Chapter 1: The Handsome Man in the Bath

Chu Ning thought something must be wrong with her eyes—otherwise, how could she be seeing a handsome man bathing?

And it was happening in her newly rented apartment.

The man had a buzz cut and striking, masculine features.

His eyes were deep like a cold pool, gleaming with a frosty light.

His muscular body was firm and defined, with chiseled abs and veins bulging under his skin…

The scene was so erotically intense that the inexperienced Chu Ning felt her throat dry up, her face flushing red.

“Ah…”

Startled, she let out a cry.

At that moment, the man, busy drying himself, finally noticed the intruder—Chu Ning.

“Who are you?”

The well-trained man’s eyes turned cold as he strode over swiftly. With a chokehold, he had Chu Ning’s soft body firmly in his grasp.

The close contact made Chu Ning acutely aware of the powerful energy radiating from him.

Her mind began to reel.

Her instincts told her—her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. This man was very real.

“I’m Chu Ning. Who are you? Why are you in my house?”

Her voice trembled with a hint of panic.

“Your house?”

The man’s deep, magnetic voice was cold.

He corrected her, “This is my house, not yours.”

Chu Ning was dumbfounded. “It’s clearly my house…”

But her voice trailed off.

She suddenly realized the furnishings around the room looked unfamiliar.

This wasn’t her home at all.

Her head spun in confusion. She had clearly just gotten home after a night shift.

After turning on the lights, she’d seen the scene of the bathing man and thought her eyes were playing tricks.

So why was she now in a stranger’s house?

Looking closer, the simple bathroom was connected to a bedroom.

A portrait of a revolutionary hero hung on the wall. The military-style bed had an army-green blanket folded like a perfect tofu block.

Even the uniform and trousers laid on the bed were meticulously folded.

Only the military cap on top looked somewhat aged.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the date on a torn-page wall calendar:

May 20, 1976.

Huh?

Did she just time travel?

Chu Ning was stunned.

“How long are you planning to keep touching me?”

The man’s displeased voice suddenly rang in her ears.

Only then did Chu Ning realize her hand was still resting on his chest—in a rather sensitive spot.

She gulped. “Uh… I’m sorry, it was an emergency. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

If anything, it was his fault.

If he hadn’t suddenly grabbed her, none of this would have happened.

Chu Ning pulled her hand away like she’d been shocked and tried to push him off.

But her foot caught something on the floor.

She lost her balance and fell backward.

Quickly, she grabbed the man’s arm in a panic.

He instinctively grabbed her hand in return, trying to steady her.

But they were a beat too late—and both of them fell to the floor.

Thankfully, Fu Yuzhou was a gentleman. At the last second, he shifted to cushion her fall with his own body.

Unfortunately, Chu Ning’s lips landed squarely on Fu Yuzhou’s prominent Adam’s apple.

The warm, firm touch sent sparks through her, and Fu Yuzhou—who had never been touched by a woman—felt a strange stirring.

His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably.

Chu Ning was completely stunned.

She had never been physically close with a man before.

And now—she had kissed his Adam’s apple?

A throat kiss.

Too steamy. Even in her wildest dreams, she’d never imagined something like this.

But she had to admit—his Adam’s apple was very sexy.

While Chu Ning’s mind was still reeling, the man suddenly flipped her over, pinning her beneath him.

“Tell me—who sent you to get close to me?”

She had barged into his room, watched him bathe, and now even kissed him.

Fu Yuzhou was convinced this brazen woman must’ve been sent by someone to sabotage him.

Chu Ning was completely confused. She had no idea what he was talking about.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Her bright, clear eyes met his, full of curiosity about who he was.

“Who are you? And where am I?”

Fu Yuzhou grew more suspicious, convinced she was faking ignorance.

She had come all this way into his private space and still claimed she didn’t know who he was?

“Don’t play dumb. Did you seduce me on purpose to steal my quota to return to the city?”

Fu Yuzhou was a militia officer sent down to the countryside.

He had just completed his assignment and received notice to return to the city.

But many others who were also sent down were trying to return early—some going as far as scheming to steal someone else’s return quota.

So Fu Yuzhou could only assume Chu Ning was one such pawn.

“Return quota? I don’t know what you’re talking about! I don’t even know you! Let me go!”

Chu Ning struggled hard.

His weight was suffocating, and their intimacy made her extremely uncomfortable.

“Talk.”

Fu Yuzhou didn’t give her a chance to resist.

He pinned her wrists above her head, pressing them against the cold floor.

His cold, deep eyes locked onto her face as if he wouldn’t stop until he got answers.

“I don’t know anything! What do you want me to say?”

“If you won’t talk, then I won’t be polite.”

Fu Yuzhou’s sharp-featured face suddenly leaned close—intending only to scare her.

But unexpectedly, his lips brushed against hers.

In that electric moment, Chu Ning felt a jolt run through her body like lightning.

He kissed her?!

“You pervert! Taking advantage of me!”

Furious, Chu Ning raised her knee and hit him in the side.

“Argh—!”

Fu Yuzhou gasped in pain.

Taking the chance, Chu Ning shoved him off and scrambled away.

She didn’t recognize anything in this strange room.

She ran out of the bathroom toward the door.

Grabbing the doorknob, she flung it open and dashed outside—

—only to suddenly find herself back in her room.

Seeing the familiar furnishings, Chu Ning was stunned.

She came back?

She wanted to believe everything had been a dream.

Just a figment of her imagination.

But—the dress she wore was still wet.

It had gotten soaked when he pinned her down.

And on her lips, she could still feel the faint, cool scent that belonged to that man.

Even though he had only brushed against her briefly—

His presence lingered.

Especially that kiss on his Adam’s apple.

The sensation was still vividly real.

It couldn’t have been a dream.

Chu Ning was in disbelief. Who was that man?

And the date on the wall calendar—May 20, 1976—was crystal clear.

Did she actually travel back to 1976?

It was too unbelievable.

She quickly pulled out her phone from her handbag.

The screen displayed the date loud and clear: February 14, 2024.

What was going on?

Her mind was in chaos.

Before she could make sense of it all, her phone suddenly rang.

“Lemon, your fiancé just checked into a hotel with his mistress. Want me to help you catch him in the act?”

The caller was her best friend, Tang Siqi.

Three days ago, Chu Ning had already suspected her fiancé Zhou Chenhao of cheating when she found lipstick on his shirt after he got drunk.

She just hadn’t figured out who the other woman was.

She had even secretly tailed him for three days, with no results.

But now that the woman had shown herself, there was no reason not to act!

“Send me the location—I’m on my way.”

Without changing out of her wet dress, Chu Ning threw on a sweater and ran out the door.