Qi Fang had once been engaged in an arranged childhood marriage, though very few knew about it. After all, they were both very young at the time—he was only twelve, and the other party was just ten. They had only met once.
For most of his life, he had lived beyond the Great Wall with his grandfather, rarely returning to Yanjing. Though they occasionally exchanged letters, he preferred to write about what he had recently learned, while she would go into meticulous detail about food, clothes, and the trivial worries of a young girl. Their conversations never quite aligned, and gradually, they stopped corresponding altogether.
By the time the incident happened, he hadn’t received a letter from her in three years. Her family’s attitude had been clear—they wanted to avoid any association, afraid of being implicated. Naturally, he wasn’t going to impose and cause them trouble.
So it came as a surprise when, just a few days ago, he received a letter from her family demanding the betrothal contract between the two households. That alone would have been understandable, but they seemed to fear he might refuse—so they deliberately brought up his family.
Qi Fang wasn’t stupid. He could easily detect the veiled threat in their words.
Lowering his gaze, the corners of his lips curled into an almost imperceptible smirk. "I’ve already mailed everything back with the letter."
His tone was cold, even tinged with mockery. But the snow was heavy, and the noise nearby was loud—Yan Xue didn’t notice. After a brief moment of surprise, she assumed he was referring to the hundred-yuan betrothal gift. Though puzzled as to why he’d bring it up now, she simply said, "Yes, I received it."
Then why was she here? To see just how far he had fallen?
The faint trace of mockery vanished from his lips. Qi Fang stared at the girl standing before him, her face almost entirely hidden except for her eyes, and remained silent for a long moment.
Yan Xue had heard that he wasn’t much of a talker, especially given the circumstances of their meeting. She took a few steps forward. "You’ve grown much more handsome than when you were little."
Her tone was light, her praise straightforward—the kind of opening line that, in any other situation, might have eased the tension.
But to Qi Fang, it only sounded baffling. He even wondered if there was some cruel remark waiting behind that compliment, meant to catch him off guard.
His expression turned even colder. "If you have something to say, say it directly. I still have work to do."
Seems a bit blunt and socially awkward…
Yan Xue mused to herself. With his looks and steady job, he shouldn’t have any trouble finding a partner. So why did he have to return to his hometown to look for one?
She nodded. "Alright, I won’t waste your time."
Qi Fang’s eyelids drooped, his gaze drifting indifferently to the side. He was prepared to listen to whatever she had to say and then leave immediately. But then the girl in front of him extended a small hand, tightly wrapped in a glove.
"Comrade Qi Fang, let me introduce myself properly. I’m Yan Xue, and I’m here to marry you."
To marry him???
Qi Fang froze. When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with unmistakable shock.
He studied the petite girl before him. "Have you really thought this through?"
Marriage wasn’t a game. It wasn’t something to be decided on a whim—whether out of momentary impulse or pity—especially not after her family had explicitly called off the engagement.
But Yan Xue only smiled, her round, bright eyes curving into crescents. "I came all this way. Of course I’ve thought it through."
Truthfully, she had been drawn to him because his circumstances suited her needs. She had framed this as a blind date, just in case there was something about him she couldn’t accept—a way to leave herself an out. But now that she’d met him, though he was a bit cold and not the best at conversation, his looks were undeniably exceptional. And anyone willing to take risks to help others couldn’t be a bad person. She had no regrets.
Tilting her head up with a bright smile, she asked, "Unless… you’re the one having second thoughts?"
She was petite, her head barely reaching Qi Fang’s chin, which only made her large, striking eyes—the only part of her face visible—stand out even more. Her frost-dusted eyelashes were thick and long.
Qi Fang silently stared at the small hand still extended toward him. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away. "Wait here. I’m going to ask for leave."
One of the most obvious advantages of being tall was having long legs. A distance that would have taken Yan Xue half a day to cover, he crossed in no time.
Liu Daniu, the foreman in charge of his team, was standing on the slope, overseeing the lowering of logs. Before he could even ask, Qi Fang spoke first. "I have something to take care of. Mark me down as leaving early today."
In the two-plus years Qi Fang had worked at the lumber camp, he had never once been late or left early—not even during holidays. He was practically a man carved from stone.
Since it was rare for him to request time off, Liu Daniu didn’t press. He just waved a hand. "It’s almost quitting time anyway. No need to mark it."
"Then I’ll be going." Qi Fang nodded and retraced his steps, his expression now completely composed.
He led Yan Xue to the workers’ dormitory—a row of semi-underground huts built into the mountainside.
These structures were a distinctive feature of frigid regions. To build one, you first dug a rectangular pit one or two meters deep, then set up pillars and beams to support a peaked roof that rose above ground level. Because they were sunken, these huts were much warmer than above-ground buildings, sometimes even staying above freezing.
Building into the hillside had two advantages: first, it meant less digging, saving effort; second, once covered with branches and snow, they became nearly invisible from a distance.
Back during the Northeast Anti-Japanese War, General Yang and his troops had lived in these very same huts. The lumber camp had no real need for concealment, but since the logging areas changed every winter, these temporary shelters were practical and easy to heat.
As Yan Xue followed him down a few steps, she immediately felt the difference in temperature from outside.
By the light filtering in through the doorway, she took in the interior—a space of about ten square meters.
Against the far wall was a long, communal sleeping platform lined with over a dozen tightly rolled bedding sets. As expected of a dormitory full of rough men, there wasn’t much of a smell, though that was mostly due to the cold.
Qi Fang set his safety helmet down on one of the beds, gesturing for Yan Xue to sit there while he went to light the kerosene lamp.
She guessed this must be his spot. To be honest, it was remarkably neat—his bedding stood out starkly among the others, some of which were worn shiny. Clearly, he had good hygiene habits.
As he crouched to light the iron stove in the middle of the room, he noticed her looking around. Without much inflection, he blew out the match in his hand. "This is the best we’ve got out here."
Not many could endure these conditions—certainly not a delicate city girl like her. Even the local mountain girls rarely took on such hardship. Aside from the slightly easier job of measuring logs, the logging teams were entirely made up of men handling the felling, stacking, and transport.
Yan Xue, however, didn’t find it too bad. Compared to her memories of her past life—whether in the rural villages of the Central Plains or the logging regions beyond the Great Wall—conditions hadn’t been much better.
Brushing the snow from her trousers to keep it from melting and soaking her cotton pants, she asked, "Do you stay up on the mountain all winter?"
Her tone suggested genuine curiosity rather than just making conversation—and there was none of the disdain for the crude living conditions he might have expected.
Unlike when they were children, she had clearly learned to mask her emotions. Back then, during their first meeting, she had initially been curious, even a little awed. But when he remained quiet, occupied with things that didn’t interest her, her impatience had shown. She had even asked her mother—thinking she was being subtle—when they could go home because she wanted ice cream.
Qi Fang lifted his eyelids slightly. "We'll have to head into the mountains by October at the latest—to lay the narrow-gauge railway tracks and build the cabins."
It made sense. The logging areas were reassigned every year, and without the small railway, supplies couldn’t be transported up.
Yan Xue nodded. Across from her, Qi Fang tossed the split firewood into the iron stove, brushed off his hands, and leaned against the doorframe opposite her. "Does your family know about this?"
He suspected she might have run away from home, though he couldn’t figure out how she’d gotten the necessary paperwork to pass the checkpoints along the way.
To his surprise, Yan Xue replied earnestly, "Yes. My grandmother and my younger brother know."
Qi Fang’s gaze lingered on her face, weighing the meaning behind her words.
Honestly, he was a little taken aback. The absence of any mention of her parents suggested the Yan family was divided—some wanting to bend with the wind, others determined to keep their word.
But he’d already agreed to call off the engagement. Sending her here to endure hardship—was it stubbornness or sheer naivety?
Qi Fang fell silent. Unsure if he had more questions, Yan Xue spoke up instead. "Are you having second thoughts?" she asked again.
If he was, she wouldn’t force the issue, though it would complicate things.
"No." This time, Qi Fang answered quickly, though his expression remained half-hidden in the dim glow of the kerosene lamp.
No second thoughts, then. His earlier questions—about her intentions, about her family—were just him being thorough.
Yan Xue realized that despite his usual aloof demeanor, his eyes often half-lidded as if indifferent to everything, and his lazy slouch against the doorframe, he was surprisingly meticulous. At the very least, repeatedly confirming a woman’s wishes was a courtesy rare among men of this era, who usually leaned toward domineering arrogance.
She exhaled in the gradually warming room. "I wanted to ask—what kind of work can family members of forestry workers do here? Are there jobs available?"
Since neither side wanted to back out, this was her main concern. It would determine whether she could establish herself here and eventually bring her brother over.
Her asking meant she truly intended to stay. However unbelievable it seemed, Qi Fang had no choice but to believe it.
Studying her face—once blurred in memory, now clear again—he was about to answer when the crunch of footsteps on snow grew louder outside. The door burst open, and someone rushed in, muttering, "Damn, the snow’s really coming down today—"
He stopped short at the sight of the two inside—one standing, one sitting.
After a long pause, the man finally tore his gaze from Yan Xue and stammered, "Just grabbing something. Didn’t realize anyone was here."
He hurried to the corner table, snatched up a lunchbox, and made for the door—though not before stealing another glance at Yan Xue. "Your sister?" he whispered to Qi Fang.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered other possibilities, but there wasn’t a hint of intimacy between the two. Qi Fang was as detached as ever, and Yan Xue showed no trace of shyness.
Faced with the man’s barely concealed curiosity, Qi Fang didn’t bother explaining. "Done for the day?"
"Our team finished early." Taking Qi Fang’s non-denial as confirmation, the man grinned. "I’ll leave you to it, then."
Neither Qi Fang nor Yan Xue was the type to make a scene in front of others. Only after the footsteps faded did they resume their conversation.
"You—"
"You—"
They barely started when the door banged open again. "Just grabbing something!"
The explanation came too fast, too eager—and the not-so-subtle glances at Yan Xue made it obvious he’d heard something.
And he wasn’t alone. Two more young faces peeked in from the doorway.
Probably not from this dorm, they quickly claimed they’d come to borrow hot water because their thermos was empty—only to realize they hadn’t even brought a kettle. They scrambled back out to fetch one.
In their haste, they left the door open, and Yan Xue clearly heard one of them whisper (loudly by normal standards), "Yeah, she’s pretty."
A little surprising, but not entirely.
Women were scarce up here. The logging crews were full of rough, weathered men. A young, delicate girl showing up was bound to stir curiosity.
But these guys, used to working in wide-open spaces where communication meant shouting and work chants, couldn’t lower their voices even when trying.
Yan Xue glanced at Qi Fang and caught him pressing his fingers to his temples, visibly exasperated.
This time, they waited longer in silence, as if afraid speaking would summon another interruption.
Finally, Yan Xue chuckled. "Your coworkers are... interesting."
Only a sheltered young miss, oblivious to the harshness of this life, could call it "interesting" with such innocence.
Qi Fang’s lips twitched, but before he could reply, footsteps approached again.
Even his usually icy tone carried impatience now. "What now?"
The newcomer faltered under his sharp gaze. "I, uh—there’s something..."
Before he could finish, someone behind him smacked the back of his head. "Quit dawdling! It’s not about you—the work zone’s got trouble."
