Chapter 10: Not Disliking Is Liking
The barbecue was quickly brought to the table, its aroma wafting through the air. It looked quite hot, but Gu Zheng didn't care, picking up a skewer of lamb and putting it in her mouth.
"I remember you were supposed to be tutoring today, weren't you? How did you end up here? You weren't fired on your first day, were you?"
She looked at Han Zhou with a mischievous smile, her cheeks and lips quickly turning red. All the barbecue she ordered was extra spicy, and combined with the skewers being hot, she was clearly struggling. She kept fanning her tongue while talking, occasionally making "hissing" sounds.
Han Zhou wanted to laugh when he saw her. He advised, "Eating too much spice isn't good. If you can't handle it, don't force yourself."
"Who says I can't handle it? If you can eat it, so can I!"
But he had forgotten Gu Zheng's personality. If he hadn't said anything, it would have been fine, but his words only spurred her on. She furrowed her brows, lowered her head, and began stuffing the skewers into her mouth, looking as if she wouldn't stop until they were all gone.
Han Zhou had a bad feeling, but he also knew Gu Zheng was hard to persuade at this point, so he just asked the owner for a few more bottles of water.
He actually liked spicy food. Gu Zheng ordering spicy was primarily to accommodate his taste, though she probably also wanted to try it herself.
"You still haven't answered me. Were you fired?"
Gu Zheng lowered her head, sniffing. Her voice was trembling from the spice, but she hadn't forgotten her initial question.
"No, something just came up."
Han Zhou briefly explained why he was there, but he didn't mention the foolish acts of cutting the power or helping Mo Yixia with her test papers. Gu Zheng was not only highly competitive but also extremely serious about things; she would definitely nag him incessantly if she knew.
After listening, Gu Zheng paused her movements and asked, "Is your student also nearby then?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Han Zhou looked at her strangely: "Are you interested in her?"
"Just a little curious…"
After a fierce battle, Gu Zheng finally finished her portion of the barbecue. The moment she looked up, Han Zhou almost burst out laughing. Her entire round face was red from the spice, her eyes were watering, and there was a lot of chili powder clinging to the corners of her mouth, even on the tip of her nose. She looked like a round, red chili pepper.
Gu Zheng was always extremely sensitive to Han Zhou's mockery. She immediately glared at him fiercely, complaining, "Are you laughing at me?"
"No such thing."
Han Zhou coughed twice, handed her a pack of tissues, and shook his head, saying, "But I suggest you wipe your mouth first."
Gu Zheng snorted, snatched the tissues, and just as she finished wiping her mouth, she saw a plate pushed towards her. She heard him continue, "Are you full? Why don't you eat mine too?"
"Do you think I'm a pig?"
Gu Zheng glared at him, warning, "This is my treat for you. Keep it for yourself and you must finish it, understand?"
"Alright, but I'll go buy some pens for my student first. I'll be right back."
"Go quickly! Remember to come back and finish your food, don't even think about running off!"
Gu Zheng seemed a bit impatient, waving her hand continuously as if shooing flies.
Seeing Han Zhou disappear, she suddenly got up, stealthily walked a few steps in the direction he had left, then peeked around a few times. Only when his figure had completely vanished did she let out a slight sigh of relief. Then, unable to hold back any longer, she rushed to the table, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, and chugged it down.
"So spicy, so spicy! How can it be this spicy!"
Her tongue had almost caught fire just now, but for the sake of appearances, she didn't want to drink water excessively in front of Han Zhou, fearing his mockery.
After drinking two bottles of water, Gu Zheng finally felt her tongue regain some sensation, and the stinging at the tip of her tongue was relieved. Just then, Han Zhou returned from nearby.
Gu Zheng sat up straight, quickly putting on a calm facade, afraid of him noticing anything amiss.
Seeing Han Zhou sit down expressionlessly, her eyes darted around. She suddenly pointed at the plate and loudly declared, "Hurry up and finish the rest! I'm watching you eat!"
Anyone could see the mischievous intent in her expression.
The barbecue stall owner nearby secretly shook his head, thinking, this young girl is still too naive. He had just seen with his own eyes how Han Zhou had hidden behind the neighboring stall, secretly watching the girl struggle with the spice, almost laughing tears. He even seemed to have taken a few photos with his phone.
It must have been hard to hold back his laughter…
"Hurry, hurry!"
"Oh."
Facing Gu Zheng's urging, Han Zhou's expression was calm. He picked up a skewer and then feigned confusion, "Strange, where did the water I left on the table go?"
Gu Zheng turned her head to look at the gloomy sky. The heavy rain didn't seem to be stopping.
"What water? I didn't see any."
"Were you just laughing? You're lying, you clearly were!"
...
【Daily Quest One (Gu Zheng): Make target's heart rate accelerate ten times 10/10, gain 1 point】
【Daily Quest Two (Gu Zheng): Collect ten 'I'm scared' from target 10/10, gain 1 point】
After finishing a plate of barbecue, Han Zhou wiped his mouth contentedly, feeling a sense of relief.
From the perspective of daily quests, Gu Zheng was clearly much easier to deal with than Mo Yixia. In less than half an hour, he had successfully completed two daily quests. He was in a great mood, and the more he looked, the cuter he found the Class President.
However, he hadn't forgotten that he still had important business to attend to. Seeing that it was almost time, he stood up and bid farewell, "I still need to supervise my student doing her exercises, so I'll be leaving first. I'll come to your house tomorrow."
Gu Zheng was a little down, regretting not seeing Han Zhou breathing fire from the spice. Hearing him, she pulled out her phone, looked at it, and nodded, "Okay, then you work hard. I should go back and exercise too."
"Did you bring an umbrella?"
"Yes." She took an umbrella out of her satchel.
Han Zhou felt relieved. He stood up and said sincerely, "Thank you, I really enjoyed this barbecue."
"Glad to hear it. Remember to treat me to a meal another day."
Gu Zheng waved her hand dismissively, opened her umbrella, and walked into the rain, disappearing shortly after.
Han Zhou watched her leave, only then noticing that Gu Zheng was wearing a beautiful floral dress today, perfectly showcasing her maidenly charm and turning heads. It was just a pity his attention hadn't been on that earlier.
Meanwhile, walking in the rain, Gu Zheng suddenly felt a bit annoyed. She stomped her foot hard, and puffed up her cheeks as she tugged at her skirt: "Doesn't this outfit look good? That guy didn't even compliment me…"
Han Zhou, of course, had no idea Gu Zheng wanted a compliment. He was already back at the milk tea shop. Although he had been delayed for some time, finishing the test papers on the table shouldn't be a problem.
Mo Yixia hadn't returned, but that was normal to him. It was a rare opportunity to go out and have fun. If it were Han Zhou, he'd probably also come back just in time. He cast aside all distractions and began answering the questions wholeheartedly.
Time quickly reached four o'clock. The rain had almost stopped. Han Zhou stretched, the test papers were almost done. If it weren't for the many girls in the milk tea shop secretly watching him, some even mustering the courage to ask for his contact information, he might have finished even faster.
He was long used to this. After all, he had a charm rating of seven points. While not impossibly handsome, he certainly deserved the title of 'handsome guy.'
Strangely, Mo Yixia still hadn't returned. Han Zhou was a bit confused. His time after four o'clock was originally reserved for Gu Zheng, but he had already seen her today, so he wasn't in a hurry, but it was still necessary to ask.
Not keeping promises wasn't a good habit.
However, before he could contact her, an unknown number suddenly called. He assumed it must be Mo Yixia.
Sure enough, as soon as the call connected, Mo Yixia's faint voice came from the other end: "I'm Mo Yixia, is that you?"
Did this guy forget my name…? Han Zhou said, "It's me. It's already four o'clock, why aren't you back yet?"
Mo Yixia was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "I'm lost."
"What? Lost?" Han Zhou was stunned. This was a reason he hadn't considered. "Where did you go?"
"I don't know."
"Can you use a phone map?"
"No."
Han Zhou wasn't surprised. Her mother was so strict that Mo Yixia didn't have many opportunities to use a phone in such circumstances, so not knowing how to use a map was normal.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Then look around and see if there are any distinctive landmarks. I'll come find you."
"Oh, there's a cold drink shop called 'First Encounter' here, and a very large flower shop…"
...
Ten minutes later, Han Zhou successfully found Mo Yixia standing quietly under the eaves on a street a few hundred meters away. He also saw the cold drink shop she mentioned. It was worth noting that the shop's name was not 'First Encounter' as he had initially thought, but 'Out of Bath'.
Quite fresh. Why not 'Out of Jail,' he thought…
The corner of his mouth twitched. Seeing Mo Yixia still holding the milk tea she bought when they parted, staring blankly at the flower shop across the street playing music, he walked up and asked, "Do you like flowers very much?"
"No."
Mo Yixia only then noticed Han Zhou's arrival and apologized, "Sorry, I've delayed you."
"It's alright, I'm not in a hurry today, but I can't say the same for the future." Han Zhou shrugged and said, "Why didn't you wait inside a shop? These shops all have seats and air conditioning… Also, don't you like drinking milk tea?"
He had noticed earlier that Mo Yixia hadn't taken a single sip of the milk tea in her hand; she hadn't even inserted the straw.
Mo Yixia gently shook her head and explained, "I don't like taking off my mask outside. I'll take the milk tea home and drink it there."
Han Zhou felt a little regretful: "That's a shame. Don't you feel like you're missing something by not eating anything while strolling through a food street?"
He thought of Gu Zheng, whose stomach was like a bottomless pit. Such a formidable person should be what a food street truly loves.
"No, I don't," Mo Yixia shook her head.
Han Zhou looked at the sky, which had already cleared. "Are you done having fun then? I've almost finished the test papers. If you want to keep playing, I can accompany you for a bit longer."
"No need, thank you for today. Let's go back."
Han Zhou was a bit surprised, observing her eyes: "There's still some time, it's a rare opportunity, you know."
Mo Yixia actually wanted to stay out a little longer, but unfortunately, circumstances didn't allow it. She said, "My mom just called me. She said the power is back on in the complex, and that she's already found someone to restore the circuit breaker at home."
Seeing Han Zhou's expression suddenly become tense, she added, "Don't worry, she didn't suspect anything."
Han Zhou finally relaxed. It was fine as long as she didn't suspect anything. He hailed a taxi and quickly dropped Mo Yixia off downstairs at her apartment complex. They waited together for the elevator to come down.
Seeing Mo Yixia enter the elevator, he hesitated for a moment, then finally couldn't resist asking, "Can I ask you a question?"
"You can."
Mo Yixia held the test papers in her arms, cradling the milk tea with both hands, standing quietly in the elevator. Her eyes were like a deep pool, reflecting the moonlight against her tear mole, appearing exceptionally serene.
"What kind of person do you not dislike?"
Mo Yixia paused, thought seriously for a moment, and finally gave her answer just as the elevator doors completely closed.
"If you don't dislike them… I guess that means you like them."】
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