Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 77 Why did you reward him?
The moment Lin Anyu saw his cards, his expression froze completely.

Are you kidding me? Three of Hearts?

Lin Youya's card was a four, while Han Zhou and Gu Zheng's cards were both fives. When he saw everyone's cards, he was basically certain that he would win. Even if he was at his worst, he couldn't possibly be beaten by a small four. With his foolish cousin as his trump card, he had always been so confident.

But why am I the three of hearts?
Seeing his foolish look, Lin Youya laughed heartily: "You dare to be so smug with such a small hand? Look at my big hand!"

She jumped onto the sofa, mimicking Lin Anyu by taking the cards off her head and slamming them onto the table, intending to show him what a real big shot was. However, the smile on her face quickly froze.

Four of a kind.

Although four is indeed more than three, it is still not a big name. She immediately deflated like a wilted eggplant, and her pride vanished.

Gu Zheng and Han Zhou almost laughed. They both saw their cards and were surprised. They hadn't expected that both of them would get fives. They also hadn't expected that everyone's luck would be so bad in the first round, that they would get such low cards as three, four, and five.

Seeing Lin Anyu's unpleasant expression, Han Zhou suddenly remembered that this guy had just mocked him, and said with a half-smile, "Alright, now your hand is the weakest, you should accept the punishment. Tell us, what is your so-called big punishment?"

Lin Anyu's body trembled. He glanced at everyone's cards again, somewhat reluctant to speak, but ultimately said honestly, "The punishment will be designated by the person with the highest card..."

His expression was very bitter as he spoke.

Han Zhou smiled. His suit was higher than Gu Zheng's, so his card was the highest in this round of the game. In other words, he would decide how to punish Lin Anyu. No wonder this guy looked so grief-stricken.

He still remembered Lin Anyu's attempt to trick him at his last birthday party, and with this latest mockery, he planned to settle both old and new scores. Just as he was pondering how to punish him, he saw Lin Anyu looking at him with a pleading expression.

"Han Zhou, we're good brothers, right? Putting aside the past, I helped you get to know that girl with the long ponytail a few days ago, and I even took the blame for you once. You haven't forgotten any of that, have you?"

Lin Anyu knew that Han Zhou would never let go of this opportunity to get revenge on him, so he wanted to play the emotional card to avoid being punished too badly in front of Ya Ya.

Han Zhou was taken aback. Before he could speak, he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder. He turned around and saw Gu Zheng saying coldly, "This is a game. You have to accept the consequences of your bet. The punishment should be severe and cannot be based on personal feelings."

After speaking, she looked at Lin Anyu, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed.

Oh? You introduced Han Zhou to a girl with a long ponytail?

So it really was you who led Han Zhou astray...

She heard Lin Anyu's words clearly, and she only regretted that she wasn't the one with the biggest card, otherwise she would have given this guy a lesson he would never forget.

"Yes, we can't let personal feelings interfere!"

Lin Youya nodded in agreement, her nods like chicks pecking at rice. Just as Lin Anyu wanted to punish her, she also wanted to see Lin Anyu punished.

Han Zhou hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.

But Lin Anyu felt the chill in Gu Zheng's eyes. Worried that if Han Zhou hesitated any longer, Gu Zheng might punish him herself, so he straightened his chest and said righteously, "Gu Zheng is right, Han Zhou, punish me seriously!"

"But……"

There's no "but".

Lin Anyu shook his head slightly, a relieved smile appearing on his face.

"If you're a brother, come and chop me up."

"Disgusting..." Lin Youya thought to herself, curling her lip in disgust.

Han Zhou was silent for a moment, then a relaxed expression appeared on his face: "Okay, since you've said that, then I don't feel any pressure anymore."

He wasn't hesitating about whether to punish Lin Anyu leniently, but rather wondering if it would be too much. He pondered for a moment and said, "Well then, since you were just about to post my picture in the class group, I'll give you another chance to speak in the group—confess your feelings to Bai Tongtong in the group."

Lin Anyu's expression froze.

Bai Tongtong was the art and literature representative in their high school class. She was a very artistic girl, and he actually had a crush on her. Han Zhou knew this, but he didn't expect that confessing his feelings would be used as a punishment. "Isn't this a bit inappropriate..." he hesitated.

Han Zhou laughed and said, "Of course it's not good. If it were good, it wouldn't be a punishment. Don't worry, if Bai Tongtong gets angry afterward, I'll help you explain and apologize."

Lin Anyu was still unwilling. Seeing Han Zhou's firm attitude, he could only look to Gu Zheng for help. Unexpectedly, the latter did not care and just said with a smile, "I think this punishment is not bad. Don't worry, I will explain it to you."

Lin Youya was also stirring things up, putting her hands behind her back and saying in a mature tone, "Owl, you're too timid. You don't even dare to confess your feelings. In many anime, a moment's hesitation can lead to lifelong regret. You're eighteen years old, don't you understand this? When I'm your age, I'll definitely be brave enough to confess my love..."

Lin Anyu really wanted to kick her. "I'd be grateful if you could stop being so immature at my age, let alone bravely confess your love?"

However, he was a man of his word and not one to be a sore loser. He immediately took out his phone, tagged Bai Tongtong in the class group chat, and sent the message "I like you." Then he muted the phone and turned off the screen, saying calmly, "Okay, let's continue."

The reason he hesitated so much just now was mainly because he had also used the method of testing Bai Tongtong's affection level that day, but the message he sent was ignored by her, which was very discouraging.

Han Zhou and Gu Zheng exchanged a glance, thinking that the class group would definitely be lively later. Although they wanted to see how it went, they put their phones on silent and started the second round of the game.

This time, everyone's cards weren't so small. Gu Zheng's card was incredibly large, an Ace of Spades, which put her in an invincible position in this game. The smallest card belonged to Lin Youya, a Five of Diamonds, followed by Han Zhou and Lin Anyu's Seven of Spades and Ten of Hearts, respectively.

After the first round of demonstration, everyone realized the severity of the punishment, so they were much more cautious during the card guessing game, especially Lin Youya. Her hurried thinking revealed a lot of her thoughts. If her face hadn't been covered by the cards, she probably would have revealed even more. Gu Zheng quickly read one thing from her reaction—her cards were probably very strong.

Lin Anyu hesitated. Although Lin Youya's five was very small, he was no longer confident after the lesson he had just learned. In addition, Gu Zheng's ace of spades was too eye-catching. He was afraid that he would have the smallest card again, so he chose to fold.

Even if you fold, you will still be punished, but the punishment is less severe, just ten squats. He finished the squats in no time. The game wasn't over yet, and he still couldn't see his cards, so he watched the game from the sidelines.

"This time, Ya Ya is definitely going to be in trouble..."

Lin Anyu chuckled inwardly, but the moment the thought crossed his mind, he was startled to find that his foolish cousin, who always boasted of having a protagonist's aura, was actually afraid and quickly chose to fold, seemingly no longer believing that she had great luck.

He was greatly disappointed. This shouldn't be happening. Shouldn't this idiot be hypnotizing himself into thinking he's very lucky and then refusing to surrender?

In fact, Lin Youya genuinely believed that she would have a very strong hand this round, but she was too afraid of Han Zhou to guess his hand. Gu Zheng's hand was the strongest, and she knew she couldn't beat him, so she had no choice but to fold.

Sometimes, even the protagonist needs to be patient and restrained.

After finishing ten squats, panting heavily, Lin Youya slumped onto the sofa and watched Gu Zheng and Han Zhou have their final showdown.

Logically speaking, Han Zhou should have folded at this point, since there were only two people left, and his hand could never be bigger than Gu Zheng's. Continuing to play would only lead to defeat.

Surprisingly, he didn't fold, and Guzheng naturally couldn't admit defeat either, so the two remained deadlocked until the card reveal stage.

Everyone has revealed their cards.

Gu Zheng's gaze was originally very sharp, firmly believing that Han Zhou's hand could not possibly be bigger than hers. But when she saw the Ace of Spades in her hand, she knew that this was indeed the case, but she suddenly froze.

why?
Han Zhou isn't stupid; under normal circumstances, he would never do something so foolish that he's bound to lose.

He could tell that Guzheng was in a bad mood and, for some reason, she was also somewhat resentful towards him. He had at least brought her out to relax today, so he couldn't let her stay unhappy like this. He decided to give her a chance to punish himself and vent her anger. He would ask her the reason later.

Gu Zheng pondered for a moment and quickly understood Han Zhou's thoughts. In an instant, all her unhappiness disappeared, her eyebrows curved, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

"Tell me the details of the punishment," Han Zhou reminded him. "Stop grinning like an idiot; your mouth is practically stretched to your ears."

Gu Zheng hurriedly stopped smiling, glared at him fiercely, stared at him for a while, and felt increasingly strange. Her heart suddenly raced, and a bold idea came to her mind.

She hesitated and said, "Then I'll punish you by making you hug, hug, hug me... hug me and Ya Ya and run around the living room!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Anyu, who was drinking his beverage and preparing to watch the show, was dumbfounded and almost spat out his drink.

Did I hear that right?

What happened to the promise that personal feelings shouldn't be considered, and that punishment should be properly administered? What kind of punishment is this? How is it any better than squats?
And... why did you reward him?
(End of this chapter)