Lin Yue crossed the small room to the old wooden chest. Inside,two sets of faded,patched clothes laying neatly folded. Tucked between them was an embroidered handkerchief, a large flower stitched carefully across the fabric. She touched it gently.
Perhaps this was the only pretty thing the original owner of this body had ever possessed.
She moved to the cooking area,cataloging the few items scattered on rough shelves. She hadn't been rich in her modern life, but here the poverty was alarming.
Footsteps approached.
Zhao Chen appeared in the doorway, tall and broad-shouldered, carrying a basket of fresh vegetables and potatoes. He moved with quiet confidence, like someone accustomed to hard work.
"You're awake",he said, glancing at her briefly before stepping past into the cooking area.
His eyes didn't linger.
For six months, Zhao Chen had done the cooking himself. His wife was too weak,too slow. Better to handle it alone than deal with burnt rice and spilled soup .
He chopped onions and carrots into large chunks, added salt without measuring, sliced cabbage in uneven pieces, then set
Potatoes to boil. His movements were efficient but rough-functional, not refined.
Lin Yue stepped closer to observe.
"Sit down", he said without looking up, "l"will serve you when it's ready ".
She obeyed , settling onto one of the crooked wooden chairs.
The food arrived moments later - plain,under seasoned, overcooked. Zhao Chen sat across from her and finally met her gaze.
"How are you feeling?"he asked.
"Better" she replied softly.
"The villagers were worried. They kept asking about you".
She nodded, studying him.
According to Lin Yue 's memories, Zhao Chen didn't talk much.
He had kind eyes but treated marriage as an obligation - a duty to fulfill, nothing more.
The original Lin Yue hadn't been lazy . She had been slow.
The Zhao Family had expected speed -rice cooked quickly, soup served hot, chores finished before dawn. Instead, the rice burned. The soup spilled. The mockery came swift and sharp.
Zhao Chen never defended her with words. He simply took over the tasks she failed at.
So he cooked. She washed dishes.
He dug in the fields. She collected weeds or fetched water.
She had tried so hard to prove she wasn't useless.
The Zhao family had needed a daughter-in-law. Their son was already twenty-five and unmarried late by village standards. When the matchmaker suggested Lin Yue,they agreed.
Not because she looked strong enough for farm work
Not because she was young and could bear children early.
But because the matchmaker had told them something strange: This girl has a great destiny awaiting her. You will benefit from her.
The Zhao family hadn't believed it.
Neither had Lin Yue.
Neither had her own parents, who looked down on their daughter with shame. They were so poor that the dowry offered to them was a single bottle of wine. If it had been up to them, they would have given her away for free.
Even the Zhao family, poor as they were, seemed wealthy by comparison.
Lin Yue set down her chopsticks and looked at the man across from her.
Zhao Chen ate in silence, his expression unreadable.
She didn't know him. Not really.
But she would learn.
Because this was her life now whether she wanted it or not.