Chapter 2: Fiancé

Shen Zhuo, looking exhausted, opened the yard gate. Upon hearing the noise from the kitchen, he paused for a moment, then furrowed his brows.

He closed the gate and walked straight to the kitchen.

When he saw Ye Xin cooking, his frown deepened, and there was a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Ye Xin had already cooked the rice and was now frantically boiling the only wilted bunch of vegetables.

There was no choice—kitchen supplies were scarce, there was no oil, so frying was out of the question. She vaguely remembered that the original owner had used it all up… In any case, boiling was the only option. Given the heat, she figured she could just blanch the vegetables and have a simple cold dish.

While she was busy in front of the stove, sweating profusely, she suddenly felt the light dim, and instinctively turned her head.

There stood a slender young man dressed in black, with delicate features, very handsome, but too thin, clearly malnourished.

It was Shen Zhuo, her fiancé.

Ye Xin immediately froze.

“What are you doing?” After a long silence, Shen Zhuo spoke.

His voice was clear and soothing, with crisp enunciation—quite pleasant to listen to, though tinged with the weariness of labor.

He also frowned, his expression cold.

“Cooking… cooking.” Ye Xin stammered, nervous.

“Aren’t you the one too lazy to cook?” Shen Zhuo said coldly.

Usually, she was lazy to the extreme. When her father was still alive, she would at least pretend to cook, but after his death, she hadn’t cooked at all, waiting for him to return from work to do it.

“I… I’m hungry.” Ye Xin had never had a bad relationship with anyone before, and this was the first time she encountered such a situation. His cold gaze made her feel like she was being frozen to death. She had to take a deep breath before she could speak clearly, but her voice still sounded weak.

Shen Zhuo gave a cold laugh, about to say something, when a faint smell of something burning emerged from the pot.

Ye Xin quickly turned around, her face falling in panic. “The water has boiled dry!”

She had spent a long time preparing that!

he quickly tried to salvage the situation, not caring about Shen Zhuo anymore—after all, eating was more important.

Before she could even take action, the young man stepped forward, grabbed the spatula, and quickly stirred the vegetables in the pot. He furrowed his brows again. “Why didn’t you add more water?”

Though he was thin, he was still much taller than Ye Xin. She quickly moved aside, feeling flustered. “…The well, it’s too hard to fetch water from.”

She had struggled to draw a bucket of water and used most of it to cook porridge, leaving just enough to cook the vegetables. It was supposed to be manageable, but when he suddenly came back, she got distracted for a moment and ended up burning it dry.

Shen Zhuo pressed his lips together, turned around, and grabbed a plate from the table to serve the vegetables. Seeing that she was still standing there in a daze, he furrowed his brows and said, “Aren’t you going to remove the firewood?”

“Oh, right.” Ye Xin quickly responded, sitting down on the small wooden stool in front of the stove. She hurriedly pulled out the wood and used the fire tongs to move the embers.

The heat and smoke hit her face, and she broke into a sweat, feeling uncomfortable from the thick smoke.

Shen Zhuo efficiently served the vegetables and was about to scoop water to wash the pot, but when he looked down, he realized there wasn’t a drop of water left in the wooden bucket. At this point, it was too late to go out and fetch more, so he stretched out his arm, removed the pot lid, quickly scooped half a ladle of water, replaced the lid, and then poured the water into the pot, where it was already about to burn.

The sizzling sound filled the air.

The water immediately boiled, and steam rose, causing sweat to appear on Shen Zhuo’s face.

After washing the pot, Shen Zhuo dumped out the dirty water, then took the wooden bucket outside to the well in the yard. He first drank a few mouthfuls of water to quench his thirst, washed his face, cooled off for a while, and then refilled the bucket before bringing it back to the kitchen.

Taking advantage of his absence, Ye Xin quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks and stirred the plate of vegetables, tossing the burnt ones directly into the stove to destroy the evidence.

The already small portion of vegetables became even fewer…

She felt very guilty, so she added a little soy sauce to the remaining half of the vegetables, mixed them, and placed them on the table.

When Shen Zhuo returned with the water, she weakly said, “It’s time to eat.”

Shen Zhuo gave her a strange look, but still walked over.

Ye Xin quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Finally, she could eat; she was about to starve!

The dinner was plain rice porridge with chunks of sweet potato, which Ye Xin had made based on her previous memories. The grain crops in this era were still not high-yielding, and the fields in the village were not very fertile. On top of that, there were occasional natural disasters, so they could barely get enough to eat, let alone eat well.

The vegetables, even with soy sauce, still had a burnt taste and lacked any oil, making them unpleasant to eat.

Ye Xin picked up a piece with her chopsticks, then silently stopped, focusing on drinking the porridge. Although the porridge had little flavor, her hunger allowed her to still eat it.

The porridge was also a bit too hot, and with the heat, she ate slowly, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Shen Zhuo, who had been working all day, was also hungry. He sat down and quickly began eating, only slowing down after eating enough to feel somewhat full. He then raised his eyes and surveyed the person across from him.

he was holding the bowl, blowing on it, sipping in small, delicate mouthfuls, looking very graceful, completely different from before.

Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

From her taking the initiative to cook today, to her demeanor and actions, everything seemed a bit strange…

Ye Xin raised the back of her hand to wipe off the sweat; it was really hot. When she looked up, she saw him staring at her, his pitch-black eyes cold and clear, almost as if scrutinizing her.

Her heart skipped a beat. She quietly asked, “Is something wrong?”

That tone again…

In the past, she always wore an impatient look, dissatisfied with the situation, never careful like this, as though she were worried about something.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhuo’s expression grew colder. Others would avoid her, so why would she be so fearful? What was there to be afraid of?

“Didn’t you say you wanted to break off the engagement?”

He spoke coldly, “Why haven’t you moved out yet?”

Ye Xin’s heart tightened, and she forced herself to stay calm, trying to change the subject. “I… I fainted from heatstroke today…”

“Do you think I don’t know?” he sneered. His expression darkened further as he continued, “I had to carry you back.”

…The original owner had gone to court other men, got heatstroke, and fainted, only for her fiancé to carry her back. Just thinking about that scene made Ye Xin feel so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.

Seeing that she didn’t respond, Shen Zhuo went on, “Even if you’re unwell today, you should be fine by tomorrow. If you’re going to leave, then leave quickly.”

His tone carried an unmistakable hint of annoyance.

It was a clear dismissal—he didn’t want her staying here any longer.

It made sense—of course, he didn’t want a fiancée who only brought him embarrassment. She had a bad temper, and she was thin and unattractive.

If it hadn’t been for his filial piety, wanting to give his father a peaceful passing, he never would have agreed to this marriage contract in the first place.

Ye Xin lowered her head, feeling a wave of humiliation.

“Alright, I’ll move out tomorrow,” she muttered, not wanting to cause more trouble.

Shen Zhuo didn’t understand what was going on with her.

Wasn’t it her who wanted to break off the engagement? Didn’t she have feelings for someone else? Why did she now look so wronged, as if he was the one driving her away?

A faint anger stirred in his heart, but he didn’t want to bother with her.

Forget it. She’ll be gone tomorrow, and whatever she does after that is no longer his concern.

Shen Zhuo lowered his head and continued eating. Seeing that she wasn’t eating the overcooked vegetables, he took a portion for himself.

Ye Xin stared at the half-bowl of sweet potato porridge left, but had no appetite.

Actually, she was already full. She had felt very hungry earlier, but when she started eating, she couldn’t eat much. Perhaps she had gotten used to hunger, and her appetite had become small; she could only manage half a bowl before she couldn’t eat any more.

Forcing herself to eat, she felt a wave of melancholy.

She was an educated youth sent to the countryside, and here, she had no relatives or acquaintances. Leaving Shen Zhuo’s home meant she would have to move back to the youth dormitory.

But Ye Xin really didn’t want to go back to the dorm.

Never mind the fact that the original owner had poor relations with the other educated youths and had already been isolated. If she moved back there tomorrow in shame, those youths would certainly mock her. Just thinking about that scene made her feel like she was dying from embarrassment.

The key issue was that several people shared one room, with no privacy at all. Ye Xin found it hard to accept. She had already had enough of dormitory life during school. After graduating, she had rented her own place and enjoyed a few months of private space. Now she was supposed to return to a shared dormitory?

Moreover, she had the space if she stayed in the dormitory, she would rarely have the chance to go out, and that would make the golden finger useless.

Ye Xin silently made a decision—perhaps, it would be better to leave things as they are and not make a move?

Dealing with one person was always easier than dealing with a group…

And besides, Shen Zhuo didn’t seem like someone unreasonable…

Thinking this, Ye Xin mustered up her courage and spoke, “Shen Zhuo, could I not move out just yet?”

Shen Zhuo frowned again. “Didn’t you just agree? What are you trying to stir up now?”

“I’m not stirring anything up.” Ye Xin tried to hold his gaze, speaking earnestly, “I really didn’t mean to cause trouble. It’s just… you know, I don’t get along well with the other educated youths.”

“And what does that have to do with me?” Shen Zhuo’s voice was cold and tinged with a hint of mockery. “Have you gotten along with me then?”

Ye Xin was at a loss for words, her face burning with embarrassment.

It really wasn’t easy to be shameless.

It was so uncomfortable.

If she had a choice, she really wouldn’t want to beg him like this. But she had no other option.

She lowered her eyes, trying to steady her voice. “I’m not trying to cling to you. I know you don’t like me, and we can consider the engagement broken. But I really don’t want to move back into the collective dorm. Could I rent a room at your house? I’ll pay you.”

Shen Zhuo frowned as he looked at her, but her head was lowered, so all he could see was the top of her head.

He wasn’t sure if he had heard her correctly—did she sound like she was about to cry?

When he returned today and saw her, she seemed strange, almost like a different person. Now, she looked more like a homeless kitten or puppy, exuding a sense of pity.

Ye Xin put down her bowl and chopsticks, quietly getting up. “I’ll go get the money for you.”

“No need.”

Shen Zhuo wasn’t sure what was going on with her, but seeing her pitiful appearance made him soften. “I don’t want your money. If you don’t want to move, then stay.”

Ye Xin was stunned, overjoyed as she raised her head. “Thank you, Shen Zhuo!”

Shen Zhuo glanced at her tear-filled eyes, feeling a bit awkward. He quickly turned his gaze away, not saying anything.

Ye Xin quickly reassured him, “I’ll be more diligent in the future! Uh… I’ll make better meals too, they won’t be as bad as tonight.”

Shen Zhuo paused for a moment before replying indifferently, “You should focus on your work first.”

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

Not moving back to the dorms had solved the immediate issue, and now it was time to think about life moving forward!

She let out a sigh of relief in her heart.

Since farming was inevitable, she had to accept it.

Whether in reality or in the space, she needed to learn how to farm in order to feed herself and take care of her well-being.

Shen Zhuo didn’t say anything more. He glanced at the poorly presented vegetables, still ate them without wasting, and then went to wash the dishes.