I actually have a mod for Stardew where the other NPCs have relationship progression with each other if I don’t get in the way!
I’ve been doing a challenge run on Stardew where I never ever engage in combat or go into the mines. Going pretty well, actually, except for the part where I get stuck on acquiring any quartz. Aside from that I think I completed the rest of the Community Center and a lot of what the game has to offer. It’s possible to avoid combat and still have game to play.
Still, don’t force yourself to play if you don’t want to—this isn’t an “I addressed all your concerns about why you dislike the game, so you have to go play it now with the mods I mentioned for your dislike to be valid anymore” type comment (and I didn’t address the part about Harvest Moon requiring you to develop relationships to progress and unlock things while Stardew doesn’t absolutely require relationships to progress… although relationships will also unlock things). I’m not trying to insist that you have to try Stardew with 384828 different permutations of mods before you’re allowed to say it’s not for you.