Chapter 600
Serious Illness
Feigning illness...
Seeing that Mo Yixia did not reply for a long time, Han Zhou put away his phone with mixed feelings, raised his hand to press his brow, and glanced at Zhong Ling beside him out of the corner of his eye.
The setting sun slanted in from the side, casting a soft golden edge on the girl's profile. A faint smile played on her lips, and her steps were lighter than usual, suggesting she was in a good mood.
The brighter her smile appeared, the more melancholy Han Zhou felt.
Does this trick really work?
The senior's sudden loss of voice was clearly a psychological issue, and had nothing to do with whether he was physically ill or not. But since it was Yi Xia's suggestion, and he couldn't think of a better solution at the moment, he could only give it a try.
but……
Doing all the things Wang Lengqiu did to him to Yixia... how could that be possible?
Han Zhou had a toothache.
Furthermore, since he's going to be honest with Yixia about everything between him and Wang Lengqiu, he'll inevitably have to tell her about going back in time. If that's the case, then the hair tie that Sister Yin gave him obviously can't be kept a secret any longer...
Of course, there was no need to hide this matter. He was just worried that if Sister Yin regained her memory one day, their relationship might become awkward.
He hadn't forgotten that Wang Lengqiu had once said that his future self might have already fallen for Sister Yin...
No, the more I think about it, the more my head aches.
Since it's such a headache, I might as well pretend to have a headache tonight...
Just as I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard a soft stomping sound.
Han Zhou snapped out of his daze and realized that Zhong Ling had turned around and was looking at him with a worried expression. She had probably called out to him several times without getting a response, so she couldn't help but step back and stomp her feet lightly.
This wasn't because he was angry. Han Zhou remembered that sometimes Zhong Ling would call him from behind, and when he didn't have time to activate "accept fate" and didn't hear her greet him, she would gently stomp her foot as a way of reminding him.
"I am fine."
He immediately put aside his thoughts and put on a relaxed smile. "I just suddenly remembered that when we used to walk together, you always walked really fast, but now you don't seem to be in such a hurry."
Zhong Ling paused for a moment, then lowered her head slightly, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Han Zhou was curious about the meaning of this reaction, but he didn't dare to ask. After all, he couldn't hear Zhong Ling speak, and even if she answered, he wouldn't be able to respond. Instead, he would prematurely expose the fact that she had lost her voice.
But then again, even if someone is slow to notice, they should still be aware that they can't make a sound, right? Is the senior really completely oblivious?
Thinking of this, he narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to analyze something from Zhong Ling's micro-expressions, just like Yi Xia had done.
The result, unsurprisingly, was a failure.
Although the senior student has a personality that shows her emotions easily, she usually wears a slight smile or is more shy, making it difficult to discern her inner thoughts.
However, if you think about it from another perspective, being forced to cut off the sound of communication and only being able to guess the other person's thoughts through eyes and expressions is not necessarily a bad thing.
Thinking of this, Han Zhou simply stopped looking away and stared straight at Zhong Ling.
At first, Zhong Ling thought she hadn't washed her face properly, so she quickly took out a tissue to wipe it. However, her junior didn't look away. Instead, his gaze moved down and gradually settled on her chest. Zhong Ling's breath hitched, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on the small cloth bag at her waist.
"Junior, what are you looking at...?"
She lowered her head slightly, her face delicate and alluring. She wanted to reach out and cover her full breasts, but she was worried that this would make her junior think that she was treating him like a pervert.
In fact, although Zhong Ling has a great figure, it is winter now, and wearing such a thick coat doesn't look very good, so Han Zhou was obviously not looking at her chest.
He was simply lost in thought when his gaze unconsciously drifted downwards.
After a long silence, as if he had suddenly thought of something, a smile appeared on his lips that even Zhong Ling found perverted:
"Senior, shall we play a game?"
……
Shortly afterward, the two returned to their encampment.
It was just the end of the sunset. Gu Zheng and Wang Lengqiu had already set up their tent and were sitting side by side on a protruding rock, gazing at the distant horizon.
The winter sunset, like a frozen red persimmon, was wedged between two mountain peaks and was sinking at a visible speed, dyeing the clouds on the horizon in varying shades of orange-red and crimson. The wind, carrying a dry scent, howled past.
Han Zhou was about to greet them when his ears suddenly twitched, catching their conversation amidst the whistling wind—
"Senior Wang Lengqiu, I actually heard what you and Han Zhou said that night. I know you like Han Zhou, and I admire your persistence and courage, but that's all."
He was too far away to see her face clearly, but he could see Gu Zheng turning her head to look at Wang Lengqiu in the setting sun. Even though he couldn't see her, Han Zhou knew very well what kind of expression Gu Zheng had on her face at that moment.
"Han Zhou, this time first place is still mine. Even though we're good friends, I won't deliberately lose to you."
Is there an "unless"?
"No... never mind, unless you deliberately lose to me once, but you should know that day is impossible."
—As far as I can remember, whenever she wanted to compete for first place, she would speak in this tone, as if she were asserting her sovereignty.
Seeing that expression every time meant that he would inevitably be second in the next exam.
Sure enough, the next second, the guzheng continued to play, its sound somewhat broken by the wind, yet exceptionally clear:
"I will absolutely not give Han Zhou to you."
A strong wind howled past, making the girl's hair extremely messy, with strands wildly brushing past her eyes, but she didn't blink, just staring straight at Wang Lengqiu.
Wang Lengqiu didn't speak, but just silently looked at her, his profile half-lit and half-shadowed in the setting sun, lost in thought.
Perhaps realizing her current expression might frighten the other person, Guzheng looked away and spoke again after a long while. Although she considered the other person a rival in love, her tone was as if she were chatting casually with a friend:
"I know there must be a reason why you suggested buying two tents. Even if Han Zhou rejected you that night, you'll probably still go to the tent to find him tonight, right?"
At this point, she turned to look at him again: "To tell you the truth, this is also part of my plan."
Upon hearing this, Wang Lengqiu didn't react much, but Han Zhou, who was in the distance, suddenly widened his eyes.
Come find me in the tent?
He could see that it was obviously problematic for four people to only buy two tents, but the suggestion came from Wang Lengqiu. He thought that Gu Zheng's lack of objection was just to accommodate Wang Lengqiu's idea, but he did not expect that she had been pushing for it all along.
So this guy was so obsessed with climbing mountains just so he could come to my tent late at night to find me?
As for Wang Lengqiu...
He suddenly remembered the sexy stockings he had seen in Guzheng's suitcase and the condoms he had found in Wang Lengqiu's suitcase, and a chill ran down his spine.
As the sun set, Wang Lengqiu tilted her head, her long hair brushing against her cheeks in the wind, and asked softly, "What do you want to do in his tent?"
Gu Zheng was about to answer when she suddenly remembered something and narrowed her eyes warily: "I'll do whatever you want."
"Do you know what I want to do?" "No, but I will never let you do anything reckless."
Gu Zheng knew very well that this senior's thoughts were hard to fathom and she was quite proactive. If she didn't keep a close eye on her, there might be big problems.
Wang Lengqiu remained noncommittal, gazing at the setting sun in the distance, when suddenly he asked a strange question:
Did you wear a hair tie?
"what?"
Gu Zheng was taken aback. She thought that the senior student, who was used to having her hair down, was upset by the wind and wanted to tie it up with a hair tie. But she always kept her hair short, so how could she wear something like a hair tie? So she shook her head blankly.
But then Wang Lengqiu reached into his coat pocket, rummaged around for a while, and pulled out a black hair tie, handing it to her.
"I brought it, it's for you."
"Thank you, but I don't need it..."
Gu Zheng's face showed even more bewilderment, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.
"Don't you need it?"
Wang Lengqiu tilted her head, as if observing something, then gently shook her head. "It's okay if you don't need it."
As soon as she finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly swept past, blowing the hair tie off her hand and heading straight for the cliff. Gu Zheng had just come to her senses and hurriedly got up to grab it, but it was too late. She could only watch helplessly as the hair tie disappeared at the edge of the cliff.
Seeing Wang Lengqiu's suddenly empty eyes, Gu Zheng thought the hair tie was very important to her and immediately felt apologetic: "I'm sorry, senior, I..."
"Don't you think that looks a lot like a pigeon?" Wang Lengqiu suddenly asked.
"Huh? Does it look like it?"
As the sun set, Wang Lengqiu quietly watched the black dot quickly disappear from view and nodded gently.
"Yes, it is."
Gu Zheng racked her brains but still couldn't figure out the connection between the two. After a long silence, she tentatively asked, "Senior, was that hair tie... important to you?"
Wang Lengqiu nodded, then shook his head.
"It's okay, it will fly back."
She reached into her coat pocket again and pulled out a handful of hair ties. Although she wasn't smiling, a strange gentleness appeared on her face.
"And I bought a lot today."
Gu Zheng was completely dumbfounded.
No wonder so many people think of Wang Lengqiu as a mental patient. She thought that after getting to know her better, she might be able to understand some of what she was saying, but she still couldn't understand a word she was saying.
But the more she acted this way, the harder it became for her to feel hostility.
After all, it was obvious to everyone that Wang Lengqiu's current state was likely related to her excessive longing for Han Zhou. This almost pathological obsession actually evoked a sense of sympathy in her.
But sympathy aside, a rival is a rival, and she won't show any mercy.
After a moment of silence, a resolute glint flashed in her eyes, and she said seriously, "Senior, how about we settle this with one game?"
Wang Lengqiu tilted her head, silently waiting for her to continue.
Gu Zheng gritted her teeth: "After dinner tonight, we'll each go into a tent and wait, letting Han Zhou choose between the two tents."
"Given his personality, he'll probably choose to sleep outside," Wang Lengqiu said softly.
“Of course I know, that’s why he has to choose in the tent this time.”
Gu Zheng frankly said, "A friend of mine told me that it is a very foolish thing to put two people on the left and right sides of a scale to compare their weight in another person's heart, but sometimes we have to say that I want to try it today."
Wang Lengqiu remained noncommittal, only asking softly, "Does the person with less weight need to withdraw?"
"Do not."
Gu Zheng shook her head, raised her hand to tidy her disheveled hair, and shifted her gaze back to the setting sun that was about to disappear below the horizon.
"I just want to give it a try."
"Then why is it called 'One Game Decides the Victory'?"
This time, it was Wang Lengqiu's turn to not understand the guzheng's words.
Perhaps in order to "win" this time, Guzheng did not answer.
In the distance, cold sweat was already seeping from Han Zhou's forehead.
"Senior, I suddenly feel a bit of a headache..."
……
That night, Han Zhou fell ill.
He was very ill, with only a little consciousness left, but not much.
This was a truly life-or-death moment. To deceive the three girls, including Zhong Ling, he had to strive for authenticity. To this end, he went so far as to use the status bar to cancel the temporary "on the verge of death" status that had just ended that day and change it to "on the verge of death."
[On the verge of death (modified) → On the verge of death: Every breath you take brings you closer to death. During this period, your stamina attribute is forcibly reduced to two points, and you remain in a weakened state. You will enter the dying phase after twelve hours.]
"On the verge of death" allows him to survive for a day in a normal state, so "on the verge of death" which has only one-third the effect of "on the verge of death" can naturally put him into a weak state resembling a serious illness.
As for why it wasn't "on the verge of death," it's because the margin for error is too low; he was afraid he would really die there.
With the help of the status bar and his extensive experience with patients, even though the three girls found it strange, all their doubts turned into panic the moment they saw his pale face.
Without a word, Guzheng offered to carry him down the mountain to see a doctor, but he refused with a bitter smile.
"You were so looking forward to climbing the mountain just to see the sunrise tomorrow morning, right? Don't give up your dream because of me. Don't worry, I'm just feeling a little unwell, I'll be fine soon."
But Gu Zheng didn't care about any of that. She had seen Han Zhou in this terrible state when she was in high school. It wasn't a matter of comfort or discomfort; he had to go to the hospital immediately.
Zhong Ling and Wang Lengqiu were also very determined. The three of them formed a united front and insisted on sending him to the hospital.
Han Zhou then realized that he had gone too far in his pursuit of realism, and his pale face had clearly frightened the three of them.
He already felt ashamed for deceiving the three of them by feigning illness, so he naturally couldn't let them go through all that trouble for him. He could only smile bitterly and say, "I understand your concerns, but it's so cold now. Not only will it be difficult to go down the mountain, but we'll also have to brave the wind all the way. I might just get sicker."
He tried his best to persuade them, and finally convinced the three of them. However, out of concern, they said they would not sleep tonight and had to see him recover with their own eyes.
If his condition shows even the slightest sign of worsening, he will be subject to mandatory treatment. (End of Chapter)