Chapter 653
Excessive Demands
By the end of December, the snow had accumulated to a greater depth, and the sky was darkening and getting darker. The streetlights came on early, casting a dim, yellowish light on the snow, which looked bluish from the cold.
Ouyang Lianyu wrapped her coat tighter and walked along the quiet path behind the teaching building. The camphor trees on both sides were covered with thick snow caps. Occasionally, when a cold wind swept by, the snow on the branches would "plop" and fall to the ground, making a dull sound.
As she rounded the corner, she paused, her gaze fixed on the familiar figure ahead.
"stop."
The voice was clear and sharp, leaving no room for evasion.
The figure visibly stiffened for a moment before slowly turning around, a hint of resigned helplessness in their expression.
"Teacher Ouyang, what a coincidence!"
"What's so coincidental about it?"
Ouyang Lianyu stepped forward and said irritably, "I came here specifically to find you."
If she hadn't heard that Han Zhou had been avoiding the main roads and hiding these past few days, she wouldn't have taken this secluded path.
"Han Zhou, tell your teacher honestly, have you been arguing with the guzheng lately?"
"No."
Facing Ouyang Lianyu's stern gaze, Han Zhou coughed lightly, "What I mean is, it wasn't an argument, I just told her everything that needed to be told."
"frank……"
Ouyang Lianyu was stunned for a moment, her red lips slightly parted, and she had an incredulous expression. She looked around to make sure no one was around before lowering her voice and asking, "Is it the kind of confession that the teacher understands?"
"Correct."
Han Zhou nodded and smiled somewhat awkwardly, "So Guzheng is ignoring me now."
"You can still laugh!"
Ouyang Lianyu was furious. "If she's ignoring you, can't you at least try to coax her? It's your fault to begin with, don't tell me you haven't contacted Guzheng at all these past few days!"
"I tried to see her, but she refused to meet me."
"Don't give me that. It's not hard for you to see her."
"It's easy to see her, but it's hard to get her to stop avoiding me."
Han Zhou said helplessly, "Gu Zheng said we shouldn't see each other again. If we don't take her words seriously, the problem will only get worse."
Ouyang Lianyu was slightly taken aback: "She really said that?"
"Ah."
"So you're just going to let it go like that?"
"of course not."
Han Zhou shrugged, looking confident. "I'm just waiting for the right opportunity."
"At what time?"
"The New Year's Eve party tomorrow night."
He looked up at the stadium in the distance, its lights just beginning to twinkle, and a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes. "I promised I would go see the guzheng dance."
Ouyang Lianyu opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. This was a problem between Han Zhou and Gu Zheng, and as their teacher, she couldn't get involved. She could only sigh, "I knew this day would come sooner or later..."
Her gaze fell on the boy's calm profile, and her heart softened for a moment. Her tone also softened, "If you need any help from your teacher, please let me know."
"What a coincidence."
Han Zhou suddenly turned to look at her, "I do have something to ask of you, teacher."
As if he had finally solved a headache, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. "As expected, my teacher loves me the most. I actually wanted to ask Sister Yin for help at first, but she scolded me severely."
"What do you mean by pain or not..."
Ouyang Lianyu blushed slightly, then looked wary: "You wouldn't have been waiting for me here all along, would you?"
Han Zhou sighed helplessly: "Teacher Ouyang, I've been avoiding you for the past few days. If you hadn't insisted on coming here to find me, how would I have had the chance to talk to you like this?"
Ouyang Lianyu thought about it and realized that it made sense. She then became even angrier: "How dare you say that? Why do you have to hide from the teacher of all people?"
"Never mind... What do you want the teacher to help you with?"
She was a little curious. Zhong Yin was a person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Although she always seemed impatient with Han Zhou, she wouldn't really get angry unless he made an unreasonable request, let alone scold him.
Wait... that's an unreasonable request...
Could this guy have actually made some unreasonable request to Zhong Yin?
Thinking of this, Ouyang Lianyu's expression darkened slightly: "Han Zhou, the problem with the guzheng hasn't been solved yet, you wouldn't be thinking of getting involved with another new project, would you?"
Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he immediately realized that she had misunderstood. He said helplessly, "Teacher Ouyang, aren't you all a little too prejudiced against me?"
Why do both Sister Yin and Teacher Ouyang think that the unnamed character will board the other party's ship?
"Then tell me, what do you want me and Zhong Yin to do for you?"
Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, then took a few steps back without making a sound. After a long while, he finally made up his mind and slowly uttered two words:
"Bite me."
"what?"
This was undoubtedly a difficult thing to say. Even with Han Zhou's thick skin, he couldn't help but lower his voice when he spoke, and the wind was so strong that Ouyang Lianyu didn't hear him clearly.
"Bite me."
He had no choice but to repeat it again, even though he was reluctant.
Ouyang Lianyu heard it clearly this time.
And she finally understood why Zhong Yin had given him such a good scolding.
Her face flushed red, and she stood there silently for a long time, her chest heaving violently, her voice almost squeezed out from between her teeth:
"roll!"
……
"Failed again, as expected..."
As night deepened, the snow began to fall silently again. Han Zhou walked out of the school gate, feeling a little regretful.
That makes sense; it would be difficult for anyone to accept such a request immediately, let alone for someone as strong-willed as Sister Yin and someone as dignified as Teacher Ouyang.
As for the senior... to be honest, he was really embarrassed to make such a request to her.
Han Zhou's sudden search for someone to bite him wasn't because the bite from Gu Zheng on Christmas unlocked some special fetish, but it was indeed related to that incident. However, since he couldn't find anyone willing to bite him for the time being, there was no need to force it.
He trudged through the snow and stopped in front of a pastry shop with warm yellow lanterns hanging in the air. The glass doors and windows were covered with a layer of fog, blurring the busy figures inside.
With New Year's Day approaching, the streets and alleys are filled with a festive atmosphere, and Zhong Yin's pastry shop is no exception.
He pushed open the door and entered, the bell ringing softly.
"Welcome!"
Zhong Yin paused in wiping the counter, looked up and saw it was him. His face instantly turned cold, and he threw the rag back onto the counter. "How dare you come here again?"
"Sister Yin".
Han Zhou ignored her cold face and walked straight to the glass cabinet. He looked down at the cake decorated with candied chestnuts and thought to himself that Sister Yin's tricks were getting more and more out of hand. "I didn't come here today for you to bite me. I have something else to discuss."
There were no other customers in the shop at the time, but when Zhong Yin heard the words "bite me," his expression changed, though he didn't react. He simply asked coldly, "What is it?"
"Your senior must have told you, right? There's a New Year's Eve party tomorrow night, and I hope you can come with us."
As Han Zhou spoke, he reached for the pastries on the table, but Zhong Yin slapped his hand away. She turned and took a plate of freshly baked pastries from the oven, casually placed it on the table, and then continued wiping the counter.
"I'm not a student at your school, why would I go there to join in the fun?" "Guzheng is going to perform on stage tomorrow night."
"Of course I know."
Zhong Yin didn't even look up. "But I've been too busy with business lately, I can't spare the time."
Han Zhou exhaled a puff of white breath: "I have already confessed to Gu Zheng."
Zhong Yin paused in his movements, and when he looked up, the coldness on his face had melted away, replaced by barely perceptible worry: "You're two-timing me?"
"Actually, it's not just two boats, I also dated senior Wang Lengqiu."
Han Zhou was a little embarrassed. "But Gu Zheng doesn't know this yet. She left before I could tell her."
Wang Lengqiu... the third boat...
A surge of intense irritation welled up inside Zhong Yin, and her expression turned cold again: "Then what did you confess?"
I want them all.
In the past, Han Zhou would have been somewhat embarrassed to say this, but this time he spoke with exceptional firmness—even though Zhong Yin was looking at him with a very cold gaze.
"I want them all, I want them all," Zhong Yin threw down the rag and sneered, "Why don't you take me with you?"
Han Zhou was taken aback and was about to speak when the door behind Zhong Yin was opened and a figure walked out.
"Junior, what brings you here?"
It was Zhong Ling who rushed to the store to help after class.
"Senior."
Han Zhou greeted her with a smile, "I've come to invite Sister Yin to come to the school to watch the New Year's Eve party with us tomorrow night. Could you also help me persuade her?"
Zhong Yin immediately glared at him, but he pretended not to see it.
Zhong Ling wiped the water droplets from her hands, her gaze sweeping between the two of them, a gentle smile appearing on her face:
"Okay."
After saying that, she pulled Zhong Yin into the room behind her.
Since the senior was willing to take action personally, Zhong Yin, who was a sister-obsessed person, naturally couldn't handle it. Han Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the pastries on the table, and stuffed them into his mouth.
He hasn't had dinner yet today.
However, even without the senior's intervention, Sister Yin would not refuse his request.
The other party should be able to understand his subtext—since Guzheng knows that he is trying to have his cake and eat it too, he must also know that everyone helped him hide it from Guzheng. Even if it's just to express his apology, his presence tomorrow night is very necessary.
Of course, Han Zhou knew very well that all of this had come to this point because of him, so before going back to the past, he wanted to resolve all the issues that could be resolved.
That way, even if he fails in the end, everyone can still live a good life.
He didn't plan to tell anyone about this one thing. Fortunately, Yi Xia had been very busy lately and hadn't had much time to contact him. Otherwise, if the two of them met, he probably wouldn't be able to hide his feelings.
A short while later, the Zhong sisters came out of the room. Zhong Yin was expressionless, while Zhong Ling smiled and nodded at him, indicating that everything was fine.
Seeing Han Zhou stuffing pastries into his mouth, looking ravenously hungry, she asked with concern, "Junior, haven't you had dinner yet?"
"I've been a bit busy today and haven't had a chance to eat yet," Han Zhou mumbled.
"My sister and I haven't eaten yet either," Zhong Ling said softly, glancing at her sister beside her. "Why don't you eat with us later?"
Han Zhou had noticed that Zhong Ling was wearing an apron around her waist. He thought she was helping to make pastries, but he didn't expect that she was actually cooking.
"Okay," he said with a smile. "It's been a long time since I've tasted my senior's cooking."
Zhong Ling blushed slightly and lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly: "My cooking skills are far inferior to my junior's..."
"No, that's not true. I just love the food my senior cooks."
Zhong Ling blushed even more and quickly turned around and went into the room.
Zhong Yin closed the door and said coldly, "Stop using your sweet talk on Xiao Ling."
"Can't I even tell the truth?" Han Zhou said helplessly.
"You really like Xiaoling's cooking?"
"Yes," Han Zhou said frankly, "I also love your cooking."
"Oh."
Zhong Yin sneered, no longer pressing the issue, and instead said, "Since you've confessed, that means Gu Zheng already knows that everyone was lying to her, right?"
"Correct."
Han Zhou nodded, his expression turning serious. "I know it's all my fault. I've let all of you down. I didn't mean to..."
"enough."
Zhong Yin interrupted him, "A lie is a lie. It's not like you forced us. You want to take all the blame? Do you even have the ability to do that?"
Seeing that the pastries on the table were almost gone, she took another plate out of the oven. "Eat up, and remember to pay when you're done."
Han Zhou was taken aback, then chuckled: "Isn't dinner about to start? I won't be able to eat if we eat any more."
"I only served you this food to make you lose your appetite," Zhong Yin said coldly. "Xiao Ling only made this much food. If you eat it, what am I supposed to eat?"
Han Zhou was both amused and exasperated: "Is this a lame joke?"
Zhong Yin didn't answer, but just stared at him expressionlessly for a while before finally letting out a soft "hmm".
"Yes, it's a lame joke."
A soft tinkling sound came from the room; it must have been the bell signaling to the two that dinner was ready.
She turned and went into the room. Just as she opened the door, she heard Han Zhou ask again from behind:
"What about that previous comment? Was that also a lame joke?"
She paused, remained silent for a long time, and then shook her head.
"No."
"I see..."
Han Zhou remained silent for a moment, then walked to her side, took out his phone from his pocket, and scanned the store's payment code.
"how much is the total?"
Looking at his serious face, Zhong Yin's chest heaved slightly. Without answering, she forcefully opened the door and strode inside.
The room was warm, dispelling the chill of the past half-day. Several simple stir-fries were laid out on the table. Since Han Zhou's arrival was unexpected, the meal was not lavish, but it was steaming hot.
Zhong Ling placed three bowls of rice on the table and pushed one of them in front of Han Zhou.
Han Zhou smiled and said "Thank you, senior," then picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and ate it with great relish.
Zhong Yin sat opposite her, not saying much, but occasionally smiling as she served food to Zhong Ling. Seeing that Han Zhou was eating too fast, she would sometimes make sarcastic remarks until Zhong Ling stopped her.
"Junior, don't worry about it. I don't know what happened to my sister either..." She didn't know how to explain, so she could only bury her face in the bowl and apologize softly on behalf of her sister.
"It's okay, I don't mind." Han Zhou smiled and shook his head.
The room was quiet, save for the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the gentle patter of snow outside the window. Under the warm yellow lamplight, the three figures sitting around the table were elongated, lending an air of rare tranquility. (End of Chapter)