Chapter 635
The Liar
Because of a statement that could easily be misunderstood, Han Zhou cleverly avoided the "siege" of Truth or Dare. Although he couldn't escape being given a dirty look, it was still better than not being able to answer the truth at all.
Time passed and it was noon.
Lunch was not as turbulent as expected; instead, it was peaceful and harmonious. Gu Zheng had a good appetite, and Gu Lang and Miao Yan'er were all smiling and attentively greeting everyone, without any intention of secretly testing anyone.
"It's rare for Xiaozheng to bring so many friends back; our house hasn't been this lively in a long time," Miao Yan'er said with a warm smile. "Let's celebrate today, everyone, eat more, don't be shy."
She kept piling food into everyone's bowls, looking like a newly hired cafeteria worker. Before anyone had even touched their chopsticks, the food in their bowls was already piled up like a small mountain.
Zhong Ling stared at the overflowing bowl of rice in front of her, her chopsticks hovering in mid-air, unable to fall—this was the third time her aunt had added braised pork to her bowl.
"Junior..."
She opened her mouth, a troubled look appearing on her slightly chubby face, and could only cast a pleading look at Han Zhou.
Han Zhou understood and quickly came to the rescue, saying, "Sister Miao, that's enough. Senior sister can't eat this much."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhong Yin kicked him under the table with the force of settling both old and new grudges.
“Even Sister Yin can’t eat that much,” he added.
Then came another kick.
He was very familiar with this force, having experienced it many times in recent classes.
"Even a little one can't eat this much."
Han Zhou gasped, not from pain, but from realizing that everyone else was engrossed in their food and showed no intention of speaking. He immediately became wary and secretly reached his left hand under the table.
As expected, a third foot soon came at him. He immediately grabbed it, but it was hard to tell whose leg it was. He could only be sure that the owner of the leg was wearing a skirt. The leg felt warm and smooth to the touch. He couldn't tell if she was wearing fleece-lined stockings or tights.
It's worth mentioning that, although it's winter and it snowed last night, quite a few people were wearing skirts today. Just as he was about to look up and observe everyone's expressions, he heard Ouyang Lianyu's exclamation.
"ah!"
"What's wrong?" Miao Yan'er asked.
"N-nothing..."
Ouyang Lianyu's face was flushed and she stammered, "It's just... I suddenly remembered that I still have some work to finish."
Miao Yan'er was both amused and exasperated: "Teacher Ouyang, I've heard people say you're a workaholic. You even think about your lesson plans when you're crossing the street. In my opinion, you should rest well during your vacation, relax a bit, and stop thinking about work all the time."
Clearly, she had heard of Ouyang Lianyu's reputation during her last visit to Linda University, but the phrase "covered in wounds" didn't sound very nice, so she used a more respectable term.
Hearing this, Ouyang Lianyu felt even more embarrassed and could only watch helplessly as Miao Yan'er continued to add food to her bowl, her voice trembling:
"Okay, okay..."
During their conversation, the leg in Han Zhou's hand kept struggling, clearly indicating that Ouyang Lianyu was the owner of this third leg.
Han Zhou sighed inwardly. His senior sister couldn't speak, so he could accept that she asked him for help. Did they not have mouths themselves? He let go of her hand and sighed resignedly, "Sister Miao, even Teacher Ouyang can't eat this much."
He used his chopsticks to stop Miao Yan'er from reaching out again and advised, "Don't just think about us, eat more yourself. Haven't you noticed you've lost weight lately?"
"Really?" Miao Yan'er was taken aback.
"Absolutely," Han Zhou said confidently.
"You even noticed?" Miao Yan'er beamed with joy. "Looks like my diet has been quite effective lately."
Han Zhou gave a wry smile: "With your figure, do you really need to lose weight?"
“That’s what I said at the time, but your sister Miao just wouldn’t listen.”
It was rare for Gu Lang to reach a consensus with this kid, and he said helplessly, "Winter has only just begun, and she's already worried about not being able to wear skirts in the summer."
"What do you two grown men know?"
Miao Yan'er rolled her eyes at the two of them, then smiled and looked around, "Girls will never think they're too thin, don't you think?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, not out of defiance, but because they genuinely thought so, and even began sharing their weight loss methods.
Han Zhou and Gu Lang exchanged a glance and secretly shook their heads.
Oh, women.
Miao Yan'er's smile widened, but when her gaze fell on Wang Lengqiu's face, her tone suddenly changed: "But being too thin is not good either. You still need to eat more. Miss, you should eat more."
As he spoke, he reached his chopsticks into Wang Lengqiu's bowl again.
Han Zhou quickly stopped her, saying, "Sister Miao, Senior Wang Lengqiu has a small appetite. Please wait until she finishes eating before you take any more food."
Wang Lengqiu whispered "thank you," it was unclear whether she was thanking Miao Yan'er or Han Zhou.
The midday sun shone brighter and brighter, and the steam from the food rose higher and higher. Under Miao Yan'er's guidance, everyone gradually opened up and started talking. In their conversation, they actually had a bit of a feeling of family reunion.
Gu Lang took a sip of baijiu, the spicy taste making him squint slightly. He said with regret, "It's a pity I hid my good bottle of wine at work and didn't bring it with me, otherwise I would have drunk my fill today."
"You have the nerve to say that? You'd rather hide the liquor at work than bring it home. Who are you trying to keep it from?"
Miao Yan'er glared at him, feigning displeasure. "Go to your workplace this afternoon and get the wine. We'll drink it tonight."
"This..." Gu Lang looked troubled. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded with a pained expression. "Alright, then please don't rush to leave. Stay and have dinner at our house tonight."
The two of them worked together seamlessly, and in just a few words, they had arranged dinner for everyone. Without giving them a chance to refuse, Gu Lang patted his chest and said with great enthusiasm, "Xiao Zheng, Han Zhou, you two take everyone out for a stroll this afternoon. All expenses will be reimbursed by your dad!"
This sounds like he's saying, "I'm your son too..." Han Zhou thought to himself, but said aloud, "Uncle Gu, Teacher Ouyang and the others don't drink alcohol."
"Really?" Gu Lang was taken aback, then waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile, "It's okay, you can learn to drink if you don't know how. I don't care about others, but you have to have a few drinks with me tonight."
Ouyang Lianyu's heart skipped a beat. She thought that Gu Zheng's father wanted to get Han Zhou drunk so that he would reveal the truth under the influence of alcohol, so she quickly said, "Actually, I do drink a little, but I drove today..."
"It's alright, we have extra guest rooms. Why don't you just stay here tonight?" Miao Yan'er said with a smile.
"No need," Ouyang Lianyu politely declined. "I've rented a place here; it's just a short walk away."
Clearly, she was prepared to drink tonight and wasn't even planning to drive away.
In her opinion, as long as she could help drink a little of the wine, Han Zhou would be spared.
Seeing that he could have another person to drink with, Gu Lang beamed and asked, "What about you guys? Do you want to have a drink tonight?"
“I’ll drink,” Xiao Xiaoxiao said, raising her hand.
Gu Lang's smile froze, and he quickly lowered his voice to ask Gu Zheng sitting next to him, "Gu Zheng, are you sure your classmate is really an adult?"
"You'll have to ask Teacher Ouyang about that," Guzheng replied softly.
She paused for a moment, then continued, "I'll drink with you tonight, but Han Zhou isn't allowed to drink."
"why?"
He can't drink alcohol.
"What man can't drink?" Gu Lang said, feigning displeasure.
Gu Zheng seemed too lazy to argue with him and ruthlessly ended the conversation: "Then just pretend he's not a man."
Han Zhou had excellent hearing and could hear their whispers. Hearing this, his lips twitched, but he didn't dare to say anything more at this moment.
Just then, Zhong Yin, who was sitting next to him, said, "I can have a little wine too." Han Zhou was taken aback and looked at Zhong Yin suspiciously, wondering if the other party wanted to help him share the burden like Teacher Ouyang, or if he simply wanted to drink.
He glanced at Zhong Ling to Zhong Yin's left, wanting to ask if Sister Yin really drank alcohol, but before he could speak, he heard Zhong Ling weakly say, "I'd like to have a little too..."
So, apart from Wang Runxue's father who was coming to pick her up tonight, and her fear of being scolded if she drank, everyone else planned to drink tonight, including Wang Lengqiu.
Oh, I almost forgot, Han Zhou, who is "not a man," is also banned from drinking tonight.
However, Han Zhou has never been interested in cigarettes or alcohol, so not being able to drink is actually a good thing for him. And if nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to take quite a few people home tonight.
Throughout lunch, Han Zhou felt something was amiss, but he remained on tenterhooks until the end of the meal, and Uncle Gu and Sister Miao did nothing. Despite his suspicions, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But it was just a small breath.
It's time to come.
Not long after lunch, Guzheng called him out, and they went downstairs in the apartment complex together.
Overall, sleet and snow seem to be indistinguishable; both are covered in a thick layer of white, making the world appear clean and pristine.
The sun was high in the sky, but it was not very warm. The pale sunlight fell on the thin snow, reflecting a cold white light. The air was crisp and cold, and when you breathed it in, it felt like a needle prick.
Guzheng showed no intention of waiting for him. With her hands behind her back, she walked quickly ahead, her footsteps creaking, her shadow stretched long in the sunlight.
Han Zhou followed silently behind her, hesitating whether to speak first.
They say that those who confess will be treated leniently, while those who resist will be punished severely. But isn't it a little too late to confess now?
If I were to be honest, where should I begin? Should I start with the summer after graduation?
As he was lost in thought, he heard the guzheng player in front of him suddenly stop and turn around to look at him: "Do you remember when you first came to my house?"
He was stunned. There was no anger or sadness on Guzheng's face, but rather a bright smile. But he knew that Guzheng was not smiling, because the girl's eyes did not curve into beautiful crescents as usual.
She was an easy girl to understand, but also an easy girl to deceive. She believed everything about him and tolerated everything about him, which is why he was able to deceive her time and time again.
"Ah."
Han Zhou could no longer suppress the bitterness in his heart. He managed to utter a muffled nasal sound and forced a smile, "It was winter, I think. Your parents weren't home that day. You said you'd make me fried rice, but something went wrong..."
"Who told you to recall this?"
Gu Zheng blushed and quickly interrupted him, saying irritably, "What I mean is, do you remember what excuse you gave when you first came to my house?"
Han Zhou paused, pondered for a long time, and tentatively asked, "Can't I live without you?"
Seeing Gu Zheng's face darken instantly, he felt a little embarrassed and said guiltily, "I've used too many excuses, I've forgotten them all."
Yes, you always need an excuse to go to a girl's house. During that time, he made up so many excuses to be able to visit Guzheng's house every weekend that he can't remember them all now.
But when he gained a photographic memory and could remember every reason clearly, he no longer needed any reason to go to Guzheng's house.
Or rather, for both sides at that time, there was only one reason left.
But neither of them said it aloud.
Gu Zheng stared at Han Zhou for a long while, as if she wanted to see all the days she would never see again, before she pouted and slowly said, "Your reason back then was clearly that you wanted me to tutor you."
"It's that simple?" Han Zhou was stunned for a moment.
"It's that simple."
"You just agree like that?"
"I agreed."
Did I really ask you to tutor me back then?
Is your memory really that bad?
Gu Zheng rolled her eyes, remained silent for a while, and finally smiled. "No, you spent the whole afternoon helping me clean the kitchen."
Han Zhou smiled too. How could he forget this? He was just pretending not to remember, trying to make her happy.
Actually, it wasn't a pleasant experience; in fact, it was quite terrible. But that's how memories are: the good ones remain good years later, while the bad ones slowly ferment and turn into something gentle over time.
"So, did I end up eating the fried rice you made?" he asked.
"of course not."
The smile on Gu Zheng's face faded. "Never."
"So what did we eat?"
"I don't remember, but it didn't taste good."
Gu Zheng walked towards the outside of the community and immediately saw the electric scooter parked outside the gate. She took out her keys from her pocket, put on her helmet, and sat on it.
"What are you standing there for? Get in the car." She tossed another helmet over.
Han Zhou caught it blankly, and asked in bewilderment, "Where are we going?"
"You get in the car first."
Han Zhou felt uneasy, but he still put on the helmet, got on the electric scooter, and braced himself with his hands behind him.
"Aren't you afraid of falling to your death?" Gu Zheng turned around and glared at him.
"I'm not that fragile..."
He wanted to argue, but was ruthlessly interrupted by the guzheng: "Hold my waist."
Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, then hugged her tightly as instructed. The girl's body stiffened slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.
“Now can you tell me where we’re going?” he asked.
Gu Zheng inserted the key into the ignition and watched as the dashboard of the electric scooter lit up before her eyes: "Before I answer you, you answer one question for me first."
"what?"
She didn't answer immediately. The wheels crunched over the snow, and after a long while, the words, carrying the chill of winter, finally came crashing down: "Han Zhou, have you been lying to me all along?"
As expected... Han Zhou's heart sank, but he gradually relaxed. He opened his mouth, but ultimately did not choose to continue to run away, nor did he try to lie. Instead, he mumbled an "Mmm".
He looked up at the sky. It was clearly the midday sun, but it seemed to be seen through a thin layer of ice. It was so bright that it was blinding, and when it touched his skin, he couldn't tell whether it was warm or cool. It was just like the emotions surging in his chest at that moment. He couldn't say whether it hurt or not.
But it's impossible for a guzheng player not to feel pain.
Thinking about this, his heart truly ached.
"You promised you wouldn't lie to me."
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Let's save these things for later; I don't want to hear them now."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Zheng twisted her wrist, and the electric scooter suddenly started, shooting off with a jolt. The snowy scenery on both sides instantly receded into a blur of light.
In the howling wind, the last two words she uttered were blown away and shattered—
"Liar." (End of Chapter)