Chapter 2: Fiancé

Shen Zhuo, exhausted, pushed open the courtyard gate. The faint sounds of cooking from the kitchen made him pause for a moment, his brow furrowing in confusion.

He shut the gate behind him and headed straight for the kitchen.

When he saw Ye Xin busy over the stove, his frown deepened, his eyes filled with even more bewilderment.

Ye Xin had just finished cooking rice and was now desperately trying to boil the last, wilted bunch of vegetables. She had no choice; the kitchen was poorly stocked, and there wasn’t even any oil left—she vaguely recalled the original owner of this body using it all up. With no other option, she was boiling the vegetables. At least it was too hot for stir-frying; she figured she’d cool them down and make a cold salad.

Sweating profusely over the stove, she suddenly noticed the light dimming. Instinctively, she turned around.

There stood a slender young man, dressed in black, with delicate, handsome features. However, his frame was thin—clearly malnourished.

It was Shen Zhuo, her fiancé.

Ye Xin froze on the spot.

“What are you doing?” Shen Zhuo finally asked after a long silence.

His voice was clear and pleasant, though tinged with the fatigue of hard labor. His frown and icy gaze, however, made it clear he wasn’t in a good mood.

“I… I’m cooking,” Ye Xin stammered, feeling tense.

“Since when do you bother cooking?” Shen Zhuo said coldly.

He wasn’t wrong. She had always been incredibly lazy. When his father was alive, she would at least pretend to help out. But ever since the old man passed away, she’d stopped cooking altogether, simply waiting for Shen Zhuo to come home from work and do it.

“I…” Ye Xin had never been in such a confrontational situation before. His cold stare felt like it was piercing right through her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself enough to speak. “I’m hungry.”

Shen Zhuo let out a cold laugh and was about to say something when the faint smell of burning interrupted him.

Ye Xin whipped around in panic. “The water’s boiled dry!”

She had worked so hard on this!

Frantically, she tried to salvage the vegetables, momentarily forgetting about Shen Zhuo. After all, eating was more important right now.

Before she could act, Shen Zhuo stepped forward, took the spatula, and quickly stirred the wilted vegetables. His frown deepened. “Why didn’t you add more water?”

Embarrassed, Ye Xin took a step back. He was much taller than her, and she fumbled for an explanation. “The well… it’s hard to get water.”

She had struggled just to pull up one bucket of water. After cooking the rice, there was barely enough left for the vegetables. Normally, she could manage, but his sudden appearance had thrown her off, and she had let it burn.

Shen Zhuo pressed his lips together, then grabbed a plate to dish out the vegetables. Seeing Ye Xin still standing there, he shot her a look. “Aren’t you going to remove the firewood?”

“Oh, right!” Ye Xin quickly sat down on a small wooden stool by the stove, hurriedly pulling out the firewood and using tongs to spread the hot coals apart.

The heat and smoke hit her in the face, making her sweat even more.

Shen Zhuo finished dishing out the food and moved to clean the pot. He looked down and noticed the water bucket was completely empty. With no time to fetch more, he opened the lid of the pot where the rice was cooking, quickly ladled out some of the water, and poured it into the near-burnt vegetable pot.

“Zzzzz…”

The water sizzled as it hit the hot surface, sending up a cloud of steam, and sweat began to bead on Shen Zhuo’s face as well.

After rinsing out the pot, he dumped the dirty water and went to refill the bucket at the courtyard well. He took a few sips to quench his thirst, washed his face to cool down, then carried the bucket back to the kitchen.

While Shen Zhuo was out, Ye Xin hastily grabbed some chopsticks and poked through the dish, discreetly tossing the most burnt pieces into the stove, trying to cover her tracks.

There wasn’t much to begin with, and now there was even less…

Feeling guilty, she drizzled a little soy sauce over the rest and stirred it, setting the dish on the table.

When Shen Zhuo returned with the water, she mumbled, “Dinner’s ready.”

He gave her a strange look but went over to the table anyway.

Ye Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, they could eat. She was starving!

Dinner consisted of thin rice porridge mixed with sweet potato chunks—a simple meal she had managed to make based on the original owner’s memories. In this era, food production was still low, and the fields of the Fengshui Brigade weren’t fertile. Frequent natural disasters meant they were just barely managing to fill their stomachs.

Even though she had dressed the vegetables with soy sauce, they still had a slightly burnt taste, and the lack of oil made them even less appetizing.

After one bite, Ye Xin silently decided not to eat any more vegetables. Instead, she focused on her porridge. It was plain and bland, but she was too hungry to care.

The porridge was hot, though, and the weather was sweltering. As she ate, sweat began to drip down her face.

Shen Zhuo, having worked all day, was equally hungry. He quickly devoured half his meal before slowing down and glancing up at her.

Ye Xin was carefully blowing on her porridge, taking small sips in an almost dainty manner—completely different from the person he used to know.

Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

From her sudden willingness to cook to her odd demeanor, everything about her seemed strange today…

Ye Xin wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling the heat even more intensely. When she looked up, she found him staring at her, his deep, dark eyes cool and scrutinizing.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she nervously asked, “Is something wrong?”

That tone again…

She used to be full of complaints, always impatient and dissatisfied with their situation. But now she seemed timid, as if afraid of something.

Shen Zhuo’s expression grew colder. What could she possibly have to be afraid of? Others avoided her like the plague.

“You said you wanted to break off the engagement, didn’t you?” he asked coldly. “Why haven’t you moved out yet?”

Ye Xin felt her heart clench but forced herself to stay calm. She dodged the question. “I… I got heatstroke today…”

He let out a harsh laugh, his expression growing even darker. “Don’t you think I know? I was the one who carried you back.”

The memory of the original Ye Xin fawning over another man, then collapsing from heatstroke, only to have her fiancé, Shen Zhuo, carry her back, made her want to dig a hole and disappear out of embarrassment.

When she stayed silent, Shen Zhuo pressed on. “Even if you’re not feeling well today, you’ll be better by tomorrow. You should move out as soon as possible.”

His tone had shifted to outright annoyance. It was clear he wanted her gone. After all, who would want a fiancée who only embarrassed him? She had a terrible personality, and on top of that, she was small and unattractive.

The only reason he’d agreed to the engagement in the first place was out of respect for his father’s dying wish.

Ye Xin lowered her head, feeling a wave of shame wash over her.

“Fine. I’ll leave tomorrow,” she muttered, trying not to be a burden.

Shen Zhuo couldn’t figure her out. Wasn’t she the one who wanted to break off the engagement? Wasn’t she the one chasing after someone else? Why did she now look so upset, as if he was the one forcing her out?

A flicker of irritation rose in him, but he pushed it down. She would be gone tomorrow anyway. Whatever her reasons, it wouldn’t be his problem anymore.

He returned to his meal, noticing that she wasn’t touching the poorly cooked vegetables. With a shrug, he picked them up and ate them himself.

Ye Xin stared at the half-eaten sweet potato porridge in front of her, her appetite gone. She had been so hungry before, but now she could barely manage a few bites. Perhaps she had grown accustomed to hunger, and her stomach had shrunk over time.

As she picked at her food, a sense of helplessness settled over her.

She was a city girl sent to the countryside for labor, with no family or friends to turn to. If she left Shen Zhuo’s house, she’d have to return to the dorms for the sent-down youth.

But she dreaded that. The original Ye Xin had terrible relationships with the other youth workers, and if she had to crawl back to the dorm in shame, they would definitely mock her. Just thinking about that humiliation made her cringe inside.

Worse still, the dorms offered no privacy, something Ye Xin cherished. She had gotten used to her own space after renting an apartment post-graduation, and now the thought of returning to a crowded, shared room was unbearable.

Besides, there was another issue—her secret ability, the mysterious space she had access to. If she stayed in the dorms, it would be nearly impossible to use it.

Ye Xin came to a decision—she couldn’t leave. Dealing with one person was far easier than facing a whole group.

And Shen Zhuo, while cold, didn’t seem entirely unreasonable…

Gathering her courage, Ye Xin spoke up, “Shen Zhuo, could I… not move out just yet?”

His brows furrowed again. “You just agreed to leave, and now you’re changing your mind?”

“I’m not trying to cause trouble.” Ye Xin forced herself to meet his gaze and speak earnestly. “You know my relationship with the other youth workers isn’t good.”

“And what does that have to do with me?” Shen Zhuo’s voice was as cold as ever, with a hint of mockery. “Are we on good terms?”

Ye Xin had no response. Her face burned with embarrassment.

Being shameless like this was hard—so hard.

If she had any other choice, she wouldn’t be begging him like this. But she had none.

Lowering her head, she steadied her voice. “I’m not trying to impose. I know you don’t like me. Let’s just end the engagement, officially. But I really don’t want to go back to the dorms. Could I rent a room here? I’ll pay you.”

Shen Zhuo frowned at her. She kept her head down, all he could see was the top of her head.

Was she… about to cry?

Everything about her today had been off, like she was a completely different person. Now she looked like a lost, helpless kitten, with a hint of vulnerability that stirred something in him.

Ye Xin stood up abruptly, her voice muffled. “I’ll go get the money.”

“There’s no need.”

Shen Zhuo wasn’t sure what was going on, but seeing her like this made him relent. “You can stay. I don’t need your money.”

Ye Xin froze in surprise, then looked up at him, her face lighting up. “Thank you, Shen Zhuo!”

He turned away awkwardly, avoiding her grateful, teary eyes, and said nothing.

Quick to reassure him, she added, “I’ll be more helpful from now on! I’ll cook better too, I promise—no more disasters like tonight.”

Shen Zhuo hesitated, then said lightly, “Just focus on your work in the fields.”

Ye Xin nodded eagerly. “You’re right! Starting tomorrow, I’ll work with you in the fields!”

At least she didn’t have to go back to the dorms for now. With that settled, she could focus on figuring out her next steps. Farming might be inevitable, but if she was going to survive here, she needed to learn quickly—both in the real world and in her secret space.

Shen Zhuo glanced at the unappetizing vegetables, but instead of wasting them, he quietly finished the meal and went to wash the dishes.