Forced into a romantic relationship

The setting sun casts its rays.

Amber sunlight filtered through the branches, breaking into dappled spots that, along with the falling withered leaves, fell on Han Zhou's face.

It wasn't until he said, "Actually, I was playing the role of a mushroom," that Han Zhou finally realized he seemed to have arrived in a completely unfamiliar place.

His mental state was really bad. He pressed his brow for a while to calm down before he had the strength to check the status bar notifications.

[The "Echoes of the Past" effect has taken effect. You have arrived near the target location. Note that this teleportation spans time, which will greatly deplete your mental energy. Please replenish your energy as soon as possible. Furthermore, since this status is temporary, you will automatically return to the original time point in one month. The status bar will also automatically adjust the timeline accordingly. During this period, please minimize interference with the timeline.]

[The image detection recorder is now active and continuously recording. If you wish to retain the records, please take the memory-freezing pill before the recording ends. The records will be implanted into your brain as memories.]

Across time...

Han Zhou was taken aback.

Although he had vaguely guessed this possibility, he still found it hard to believe when he actually confirmed it. If time travel is possible, what else can't the status bar do?
He felt dizzy and quickly stuffed a few pills into his mouth, which made him feel a little better, but he still felt weak and completely drained, and even standing up was difficult.

This terrible feeling made him feel as if he had returned to the time when he was suffering from a terminal illness. He was in a daze for a moment and didn't know how long it would take to recover.

But... time travel...?

As if realizing something, Han Zhou looked at the little girl not far away, his expression somewhat complicated.

Sure enough, a familiar message appeared above the girl's head, except that the original "unlocked" had changed to "unlockable".

[Name: Wang Lengqiu (Unlockable)]

It was an autumn day, sometime around dusk, and the weather was clear.

The wind was gentle and lingering, accompanied by the rustling of leaves, and in the distance, cattle and sheep could be seen leisurely walking across the field ridges.

On the other side of the paddy field, in the dense forest where the leaves are turning yellow, a "mushroom" holding an umbrella and a little girl carrying a schoolbag look at each other from afar, separated by a huge tree stump.

Across time, one gazes at the past, the other looks towards the future.

This was their first real encounter.

It was also a reunion.

Han Zhou didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment.

The sight of the little girl tilting her head slightly quickly overlapped with the expressionless face in his memory. For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of heartache. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but held back.

Meanwhile, seeing that the strange man was staring intently at her, Xiao Wang Lengqiu silently took a few steps back, clearly regarding him as a weirdo. However, she did not leave immediately but stood by the roadside for a while before earnestly retorting.

Mushrooms can't talk.

After saying that, he turned and jogged away.

But she returned not long after, with two small bread rolls in her hand. She placed them on the huge tree stump, then stood a little further away and returned to the intersection. Without saying a word, she just watched Han Zhou from afar.

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled inwardly, thinking that Senior Wang Lengqiu was really kind when she was little. Perhaps she thought he was a homeless vagrant, so she felt sorry for him.

However, to be honest, he did look quite disheveled... Looking at his muddy body, he mocked himself, his expression becoming somewhat complicated, and he couldn't help but glance at Xiao Wang Leng Qiu in the distance for a while longer.

It turns out that the senior student wasn't thin because she ate little, but was naturally slim. However, it's also possible that she didn't like to eat much from a young age, which is why she didn't gain weight.

That slightly naive expression is something she's had since she was little; even when she's looking serious, she still looks inexplicably cute.

From now to the future, has this girl changed in any way?
Han Zhou stared at it for a while, and just as he was about to look away, the little girl suddenly pointed at the power pill in his hand from afar and said something.

"..."

Xiao Wang Leng Qiu's voice wasn't loud, and given the distance, it might have been difficult for an ordinary person to hear what she was saying. However, Han Zhou was currently in a state of "leaving it to fate," so he easily understood the content of her words—

"Sheep dung is inedible."

He suddenly realized that the reason Wang Lengqiu hadn't left yet was probably because she was worried that he would go to the fields outside to pick up sheep droppings and eat them.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou's lips twitched slightly, but he did not respond or get up to take the two small breads placed on the tree stump.

He simply put away his umbrella silently and then turned away.

At this point in time, Wang Lengqiu is missing, suspected of having gone somewhere to end his life, or perhaps he has already committed suicide, his body lying somewhere no one can find. This has always been everyone's biggest worry, but no one dares to say it aloud, as if keeping it to themselves will prevent it from happening.

But what if things really have turned out this way?
"Will you stop being unhappy if I leave?"

In the increasingly cool breeze, a voice echoed in my ears once again.

Han Zhou deeply regretted not firmly denying those words last night. If Wang Lengqiu really chose to take her own life because of this, then he would be held responsible and would only be able to live in regret from now on.

He had never understood why Wang Lengqiu cared so much about him, as if she had known him for a long time, while he had no memory of her at all.

But now he understands.

It all stemmed from this time travel.

In Wang Lengqiu's memory, or rather, according to the original trajectory, he was very likely to have developed a very deep relationship with the Wang Lengqiu from his childhood during this time travel.

...And it was this very feeling that indirectly led to Wang Lengqiu's death many years later.

This is the cause of everything, and also the effect of everything.

In a daze, Han Zhou recalled the words Wang Lengqiu had said last night.

This girl was incredibly persistent. Even though so many years had passed, the feelings hidden in her heart remained as fervent and pure as ever. It was as if time had stood still for her, making her live forever in a brief yet unforgettable period of time.

Even though Han Zhou had made up his mind to force himself to be a cold and ruthless person, he couldn't help but be moved by such persistent waiting.

But he simply couldn't reciprocate her feelings.

He admitted that he was greedy, so greedy that he wanted to embrace all the good things around him, but he couldn't bring himself to hurt Guzheng and Mo Yixia's relationship again and again.

He already owes them both a lot.

Besides, he didn't really have much affection for this senior, and even now he felt mostly guilty. If he were to force a "Let's be together" answer, it would be unfair to everyone.

Perhaps it was because he was too greedy that Han Zhou always subconsciously wanted to see a happy ending for everyone, but in this matter he never knew how to satisfy everyone.

But now he knows—

All the problems stemmed from this time travel.

Or perhaps it's because he met Wang Lengqiu too early.

From an objective point of view, this acquaintance had almost no positive significance. It not only created a meaningless wait that lasted for nearly ten years, but also indirectly led to Wang Lengqiu's death.

If left unchecked, when he returns to the "present," Han Zhou is very worried that he will find a cold corpse in some corner of the rainstorm.

And since everything stemmed from a meeting that happened too early.

So……

If he had never appeared in Wang Lengqiu's life, this encounter would have ended the moment it began. Would everything in the future have changed?
There will be no more meaningless waiting.

No one will die.

He no longer needs to disappoint another girl's feelings.

Even if their futures never intersect again, or even become two completely parallel lines, it's still better than this ending that displeases everyone, isn't it?
To be honest, Han Zhou couldn't guarantee that; he wasn't even sure if what he was about to do was the right thing.

But he decided to give it a try.

At this point in time, Wang Lengqiu's fate is uncertain. If you want to save her, you can only start now and change her destiny of seeking death because of you.

Even if this is just overthinking and things may not actually be that bad, he doesn't dare to gamble, nor can he afford to.

"There will be an echo" is a powerful custom-generated status; otherwise, with the current level of the status bar, it would be impossible to access the ability to travel through time.

This state is time-limited, and the probability of triggering time travel is probably quite low. Once he misses this opportunity, he may never have another chance to change the past.

Therefore, he could only seize this opportunity to avoid Wang Lengqiu from now on, and avoid having any further contact with her until the moment he returned to the "present".

Everything was for the sake of saving Wang Lengqiu. (End of Chapter)