Bai Yichen rolled down the car window and saw An Xin staring at him blankly, her expression dazed and innocent. He couldn’t help but speak in a deep voice,
“Get in!”

He hadn’t expected to run into her on the road. It wasn’t until he had been driving for some time that he realized this was the woman he was supposed to marry in a few days—An Xin. That’s when he turned the car around and came back for her.

Hearing the familiar, low voice, An Xin finally understood why the man looked so familiar.

Oh, crap! Isn’t this the man she’d ended up in bed with the moment she transmigrated? At first, she thought she’d gained some mystical power where whatever she wished for came true. But it turned out to be someone she already knew.

Seriously, she almost didn’t recognize the man who would be her husband in a few days.

Without hesitation, An Xin opened the car door, stepped inside, and sat down.

Compared to trudging home on foot, she much preferred having a ride.

As the car restarted, Bai Yichen drove while occasionally glancing at the woman sitting upright in the passenger seat. In a casual tone, he asked,
“What were you doing in the provincial capital?”

People from the village rarely went to the provincial capital. Even when they needed to buy things, they usually went to the county, where prices were lower.

Chahe Village was in a unique location, close to both the county and the provincial capital. Still, it was unusual for someone to go all the way to the provincial capital and return so late. Villagers who traveled to town usually went early and came back quickly since there was still farmwork to do.

Hearing his question, An Xin glanced at him indifferently. He had one hand resting on the window and the other lazily holding the steering wheel. His demeanor was calm and detached, exuding a cool indifference that reminded her they were still strangers to each other.

“Oh, with our wedding coming up in a couple of days, I thought I’d go to the city to buy some things we’ll need for the ceremony,” she replied lightly.

It was only then that Bai Yichen noticed the large cloth bag slung over her shoulder, bulging with unknown items. Finding something to say, he asked,
“Did you manage to get everything?”

Indeed, their wedding was just a few days away. Usually, brides stayed at home, waiting for the groom to come and pick them up. However, given the An family’s situation—her father recently deceased, her mother bedridden, and her siblings still young—if An Xin didn’t handle the preparations herself, she might not even look like a bride on the big day.

An Xin hadn’t expected such a question. She promptly shook her head and replied,
“No, I haven’t bought everything yet. I’ll make another trip to the city tomorrow or the day after.”

If she claimed she’d already gotten everything, what excuse would she have to go back to the city to earn money?

Buying wedding supplies was a perfect cover, and she intended to milk it for all it was worth.

Her response surprised Bai Yichen. He raised an eyebrow and let out a noncommittal “Hmm,” before focusing back on driving.

Mountain roads were tricky to navigate, especially at night, so he had to concentrate fully.

The car fell silent, the quiet broken only by the sounds of insects and animals in the distant forest. An Xin didn’t ask Bai Yichen what he had been doing; she simply stared at the road ahead.

She wasn’t interested in making small talk. Their relationship was already delicate, and she didn’t want to force intimacy.

The car weaved along the winding roads, and before long, they reached the village. An Xin had assumed Bai Yichen would drop her off near the exploration team’s station at the village entrance and make her walk the rest of the way. To her surprise, he drove straight to her house.

The jeep’s bright headlights illuminated the dilapidated courtyard of her home. Hearing the noise, her sister, An Yang, and twin brothers, An Wen and An Wu, rushed out. They saw An Xin jump out of the jeep and ran to her, shouting,
“Sister, you’re back?”

As soon as An Xin stepped out of the car, the twins barreled into her arms. Their little heads rubbed against her affectionately as she hugged them tightly, her tone gentle.
“Yes, I’m back. An Wen, An Wu, have you been behaving today?”

Little boys were always more mischievous than girls, especially in rural areas. At their age, An Wen and An Wu were no exception, often getting dirty and sweaty like little piglets.

The twins stared at the cloth bag slung over An Xin’s shoulder, their eyes wide with curiosity. They quickly replied,
“We’ve been good! We even went to the fields to gather chicken feed!”

Smiling, An Xin opened the bag and pulled out some candies, handing them to her siblings. She had taken the candies from her portable warehouse on her way home, along with other daily necessities that she’d packed into her cloth bag.

Bai Yichen got out of the car just in time to see An Xin handing out candies, her face full of affection as she watched her siblings happily pop the sweets into their mouths. Her expression was one of pure satisfaction.

The man shook his head slightly and walked to the back of the jeep. He pulled out a sack of rice and a half-sack of flour. After thinking for a moment, he grabbed two additional bags of sugar. Turning to An Xin, he said,
“I picked up some groceries and sugar while I was in the city today. I’ll bring them to your kitchen.”

When he had come to the An household to propose, he’d noticed they were struggling to make ends meet. On this trip to the city, he’d seen grains being transported in and had taken the opportunity to buy some.

Frankly, with land privatization having been implemented years ago, the An family’s inability to put food on the table likely made them one of the poorest households in the village.

An Xin, who had been playing with her siblings, hadn’t expected Bai Yichen to bring them food. She instinctively refused.
“There’s no need to buy us food. I went to the city today and bought some grain. We won’t go hungry for now.”

To emphasize her point, she pulled a small bag of rice and a small bag of flour from her cloth bag. The family’s food shortage shouldn’t be Bai Yichen’s responsibility.

She had taken these supplies from her portable warehouse, deliberately keeping the quantities small to avoid raising suspicion. As long as her family didn’t starve, that was enough. With her warehouse stocked with ample resources, she could always restock when needed.

After all, their relationship had started as a one-night stand. Bai Yichen had already given a large bride price and money for the wedding. Now, he was even bringing food. An Xin felt a bit guilty accepting so much.

Bai Yichen glanced at the small bags of rice and flour in her hands, his expression unreadable. He said,
“Since I bought it, you might as well use it. I’ll carry the rice and flour into the kitchen.”

The amount of food in her small bags wouldn’t even last through tomorrow.