Leaving behind her teenage years and reaching the age of marriage, whether it was the relentless urging from those around her or the self-brainwashing she subjected herself to, people always told her—
“Hey, it’s time to get married, right? Just find someone suitable, someone of equal social standing, and get married! Where in the world is there so much earth-shattering love? Most people just live ordinary lives, following the rules.”
Wei Zhi used to think the same way, hardly questioning the logic behind it—
Just like how after kindergarten, you should go through nine years of compulsory education, then high school, and then get into a good college. From a young age, you should listen to your mother and be a well-behaved child.
When it’s time to do something, just do it. When it’s time to get married, just get married…
See, everything seems so natural.
But on this day, it was as if she had been struck awake from a muddled dream.
It turned out—
Her vision was so narrow.
At the age of twenty, thirty, or even older, compared to forcing oneself to accept a predetermined life, more people are living freely and ideally—
Truly enjoying one or two hobbies, having a few like-minded friends, going to places they want to go, eating the food they want to eat, and seeing the sights they want to see.
What determines where a person goes, how far they go, and how much they do has never been age.
Life is not easy.
Perhaps in previous lives, she had been a pig, cow, or sheep, suffering a lot, and it was not easy to get the chance to be reborn as a human, to stand tall and walk this world… Such a precious opportunity, how could she go against her true self and waste it?
She wasn’t against marriage.
Nor was she unwilling to start a family.
She just suddenly realized that she hadn’t met someone who could give her the courage to promise her life to them—
Before that, any compromise would be irresponsible to herself and the other person.
So, at the last moment, she backed out and chose to escape.
If this was considered willfulness—
Wei Zhi’s willfulness came just like that.
She didn’t regret this decision.
…
She ran home and locked the door from the inside as soon as she got in.
The young girl leaned against the door, panting, her fair face flushed with excitement and agitation, and a bit of panic, as if she had done something earth-shattering.
…It was indeed something earth-shattering.
She blinked, took out her phone, and without hesitation, swiped away dozens of missed call notifications, turned on airplane mode, connected to Wi-Fi, and did it all in one go as if she had practiced it hundreds of times.
Entering WeChat, she was immediately bombarded with missed voice messages from all directions. Just from Ms. Yang alone, there were more than a dozen voice messages, each 60 seconds long.
It was clear she had a lot to say.
With a face full of black lines, she randomly selected one and tapped it open. Immediately, the phone blared with the angry roar of a middle-aged woman—
“Have you lost your mind?!”
This opening scold made Wei Zhi shrink her neck, instantly deciding she couldn’t listen to this right now. She quickly tapped the voice message again to pause it, then exited the chat and swiftly cleared the chat history with the current user.
…If you can’t hear it, it doesn’t exist.
She let out a long sigh, her heart still pounding, and with trembling hands, found her friend’s WeChat avatar—
[Girl Ji: I officially announce, I ran away from my wedding.]
Jiang Nanfeng’s response was quick as if she had been holding her phone, waiting for this moment for a long time.
[Ginger Juice: Am I the first person to be notified?]
[Girl Ji: Yes. Although I think during the time I was running home, the whole world probably already knows about this.]
[Ginger Juice: That’s right, look at this “picture.”]
Jiang Nanfeng sent a picture and a screenshot of her chat with Wei Zhi. If there was anything different about it, it was that her note for Wei Zhi had changed from the plain “Ji Ji” to “Runaway Princess from the Marriage Tomb.”
[Girl Ji: …]
[Ginger Juice: So, Your Highness, what are you going to do next? You don’t naively think this is over, do you?
[Ginger Juice: I heard your families were talking quite seriously. My brother saw a hotel wedding banquet brochure in Han Yiming’s office drawer last time.]
[Girl Ji: Well said, of course, it’s not over.
[Girl Ji: So before things calm down, I’m planning to run away.
[Ginger Juice: Hmm, very ambitious. Where to?
[Girl Ji: Running away to Xinjiang.
[Ginger Juice: That’s far, and vast. There’s South Xinjiang and North Xinjiang… Your mom will have to guess which half you’re in before she considers hiring someone to bring you back—you’re the smartest in the world.
[Girl Ji: …]
[Girl Ji: Stop joking! Be serious!
[Ginger Juice: Okay, I’ll be serious!
[Ginger Juice: No offense, but have you thought about your readers who rely on you for updates? You’ve only been back to updating for less than a month, and now you’re going to stop again? If your readers don’t kill you, your editor won’t let you off. You’re running away from marriage, but also from updates?
[Girl Ji: …Taking my laptop to Xinjiang?
[Ginger Juice: That works.
[Ginger Juice: Take me with you, otherwise, the mess you leave might become mine.
[Ginger Juice: To be honest, my brother is now banging on my door like crazy. I’ve already put on my headphones and climbed into bed. If he breaks in, I’ll pretend to be asleep.
[Girl Ji: Fine, I’ll take you!
[Ginger Juice: You go first, I’ll join you after I finish my work.
[Ginger Juice: By the way, I saw Lao Yan’s short video account the other day. He posted some videos… Anyway, they are all in Xinjiang. If you tell me this is a coincidence, I won’t believe it.
[Girl Ji: …What are you trying to say?!
[Ginger Juice: Hehe, if your mom knew you were going to Xinjiang for another man and not to escape life, maybe her blood pressure would drop a bit?
Wei Zhi was about to refute that she was talking nonsense. Her grand escape today was due to the awakening of human self-awareness and had little to do with any man.
Just as she was typing halfway, as if Jiang Nanfeng’s words were a curse, someone knocked on her door.
“Wei Zhi, open the door.”
A deep male voice sounded, with little emotion.
The person who had awakened to self-awareness trembled, dropping her phone, which hit her right big toe, causing her to yelp in pain. She wanted to scream but didn’t dare, so she covered her mouth, and squatted down, tears welling up as she rubbed her toe with one hand and pounded her chest with the other. The knocking on the door behind her continued like a death knell…
It was enough to drive someone crazy.
Wei Zhi hobbled back to the door, squatted behind it, and listened to the knocking for five minutes. She realized that if she didn’t respond, the security guard might come up. She sighed, “Han Yiming, go away.”
The knocking stopped immediately.
After a while, the voice outside spoke again.
Through the door, it sounded muffled, and the tone was less aggressive, with a hint of coaxing: “Xiao Zhi, open the door first, okay? I promise I won’t do anything.”
Han Yiming, although not always truthful, rarely lied to Wei Zhi—
Or maybe he just didn’t bother to lie to her.
After all, she never argued or resisted, always accepting whatever he said without a word of “no.”
At this moment, it wasn’t about worrying he would “do something.” Wei Zhi was conflicted—
After all, they had grown up together, and it was her ambiguous attitude that led their families to this point.
Now, she suddenly turned her back on him, publicly declaring, “I don’t want to marry him” in front of everyone… To be honest, Dr. Han was a highly educated, successful young man, listed among the promising young talents of Nancheng—
For her to reject him so publicly, it was quite gracious of him not to come to her door with a gun.
After a moment of internal struggle, Wei Zhi opened the door.
…She opened it, but not completely.
The door was just ajar, and the young girl stood behind it, showing only her dark, shiny eyes, staring at him.
Staring—
Staring.
The man outside didn’t force his way in. Backlit, Wei Zhi could only guess his emotions from the rise and fall of his chest, which seemed stable. The man raised his hand, showing her the takeout bag: “I brought your favorite creamy mushroom pasta.”
“…”
This was a bit disarming.
Her guilt peaked.
She never expected him to do this. Wei Zhi bit her lip, opened the door a bit more, and quickly took the takeout bag… She hesitated, then couldn’t help but ask, “Is my mom very angry?”
Han Yiming replied bluntly, “Furious.”
Wei Zhi’s face fell: “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to—”
Marry you.
These three words were on the tip of her tongue, but she felt it was too harsh to say them sincerely, so she stopped herself. Both she and the person outside the door fell into silence.
As she stood barefoot on the wooden floor, holding the takeout bag, Wei Zhi shifted uncomfortably, attracting the attention of the person outside the door.
Being a doctor, Han Yiming had excellent eyesight. Even in the dim hallway light, he noticed her slightly swollen toe, which she was now nervously lifting and lowering on the floor.
“What happened to your foot?”
Instinctively, Wei Zhi quickly pulled her injured foot back into the shadow behind the door, avoiding his gaze.
With her head lowered, she presented him with a view of her fluffy hair, much like a sunflower abandoned on the grass after sunset.
—She had caused a huge commotion, yet she was the one feeling aggrieved.
Han Yiming felt a wave of helplessness…
Before coming, he had even considered dragging her out and stuffing her into his car if she dared to open the door. But now, seeing her looking so guilty and timid—
He couldn’t bring himself to do it.
After all, he still thought she was young and naive.
After a moment of hesitation, he suppressed his emotions and asked, “Is it tonight’s flight?”
The person behind the door mumbled a “yes,” and then he heard him ask, “It’s good to take a break and clear your mind. Do you want me to take you to the airport?”
His tone was very calm.
But to Wei Zhi, it sounded like he was planning to take a detour to a secluded place and bury her alive on the way to the airport…
Of course, Wei Zhi shook her head vigorously.
After some thought, she finally looked up and asked, “Forget about taking me, but can you do something else for me? Can you say something nice to my mom for me?”
“……”
Han Yiming was speechless for a couple of seconds.
Standing tall outside the door, he looked down at the girl behind the door, who was holding onto the door with both hands, her bright black eyes looking at him…
It reminded him of their childhood.
Back then, she would stand outside his yard, tiptoeing to look through the fence, her round little face smiling as she called out to him, “Brother, do you want to come and play?”
The man chuckled softly.
The person behind the door immediately closed the gap by three millimeters, like a startled little animal.
“Wei Zhi,” he said, his smile fading, “don’t push your luck.”
With that, the door slammed shut with a bang—
If he hadn’t heard her tiny voice saying “okay” before it closed, he would have thought she had grown bold and courageous.
She was still timid.
But the little girl who used to call him “brother” had grown up and had her thoughts.
But that was okay, he had time to wait.
…
Sending Han Yiming away had used up all of Wei Zhi’s remaining courage.
Leaning weakly against the door, she shakily opened an app to buy a plane ticket—knowing she couldn’t rely on him to speak well of her, she had to hurry and pack her bags before her mom came knocking with a kitchen knife.
She packed a few snowsuits, thermal underwear, a helmet, gloves, and ski goggles.
She lovingly touched the ski goggles, carefully placing them inside the gloves and then into the helmet. With everything ready, Wei Zhi squatted in front of her suitcase, thinking it over, and finally, she opened WeChat and found the Crayon Shin-chan avatar.
[Girl Ji: Can you send me the hotel you booked?]
The other side might have been eating or resting, as it took nearly half an hour to reply.
And the reply was just one word.
[Chong: Coming?]
By this time, Wei Zhi had already fled her small apartment.
[Girl Ji: Coming.]
Shan Chong sent her the hotel’s location.
[Chong: When are you coming?]
[Girl Ji: Tonight.]
[Chong: ?]
He probably couldn’t believe his eyes.
A voice call came through immediately. Wei Zhi answered with a “hello,” and a cool voice asked, clearly not thrilled by her arrival, “Where are you now?”
Wei Zhi looked out the window at the rapidly retreating streets of Nancheng and then at the taxi driver holding the steering wheel—
It was 6:00 PM, and the sun had just set.
Nancheng’s office workers were on their way home, the streets were bustling, the streetlights were on, and the city was lit up.
It was both warm and desolate.
For a moment, she felt like a runaway princess.
The runaway princess steadied her voice and calmly said, “I’m on my way to the airport.”
The other side fell silent, clearly taken aback by her absurdity.
Wei Zhi continued, “It’s a 7:30 flight, I should be able to make it.”
The other side didn’t care if she made the flight or not. After a long pause, he asked, “Are you alone?”
“Temporarily,” Wei Zhi said tactfully, “Nanfeng will arrive a few days later.”
“So, you’re alone.” Not interested in her roundabout way, the man concluded, “The flight is at 7:30, what time will you arrive?”
Xinjiang is quite far from most parts of China, and Wei Zhi was in a southern city—
In some extreme cases, some southern cities don’t even have direct flights to Xinjiang.
The total travel time might not be much different from a trip to Paris.
Prompted by his question, Wei Zhi slowly opened the app to check the flight information and then, in a not-so-surprised voice, told him that if there were no delays, she would arrive around 12:30 AM.
The other side fell silent again.
In the mutual silence, Wei Zhi heard the clinking of glasses and a familiar northern accent asking, “Who is it? My little junior sister? She’s coming? Hahaha, great—while everyone is flocking to Songhua Lake and Chongli, Xinjiang hasn’t reached its peak ski season yet. It’s perfect, really, fewer people, better snow…”
The background chatter was clearly from someone who had had a bit too much to drink.
After a while, she heard a faint sigh, and the man on the other end said to someone nearby, “Get him out of here.”
A few seconds later.
She heard his clear voice on the phone, “Send me your flight information, I’ll pick you up.”
Then the call ended.
He didn’t even give her a chance to politely refuse—
Just like last time in Chongli when he decided not to take her to the airport…
When he made up his mind, he didn’t feel the need to consult anyone.
This kind of personality is straightforward and decisive.
Wei Zhi obediently sent him the flight information, and after a long time, he replied with a single word.
—A cold and noble “Hmm.”
…
Half an hour later, the runaway princess arrived at the airport.
Checked in, printed her ticket, and passed through security.
Holding her ticket, she walked to the departure lounge, still feeling a sense of unreality—
She couldn’t help but look back at the security checkpoint, grateful for the airport’s good security measures, so she didn’t have to worry about her mom coming to kill her.
“……”
How nice.
It was already a bit late when she entered the airport, and the boarding announcement was already being made. The young girl quickened her pace, running and jumping onto the plane, finding her seat and sitting down.
Her body was tired.
But her mind was excited and restless.
In the next few hours of being disconnected on the plane, her mind was filled with thoughts of how to reasonably and calmly explain her seemingly impulsive behavior to the “pickup person” when she landed…
She thought of a hundred reasons.
And then dismissed them a hundred times.
Finally, at ten thousand meters high, she successfully brainstormed herself to exhaustion and fell asleep on the tray table.
The plane landed on time at 12:30 AM at Urumqi Airport in Xinjiang.
A kind lady next to her woke her up, and she groggily got off the plane, collected her luggage, and followed the crowd out of the arrival hall.
It was already close to December, and the temperature in Xinjiang at midnight had dropped to minus seven or eight degrees. Coming from the mild autumn of Nancheng, the sudden intake of cold air with a hint of snow made her sneeze several times at the airport entrance.
Rubbing her nose and sniffling, she was about to take out her phone to ask the person who was supposed to pick her up where he was when she suddenly looked up—
And there, among a bunch of Didi drivers trying to get customers, she saw the man standing.
He was wearing a white hoodie with a black short down jacket over it, jeans that were a bit faded, and a pair of ordinary AJ sneakers.
Leaning against a dusty Jeep, the man was typing on his phone, the faint glow of the screen illuminating his high nose bridge and long, thick eyelashes.
As he lit up his phone, her phone vibrated in her hand at the same time.
But she didn’t answer.
She didn’t even look at it.
A hundred reasons she had thought of on the plane for the runaway princess were useless, and the thousand imagined scenarios of how to greet him without awkwardness were also unnecessary—
Dragging her suitcase, she walked briskly.
Before the man could react, she had already crossed the bustling crowd, leaped over the zebra crossing, let go of her suitcase, and crashed into his arms.
She hugged him tightly.
As if she were desperately embracing her Statue of Liberty.
…
Shan Chong was caught off guard, almost dropping his phone.
Before he could react, he felt a pair of arms tighten around his waist, the familiar sweet scent of her shampoo filling his nostrils. He paused, temporarily shelving his urge to curse, and looked down…
At the fluffy head buried in his chest.
“……”
He raised his hand, and three seconds later, his large hand unceremoniously landed on her head, pushing her away—
“What’s wrong with you?”
…
“Let go of me.”