Bai Yichen’s words left An Xin speechless. She had only planned to take out one day’s worth of rations, yet the man effortlessly carried a sack of flour in one hand and a bag of rice on his shoulder, striding quickly into An family’s impoverished home.

Inside, faint sounds of Chen Hongyan thanking Bai Yichen could be heard, her words brimming with gratitude. Moments later, the man strode out again, glanced at An Xin, and said indifferently:

“I’m leaving.”

“Won’t you stay for a while? Maybe join us for a meal?”

An Xin adopted the demeanor of a host, extending the invitation. After all, no matter what, he had taken care of her family’s food problem.

“No, I have matters to handle back at the team,” Bai Yichen replied.

With that, he headed straight to the Jeep, skillfully climbed in, and prepared to drive off. Before leaving, however, he rolled down the window, as though remembering something, and said to An Xin:

“By the way, tomorrow morning, you and I will deliver the wedding candies to the villagers.”

An Xin: “…”

As if their pairing wasn’t already the hottest topic in the village, showing up together to distribute wedding candies would surely set off a fresh wave of gossip.

But what choice did she have? This was her doing. Like it or not, she’d have to grit her teeth and follow through.

As for her plan to go to the provincial city and drive taxis, it would have to wait until after delivering the candies. After all, their village didn’t have that many households.

The next morning, An Xin got up early and prepared herself. Soon, Bai Yichen arrived at her doorstep with a large bag in hand.

The two of them went door-to-door distributing candies to the villagers. By the time they finished listening to the villagers’ half-hearted congratulations, An Xin’s face was nearly frozen from all the forced smiling.

Finally, they reached the last house, which belonged to her close friend Dong Mei. After receiving the candies, An Xin took out an extra bag of White Rabbit Candies from her pocket. Dong Mei’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Wow, An Xin, you’re the best!”

Laughing joyfully, Dong Mei happily accepted the candy. Her best friend was finally getting married, so of course, she had to savor the wedding treats.

Dong Mei warmly hugged An Xin, clearly ready for a heart-to-heart chat. An Xin, feeling slightly nervous, glanced at Bai Yichen, who returned her look with his deep, meaningful gaze.

“You two talk,” Bai Yichen said coolly. “I have exploration tasks to attend to today.”

An Xin quickly seized the opportunity. “You go ahead. We’ll just chat about some girl talk.”

Watching his tall figure stride away, An Xin felt relieved.

Dong Mei, clutching her bag of candies, watched him leave with An Xin before turning her attention back to her friend.

“Hey, An Xin, what’s with your man? He seems so cold.”

Though Dong Mei didn’t have much to say about Zhang Fan before, at least he would chat casually when they were together. Bai Yichen, on the other hand, was like an ice sculpture—his face perpetually stoic, as if emotions had no place on it.

An Xin gazed after Bai Yichen’s retreating figure and replied nonchalantly, “He’s fine. I like him this way.”

If Bai Yichen were a chatterbox or a social butterfly, he’d probably be even harder to shake off in the future.

Seeing her friend’s calm demeanor, Dong Mei suddenly remembered a question that had been bothering her.

“Oh, right! What’s the deal with you two? How did Zhang Fan suddenly get replaced by Bai Yichen?”

Before the confrontation, Zhang Fan was supposed to be the one. How did Bai Yichen end up taking his place?

An Xin had anticipated this question. After thinking for a moment, she replied, “I suddenly realized Zhang Fan wasn’t marriage material, so I switched to Bai Yichen. Don’t you think he’s great?”

Generous, decisive, and, most importantly, healthy and strong—fit to be a male model with his eight-pack abs and perfect physique.

Cough, cough, focus!

Dong Mei: “…”

There’s such a thing as last-minute replacements?

But she had to admit that An Xin’s bold move paid off. The whole village now envied her.

“By the way,” Dong Mei added, “you probably don’t know this, but the villagers are all jealous of you. You’re the first girl in the village to receive a 1,000-yuan betrothal gift. And now, after delivering candies this morning, they will all be envious.”

It wasn’t just envy. Rumors were spreading that Bai Yichen, with his handsome looks, stable job, and generous nature, was wasted on someone like An Xin, a so-called “bad luck charm.”

Many villagers were kicking themselves, thinking that if they’d known Bai Yichen was so generous, they would have sent their daughters or sisters to attract his attention long ago. But now, it was too late. Bai Yichen had already been “claimed” by An Xin.

An Xin: “…”

She didn’t care if people were jealous or envious. Regardless, her reputation in the village would never recover. But she had no intention of staying here long-term.

Her plan was to earn enough money to move her younger siblings to the provincial city for better education and take her mother along.

As for Bai Yichen? Their arrangement was temporary. Whatever happened in the future, they’d deal with it when the time came.

After chatting at Dong Mei’s house, An Xin stepped outside to see the sun rising higher in the sky. Judging by the angle, it was probably around 9 a.m. Instead of heading back to the village, she set off toward the provincial city.

She planned to continue her taxi-driving work. If she moved quickly, she could reach the city in time to drive until 6 p.m., earning a decent sum before calling it a day.

For the next three days, An Xin shuttled between the provincial city and her village, driving taxis and selling goods from her portable warehouse. By the third day, her hidden stash had grown to 1,600 yuan in foreign exchange coupons.

The wedding day came quickly. The An family’s house was decorated festively. The entire village had stopped work to attend the celebration. Guests filled the An household, eager to enjoy the feast.

An Xin wore a traditional red wedding dress from her portable warehouse, an older yet elegant style. Guided by Dong Mei and a few young women, she was styled beautifully. When she looked in the mirror, the bride reflected back was stunning, almost unrecognizable.

The bridal chamber had been set up at Bai Yichen’s geological team’s courtyard. His home was in the north, too far for any relatives or parents to attend. Instead, his coworkers took on the roles of family and helped arrange the wedding.

The team’s only Jeep was adorned with red ribbons and served as the wedding car. In this era, wedding cars were unheard of. The sight of the Jeep decked out for the occasion left the villagers envious.

When Bai Yichen stepped out, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black trousers, his hair neatly cropped, and a red flower pinned to his chest, heads turned everywhere.