By the time I stepped out of my second aunt’s house in Lu Family Village, the sun had already dipped behind the mountains, leaving the sky ablaze in a lingering, blood-red glow. On the narrow dirt path cutting through the rice paddies, I walked side-by-side with Grandma Lu, heading toward the bus stop at the edge of the village.

My mind, however, was miles away—stuck entirely on the events of last night.

From the disorienting feeling of being held tight in his arms to Grandma Lu’s teasing words this morning—“my husband this, my husband that”—the memories replayed on an endless loop. My cheeks burned so hot I just wanted to pick up the pace, fast enough to lock myself back in my room and hide forever.

“Ruo Ruo,” Grandma Lu called out from behind me.

Startled, I nearly slipped and tumbled into the roadside ditch. She hurried forward to catch my arm, letting out a soft sigh. “Silly girl, where is your head at today? Do you have something heavy on your mind?”

My heart gave a nervous flutter.

“I’ve noticed you dodging Ah Zhan these past few days,” she said, her eyes a mix of worry and gentle scrutiny. “Don’t overthink what happened yesterday. I was thinking… if you two don’t end up as husband and wife, being family is just as good. If you ever feel uncomfortable and want to leave, just tell me. The Lu family won’t force you to stay.”

Her words were honest and heartfelt. But because she was being so genuinely kind… my thoughts only grew more tangled.

Uncomfortable? Was I? But if I wasn’t, then who was the girl clinging to him, holding onto him, and… kissing him out of nowhere last night?

I opened my mouth, my face flushing so red I felt like I was about to burst into steam. “Grandma… I don’t…”

Before I could finish the sentence—

The deafening roar of an engine tore through the air from behind. Instinctively, I whipped my head around. Three motorcycles came hurtling down the dirt road, kicking up a blinding cloud of dust, tearing forward at a speed that threatened to swallow the narrow lane whole.

“Grandma, look out!” I instantly yanked her toward the shoulder of the road.

The three bikes didn’t slow down by a single mile per hour. As the lead motorcycle flew past, a foot clad in a filthy canvas shoe kicked out violently toward me. I ducked, barely dodging the blow.

The second bike swept past, another leg slashing through the air. Grit and dirt whipped painfully against my face. Before I could even regain my footing, the third bike closed right in on us.

This time, there was no time to dodge.

A heavy kick slammed right into my waist, launching me straight off my feet.

“Ruo Ruo!”

Driven by sheer instinct, I wrapped my arms tightly around Grandma Lu. Together, we tumbled down the steep ditch lining the road. The world spun out of control. Jagged rocks and dried brambles tore at my skin with a numbing pain. When we finally hit the bottom, the back of my head cracked hard against a boulder. A warm trickle immediately slithered down into my hair.

“Ruo Ruo! Ruo Ruo!!” Grandma Lu’s voice rang out, shaking with sheer panic.

My head began to buzz violently, throbbing with a pain so sharp it felt like needles driving straight into my brain. Every sound around me started to warp and distort.

In the haze of my fading consciousness, I thought I was hallucinating. The screech of burning tires echoed above on the road, followed by the heavy thud of a car door slamming shut. Then came the sound of frantic, rushing footsteps descending the slope.

“Cheng Ruo.” The voice… belonged to Lu Zhan. Crisp, raw, and laced with a terrifying edge of tension I’d never heard from him before. “Don’t move. I’ve got you.”

The next second, a pair of powerful arms slid under my back and knees, scooping me right out of the freezing ditch. His grip was rock-solid, yet I could still feel a subtle tremor running through his hands.

“Old Zhang! Get Grandma up!” he barked over his shoulder.

Another man slid down the slope, quickly helping Grandma Lu to her feet.

He carried me up the incline, his stride fast and unyielding. Looking down at me, his brow was drawn into a deep, agonizing knot. “Where are you hurt? Why is there so much blood?”

I wanted to answer, but my eyelids felt heavy as lead, forcing themselves shut.

“Cheng Ruo,” his voice dropped lower, sharper with urgency. “Stay with me. Don’t fall asleep. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

He slid into the military Jeep, pulling me into his chest in the tight space.

One arm held me tight against him while his other hand gently swept the blood-matted hair away from my forehead, as if terrified that the slightest pressure would hurt me more. The Jeep jostled violently over the dirt road. Beads of sweat stood out across his forehead.

“Cheng Ruo, talk to me. Keep your eyes open.”

“When we get home… I’ll let you drink the osmanthus wine.”

“If you want to go to school later, you can. Wherever you want to go… you can go.”

His voice grew deeper and increasingly desperate. My heart squeezed tightly with every beat, aching so severely I couldn’t tell if the pain was coming from my injuries or from something else entirely.

A warm drop fell onto my cheek. Then another.

I forced my eyes open with immense effort. Outside the Jeep’s window, the evening sky was still blazing red.

It wasn’t raining at all.

I looked up just in time to catch the sight of Lu Zhan’s bloodshot eyes. A single second later, total darkness claimed my vision.

When I finally woke up, my entire body felt as though it had been disassembled and put back together wrong—every joint throbbed with a deep, dull ache at the slightest movement.

“Ruo Ruo, you’re awake!” Grandma Lu hurriedly poured me a glass of warm honey water. “Thank goodness it isn’t too severe. Just a lot of severe scrapes and bruises—you’ll need to rest up properly if you don’t want any scars.”

I winced slightly. “Grandma… where is Brother Lu?”

“Ah Zhan…” She hesitated for a fraction of a second before continuing, “He’s busy right now. He went out to hunt down those bastards.”

I stayed in the hospital for three full weeks. Throughout those three weeks, Lu Zhan didn’t come to visit me even once.

On the day I was discharged, I had just finished packing my things when I opened the door and ran straight into a tall, imposing figure. Lu Zhan stood there clad in his crisp army-green uniform. Broad shoulders and a narrow waist only served to highlight the cold, sharp cuts of his handsome face.

He set a brown Manila folder down on the table. I opened it up. Inside were property transfer deeds… alongside an official admission letter to the top high school in the city.

My hands froze.

“Brother Lu…” I looked up, my voice trembling slightly. “Are you… driving me away?”

His eyes locked onto mine, devoid of any remaining warmth. “Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? To leave? Dodging me, avoiding me, afraid of being dragged down by me. I’m just giving you what you wanted.”

A lump formed in my throat. “Is that really the kind of person you think I am?”

He turned his face away, his tone flat and unreadable. “The car is waiting downstairs. Go. And… don’t come back.”

Dropping those final words, he turned on his heel and walked away without looking back a single time.

I arrived at the house he had prepared for me. It was clean, fully furnished… and intensely foreign. A place perfectly tailored to start a brand-new life—one without him in it.