Before leaving my aunt’s house, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. After all… even if Lu Zhan was “useless down there,” who knew if he harbored any strange, twisted habits? What if he expected me to do uncomfortable things, and I had no idea how to fight him off?

My cheeks flushed scarlet at the mere thought.

“Why is your face so red?” Lu Zhan’s voice cut through the silence suddenly. “Is it too hot in here?”

Startled, I shook my head like a toy rattle. “No… I’m probably just exhausted from today.”

“Get some rest then.” He pulled the blanket up and turned his back to me. “I’m going to sleep.”

Before long, his breathing evened out into a steady, rhythmic pattern, sounding so natural it seemed he’d genuinely drifted off.

Only then did I finally breathe a sigh of relief. I stepped over to the full-length mirror attached to the wardrobe and slipped off my crisp new red jacket, leaving only a thin, white tank top beneath.

The girl reflected in the glass had full, voluptuous curves, a narrow waist, and lips naturally flushed red from nerves. Her eyes shimmered as if she’d just been mistreated. My cousin had always branded me a “homewrecking siren,” forcing me to bundle myself up from head to toe.

Looking at my reflection, I let out a slow, quiet breath, then turned to grab a basin of water to wash my face.

The second I turned around, my soul nearly flew straight out of my body.

Lu Zhan—who was supposed to be fast asleep—had turned over at some point. He was staring straight at me in absolute silence. Those deep, dark eyes were burning with an intensity so fierce it turned my scalp numb. His face was far redder than before, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

Panicked, I snatched my red jacket and pulled it tightly against my chest, my heart pounding like a war drum.

“Brother… Brother Lu… You… you aren’t asleep?”

The room fell so dead silent that the sound of our breathing echoed off the walls. After a agonizing stretch of time, he cleared his throat softly, his voice raspy as if he were fighting to suppress something deep inside.

“Ahem… I usually sleep pretty late.”

My heart plummeted. My whole body froze on the spot, stiff as a board.

Lu Zhan braced his hands against the bedframe and slowly stood up. His towering frame cast a heavy shadow over me, completely swallowing me up. Instinctively, I took a step back until my spine hit the icy wood of the wardrobe, my breath hitching in my throat.

Instantly, a barrage of my aunt’s and cousin’s vulgar “marital advice” echoed through my head: Men are like starving wolves when they get married… If you don’t obey him on your wedding night, he’ll torture you all night long. My heart beat so violently I thought it was going to burst right out of my ribs.

Lu Zhan took a step closer. The faint, clean scent of soapsuds drifted into my nose—masculine, fresh, yet brimming with pure intimidation.

Just as I was about to suffocate from holding my breath… he stopped. His Adam’s apple bobbed again, and his burning gaze slowly drifted away from me.

“Get some sleep.”

Dropping those three quiet words, he turned on his heel and walked straight out the door.

The wooden door creaked open, letting in a gust of cold night air that made me shiver violently. Only then did I realize my palms were slick with sweat.

Lu Zhan didn’t look back once. His broad, towering silhouette quickly vanished into the darkness of the courtyard.

I slid down against the wardrobe and crouched on the floor, my mind a tangled mess of yarn. The way he’d looked at me just now… at first, it was clearly shock. But after that… was that a hint of disgust?

Right. It had to be disgust.

Ever since I was little, my cousin insisted I looked shameless and improper, swearing that no decent man would ever want a woman like me.

I lay on the narrow military cot, tossing and turning, completely unable to sleep. Only one thought ran through my head: From now on, I have to bind myself even tighter. I can’t scare him like that ever again.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but somewhere in the haze between sleep and waking, I heard the door click open softly. Lu Zhan was back. He moved with extreme care, making almost no sound at all.

Yet, I caught the faint trace of icy water clinging to his hair. In that moment, the truth hit me… He’d gone out to the yard to take a freezing cold shower.

When I woke up the next morning, he was nowhere in the room. From out in the courtyard, Grandma Lu’s clear, sharp voice echoed inside.

“You stubborn fool! Your wounds haven’t even healed and you’re out there taking ice-cold showers in the dead of night? Are you trying to turn yourself into a walking medicine pot?”

Right after came Lu Zhan’s heavily stuffed-up voice, punctuated by a series of helpless sneezes.

“Grandma… I’m fine. I just felt a little hot.”

“A little hot?!” Grandma Lu barked out a angry, disbelieving laugh. “Hot enough to catch a fever, yet you’re still acting tough! Drink every drop of this ginger tea right now—don’t you dare leave a single drop!”

Hearing him sneeze yet again, a sudden wave of guilt washed over me. I hurriedly latched the door and pulled out the familiar strip of cloth. Standing in front of the mirror, I wrapped it around my chest tight—layer after layer—until I could barely draw a proper breath.

The pressure against my ribs throbbed with a dull ache. But staring at the reflection whose curves had been thoroughly flattened, a strange sense of relief washed over me. This way… I wouldn’t make him “hot” anymore, right?

When I walked into the kitchen, Grandma Lu had already laid out breakfast: a bowl of golden millet porridge, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and two boiled eggs.

Lu Zhan sat on a low wooden stool, cradling his bowl of porridge, his head ducked so low he practically had his face buried in it. The moment Grandma Lu saw me, her eyes crinkled into a warm, beaming smile. But the second Lu Zhan let out a ragged cough, her face fell right back into a scowl.

“Eat up quickly and get back to your room to rest,” she fussed, dropping a peeled egg straight into his bowl, her voice thick with worry.

Lu Zhan ate like a man on a mission. Three giant gulps of porridge, two loud sneezes, and the bowl was licked clean. He immediately stood up and headed straight back to his bedroom.

Watching her grandson’s retreating back, Grandma Lu let out a long, helpless sigh. She pulled me down to sit beside her, pressing the remaining egg into my hands.

“Ruo Ruo, dear,” she murmured softly. “That boy might look big and tough, but he doesn’t give me a single day of peace.”