Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 60 New State

Back inside, Mo Yixia continued to play the role of the younger sister.

This was probably a rather novel experience for her, and she seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit, at least on the surface. If Han Zhou didn't know Mo Yixia well, he might have forgotten that this was an act and instead thought it was her most authentic self.

However, he suddenly realized a problem—do I really understand Mo Yixia?

In fact, he had never really gotten to know the girl. The two hadn’t known each other for long, and all he had ever seen was Mo Yixia with a mask on. But if the role of the younger sister was an act, then was the side she had shown all along necessarily real?

Han Zhou wasn't sure either.

He could never understand Mo Yixia's thoughts. Although she usually acted normally, he never forgot that she was a world-weary girl. Therefore, even though he had completed the task of making her not hate him, he still felt very distant from her because her personal information on the status bar remained unchanged.

Therefore, when the other party said "Call me Yixia", his feelings were quite complicated - this was not a joke or a tease, but a simple and straightforward request.

A change in a relationship can often be reflected in a change in how the way people address each other, something that anyone can intuitively perceive.

Han Zhou hadn't forgotten another of Mo Yixia's words, which was another request of hers, and this request seemed to be the most important one—that is, she hoped that he could remember her words well in the future. It seemed that she had said something similar before.

Han Zhou found it hard to describe his feelings at the time. He only remembered standing there stunned for several seconds, when a strange and indescribable emotion suddenly arose in his heart.

What emotions they felt is unknown, but one thing is certain—the distance between the two people has indeed narrowed.

For no apparent reason, Han Zhou suddenly remembered the scene not long ago when Mo Yixia reached out to touch the leaves.

Sunlight, tree shadows, wind, and a young girl.

Just by tiptoeing slightly, a breeze will blow, enough to lower the branches. No one knows where this breeze comes from, but when it blows, the distance between your fingertips and the leaves will be naturally erased, and you can reach out and touch them.

The changes in distance between people are probably similar; it all depends on whether you're willing to tiptoe and seek out such a breeze.

Thinking of this, Han Zhou suddenly felt a pang of regret—he really should have filmed that scene back then.

"Have you been sleepwalking since the beginning? This is a soldier; once you've crossed the river, you can't retreat."

Mo Yixia's disdainful voice came from across the table. Han Zhou and Zhong Ling's three-game chess match had ended not long ago, with Han Zhou winning two and losing one. Now it was his turn to play chess with Mo Yixia.

Han Zhou's thoughts were pulled back, and he realized that he had made a mistake. He shamelessly laughed and said, "I'm a special forces soldier, so it's reasonable for me to retreat, right?"

Mo Yixia was silent for a moment, then picked up the cannon, raised it high, and then cleanly and neatly placed it on the opponent's general. The pieces collided and made a crisp sound.

"This is an anti-aircraft gun; it's perfectly reasonable for it to take your head from a thousand miles away, isn't it?"

Zhong Ling, who was watching from the sidelines, was stunned, her small mouth slightly agape.

"I only took a step back, it's too much for you to checkmate me with your anti-aircraft gun."

Han Zhou chuckled and moved the cannons and soldiers back to their original positions.

The game continued, and the situation on the board was quite tense. The two players were evenly matched and fought for several rounds without a clear winner.

Mo Yixia didn't use her full strength when she played chess with Zhong Ling before.

Zhong Ling took some plums out of the refrigerator, put them in a plate, washed them, and placed them on the table for the two of them to eat. She also carefully picked out a few for herself, took small bites, and stared at the chessboard in a daze.

She had always played chess with her sister before, and this seemed to be the first time she had ever watched someone else play chess like this.

Perhaps because the plums weren't fully ripe, they were slightly sour and astringent, causing the girl's brows to furrow slightly from time to time, and her clear eyes to ripple with emotion. However, even though the sourness made her teeth chatter, she still ate each plum in small bites, as if she couldn't bear to waste them.

Han Zhou then noticed that this guy had silently picked out all the green plums from the plate, leaving mostly dark red ripe plums.

He didn't say much, but simply took one, popped it into his mouth, tasted it, and said, "It's very sweet. Did you grow it at home?"

He remembered there was a plum tree in the yard.

Zhong Ling nodded slightly, a faint smile on her face. She looked at Mo Yixia, picked up a plum and handed it to her, seemingly wondering why she wasn't eating it.

Mo Yixia smiled and politely declined, saying, "Sister Ling, I won't eat. I'm going to sing karaoke with my friends later and we'll be eating lots of delicious food, so I need to save my stomach for now."

This was clearly her prepared reason for leaving.

Zhong Ling paused for a moment, put the plum back on the plate, and nodded gently.

At the same time, Zhong Yin came out with a water ladle. He seemed to have heard what Mo Yixia had just said and asked in surprise, "Are you leaving? I was planning to have you stay for a meal. The dishes are all prepared."

Mo Yixia feigned shock and said helplessly, "Is that so? How could I possibly accept this?"

Zhong Yin said softly, "Consider it an apology and a thank you. If it's inconvenient, then forget it."

After speaking, she glanced at Han Zhou, her gaze instantly becoming less polite.

Looking at the water ladle in this guy's hand, Han Zhou chuckled twice, thinking to himself, "Do you feel uncomfortable if you don't carry something with you every time you appear?"
And can you please look at me properly?
Mo Yixia hesitated for a moment, then said with difficulty, "I'm sorry, Sister Yin, I really want to stay for dinner, but I've already made plans with my friends, so I really can't... But my brother can stay. He's a big eater; he can eat enough for two people!"

The Zhong sisters looked at Han Zhou in unison. He silently took out his sunglasses and put them on. They thought Mo Yixia would finally be able to speak properly, but in the end, she still couldn't resist making fun of him.

"It's okay, keeping your promise to your friend is more important. You can come again next time."

Zhong Yin smiled, took the water ladle and went into the kitchen. She didn't seem to have any objection to leaving Han Zhou alone, but what she was really thinking was anyone's guess.

Han Zhou watched her leave, took out his phone to check the time, and asked, "When are you leaving?" It was a little past three in the afternoon.

Mo Yixia had clearly made up her mind long ago, and said with a sweet smile, "Four-thirty."

She needs to be home before 5 p.m., and if she leaves at 4:30 p.m., she can get home just in time. It's clear that she cherishes this rare free time and doesn't want to go back early.

After thinking for a moment, she suddenly said, "After we finish this game of chess, let's play something else, something that the three of us can play together."

Zhong Ling moved her lips, which Han Zhou noticed. He observed her lip movements and asked, "Senior, are you saying we can play cards?"

Zhong Ling nodded and quickly found a deck of cards.

The best game for three people is Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game). After Han Zhou and Mo Yixia finished their chess game, the three of them started playing Dou Dizhu.

However, as mentioned earlier, people like Han Zhou, who have a photographic memory, have a great advantage when playing cards because they can easily remember all the cards played and thus determine which cards their opponents still have.

Therefore, even if he was given some leeway, he still won more than he lost.

Zhong Ling is probably better at two-player board games. She probably doesn't play Dou Dizhu much, so she seemed clumsy after a few rounds. She really wanted to shout "Royal Flush!" like Han Zhou and throw out her cards with great momentum, but unfortunately, that was too difficult for her.

Even so, she played quite seriously, and when she won, a bright smile would appear on her face. Sometimes she would even give Mo Yixia a high five to celebrate defeating the evil landlord.

Mo Yixia's goal was clear: if she and Han Zhou were both farmers, she would be uninterested, but if they belonged to different camps, she would be fully focused and determined to make the other party taste defeat.

Han Zhou sneered repeatedly. When it came to playing cards, Mo Yixia was no match for him. He easily withstood the guy's attacks and vented his anger.

The three of them were having a great time. Before long, Zhong Yin, who had some free time, also joined in, and the game changed from Dou Dizhu to Zha Jin Hua.

This is where you can't win by relying on memory; it tests luck and mental fortitude. To put it bluntly, it's about who can pretend better, and that's undoubtedly Mo Yixia's strength.

Before the game started, Han Zhou was ordered to take off his sunglasses because they would obscure his despicable gaze and thus interfere with everyone's judgment—these were Mo Yixia's exact words.

The group set a bet: the two people who lost the most at the end of the game would have to clean up the yard, and then the cards were dealt.

It's worth mentioning that with Zhong Yin joining the fray, the number of people targeting Han Zhou increased from one to two. This woman actually started targeting him as well, and she was completely prepared to fight him to the bitter end, making Han Zhou suffer greatly and lamenting the fall of a gambling god.

This led to him and Zhong Yin ultimately becoming the biggest losers, and they had to clean up the yard together.

Time quickly came to 4:30, and with the game over, Mo Yixia had to leave.

She earnestly told her brother that he must accept his loss and clean the yard properly. Han Zhou agreed and decided to see her off.

Just as the two were about to walk out of the courtyard, Zhong Ling suddenly walked over quickly and handed Mo Yixia a bag containing ripe plums, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Mo Yixia took the bag, smiled, and said "thank you".

Zhong Ling smiled and stood at the door watching the two leave.

Han Zhou and Mo Yixia walked in silence and soon emerged from the alley, where they spotted the small square not far away.

The sun was still high in the sky, and the temperature was hot.

Mo Yixia said calmly, "You've already brought me all this way, wouldn't it be awkward to go back and freeload a meal?"

"It's okay, I have a good mental state."

Han Zhouhun didn't care. Although it was good to have Mo Yixia around, it made it difficult to do many things. Otherwise, if he were to induce Zhong Ling to say "I want to be in a relationship" in front of her, this guy would definitely become suspicious.

"Thick skin is not the same as good mental fortitude."

Han Zhou ignored him and asked with some concern, "Will you be okay going back alone?"

He was afraid that this guy wouldn't know the way.

Mo Yixia glanced at him: "Do you really think of me as a little sister who can't live without you?"

"That's not it."

Han Zhou smiled, slightly relieved, and waved, saying, "It's good that there are no problems. Well then, see you tomorrow, little sister."

Mo Yixia stood still, sighed, and said, "The acting is over. I'm not your sister anymore."

Han Zhou was stunned for a moment before he reacted and tentatively asked, "Then... Yi Xia, see you tomorrow?"

"Ah."

Mo Yixia responded, her eyes remaining unchanged, and walked out of the alley, pulling her hat brim low, heading straight into the sunlight.

See you tomorrow, Han Zhou.

Han Zhou smiled and watched the girl leave before looking at the text that had popped up in his status bar not long ago.

The random status has been refreshed and can be viewed at any time. Remaining refresh time: 72 hours.

(End of this chapter)