Chapter 7

He was extremely tall, one hand tucked casually into his pants pocket, usually wearing a lazy, devil-may-care expression.

His towering figure blocked the sunlight in front of her, casting a large shadow that enveloped her completely.

“Are you afraid of me?” he seemed to read the emotion in her eyes.

The girl in front of him had fair skin and delicate, striking features. Her long black hair was braided into two neat plaits. She should be wearing a pretty dress and nice shoes—

Not this patched-up old shirt.

It just didn’t suit her at all.

“Come on, get on the bike,” he said. He didn’t expect Song Qingdai to answer—she looked timid. What if he scared her too much?

It didn’t matter now anyway. The money had already been paid. Even if she wanted to back out, she couldn’t.

The girl he’d had his eye on for so long in that big courtyard… had finally become his.

During his years serving in the army, he’d heard some things about Song Qingdai, but he’d always been too busy to come back and see her.

Now that he had returned, his job made it difficult to approach her.

But now… he had a legitimate reason to be close.

Song Qingdai was very thin. When he held her wrist in his palm, it felt like the slightest squeeze could snap her.

Who knew how harshly the Song family had been treating her all these years?

Especially that old woman in the Song family—her grandmother. Things hadn’t been this bad when Qingdai’s mother was still alive.

But once a child lost the protection of their mother, they became like drifting duckweed—tossed about by the wind and rain, with no safe harbor.

“Where are we going now?” Song Qingdai followed behind him. He had a narrow waist and long legs—each of his strides was worth two of hers.

She had to quicken her pace just to keep up.

His tall back blocked the sunlight, casting a cool, shaded path in front of her.

Oddly enough, she felt a strange sense of calm. She looked down at his hand—broad and rough.

His sleeves were rolled up, revealing a strong forearm.

“To buy clothes. We’re going to meet my parents.”

Song Qingdai’s eyes widened, and she froze in place.

“What? I haven’t even prepared anything! Isn’t it a bit too sudden to meet your parents?”

Things were moving way too fast.

Besides, she had heard that Gao Han’s mother was infamous in Hongxing Town for being fierce. When she was younger, people had even given her a nickname—

“Chili Pepper.”

That said everything about her temper.

“I mean, if we’re going, I should at least bring something with me. Showing up empty-handed wouldn’t be right.”

Gao Han turned to look at her, a hint of impatience in his eyes, his brows furrowed.

But when he saw the tension in the girl’s expression, his face softened a little.

His tone eased as well. “You don’t need to do anything. They’ll like you.”

“Why?”

“Your mom used to work in the same factory as mine. When she was pregnant with you, I was already seven. She once said if the baby turned out to be a girl, she’d promise you to me as a future bride.”

Song Qingdai: “?”

Why had she never heard of that?

She suspected Gao Han was making things up—but she had no proof.

“So, Comrade Song…” he suddenly leaned in, using his height advantage to look down at her slightly.

A teasing smile played on his lips, and there was a possessive glint in his eyes.

“My mother will definitely like you. Come on.”

But in truth, all he did was reach out and ruffle her hair.

Hongxing Town might be small, but it had everything it needed.

The commune’s marketplace had a decent little department store.

While it couldn’t compare to the ones in the provincial capital, it was more than enough for a place like Hongxing Town.

Still, even the cheapest dress in there cost seven or eight yuan.

“I—I have my own money,” Song Qingdai said, tugging gently on his sleeve. She found him a little intimidating.

He looked at something and told the clerk to wrap it up without even asking for the price.

He didn’t even have her try anything on.

It was like his eyes were a measuring tape.

“Your money is your money. But we’re getting married—why would we still be dividing things between you and me?”

In the end, he picked out a set of clothes and handed it to her to change into. It was a beige belted dress, a perfect length that showed her fair, slender ankles.

The moment Song Qingdai put it on, she was like a whole different person—youthful, with a quiet, intelligent beauty.

Her features were bold and striking—a classic “strong-featured” beauty. Arched brows, eyes like autumn water.

But she was too thin—the dress didn’t fit quite right, and Gao Han frowned slightly.

She was way too skinny. How long would it take to fatten her up?

“The comrade looks really lovely in that dress!” the shop assistant said sincerely. That was the smallest size they carried—there wasn’t anything smaller.

“Do I look good?”

Song Qingdai lifted the hem of her skirt and twirled in front of him, the fabric fluttering like a blooming flower.

Bright and radiant.

Caught off guard by her sudden question, Gao Han looked a little uncomfortable.

“Yeah. You look… really good.”

His ears turned a little red.

She really did look good. If she could put on some weight, she’d be even more stunning. Right now she was too thin.

But still, she had curves in all the right places.

Nothing was missing.

“But I just looked at the price. This dress is thirty yuan—that’s almost half my monthly salary.”

Pretty dresses were nice, but the price…

Even in her past life, when Zhang Shaoxing started his company, he didn’t give her much money.

In fact, it was she who helped him start it. Later, he betrayed her and forced her to give up all her shares.

Zhang Shaoxing took everything and made sure she had no rights in the company she helped build. All the glamour she had in public was just for show—an illusion for outsiders.

“Comrade Song,” Gao Han said seriously. He rarely smiled to begin with.

And with that fierce face of his, he already looked terrifying enough to make little kids cry.

He even had a faint scar by his brow that split his eyebrow in two, making him look even more wild and untamed.

“What exactly is our relationship right now?” he asked.

Song Qingdai thought for a moment and said, “We’re… engaged.”

Engaged?

“Then… is there a problem with me spending money on my fiancée?”

She shook her head. “…No problem.”

Then she pointed at the pile of clothes he had bought—bags and bags of them.

“But you didn’t even let me try those on. What if the sizes don’t fit?”

Every dress he thought looked nice, he had it wrapped up. He was spending money like water—Qingdai was honestly worried about his wallet.

“I measured everything last night. No need to try.”

“…”

“W-Well, at the very least I should buy something for your parents.”

This time, Gao Han didn’t object. Song Qingdai quickly added, “With my own money!”

Then she went to the fruit stand outside and bought some fruit—bananas, apples, watermelon. After all, she couldn’t show up completely empty-handed.