Forced into a romantic relationship

She hurriedly gathered the underwear she had left on the bed into the closet, and after two minutes of calming herself down, she finally managed to suppress the burning sensation on her face. Zhong Yin then breathed a sigh of relief, composed herself, and tried her best to appear nonchalant before reopening the bedroom door.

"come in."

She swore that if this guy dared to mention underwear, he was dead.

Perhaps due to spending too much time with children, Han Zhou had indeed become a bit childish lately, but his emotional intelligence wasn't that low. He immediately looked away, pretending not to have seen anything, and naturally walked past her into the room.

Strictly speaking, this is actually Zhong Ling's room; the room he and Xiao Lengqiu are currently staying in is Zhong Yin's.

However, for these two sisters, there is clearly no distinction between "yours" and "mine."

"What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours"—this phrase is often taken as a lighthearted joke, said casually and forgotten after a laugh.

However, for the two sisters who are destined to depend on each other in the future, this is no longer a joke.

Rather, it is a destiny that arrives quietly, a prophecy that is about to be proven true.

Thinking about the cruel future that Zhong Ling's family was about to face, Han Zhou's mood sank.

Zhong Yin was closing the curtains when she turned around and caught the expression on his face. She was immediately furious: "Are you that afraid of me? Why do you have such a sad face as soon as you walk in?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of you."

Han Zhou pulled himself out of his thoughts and forced a smile. "I'm just feeling a little distressed that I can't go home."

"What's there to be upset about? There's no need to go back to that kind of home."

Zhong Yin turned around and walked over, flicking her ponytail behind her head, and casually said, "At worst, I'll just keep living at my place. I won't charge you rent."

Han Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "I can't possibly stay here forever, can I?"

"Of course it's impossible for you, but Xiaoya can. For her sake, it's not impossible for you to stay."

Zhong Yin laughed along, rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for something. Finally, he pulled out a toothbrush from somewhere and said in a sinister tone, "Alright, take off your clothes. I really can't find any cotton swabs, so I can only use this to apply safflower oil to you."

She suppressed a laugh, expecting Han Zhou to scream in fear, but to her surprise, he suddenly said, "Sister Yin, I'm leaving next week."

The tone was a calm that made people inexplicably uneasy, more like an announcement than a farewell.

Zhong Yin paused for a moment, then casually said "Oh," put down her toothbrush, and took out the cotton swabs she had hidden behind her back: "Those debt-collecting thugs won't bother you anymore?"

Although she didn't know why she felt so reluctant to part, she just assumed that Han Zhou was going home.

As long as we're still in Lincheng, we can meet again anytime.

"I'm planning to move with Xiaoya," Han Zhou said.

"Moving is definitely the best option, so that people won't bother you whenever your dad incurs debts in the future."

Hearing that it was just a move, Zhong Yin inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief and half-jokingly said, "Have you decided where you're moving to? How about moving to the vicinity of my house?"

After a brief silence, Han Zhou replied, "Abroad."

He will return to the future in half a month and disappear from this world completely. Moving to avoid debt is a good excuse, better than leaving without saying goodbye and vanishing into thin air.

He originally intended to say he would move to another city, but considering that Zhong Yin might come looking for him if the city was too close, he simply said he would move abroad.

"Abroad...overseas?!"

Zhong Yin was stunned upon hearing this, standing there dumbfounded for a while before suddenly looking suspicious. "Wait, what are you going to take abroad?"

This bastard is so poor he can't even afford a cell phone, he probably can't even afford a plane ticket, and he still wants to go abroad.
Could it be that you're trying to lie to me?

Han Zhou sighed and said seriously, "I have an uncle who lives abroad. His family has wanted to bring me and Xiaoya over to live with them for a long time."

Zhong Yincai wouldn't be so easily fooled, and pressed further, "What are you going to do with it? Inherit the estate?"

"Of course not. The couple is still young, but they haven't had any children all these years. They know about our family's situation, so they wanted to take us over."

Han Zhou was good at telling lies, but he was also very good at making up stories. Zhong Yin was stunned and actually believed him.

"Then...then they won't mistreat you, will they?" the girl asked with a worried look on her face.

"No, my uncle has always been very good to us since we were little."

"Are you used to the food from abroad?" Zhong Yin asked again.

"I guess I'm not used to it, but I can cook for myself," Han Zhou said with a smile.

"That's right..."

Thinking about this guy's cooking skills, Zhong Yin realized that she had indeed been worrying too much. After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "But you look like you've never studied properly since you were little. What if you can't understand what people are saying when you go abroad?"

I'm second in the grade, after all, and besides, you're someone who sleeps in class, so don't even mention me...

Han Zhou thought to himself, but didn't say it aloud. Instead, he said gently, "The environment is the best teacher. We can learn from it later."

"That's right..."

Zhong Yin remained silent for a moment before finally asking the question that concerned her most, "Then... will you come back again?"

It turns out that the plot in the movie is real. Sudden farewells really do exist in this world, giving people no chance to say "we'll talk about it later".

She thought this guy would keep taking her home after evening self-study...

For some reason, even though they had only spent less than a week together and knew very well that they would meet again someday, Han Zhou still felt a pang of sadness when he saw Zhong Yin's slightly forlorn expression.

Perhaps it was because he knew better than anyone that he would meet Zhong Yin again in the future that he understood from the bottom of his heart that the current Zhong Yin and the future Zhong Yin were the same person, but also not the same person. Once they parted, he would have to say goodbye forever to this carefree, cheerful, and mischievous, somewhat domineering, yet adorable Sister Yin.

"Maybe," he said.

Han Zhou disliked this ambiguous answer, but it was the only response he could give at the moment.

Zhong Yin glared at him: "What do you mean, 'maybe'?"

"I don't know if I'll ever come back."

Zhong Yin was clearly not satisfied with this answer and said irritably, "You're not a child anymore. Once you've earned your own money, you can come back whenever you want, right?"

Han Zhou paused for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "It might be a long time before I make any money."

"How long is a long time?"

"Nine... probably ten years."

Zhong Yin's eyes widened suddenly, and she wanted to grab a wrench and whack him on the head. She said angrily, "It takes ten years to earn enough for a plane ticket back to China. How can you be so unambitious?"

Han Zhou looked helpless: "I can't just make money off the plane tickets, otherwise what will I eat and where will I stay when I get back?"

"Why don't you just come to my house?"

Zhong Yin said subconsciously, then, seemingly finding his hasty reaction a bit strange, quickly added, "As long as you bring Xiaoya along, I won't kick you out."

"What if we don't bring Xiaoya?"

"That depends on my mood."

Zhong Yin raised his chin slightly and laughed as he spoke, as if he could already see a certain guy ten years later being blocked at his doorstep and not daring to go in.

In a sense, her imagination actually came true in the future—Han Zhou was not only blocked at his doorstep, but he was even beaten up with black eyes.

But Zhong Yin's smile quickly faded.

After all, it's ten years. It sounds short, but if we really wait ten years, won't she be almost thirty years old?

Wait a minute... how could I have taken this guy's words so seriously? He said ten years, and it really is ten years? I said next year!

Once I graduate and start earning money, I can go abroad too!
As if reminded by Zhong Yin's words, Han Zhou also recalled the scene of his first encounter with her in the future, and said with lingering fear, "I was just afraid that you were in a bad mood."

"I won't eat you even if I'm in a bad mood."

Zhong Yin rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, you suddenly said you wanted to go abroad, I almost forgot about the important matter. Quickly take off your clothes, let me apply the medicine for you first."

"Sister Yin, I really..."

"Ok?"

Han Zhou had no choice but to give up struggling and obediently take off his coat and then his thermal underwear.

The moment he pulled his clothes over his head, Zhong Yin's voice suddenly rang in his ears again.

"When you come back, be sure to come see me."

By the time Han Zhou had completely taken off his clothes, Zhong Yin had already turned her back and dipped a cotton swab in safflower oil. She had just drawn the curtains but hadn't closed the window. At that moment, a night breeze blew, and the curtains billowed high, like a girl's ponytail swaying gently in the wind.

"Anyway, I'll stay in Lincheng the whole time and won't go anywhere else."

Zhong Yin didn't know why she suddenly said such a thing.

It's like saying "I'll wait for you to come back," which is both awkward and embarrassing.

Even so, she still said it.

Faced with the sudden separation, Zhong Yin was not as relaxed as she appeared; instead, she felt an indescribable sadness.

After saying so much, what she really wanted to say was, "Since you're already living under someone else's roof anyway, you might as well continue living in my house."

But it's too late to talk about this now, and besides, it's not something the children can decide.

And she finally understood that there really aren't that many "we'll talk about it later" in this world.

So from now on, she will put what she wants to say first, and do what she will have to do sooner or later first.

As for what I really think, that's something I should think about later.

To be honest, Zhong Yin is not a shy person; in fact, she is quite straightforward. But it still takes a lot of courage for her to say something like that.

What I just thought about was less about "enlightenment in Longchang" and more about finding a suitable reason for saying those words.

Despite her efforts, that bastard Sun Wukong stood behind her without saying a word, instead making little "puchi puchi" noises as if he was trying to suppress a laugh.

Her face flushed red, and she waited with her head down for a full half minute before finally losing her temper. She suddenly looked up, ready to turn around and teach that guy a lesson.

However, the next second, she saw her parents, Xiaoling, and others standing outside the window, dumbfounded.

Apart from Xiaoya, the expressions on the faces of everyone else were incredibly varied.

She was stunned.

Looking back at Han Zhou, who was shirtless, and then looking down at herself, who had taken off her coat and was only wearing pajamas, her already flushed face became even more alluring. After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"I...I was applying safflower oil to him..." (End of Chapter)