Chapter 576
Video Call
It was two minutes later when Han Zhou learned that Gu Zheng was about to arrive at the hotel entrance.
He had just come out of the bathroom after taking a shower, his smile still on his face, when he learned about this from Wang Lengqiu, and his smile vanished instantly.
The latter clearly understood what Guzheng's arrival meant. She had finished showering earlier than him, her hair still dripping wet, but she was already dressed.
However, she showed no signs of nervousness on her face. After finishing the phone call, she didn't rush to dry her hair, but simply tilted her head and quietly looked at Han Zhou.
Han Zhou couldn't read minds, but he was certain that it wasn't a "what should I do?" expression.
While frantically putting on his clothes, he said with a headache, "You mean, Guzheng and Senior Sister were both downstairs, and Sister Yin could tell it was you who answered the phone?"
"Ah."
"How was it discovered?"
"Because I answered."
Wang Lengqiu handed over the phone, her face expressionless as usual, but her eyes were clear as she looked over. "I said you were taking a shower, and I'll pass that on to you."
Han Zhou's heart skipped a beat: "You mean... Sister Yin knows we're together?"
Wang Lengqiu tilted her head, seemingly puzzled: "Didn't she already know we were together?"
"That's not what I meant by being together..."
Han Zhou rubbed his temples with a wry smile. If there was anyone besides Gu Zheng and Yi Xia who he was most afraid of having his affair found out, it would be Zhong Yin.
After all, if they both found out about this, Professor Ouyang's reaction would probably be to shake his head repeatedly and say helplessly, "I can't do anything with you." The senior student might struggle for a long time and then weakly ask, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
But if it's Sister Yin...
Although he didn't answer the call himself, Han Zhou felt as if he could already hear that cold laugh and see the undisguised disgust in the other person's eyes—
"Scumbags should die."
Han Zhou didn't deny that statement. He also felt that scumbags didn't deserve to live in this world, which was why he had been on the verge of death for so long. It was a fitting punishment for his sins.
What he was really worried about was that Sister Yin would start to hate him.
It was a very complex feeling that he couldn't describe. Perhaps it was because he had been gazed at so intensely by her when he returned to the past that he was now even more afraid that the passion that had already been extinguished would completely turn into disgust and aversion.
Of course, even without that experience, he didn't want to be disliked by Sister Yin.
However, everyone would find out sooner or later anyway, and he was mentally prepared. It's fine if Sister Yin finds out early, as long as she doesn't tell Guzheng too soon...
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Han Zhou quickly put on his shoes and hurriedly went into the bathroom to splash some water on himself, creating the illusion that he had just returned from being caught in the rain.
After he was fully prepared, he hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help asking, "Did Sister Yin say anything else?"
Wang Lengqiu nodded gently.
"She said if you survive tonight, remember to call her back."
After a pause, perhaps unable to contain her curiosity, she couldn't help but ask, "Brother Han Zhou, is the guzheng really that scary?"
To be fair, there was nothing wrong with the question itself; it sounded like a simple question. But when paired with her pitiful face and her eyes, which seemed to be misty after a bath, it somehow exuded a subtle tea-like quality, as if she had "Unlike me, I only care about my brother" written all over her face.
Han Zhou let out a long sigh: "When she's serious, she's terrifying."
No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a rapid knocking on the door.
Han Zhou took a deep breath, gestured to Wang Lengqiu with his eyes to sit still on the bed, and made sure that his disguise was flawless before striding to the door and opening it.
Sure enough, standing outside the door were Guzheng, who had peeked in as soon as the door opened, and Zhongling, who lowered her head shyly and looked a little awkward when she saw him.
"Guzheng, senior, what brings you here..."
Upon seeing the two, Han Zhou looked surprised—this was not an act, but a genuine surprise. Despite Yin Jie's advance warning, he still couldn't understand how these two had come to his door. He then frowned slightly, intending to take the initiative to prevent Gu Zheng from launching the first attack.
After all, she hadn't called either of them to report her itinerary yet, and instead had just stayed in the hotel with Wang Lengqiu. Even someone as naive as Zhong Ling would have some doubts, let alone Gu Zheng.
However, Gu Zheng completely ignored him. Before he could finish speaking, she rushed into the room and pounced on Wang Lengqiu, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and pulled him into her arms.
"Thank goodness, Senior Wang Lengqiu, you're really alright!"
Gu Zheng was very strong; even though she tried to hold back, she still managed to knock the frail Wang Lengqiu onto the bed. The latter was slightly startled, then hesitantly reached out and gently embraced the girl who genuinely cared for her, whispering:
"Thank you."
“You disappeared early this morning and left that note. We were all so worried.”
Gu Zheng hugged her tightly, her face pressed against the soft blanket, her voice muffled, "Although Han Zhou said you were fine, my senior and I were still worried, so we came to find you."
Her emotions were genuine, but taking this opportunity, she subtly sniffed the sheets and pillows, and quietly felt the temperature under the covers. Only after confirming that there were no strange smells or marks did she feel a little relieved.
In fact, if it weren't for the hotel's daily cleaning service that changed the bedding every afternoon, and the fact that neither of them had had a chance to sleep yet, Han Zhou probably wouldn't have had the chance to call Zhong Yin back tonight based on this first incident alone.
At the same time, Zhong Ling was carefully explaining to Han Zhou, with her head down, why the two had come and how they had found her.
Clearly, she was still embarrassed about being approached without prior notice. From the moment the door opened, she kept her head down, unconsciously tugging at the small cloth bag at her waist, like a child who had done something wrong.
It wasn't until she heard the hotel receptionist say, "Ask those two people, they seem to be a couple, they only booked one room," that she realized for the first time that Gu Zheng's quiet visit was probably not just because she didn't want to be nagged by her junior on the phone.
Especially when Gu Zheng remained calm after hearing this, and even casually said, "They weren't planning to stay here anyway, so it's normal for them to book a room," her heart jumped into her throat.
After all, if they weren't planning to stay here, why aren't they going home so late?
Before pushing open the door, she had already prepared for the worst, even planning to hold onto Guzheng tightly if things went wrong, giving her junior a chance to escape—she admitted that she didn't know Guzheng's personality well enough, but she had witnessed his superhuman physical abilities more than once. Although her junior was also very physically strong, he would never fight back against an angry Guzheng, even if he was punched and kicked, and would only run away.
Fortunately, everything seemed normal when the door opened. The junior and senior Wang Lengqiu were dressed neatly and looked no different from usual, not like they had done anything wrong.
The truth is, when Han Zhou heard that Gu Zheng had found this place entirely through deduction, he broke out in a cold sweat, but he could only feign composure and reply with a hint of helplessness:
"Didn't I already say that the note was a misunderstanding? I'll go back after I finish my business... Anyway, come in, there's air conditioning inside."
Seeing Han Zhou's calm expression, which seemed to carry a hint of helplessness towards the two disobedient individuals, Zhong Ling felt embarrassed but also relieved. She then went into the room and gently closed the door.
By this time, Gu Zheng had searched almost every corner of the bed and couldn't find a single hair. She was finally less frustrated than before, but she had already noticed Wang Lengqiu's damp hair and the strong scent of shower gel on him, and couldn't help but ask:
"Senior Wang Lengqiu, did you just finish showering?"
"Yes." Wang Lengqiu nodded honestly.
"I see..."
Gu Zheng's eyes crinkled into a smile as she stood up. Only then did she have a chance to turn around and look at Han Zhou, who was walking over. Although she was asking Wang Lengqiu a question, it seemed as if she was asking Han Zhou:
"But if I remember correctly, you and Han Zhou took a shower at noon today and changed your clothes. Why do you need to shower again tonight?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Ling, who had just been smiling and thought everything was fine, suddenly froze, her mouth slightly agape, staring blankly at Han Zhou beside her.
Yes, if you're not planning to sleep or rest, is it necessary to take two showers?
It's not that we can't rest, after all, it's getting late and we might not be able to get a taxi back. But there's only one bed in this room. Are the junior and senior Wang Lengqiu planning to sleep in the same bed?
She was very close to Han Zhou, so she could naturally smell the scent of his shower gel. It was definitely the scent of someone who had just taken a shower. Gu Zheng must have noticed it long ago, which is why she asked such a question.
The air suddenly became quiet.
Undoubtedly, this is a rather fatal problem; to put it bluntly, it could even be described as an "attempt to catch someone in the act of adultery."
In the dead of night, in the same bed, a man and a woman who had just taken a shower, even a naive girl like Zhong Ling could already sense what was about to happen, let alone Gu Zheng.
Of course, Gu Zheng is actually quite naive when it comes to matters of love and sex. Her question at this moment doesn't necessarily mean she's catching someone in the act of adultery. But there's one thing Han Zhou needs to clarify—
They had stayed in a hotel together before, and Han Zhou insisted on getting a twin room. Why is it that now that he's with Wang Lengqiu, it's a double room?
Indeed, even at this moment, Gu Zheng's competitive spirit had not diminished; on the contrary, it had become even stronger, to the point that she completely forgot that on the day she stayed at the hotel with Han Zhou, there was only one room left in the hotel.
In the increasingly stagnant air, time seemed to slow down.
"This is what happened..."
Faced with such a fatal flaw, how could Han Zhou not have prepared in advance? Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the sound of the guzheng.
"Shut up. I'm asking about Senior Wang Lengqiu, not you."
Han Zhou's heart sank.
Although he had established a romantic relationship with Wang Lengqiu, this was just a nicer way of putting it. Rather than being lovers, they were more like secret lovers.
They were clearly together, but for the time being they had to keep it a secret from everyone. This was already very unfair to Wang Lengqiu. He didn't want to cause her any more distress, nor did he want to drag her into making up lies. So he didn't go over the story beforehand.
This also means that Wang Lengqiu might not know how to answer this question.
Even if she could use her personality to brush it off with a simple "thank you," if she couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, it would inevitably arouse Guzheng's suspicion.
When Gu Zheng asked her question, Wang Lengqiu seemed to be taken aback for a moment, tilting her head in confusion and looking at Han Zhou, as if she didn't know how to answer.
In the past, when faced with questions she didn't want to answer, she would usually brush it off with a "thank you." But this time, perhaps because she really didn't know how to answer, she didn't even say "thank you."
Gu Zheng remained expressionless, not even glancing at Han Zhou, and silently awaited Wang Lengqiu's reply.
Zhong Ling looked at the guzheng, then at Han Zhou, opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't say anything.
She silently walked closer to the guzheng, thinking that if anything unexpected happened later, she should hold him tightly to give her junior a chance to escape.
And so, in the increasingly tense atmosphere, Wang Lengqiu finally spoke.
"because……"
Before he could finish speaking, an untimely telephone rang in the room.
Gu Zheng immediately recognized it as Han Zhou's Fetion phone ringtone. Turning her head, she saw the phone on the bed. Without saying anything, she walked to the bedside, picked up the phone, and was about to hang up the call.
At times like this, she doesn't want to answer calls from anyone.
Han Zhou, of course, could not accept it.
But when she saw the name of the contact in Fetion, she suddenly hesitated.
Because that contact's nickname was "Non-pure yellow material agent".
She didn't know who the nickname corresponded to, nor what it meant, but she had seen the profile picture before, or rather, she had added the owner of the profile picture.
That guy's name is Mo Yixia.
A very annoying guy.
Even the fact that the two of them added each other on Fetion was because that guy said some very infuriating things that day, which is why she accepted his friend request and then peeked at his Moments that very night, but unfortunately she found nothing.
Thinking of that guy's despicable face and the seemingly overly intimate relationship between him and Han Zhou, Gu Zheng immediately made up her mind.
Senior Wang Lengqiu was right in front of her, and she could ask her any questions later. But since it was a rare opportunity to observe how Han Zhou and that guy interacted behind the scenes, she naturally couldn't let it go.
So she secretly noted down the note, then turned around and handed the phone to Han Zhou, who looked somewhat puzzled.
"It was a video call." (End of Chapter)