Abstinence Pei, don't be too sweet when chasing your wife

When the last handful of soil in the exploration area was swept away by the soft-bristled brush, Gu Fanxing's wrist was so sore that he couldn't lift it.

The moment the base of the pottery bean was completely exposed, she almost laughed out loud. During these ten days, she was like a wound-up top, squatting in the loess and wrestling with the cultural relics during the day, curling up in the tent to organize data at night, and even identifying the patterns on the pottery fragments in her dreams.

The signal shielding of the ruins is like an invisible wall, completely separating her from the outside world.

"knock off!"

The captain's shout pierced through the morning mist, carrying with it a sense of relief.

"Now that I have my phone back, I should let my family know I'm safe."

Gu Fanxing found his cell phone in the cardboard box of the logistics team. The casing was still stained with grass juice from when he set out, and the edges were polished to a shine.

She stood there for a while, holding the phone - these ten days had been so quiet, so quiet that she almost thought that the world outside was the same as the ruins, with only the sound of wind and the stirring of soil.

The moment the charger was plugged in, the screen suddenly became dazzlingly bright.

Before she could react, a dense stream of message notifications flooded the lock screen like a broken dam.

The “99+” on WeChat, the push notifications on Weibo, the pop-up windows on news apps… the red numbers were jumping on the screen like a group of noisy cicadas, making her temples throb.

She took a deep breath and swiped the screen.

The first thing that popped up was the hot search on Weibo, and the top entry was followed by a striking word "explosive": Pei Luonan and Long Weiwei are getting engaged tomorrow.

Gu Fanxing's fingertips suddenly stopped and shrank as if they were scalded.

She stared at the line of words for a long time, until the screen automatically dimmed, then she lit it up again and clicked on the trending search.

A screenshot of the front page of the Hwaseong Morning Post took up most of the screen, with the headline written in gilded font: "The marriage between Pei and Long is settled, and the engagement will be officially announced at the dinner."

In the accompanying picture, Long Weiwei is wearing a champagne-colored haute couture dress and sitting in front of a round table covered with white lace. She is holding the gold lock in her hand, facing the camera with her side profile, and her smile is so gentle that it seems as if the angle was carefully calculated.

"This is a marriage token Grandpa Pei gave me," the woman's voice was so soft it almost made her feel sick in the interview video. "He and my grandfather agreed that when we grow up, our two families will marry. We've kept this promise in our hearts for all these years."

Agreement?

As she slid further down, her heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, and breathing became difficult.

The "childhood photo" posted by Long Weiwei was a cropped group photo. The three children who were originally standing between her and Pei Luonan were photoshopped out of sight, forcing the illusion of "childhood sweethearts".

In the news about "Pei Family Elders Approved," Pei's mother was photographed with Long Weiwei choosing silk scarves at a mall, with the caption "Future mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have perfect rapport"...

Gu Fanxing exited Weibo and hovered his finger over the WeChat icon, hesitant to click it.

She could imagine the scene in the dialog box - the last message was ten days ago, she sent "The site is about to be closed, and we can't contact each other." He replied with just one word "OK".

In these ten days, he has not sent a single message or made a single phone call, nor has he refuted or denied the rumors. It seems that all this is true.

It's not that she hasn't thought about the fact that the agreement will end one day.

When the agreement was reached, she had rehearsed the farewell scene in her mind - maybe after she successfully took revenge, maybe after Grandma Pei recovered from her illness, or maybe after he found the person he truly loved. She would smile and say "It's a pleasure to work with you", then turn around and leave without any hesitation.

But why, when this day really comes, my heart feels like a piece has been hollowed out, and a cold wind is blowing in?

She recalled Pei Luonan driving to the ruins on a rainy night, his fingertips caressing the warmth of her neck as he put his coat on her. She recalled his fearlessness in battling a few thugs alone when she was in danger.

I remembered him looking at the sketch of the cultural relics she drew and suddenly saying, "When you focus, your eyes are bright"...

Those moments that she deliberately classified as "negotiated performances" were now replaying in her mind like movie clips, and every detail was so clear that it was heartbreaking.

Gu Fanxing suddenly turned off the screen, stuffed the phone into his coat pocket, turned around and walked towards the dormitory.

Returning to the dormitory, she began to pack slowly, folding her clothes and putting them in her bag, stuffing her notebook and drawing pen into her side pocket, and finally, she took out the rosewood bookmark that Pei Luonan had given her from under her pillow.

The bookmark was engraved with a tiny cloud-thunder pattern; it was a thank-you gift he had forced upon her after she had helped him repair a Han Dynasty bronze artifact. A faint lingering scent of sandalwood lingered on the bookmark, a familiar scent to her, yet now it only left a bitter aftertaste.

She knew that this was a deal where both parties got what they wanted - she used his power to take revenge, and he used her as his girlfriend to comfort his seriously ill grandmother. Now that his "real owner" was back, it was indeed time for her to leave.

She understood the truth, but why did her eyes feel so sore and her heart so heavy?

She opened the ticket booking software and found that the next train would leave at six o'clock tomorrow morning, and its destination would be a small town in the south of the Yangtze River, 2,000 kilometers away.

She had seen the Song Dynasty stone bridge there in an archaeological journal. The twined branches on the bridge railings were beautifully carved. She once mentioned it to Pei Luonan, saying, "I would like to go and see it if I have the chance."

He was reading a document at the time. He looked up at her with a faint smile in his eyes. “When you are free, I will go with you.”

It turns out that some words are really just talk.

Gu Fanxing booked a ticket and asked for leave from his boss. Then, he reported his safety to Xiao Fangfei, Ling Jiuer, and his grandmother, saying that he was going out for a walk, a spontaneous trip. When he got to the mountains, the signal might not be good. If he couldn't get in touch, don't worry, just turn off your phone and isolate yourself from the outside world.

Outside, she could hear the laughter and chatter of her teammates packing up their things. Some were discussing what to eat when they got home, while others were calling their families to report their safety. The noise was so loud that it made her feel uneasy.

She knew she should be happy.

The agreement was over, she had her revenge, her wish fulfilled, and she could finally return to her original life. She no longer had to play anyone's girlfriend, and she no longer had to feel guilty because the Pei family was too nice to her.

But why does my heart feel like a piece has been hollowed out, empty, and even breathing hurts?

Maybe I'm used to having someone to rely on and someone who treats me well.

These habits, like vines, quietly entangle the heart. How can it not hurt if I try to tear them off now?

She was not reluctant to give up the identity of "Pei family's girlfriend", but Pei Luonan, who would help her look up information late at night and would say "take a break" when she was tired.

Even though she knew it was just an act, she couldn't help but take it seriously.

At dawn, Gu Fanxing walked out of the dormitory with his backpack.

She didn't touch her phone again - she was afraid of seeing any news about the Pei family dinner, afraid of seeing Pei Luonan's name and the word "fiancée" together.

She just walked towards the train station step by step, her steps were slow but firm.

Maybe when she arrives in the south of the Yangtze River, sees the stone bridge, and feels the breeze there, she will be able to truly let go.

Maybe when she comes back, she will be able to face all this with a smile, and bury all those unnecessary heartbeats and losses in the loess, as if they had never happened.

At this moment in the Pei family villa, Pei Luonan had just finalized the last detail of the dinner.

He didn't know that the girl he was looking forward to meeting was walking away from him with a simple bag on her back.

The morning light spread across the loess slopes of the ruins, illuminating her path and lengthening her lonely shadow.

This agreement, which was destined to end long ago, finally drew a flawed comma in her silent journey - she thought it was the end, but she didn't know that fate had already laid the groundwork for a reunion ahead.