“Ah Ci, your sister has been pampered since childhood, unable to carry heavy loads or endure hardships. Sending her to the northwest with the army would be the death of her.”

Wen Ci slowly opened her eyes upon hearing the sobbing voice. Her brows furrowed as she looked at the middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious attire standing before her, accompanied by a tall man.

The two bore a striking resemblance.

It was clear at a glance that they were mother and son.

“I heard that young man from the Huo family is an officer in the northwest with a decent salary. Marrying him would certainly be a good deal for you, much better than staying in the countryside.”

Wen Ci listened to the man’s “well-meaning” persuasion, and then countless images flooded her mind. A cold glint appeared in her eyes.

She was the female war goddess of the apocalypse. Just after annihilating all the zombies and preparing to celebrate, a doomsday-level zombie broke in.

Shattering humanity’s last hope, she then found herself transported here, with all the memories of the original host. Just moments ago, the original host had died of sheer anger.

Upon learning the reason for the original host’s death, Wen Ci was somewhat puzzled.

The original host shared her name, Wen Ci.

Wen Ci was originally the daughter of the Jiang family from a prestigious compound in the capital, but she was swapped at birth by the family’s nanny, who replaced her with her own daughter. Wen Ci was then taken to a poor rural village to be raised.

Wen Ci endured countless hardships from a young age. By the age of three, she was already responsible for cooking and washing clothes in the household, often subjected to beatings and scoldings by her adoptive parents.

In the 1970s, girls were the least favored, as every family hoped for a son to carry on the family line. Wen Ci believed that being a daughter had brought shame to her parents, so she endured in silence.

On the day Wen Ci turned eighteen, a tall and handsome man came to her door with a box of peach crisps, claiming to be her biological brother!

He had come to take her home.

At that moment, Wen Ci learned that her biological parents were city dwellers, and were from a wealthy family. She was filled with joy, eagerly anticipating meeting her real parents.

However…

Just two days after returning home, the Huo family from the same compound came to propose marriage, citing an ancestral betrothal that could not be broken. The groom was a soldier stationed in the remote northwest.

They were to register their marriage and move to the northwest within the month.

The Huo family intended to marry Jiang Ye, the fair-skinned daughter of Wen Ci’s adoptive parents. However, Jiang Ye had already been in a relationship since high school.

Jiang’s parents forced their daughter to break up, inadvertently revealing that she was not their biological child. Unable to withstand the tears of the daughter they had doted on for years, the Jiang family turned their attention to Wen Ci, intending for her to replace Jiang Ye and marry Huo Jingyuan, moving to the northwest to start a new life.

Upon learning the truth behind her return, Wen Ci died of sheer anger.

Wen Ci sighed softly. If she were the original host, she would have simply severed these shallow familial ties, rather than driving herself to such an extent…

Seeing her unyielding attitude, Jiang Chen, her supposed brother, frowned and adopted a more authoritative tone, no longer speaking kindly: “Today, whether you want to or not, you will marry. You have no choice.”

Hearing this, Wen Ci raised her eyes and calmly glanced at the middle-aged woman before her—Su Guilan, the original host’s biological mother. After a few seconds of contemplation, she spoke: “Do you really want your biological daughter to replace your adopted daughter in this marriage?”

Su Guilan’s face showed signs of distress. Jiang Ye and Wen Ci were like the palm and back of her hand—one was the adopted daughter she had pampered since childhood, and the other was her biological child who had been taken away.

She couldn’t bear to send either of her daughters to suffer in the northwest.

But…

The marriage arrangement with the Huo family was set by the elders, and she had no power to change it. Thus, she had to choose between the two. Jiang Ye’s boyfriend was already a prospective college student.

Now that the Huo family had fallen from grace, and their compound residence had been reclaimed, the exact position of the groom in the northwest was unclear, only that he was an officer.

Although Wen Ci was her biological child, she had grown up in the countryside.

Marrying Huo Jingyuan could still be considered a good match.

Su Guilan looked at Wen Ci’s face, but she offered no response.

Yet, from Su Guilan’s eyes, Wen Ci could discern the choice this “biological mother” had made.

Wen Ci glanced around, taking in her surroundings.

They were in a teahouse located by Shichahai, seated in a private room on the third floor. Outside the window, the shimmering waters of Shichahai stretched out.

Shichahai, called a “sea,” was more accurately a lake.

Wen Ci calculated how long it would take to jump out the window and swim to the opposite shore.

“If you marry Huo Jingyuan, our Jiang family won’t treat you poorly. We’ll give you 1,000 yuan as a dowry, and you can use the money however you like.”

In the 1970s, the average monthly salary of workers in Beijing was around 60 yuan. The dowry offered by the Jiang family could sustain an ordinary household for ten years.

But Wen Ci was in no mood to listen. Her mind was fully occupied with her calculations. Once she had confirmed her plan, she walked to the window. Fortunately, it was spring.

If it were winter, Wen Ci would never consider jumping into Shichahai.

“Please, do it for your mother, okay?”

As Mrs. Su’s words fell, Wen Ci stepped over the windowsill and leaped into Shichahai. With a splash, several people on the street began shouting.

“Someone’s jumped into the sea! Help, someone help!”

Wen Ci swam gracefully, quickly reaching the middle of Shichahai. Hearing the commotion from the onlookers, she couldn’t help but smirk at their overreaction.

Meanwhile, a man carrying a luggage bag on the shore threw down his bag, stripped off his military uniform, and without a moment’s hesitation, plunged into Shichahai.

Huo Jingyuan swam underwater, reaching Wen Ci’s side. He surfaced and wrapped his arm around her waist. Wen Ci looked at the man with his sharp features.

She forgot to struggle or resist, her gaze fixed on him. From his rescue movements, she could sense his tall, powerful build.

The man’s looks could be described as breathtaking.

After being pulled ashore, Wen Ci caught a glimpse of the alluring lines of his abs beneath his white shirt. She couldn’t help but stare, her mouth watering involuntarily.

“Just passing by?”

Huo Jingyuan’s gaze was cool. After rescuing the woman from Shichahai and meeting her intense stare, he realized she could swim.

Perhaps she hadn’t fallen into the water but was simply swimming in Shichahai.

At that moment, Jiang Chen rushed from the teahouse to the shore, both angry and worried. He hadn’t expected his biological sister to be so headstrong as to jump into the sea. His brows furrowed tightly as he scolded, “Was it really necessary to jump into the sea just because we asked you to move to the northwest with the army?!”

Hearing this, Huo Jingyuan’s gaze shifted to Jiang Chen. As fellow members of the compound, he had met the Jiang family a few times. After a brief glance, he looked back at Wen Ci:

“What did you just ask me?”

“Huh?” Wen Ci blinked, repeating her earlier question: “Are you just passing by?”

Huo Jingyuan’s lips curved slightly. The coldness he had initially exuded, like an eternal, unyielding glacier or an emotionless celestial being, seemed to melt away.

As his lips curved, the glacier thawed, and the celestial being descended to earth.

Huo Jingyuan’s voice was deep and firm: “I am your husband.”