Lin Xiaoxiao snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Zhou Huai'an, who stood by the bed holding the food container. She came back to reality—she was in this world now, and whether she could return was unknown.

So she had to live earnestly and happily!

She rubbed her eyes and smiled at Zhou Huai'an. "You went all that way to buy breakfast? We could've just had something simple. I'm fine now."

She touched her forehead as if to prove it.

Seeing the light return to Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes, Zhou Huai'an relaxed. He set the container on the table. "Go wash up. The porridge is almost ready. If you still don't feel well after eating, you can skip class today."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded quickly. "Okay, I'll go get some medicine from the doctor and ask for leave."

After breakfast, she felt much better but decided to take half the day off to process everything from the dream.

She went to the hospital for fever medicine, got permission to miss class, and was about to go back to bed when Zhou Huai'an asked, "Do you want to go somewhere?"

Curious and noticing his serious expression, Lin Xiaoxiao agreed without hesitation. "Sure, I wasn't going to sleep anyway. Shall we take a walk?"

Zhou Huai'an led the way east in silence. After about half an hour, the area grew increasingly deserted. Lin Xiaoxiao grew suspicious but held her questions when she saw how solemn he looked.

They finally stopped in front of an abandoned house.

The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, the mud-brick structure half-collapsed, the walls crumbling. It clearly had been deserted for years.

"Why are we here?" Lin Xiaoxiao asked.

Zhou Huai'an turned to her. "You asked why I married you. Do you not remember what happened here?"

Startled by the sudden reveal, Lin Xiaoxiao scratched her head. "I really don't. Part of my memory is missing."

She stared straight at him, silently insisting that whether he believed her or not, she was telling the truth.

Zhou Huai'an gazed into the yard. "I don't know what happened before either. You were here, almost in danger. I happened to pass by, saw you, and took you to Old Cheng. Later, he told me if I didn't marry you, your life could be ruined."

Lin Xiaoxiao was confused. "Wait, you're saying you saved me? If you hadn't, I might have been... assaulted?"

Zhou Huai'an's ears reddened slightly as he nodded. "Yes."

Lin Xiaoxpieced it together. "So you saved me, and my grandfather worried about my reputation, so he made you marry me? Wasn't that like repaying kindness with betrayal?"

Zhou Huai'an ignored her teasing tone. "It was for your safety."

Lin Xiaoxiao began to understand. "My grandfather wanted you to marry me to protect me? So the Lin family wanted to harm me? Why? Why would my stepfather do that?"

Zhou Huai'an decided to tell her everything he could; he knew she wouldn't let it go until she had answers.

"Late last October, I was returning to my unit and passed by here. I heard noises and came to check. Two men were dragging you, unconscious, inside. I intervened and saved you."

It was nearly dark, but Zhou Huai'an recognized her as Old Cheng's granddaughter. Old Cheng had brought Lin Xiaoxiao, then fourteen or fifteen, to visit the base years ago. Even grown, she hadn't changed much.

Not knowing where her family lived but aware Old Cheng was in Longbei, Zhou Huai'an carried her to him.

Old Cheng was surprised and had him bring her inside. A few days later, he asked Zhou Huai'an to marry Lin Xiaoxiao—to protect her reputation, since she'd been out all night and rumors had started.

Moreover, Old Cheng suspected Cheng Mingyue was being used to make Lin Xiaoxiao bait to lure out her biological father.

That was when Zhou Huai'an learned Lin Xiaoxiao's father wasn't actually dead—he was on a secret mission, unknown even to his family.

To protect both her and her father's identity, Zhou Huai'an agreed to marry her. Leaving the story ambiguous would make the plotters think they'd partly succeeded.

Old Cheng gravely told him, "Never speak of her father's survival—not to anyone, not even Xiaoxiao. I've failed my family, but I won't fail her. She's his only child. Please protect her."

Zhou Huai'an shared only the reason for the marriage, keeping the secret of her father's survival.

Lin Xiaoxiao listened in amazement. "I get it now. My stepfather wanted money, and my mother agreed to marry me off. And you ended up as the unlucky one who had to pay."

Zhou Huai'an nodded. "Basically, yes."

Thinking of the original owner's temperament, Lin Xiaoxiao sighed. "My grandfather really wasn't fair to you. That was indeed repaying kindness with betrayal."

Zhou Huai'an wasn't surprised she wasn't angry. "Since you don't remember, it's fine. Nothing actually happened to you."

Lin Xiaoxiao's mind was sharp. "Why tell me this now? Did you hear about my mother coming to yell at me?"

Zhou Huai'an pressed his lips together and nodded. "Lu Yuan-da was passing by when she came..."

Lin Xiaoxiao was speechless. Since when were men so gossipy?

"So you thought I was depressed because of that?"

Zhou Huai'an shook his head. "No, I just thought you deserved to know the truth."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded approvingly. "Good. Honesty is important between husband and wife."

Then she chuckled to herself, thinking of all the secrets she was still keeping.

On the way back, she still felt indignant. "You really were taken advantage of. So what if my reputation was ruined? You didn't have to pay two thousand to marry me. Now they're off living comfortably in the provincial capital, and we're stuck here paying off debt. No—I'm going to get that money back."

The more she thought about it, the angrier she grew. The original owner's mother was truly something—plotting against her own daughter for a man.

Seeing her fury, Zhou Huai'an tried to calm her. "It's fine, I can pay it back slowly."

Lin Xiaoxiao shot him a look. "What do you mean, you'll pay it back? Your money is my money—it's our shared property. Why should they have it?"

Zhou Huai'an fell silent. Watching her roll up her sleeves, ready for a fight, he realized the more he tried to soothe her, the angrier she became.

Before they even reached home, they could see Zhou Xiaoling squatting by the door, eating a bowl of popcorn.