she ate two big bowls of rice tonight. At this rate, she doesn't know when she will be able to lose weight.

Zhong Ling was worried. Suddenly, she remembered that Gu Zheng couldn't hear her voice, so she quickly picked up her phone to type, but Gu Zheng stopped her: "I was just asking casually. Send it to me via Fetion when you have time."

"it is good."

Zhong Ling smiled and nodded, then suddenly remembered something and carefully put her phone away.

Wang Lengqiu glanced at the matching couple's phone that Han Zhou had, then at the clock, and asked softly, "Should we turn off the lights?"

"Turn it off," Guzheng replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a "snap" sound, and the room went dark.

In the darkness, Gu Zheng stretched and suddenly felt a little regretful: "I wanted to chat with you more, senior, but Han Zhou isn't here, so you'll have to listen to me talk... Honestly, there are some things that I really can't do without that guy."

After a brief silence, Zhong Ling smiled faintly and subconsciously tugged at the hem of her clothes.

"Yes."

The voice was so soft that she couldn't even hear it herself.

Gu Zheng, of course, did not notice Zhong Ling's strange behavior. She turned her head slightly and continued, "Wang Lengqiu, would you like to chat with me?"

"What are you going to talk about?" Wang Lengqiu asked.

"Let me think... how did you and Han Zhou meet?"

Zhong Ling, who had been somewhat lost in thought, immediately gathered her thoughts, held her breath, and listened carefully. She was also very curious about this question.

Wang Lengqiu's face was obscured in the darkness, but her slightly cold voice could be heard: "I can't say."

Can’t say…

Gu Zheng wasn't surprised by this answer. After all, even Han Zhou couldn't find out about their past from this girl, let alone her.

She just didn't understand why it was "cannot be said".

"Can't we talk about anything related to Han Zhou?" she continued to ask.

"Ah."

Wang Lengqiu's tone revealed little emotion.

"It's alright, let's change the subject." Gu Zheng thought for a moment, "How about we talk about what you like?"

“I like him,” Wang Lengqiu replied.

Zhong Ling was stunned.

This answer was completely unexpected—there were so many things to answer with, like TV, novels, and food, but this girl chose the most "dangerous" one.

The tone was serious but not forceful; it didn't sound like a deliberate assertion of sovereignty, but rather a statement of fact.

But whatever the purpose, a war is very likely to break out soon.

Zhong Ling held her breath and carefully picked up her phone from the bedside table, ready to mediate the fight.

If she couldn't persuade him otherwise, she would send a message to her junior, telling him to run as far away as possible and find a place to avoid trouble for the time being.

The air remained quiet for a long time. The tense atmosphere she had imagined did not materialize. Instead, she seemed to hear Guzheng laugh, a laugh that seemed to express relief yet also high spirits.

“Me too,” she said.

Zhong Ling opened her mouth.

No one spoke anymore.

The chat ended rather abruptly, but it also seemed to have just begun.

As night deepened, a light rain began to fall outside.

Starlight spilled across the frost on the window, shattering into silver sand amidst the girls' rising and falling breaths.

(End of this chapter)