Chapter 577
I Won Again
Han Zhou was stunned for a moment when he saw the caller ID on the screen.
He could swear to God that this was absolutely not a preordained emergency call he had made. Even if he were to arrange something like this, he should have asked Teacher Ouyang for help instead of foolishly seeking Mo Yixia's assistance.
What's the difference between that and sending someone to their death?
The reason Yixia could tolerate him being two-timing for the time being was not because she genuinely accepted this ambiguity, but because, at least on the surface, he had never truly embarked on either relationship—until today, he had been deceiving himself into maintaining a "normal friend" relationship with both of them.
In almost everything, Yixia is never shy about taking the initiative, sometimes even to an excessive degree, but when it comes to confessing her feelings and establishing a relationship, she never takes the lead.
Or rather, in her view, once the two of them established a relationship, it would mean that Guzheng was completely out of the game. Of course, she wouldn't mind seeing her rival leave in such a pitiful state as a stray dog, but she didn't want to impose the expectation that "you have to choose one of us" on him.
Even though this was something that was bound to happen sooner or later and was necessary.
So she just kept waiting, waiting for him to choose between her and the guzheng.
Therefore, rather than saying she was "tolerating" it, it would be more accurate to say that in her view, the time had not yet come for a winner to be decided between her and the guzheng.
The key reason why the three have been able to maintain this fragile balance for the time being is that he has not made a choice.
Yixia knew very well that compared to the guzheng, the only thing she lacked was the advantage of time. Even though she didn't believe that the depth of feelings was directly proportional to time, she didn't mind taking the time to accumulate them slowly.
After all, she will only turn eighteen next year, and there is still a long way to go.
Given Yi Xia's personality, she probably never took the guzheng seriously, and wouldn't even mind having a few more rivals, since that would make their story more interesting. But if a rival got the title of "girlfriend" before her, she would definitely be angry, no matter the reason.
Yes, definitely.
Han Zhou was very certain of this.
But he was also certain that if he established a relationship with her first just to avoid making Yixia so angry, and then tried every means to get her to agree to him having an affair, Yixia would only be angrier.
She might not accept a confession until she receives a clear answer like, "I am completely yours."
Yixia hates imposed expectations, whether from others or herself. This is not just an empty phrase, but a principle she has put into practice.
This is her weakness, but also her charm, and a major reason why Han Zhou has been able to "linger on" until today.
Of course, Han Zhou never intended to hide this from Mo Yixia, since he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to. He just wanted some buffer time before he could tell her the truth when they met again.
But who would have thought that he had just established a relationship with Wang Lengqiu this morning, and Yixia called him tonight.
It's important to know that today is not a day off. According to Yixia's strictly controlled schedule, she should have just finished washing up and gone to bed by now. But she called the phone the very first thing she did after getting out of bed.
Could it be that in just a few days, this guy's mind-reading ability has evolved to the point where he can see through thoughts from a distance, regardless of distance?
Han Zhou broke out in a cold sweat.
It wasn't just because the phone call was suspicious, but also because Guzheng was standing opposite him, staring at him menacingly.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad, but Guzheng had just given everyone an "order" that no one was allowed to make a sound when the call connected, because she wanted to see how he and Yixia communicated in private.
In a way, Guzheng's reach seems a bit "too far," but no one, including herself, felt there was anything wrong with it.
Why aren't you answering the phone?
Seeing that Han Zhou hadn't pressed the answer button yet, Gu Zheng asked suspiciously.
Han Zhou remained calm as he walked into the bathroom, grabbed a towel to cover his face, and said calmly, "You don't understand Yi Xia's family situation. There are cameras everywhere in her house. If they accidentally film me during the video call later, her mother will definitely cause me trouble."
Gu Zheng had heard a little about Mo Yixia's family situation, so she didn't suspect anything. It was better to cover her face so that the two of them wouldn't secretly lip-sync or exchange glances later.
She pouted and snorted unhappily, "Calling you under these circumstances, it seems your relationship is better than I thought."
Han Zhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Gu Zheng's willingness to complain meant that she only had some doubts about today's events and had not actually noticed anything unusual. As long as Senior Wang Lengqiu could give a plausible explanation later, this hurdle would be cleared.
Just as Mo Yixia only categorized her rivals into "flat-chested rivals" and "other rivals," Gu Zheng also considered Mo Yixia as her number one enemy, while the others were not a threat. Therefore, she naturally put Wang Lengqiu's matter aside for the time being.
"After all, I was not only one of her few friends, but also her teacher for a period of time."
Han Zhou sighed, feigning a sigh, "If one day you become closer to her than to me, she'll call you too. But she has some personality issues, and you're not good at socializing, so we probably won't be able to be friends..."
Even in this critical moment, he still didn't forget to dig a hole for the guzheng.
As expected, upon hearing this, Guzheng's competitive nature was immediately triggered, and she subconsciously retorted, "Who said we can't be friends?"
As soon as she finished speaking, perhaps realizing she had fallen for a trap, she immediately put on a stern face and urged, "Stop talking nonsense and answer the phone!"
During this time, Zhong Ling kept her eyes down, her mind focused, and carefully clutched the small cloth bag at her waist, afraid that her expression would give her away.
Wang Lengqiu remained expressionless, silently wiping her hair with a towel, appearing detached from the situation, but her eyes were no longer as empty as before.
Han Zhou understood that Yi Xia calling him at this time must mean she had something important to say.
Yixia's bedroom is under surveillance, so she can't make phone calls openly. Therefore, this call most likely came from under the covers or from the bathroom.
In this cold weather, if it's the latter...
Despite feeling uneasy, he immediately pulled up his coat hood and pressed the answer button.
As soon as the call connected, he immediately saw Mo Yixia in the video.
The chill of the winter night was kept out of the window, and only the clear light of a flashlight slanted upwards, illuminating the girl's face.
Mo Yixia lay sprawled among the pile of soft pillows, wearing the pink bunny ear pajamas she had worn in the snow-capped mountains. The long ears hanging down from the sides of the hood draped softly over her shoulders, trembling slightly as she adjusted her phone.
The phone seemed to be propped up on the bedside table. She rested her chin on one hand, while lazily holding a flashlight in the other. Her long, black hair cascaded down her arm like a waterfall, shimmering like satin in the cold white light, making the skin on her neck appear even whiter. As the beam of light flickered, the beauty mark at the corner of her right eye lit up and dimmed, like a faint ink stain on fresh snow, exuding a languid weariness.
"It took a full minute and a half for him to answer the phone."
As soon as the call connected, the girl's slightly aloof voice came through the phone, "Let me think... this little bit of time seems just enough to bring..."
Han Zhou's heart tightened, and before Mo Yixia could finish speaking, he quickly interrupted, "Is there a power outage on your end?"
If he wasn't mistaken, what Mo Yixia meant was, "This amount of time seems just enough to pull up your pants." Clearly, the other person had already figured out that he was currently in a hotel.
Gu Zheng frowned slightly. She really wanted to know what the unfinished sentence was, but Han Zhou had already interrupted her, and she couldn't speak now. She could only suppress her curiosity and continue listening.
Mo Yixia in the video did not answer immediately, but instead moved her face closer so that she could see the emotions in Han Zhou's eyes more clearly.
“Our relationship was never meant to be seen in public. I wouldn’t dare contact you if the power wasn’t off.”
After a moment, she spoke with a half-smile, but her voice was lowered, giving the impression of someone who had done something wrong.
Hearing this, Han Zhou was certain that Yi Xia knew Gu Zheng was eavesdropping and was deliberately trying to sow discord between him and Gu Zheng, while also making Gu Zheng feel uncomfortable. Of course, this was the truth; at least in front of Gu Zheng, their relationship was indeed something that couldn't be made public.
And these words were indeed quite effective. As soon as the words fell, not only Guzheng, but even Wang Lengqiu, who was drying her hair, couldn't help but tilt her head and cast an inquiring look.
Zhong Ling's expression stiffened slightly, and she once again prepared herself to hug the guzheng at any moment.
Han Zhou knew he couldn't change the subject at this moment, so he feigned ignorance and asked, "What is our relationship?"
"What do you say?"
Mo Yixia seemed unable to see the pleading in his eyes and passed the buck back to him.
As Gu Zheng's expression darkened, Han Zhou tentatively spoke:
"...Ordinary friends?"
"is it?"
Mo Yixia clearly didn't want to give up so easily. She put down the flashlight, grabbed the rabbit ears on the hat, and shook them gently. "Friends are friends, but not ordinary ones."
After saying that, as if deliberately trying to pique people's interest, she stopped talking about the topic, dropped her languid demeanor, and covered her mouth in feigned surprise: "By the way, why are you dressed like that? Did someone beat you up?"
If one had to describe Han Zhou's appearance at this moment, the only word to describe it would be "Jiahao". He was wearing a hood and his face was covered with a towel, and nothing was visible except for his eyes.
Han Zhou knew that Mo Yixia was obviously asking a question she already knew the answer to. After all, she knew better than anyone that the more guilty she felt, the less she dared to let her see the expression on her face.
Although Yixia took the initiative to end the topic, Guzheng would not let it go afterward. In addition to explaining Wang Lengqiu's matter, he also had to re-explain his relationship with Mo Yixia.
Thinking of this, Han Zhou felt a headache coming on, but he could only pretend to be calm and then grit his teeth and repeat the same words he had said to Gu Zheng.
"Oh, so you're worried my mom will cause you trouble..."
After listening, Mo Yixia's gaze towards him became increasingly subtle, but she sighed softly, "I knew our relationship was something that couldn't be made public. We even have to be secretive when we make a phone call... What's the difference between this and having an affair?"
Her tone was mournful, giving the impression that she was about to cry at any moment.
Han Zhou's expression tightened. Pretending not to have heard the second half of the sentence, he asked in confusion, "Why did you suddenly think of calling me?"
"Because I miss you."
Mo Yixia answered in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I'm asking about serious matters."
"I'm talking about serious business."
In the video, a girl wearing pink bunny pajamas rests her chin on her hands and repeats, word by word, "I miss you."
Han Zhou didn't dare look at Gu Zheng's expression and said with difficulty, "We only separated a few days ago..."
"A day apart feels like three autumns; a few days apart feels like more than ten years apart."
Mo Yixia sniffed, her tone becoming low again, even sounding somewhat aggrieved, "Haven't you thought about me at all in all this time?"
"If we haven't seen each other for more than ten years, of course I'll miss you."
Han Zhou gave a rather cunning answer, then asked again, "Besides missing me, you must have other important matters to attend to, right?"
"Have."
"It's good that it's something important..." He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What is it?"
I dreamt about you during my afternoon nap today.
What kind of serious business is this?
Han Zhou's expression froze. He raised his head without making a sound and found that Gu Zheng's face was terribly gloomy and her fists were almost clenched to pieces.
He forced himself to remain calm and asked, "What kind of dream was it?"
Mo Yixia pretended to think for a moment: "To be less precise, it was a wet dream."
Han Zhou's lips twitched: "To be more precise..."
"It was a wet dream that I didn't really like."
"..."
Zhong Ling's cheeks flushed red. This was the first time she had seen her junior and Yi Xia interacting privately. How could she even have a wet dream about it? Wasn't this what they called flirting... flirting?
She lowered her head, her cheeks growing hotter and hotter, her thoughts becoming increasingly complicated. Unconsciously, she tugged at the small cloth bag at her waist, momentarily forgetting to even notice the guzheng's reaction.
Speaking of erotic dreams, I think I had one tonight in the taxi on my way here...
Han Zhou didn't believe that Mo Yixia couldn't see his current situation, so without a doubt, every word she said was meant to provoke Gu Zheng and cause him trouble.
Aside from the questionable "spring dream," everything else was undoubtedly the truth. The other party spoke with genuine sincerity, while he could only pretend to be stupid and desperately try to cover it up. It was really too embarrassing.
Thinking of this, Han Zhou's guilt grew deeper and deeper. As the one who had been kept in the dark all along, the moment when Gu Zheng learned the whole truth in the future would surely be extremely cruel to her.
But for Mo Yixia, who was fully aware of her own "greed," every moment was cruel.
The same goes for Wang Lengqiu.
Perhaps sensing his mood, Mo Yixia didn't press the matter further, instead asking, "Didn't you go to Wang Lengqiu's house to look at photos with Senior Zhong Ling and that flat-chested girl? How did it go? Did you see them?"
Flat chest...
Gu Zheng was furious. She took several deep breaths, but could no longer bear it. She rushed to Han Zhou, snatched the phone, and stared at Mo Yixia in the video through gritted teeth.
"Stop pretending! You think I don't know? You figured out a long time ago that Han Zhou and I were together!"
She was furious, her small chest heaving wildly in an attempt to appear less flat, then she suddenly calmed down and gave a cold smile.
"You guessed right, I not only had sex with Han Zhou, I even booked a hotel room with him!"
Hmph, so what if it's a wet dream? So what if it's just some nonsensical talk? To put it bluntly, it's nothing but unrealistic fantasies.
I'm the one who's been with Han Zhou the longest, and I'm also the one who can stand by his side at any time!
Therefore, in the end, I will be the only winner! (End of Chapter)