Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 85 I'm Quite Rebellious Too
The heavy rain stopped around 4 or 5 a.m. today.

It was early morning, and the sky had cleared up. The sky was a clear, bright blue, and the sun was high in the sky. The heavy rain that had raged all night could not withstand the scorching heat, and most of it evaporated in no time. Only a few puddles were visible on the road, serving as the last proof that the rain had come.

After a heavy rain, the air was exceptionally fresh, the temperature was slightly lower than usual, and even the wind, which was usually fierce, became much gentler, casually teasing the greenery in the community.

The rain had stopped and the sun was shining, which should have been a pleasant thing, but Han Zhou couldn't feel happy at all.

The reason is that Mo Yixia has been openly and subtly mocking his clothes since they met. Before they even got on the elevator, the daily task of ten smiles had already been completed, which shows how many times she smiled.

He admitted that the clothes were indeed a bit "trendy," but they weren't that funny. Putting everything else aside, if Mo Yixia wore such clothes one day, he certainly wouldn't laugh like that.

At least they won't laugh too loudly.

He was about to express his dissatisfaction when he heard Mo Yixia say calmly as soon as he got on the elevator, "I'm looking forward to seeing my mom's expression when she sees you dressed like this."

These words struck Han Zhou like a thunderbolt, leaving him stunned on the spot.

He had always maintained a mature and composed image as a good student in front of Jiang Baiqian, and wearing this outfit was indeed too flashy. He wondered if it would change her good impression of him...

His face was ashen, and he sighed, "Um, could you lend me your school uniform jacket when I leave this afternoon?"

"What?"

"Yi Xia," Han Zhou changed his address.

"I'm sorry, my school uniform is custom-made, you can't wear it." Mo Yixia was satisfied then, and immediately gave a suggestion, "But you can consider wearing your shirt inside out."

"That would really make us a laughing stock."

Han Zhou wasn't going to listen to this guy's bad advice. Who wears their shirt inside out? After thinking for a moment, he said, "But my outfit isn't all bad. Look, if your mom is curious about what I'm wearing, wouldn't that be a perfect opportunity for me to talk to her and discuss letting you stay?"

"Makes sense."

Mo Yixia glanced at him, and said thoughtfully, "Is this considered making use of waste?"

Han Zhou sighed: "I've noticed that your word choice and sentence structure are really problematic."

"Then why don't you teach me Chinese today?"

"No way, you're not getting away with slacking off today."

Mo Yixia only needs tutoring in math and physics, not Chinese at all. The subtext of her words is clear: she wants to slack off again today, and Han Zhou can't let her get away with it again and again.

After a brief silence, Mo Yixia seemed to suddenly remember something and murmured to herself in a voice just loud enough for Han Zhou to hear.

"Oh, I suddenly remembered I have a T-shirt that I haven't worn much. It's the kind that can be worn by both men and women, and it's quite nice. It's just a pity that I bought it too big, so it doesn't fit me very well..."

Han Zhou's expression turned serious: "I've also remembered that your Chinese language skills do have significant problems, and you need to brush up on them."

"Wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?" Mo Yixia looked at him with a half-smile.

“What’s wrong with that? You do have a habit of talking nonsense, that’s a fact, and I have an obligation to help you correct it.”

"..."

The two kept their heads down to avoid the surveillance cameras as they spoke, chatting casually in the elevator.

As the elevator approached the 32nd floor, Mo Yixia reminded her again, "Remember what I told you yesterday: try not to mention your opinions about my current situation when you talk to my mom. But don't be too nervous. My dad changed his mind again and will be back tomorrow. So today is not the last chance. I don't expect you to do anything, just get a feel for what he thinks."

"Changed your mind at the last minute?"

"Hmm." Mo Yixia said calmly, "It's probably some meeting that's delayed again. My dad often changes his mind about scheduling, it's a common occurrence, I'm used to it."

Han Zhou hesitated and said, "It's a bad habit, but it should be considered a good thing for our current situation, right?"

"Of course it's a good thing."

Mo Yixia said calmly, "You can prolong your life for another day."

You should say 'we'.

"You can cling to life for another day."

"..."

The two arrived at the door and rang the doorbell. Soon they heard footsteps, and Jiang Baiqian, who was wearing heavy makeup, opened the door.

As expected, upon seeing Han Zhou, she froze on the spot, stunned by his attire for a full five seconds before exclaiming in astonishment, "Teacher Han, what are you wearing..."

She thought that Han Zhou's sudden wearing of sunglasses indoors a few days ago was already enough to show his personality, but she didn't expect that today he would come in even more unusually, wearing such a strange floral shirt.

But how should I put it, he's kind of tacky but handsome...

Han Zhou felt uncomfortable under their gaze, but forced a smile and said, "This is a trendy outfit that's been popular lately, and I suddenly wanted to try it out."

Mo Yixia silently pulled down the brim of her hat.

Jiang Baiqian paused for a moment, then forced a smile and nodded, saying, "Really? It is quite trendy, hehe..."

The tastes of young people these days are getting harder and harder to understand... Is this what they call the generation gap?
"Don't stand outside, come in."

After a brief silence, Jiang Baiqian quickly invited the two into the house and said with a smile, "Teacher Han, thank you so much for today. I didn't get to see you the past two days and didn't have a chance to thank you in person. Thanks to you, Xiaxia wouldn't have made such great progress." Her face was full of smiles, and her smile was very kind.

"I didn't do much. It's mainly because Yixia is talented and hardworking. Her progress is due to herself. I just helped her explain some things she didn't understand."

Han Zhou smiled and said something polite, but it wasn't really polite. Mo Yixia's significant improvement in grades really had little to do with him, so there was nothing wrong with what he said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baiqian's smile widened: "Teacher Han is too modest."

"It's just that her taste in clothes is really terrible..." she silently added to herself.

Mo Yixia stood silently to the side. Han Zhou exchanged a few more polite words with Jiang Baiqian, then put on his mask and walked into the study with Mo Yixia.

He seemed to be deep in thought. Although it was only a brief conversation, it was not difficult to glean some information from Jiang Baiqian's words.

Jiang Baiqian probably doesn't have a firm idea of ​​leaving with Mo Yixia yet, otherwise she wouldn't have exchanged pleasantries as usual, but would have settled his wages and told him to prepare to leave, or at least mentioned it, since they're moving soon.

Of course, it's also possible that the other party doesn't want to talk about these things in front of their daughter, or that they feel the time isn't right and want to talk to her at another time. Anything is possible.

However, uncertainty means there is still a chance.

Han Zhou pondered silently.

Based on past experience, Jiang Baiqian will likely leave before lunch today, so if you want to negotiate with her, you must proactively create an opportunity to talk in the morning, but you can't be too deliberate.

As for how to create opportunities, Han Zhou and Mo Yixia had already discussed it yesterday. It didn't need to be too clever; simple and practical would suffice.

The two pretended to study in the study for a while. Han Zhou said that Mo Yixia had grasped the material, and then suggested that she do a set of exercises to consolidate the knowledge she had learned in the past few days. He silently supervised her for a while, and then took a cup to the living room to get some water.

At this moment, Jiang Baiqian was sitting on the sofa looking at her phone, presumably observing the situation in the study through the surveillance camera. Seeing Han Zhou come out of the study with a cup, she smiled and asked in a low voice, "Teacher Han, is Xiaxia taking an exam now?"

Han Zhou was taken aback, not expecting Jiang Baiqian to take the initiative to start a conversation. However, this saved him some trouble. He also lowered his voice and replied, "She's doing practice questions. I think she needs to consolidate the knowledge she has recently acquired."

How long will it take?

"If it's fast, it should take about half an hour."

"That's quite a long time..." Jiang Baiqian thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Teacher Han, can we come over and chat?"

"Of course, is there anything you'd like to ask?"

Han Zhou pretended to be puzzled and sat down opposite Jiang Baiqian with his cup.

"Don't be nervous, we're just chatting casually."

Han Zhou's clothes were too conspicuous, so Jiang Baiqian tried her best not to look at them. She poured him a cup of water from the teapot and said with a smile, "It's so hot, and you're wearing sunglasses and a mask. Don't you feel hot?"

"There's air conditioning in the room, so it's not hot," Han Zhou said, shaking his head.

"Xiaxia can't see right now, why don't you take off your mask?"

Han Zhou wanted to say that he was used to it, but he still listened to Jiang Baiqian and took off his mask, explaining, "I won't take off my sunglasses. My eyes were injured recently, and I'm embarrassed to let people see them."

Jiang Baiqian was taken aback, and her face immediately showed some shame: "So that's how it is. I didn't know before and I didn't ask. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, I'd feel embarrassed if you really asked," Han Zhou said with a smile.

"That's good."

Jiang Baiqian smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Actually, I know that Xiaxia and you wore masks so that I wouldn't find out you were chatting secretly. When you weren't wearing masks, you kept your heads down because Xiaxia told you to avoid the surveillance cameras. She must have also told you that I learned lip reading, right?"

Han Zhou remained silent. He never thought Jiang Baiqian would be so foolish as to miss this point, assuming it was something everyone tacitly agreed on. He never expected her to bring it up suddenly.

"It's okay if you don't answer. I know I've been pushing Xiaxia too hard, so I can tolerate these little actions. As long as her grades improve, that's fine. She doesn't talk to me usually, and if she can't find someone to talk to, there will be problems."

Jiang Baiqian put on an indifferent expression.

Adhering to the principle of avoiding discussing Mo Yixia's current situation as much as possible, Han Zhou suppressed his inner complaints and forced a smile, saying, "It's good that you understand."

Jiang Baiqian stared at him for a moment: "But I'm a little surprised. I thought you could improve Xiaxia's grades, but I didn't expect you to improve so quickly. Is there any secret behind it?"

"Of course not." Han Zhou shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I just graduated from high school. I even imitate my teachers when I give lectures. I don't have any secrets to teaching people."

He told the truth.

"That's true... It seems you and Xiaxia get along very well; she listens to what you say."

At this point, Jiang Baiqian said with some envy, "This child is a bit rebellious. He stopped listening to me a long time ago, and he always keeps his thoughts to himself and never tells me honestly."

"Don't you have any idea why this is happening?" Han Zhou forced a smile: "Young people this age are like this. I was pretty rebellious in high school too, haha."

“That’s true, rebellion is only temporary.” Jiang Baiqian sighed, as if comforting herself. “I think Xiaxia will understand my good intentions in the future.”

Han Zhou didn't speak. He really didn't know what to say. Did this guy really not think there was anything wrong with his parenting methods?
But Jiang Baiqian still had something to say.

"Teacher Han, can I ask you for a favor?"

One thing I need to clarify is that I won't be writing detailed prompts for every daily quest, nor will I be checking the character panel frequently, to avoid being accused of padding my word count. Also, sometimes characters' dialogue contains keywords that I might not notice or point out, which is a minor bug. However, I will still do the daily quests every day; it's not that I've stopped doing them, but I won't be spending time writing about the process. You can assume that they will be completed after you meet the character. However, I will mention the daily quests for new characters more often.

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(End of this chapter)