Chapter Two: Cheng Jiu

Breakfast featured local specialties. Since Xin Gan had been lactose intolerant since childhood and couldn't consume dairy products, she simply asked the innkeeper's wife for a cup of warm water.

Xin Gan wasn't in any hurry; she had both time and patience. The temperature swung dramatically between day and night. The sun burned fiercely during the day, but at night the temperature would plummet by over twenty degrees. Even Xin Gan found it difficult to withstand such a stark contrast. After a few days, she caught a cold.

Her throat was so hoarse she could barely speak. She coughed, her head throbbed, and her mind felt clouded and heavy; all she wanted was to sleep.

She didn't know that when she finally awoke from her sleep, there would be another person in her room.

A person she had only seen in photographs.

It was Cheng Jiu.

Cheng Jiu had arrived that afternoon, only coming after he finished handling his affairs. Xiao Shi had told him that Xin Gan had stayed at the inn these past few days and hadn't gone anywhere. Seeing her now, he noticed how pale she was—white as paper. Clearly, she was unwell.

"Are you having trouble acclimating, or do you have a fever?"

His voice was low and mellow, magnetic, with a clear and proper accent—obviously not a local, but someone from Yong City, just like her.

Xin Gan instinctively checked her clothing. Before sleeping, she'd changed into something more comfortable, but now her collar was wide open, leaving her exposed. Reflexively, she clutched her collar and pulled the blanket up to her chest.

Noticing her movement, the man let out a quiet laugh and said, "Relax, I'm not the sort to take advantage. I'll wait until we've registered our marriage to do anything aboveboard."

His words were so direct that she didn't know how to react. They also carried a certain wildness.

Xin Gan pressed her lips together. Her voice, rough and grating like an out-of-tune violin, rasped, "We're not married yet."

"But isn't it soon?" Cheng Jiu reminded her. "Didn't you come to see me so we could get to know each other before the wedding?"

On the surface, that was true. Their families hoped they'd bond before marriage; that's why she had come to Beiyu to find Cheng Jiu. Yet, hearing it from him, there was a trace of mockery in his tone.

Suddenly, her throat itched, and she couldn't help but cough a few more times, her pallor worsening.

Cheng Jiu walked over and, with effortless familiarity, placed his palm on her forehead. His face darkened. "You have a fever."

Xin Gan started coughing again, unable to stop.

Cheng Jiu simply picked her up from the bed. She wanted to struggle, but considering their current relationship, resisting would seem needlessly dramatic. Still, she couldn't accept such intimacy with a man she'd only just met. Her expression turned cold, and she couldn't help but protest, "Put me down. I can walk myself."

Cheng Jiu ignored her. She was no match for him. With a silent sigh, she resigned herself. But she didn't want to go out in her pajamas. She was just about to speak when he asked, "Did you bring a thick coat?"

She nodded.

"Where is it?"

"In the suitcase. Put me down, I can get it myself."

She had done her homework before coming to Beiyu, knowing about the temperature swings, and had especially packed a few heavy coats.

Cheng Jiu, being a man, didn’t want to rummage blindly through a young woman's suitcase—even if she was the fiancée he'd been promised since childhood.

Yes, the Xin and Cheng families had arranged their engagement when they were children.

He had known of Xin Gan's existence since he was young, but she had been sent abroad for her studies early on, so they'd never had a chance to meet. Their families weren't in a hurry; they figured there was plenty of time for introductions once the two grew up.

Until today, Xin Gan had never met Cheng Jiu.

But they were both well aware of each other's existence.

Cheng Jiu took out a cigarette, his gaze steady and intense as he watched the disheveled Xin Gan bend over her suitcase. She was very thin, her waist so slender that it seemed he could snap it with just a little force.