Hiss… My head hurts, and my feet hurt too.
Wasn’t I assassinated the night before I entered the palace? Where is this?
Zhou Wanning propped herself against a tree with one hand. Before she could even process where she was, a flood of memories came rushing into her mind.
Her name was Zhou Wanning—an educated young woman from a wealthy merchant family. To spare her from the hardships of being sent to the countryside for labor, her family had sent her from Shanghai with a token of betrothal to find Li Zhanye, the man she had been promised to in childhood through an arranged marriage.
The original owner of this body had gotten off the train, transferred to a bus, and then walked dozens of miles of mountain roads before finally reaching the military unit where her fiancé was stationed. But she had overheard that Li Zhanye had no intention of marrying her, and since going back meant being sent to the countryside, she had lost all hope and slammed her head into a tree, killing herself.
And she—the would-be empress who had been assassinated the night before her coronation—had now been reborn into this body.
Looking at her unfamiliar attire, she raised an eyebrow slightly. So this is the future? How interesting.
From a distance, Zhou Wanning heard Li Zhanye shouting at the top of his lungs to the person beside him: “How could I marry a wife from a bad background? If that old hag agreed to it, let the old hag marry her instead. I’d marry a dog before I’d marry Zhou Wanning.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, she walked straight up to Li Zhanye and, mimicking the greeting style she remembered from the modern era, extended her hand toward him: “Hello, I’m your fiancée, Zhou Wanning.”
Looking at the girl who only reached his chest, wearing an army-green cap with her head lowered, Li Zhanye let out a cold laugh. “I don’t have any fian—”
The moment he spoke, Zhou Wanning lifted her head to look at him.
The instant he saw her face, Li Zhanye’s voice dropped to a whisper: “Damn…”
How could anyone be this beautiful?
Her skin was as fair as the steamed buns in the mess hall. Her large eyes were dark, round, and glossy, like black glass beads soaked in cool water. The corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, carrying a hint of subtle allure even when she wasn’t smiling. One look into them, and you’d fall into crushed starlight—so bright you couldn’t look away.
He thought she was even more beautiful than the actresses on TV. One glance, and you couldn’t help but be captivated.
The moment their eyes met, his heart pounded like a drum. He knew he was done for. This wasn’t just attraction—it was fate.
Zhou Wanning frowned slightly. “So, you don’t acknowledge this engagement, is that right?”
It seemed she would need to find another way out.
The moment she turned to leave, Li Zhanye grabbed her hand. She was a bit displeased. “What are you doing?”
Seeing Zhou Wanning’s puffed-up little expression, Li Zhanye’s heart melted into a puddle. How could anyone be so beautiful that even her displeasure looked like she was being coy?
The faint flush at the corners of her eyes was practically an invitation to commit a crime. If he let her go now, she’d probably be harassed by some hooligan the moment she turned the corner.
He reached out and took the small suitcase from Zhou Wanning’s hand. “Don’t be coy. I’ll file the marriage report tomorrow, alright? Come on, I’ll take you to where you’ll be staying.”
Zhou Wanning tilted her head slightly, studying Li Zhanye. Who was being coy?
Li Zhanye stiffly turned his head away, not daring to look at her again. This little minx—she really knew how to tempt a man. With those delicate, charming features, she made a man want to…
“Walk slower.”
Zhou Wanning’s voice was laced with slightly breathless gasps. Li Zhanye turned around and realized that without noticing, he had put a huge distance between himself and her.
Looking at Zhou Wanning, drenched in sweat with her legs trembling, Li Zhanye’s whole body tensed up. She looked like he had done something to her.
Zhou Wanning thought he hadn’t heard her, so she raised her voice and said, “I walked dozens of miles of mountain roads to get here. My feet hurt. Walk slower.”
Although this was called a military district, it was actually a temporary base where Li Zhanye’s unit had been sent to the countryside to guide agricultural work. There were quite a few farming households nearby. When Zhou Wanning shouted like that, the surrounding gazes all gathered on them.
A few loafers who idled around all day started whistling directly. “What a pretty girl! Where do your feet hurt? Let your uncle take a look, I’ll rub them for you~ haha… Damn!”
Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked flying from behind.
“Fuck, who the hell kicked me?”
When he turned around, he saw Li Zhanye looking at him with a wicked grin. “Tell me more about how you wanted to rub my fiancée’s feet.”
The previously arrogant thug immediately turned pale. He hadn’t forgotten that when the Seventh Regiment came to their village to station and guide, a few cadres who acted high and mighty refused to follow orders, and even instigated the villagers to lay hands on them.
It was Li Zhanye who took a wooden stick and beat up half the village by himself, and he didn’t even receive any punishment. According to the old village chief, this man had connections up top—his background was solid. Most importantly, he was a soldier-thug, a reckless troublemaker, an educated hooligan with a military officer’s certificate. They simply couldn’t afford to mess with him.
“Master Li, I didn’t know she was your fiancée. It was my big mouth. I deserve to be hit!”
Lu Li slapped himself hard twice, his dark face visibly reddening—clearly he’d put real force into it. “It’s mainly because you two were standing so far apart that no one could tell you were an engaged couple. Besides, Er Ya is always slipping into your quarters, so everyone thought you two were about to tie the knot.”
“Hm?”
Slap!
Lu Li slapped himself hard again. “Look at my big mouth! Master Li is so handsome, he definitely needs to be matched with a fairy like sister-in-law.”
That remark pleased Li Zhanye. The corners of his lips curled up slightly, and he gave Lu Li another kick to the ass. “Get lost. I’ll let you off today. Watch yourself from now on—stay out of my fiancée’s sight. She’s timid.”
That last part was added by Li Zhanye himself. A fairy who was so soft and fragrant, like a little rabbit—how bold could she possibly be? Only he could protect her.
Zhou Wanning was still stunned when Li Zhanye walked up to her and crouched down. “Get on. I’ll carry you.”
She didn’t really want to—being this intimate with a strange man was rather improper—but her soles hurt too much, and she suspected blisters had already formed. Since there was free labor available, she had no reason to refuse.
She silently recited that everything in this later era was proper and conventional, then climbed onto Li Zhanye’s back.
“I’ve got things in my hands. Hold onto my waist yourself.”
With that, Li Zhanye picked up Zhou Wanning’s luggage and stood.
Say what you will, this man had remarkable stamina. Carrying her on his back and lugging two large suitcases, he still moved as fast as flying.
Feeling the softness against his back, Li Zhanye’s face turned red. That part of her was far too big… if he were to grab it… No, he couldn’t think about that anymore.
He cleared his throat and deliberately said in a loud voice, “Fiancées are so delicate! Walk a few steps and your feet hurt, and you insist on being carried.”
Zhou Wanning was a bit annoyed—it was clearly his own choice to carry her, so how had it become her fault now?
She confirmed it: Li Zhanye was a dog.