Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Ji Huan’s Abacus
"You... have you ever been married?"
As Ji Huan asked this, she stared intently into the wanderer’s eyes without blinking, afraid of missing even the slightest flicker.
’As for reading his micro-expressions, she’d already given up on that.’
The wanderer wasn’t one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and with his face full of scars, it was impossible to read him without being a mind reader.
Ji Huan could sense whether he was in a good or bad mood, but she always felt that was a "signal" he deliberately sent out. If he chose to remain as impassive as a wooden post, she would be completely helpless.
But this question was different. She cared deeply about the honesty of his answer. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul; if the wanderer lied, she was sure she could spot some telltale sign.
The wanderer looked at her, those two "windows" utterly devoid of any ripple. "I have never been married."
This was, without a doubt, the answer Ji Huan wanted.
She sighed in relief, yet couldn’t help but feel a twinge of suspicion.
The wanderer was at least in his mid-to-late twenties. While being unmarried at that age was normal in modern times, it was highly unusual in this era.
Ji Huan probed, "If you’re not married... what about a fiancée?"
"No."
Ji Huan hummed thoughtfully. "A sweetheart, then? Is there someone special back in your hometown, waiting for you?"
The wanderer’s answer was the same, delivered without a moment’s hesitation.
’An adult man, unmarried for this long, with no fiancée or even a sweetheart... It was easy to jump to some unpleasant conclusions.’
’Like, maybe he was ill, or impotent, or maybe...’
Ji Huan shook her head. ’If I keep thinking like this, I’m going to start questioning his orientation.’
’But none of that mattered to her.’
"You’re not lying to me, are you? This is very important. It’s related to something I need to discuss with you. I can’t just act recklessly because I’m in a bind... That wouldn’t be fair to another woman, if there is one..."
The wanderer’s brow furrowed. "I never lie."
"Then what’s your name, where are you from, and how old are you?" Ji Huan’s reaction was lightning-fast, seizing the opening to fire off a barrage of questions.
’She hoped he would get caught up in the momentum and spill all his secrets.’
But the wanderer didn’t fall for the trap. His lips pressed into a firm line, refusing to utter another word.
’Ji Huan understood. ’No wonder he claims he never lies. If you simply refuse to answer, there’s no need to lie.’’
’Oh well. She wouldn’t force him to say what he didn’t want to. As long as every word he did speak was the truth, that was enough.’
Besides, her intuition told her that the wanderer really didn’t seem like the lying type.
"I’ll take your word for it, for now."
’Whatever the reason for him being single his entire life, all that mattered was that he *was* single.’
With that question settled, Ji Huan felt much more at ease. She raised a second finger.
"Second question... Are you... well, are you..."
She stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence, a stark contrast to her usual decisive manner.
Seeing the wanderer’s brow begin to crease, she finally steeled herself and blurted it out.
"Will you marry me?"
As the words left her lips, the room fell deathly silent.
Ji Huan’s eyes darted left and right, unable to immediately look at the wanderer.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity with no response, she finally turned her head.
The wanderer’s expression was... hard to describe. It was dazed, yet also blank.
’Did I scare him?’
Ji Huan slapped her forehead. She’d forgotten to state the terms and conditions.
"Don’t worry! I’m not asking you to *really* marry me, just to *pretend* to marry me. Well, not exactly pretend... We might have to go through the official process, but it won’t be real... No, that’s not right either..."
Ji Huan’s mind was in a jumble, her words were all mixed up, and she was even confusing herself.
She took a moment to organize her thoughts before starting again.
"Here’s the situation. The main branch of the Ji Family is trying to force me to take on a live-in husband. I don’t like their choice of candidate, but there’s a law that says any woman who isn’t married by seventeen will be reported to the authorities. I can’t get out of it, which means I absolutely have to get married."
Ji Huan had no intention of letting them control her, but she also refused to be threatened. And she certainly didn’t want to leave her marriage to be randomly assigned by the authorities.
The law was the law; she couldn’t change it. So, rather than being constantly hounded, she decided to seize the initiative—by finding a husband herself.
She needed to focus her energy on Baiwei Square next. She didn’t want to waste any more time bickering with the Ji Family over this nonsense.
In fact, before she turned to the wanderer, she had considered other options, like going to Yeyang to buy a man.
With his indenture contract in her hands, it wouldn’t be difficult to get him to play along.
But the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.
The money was a secondary concern, and she could even set aside her discomfort with the concept of slavery. The main issue was safety.
While an indenture contract in this era essentially gave one power of life and death, there were still cases of runaway slaves who had harmed their masters.
You can know a person’s face, but you can’t know their heart. Even if it was all an act, and even if they wouldn’t be sharing a bed, they would still be living under the same roof.
What if she brought home a monster in human skin? Someone who became greedy for her money, or worse, for her... She and Dabao would be in danger.
’She had to find someone who was safe, someone she could ’control’...’
And then, somehow, Ji Huan had thought of the wanderer.
Once the idea popped into her head, the more she considered it, the more plausible it seemed.
First, the wanderer had saved her and her brother, and she, in turn, had saved him. Even if the debts canceled each other out, a basic bond remained.
Second, after spending all this time together, they were familiar with each other. Although Ji Huan still didn’t know his true identity, she was fairly certain he wasn’t a bad person. That innate, dignified air about him couldn’t be faked. Besides, if he were a bad man, he wouldn’t have risked his life to save Dabao.
Third, the wanderer had said he had no family, and she had just confirmed that he didn’t have a fiancée or a sweetheart. Therefore, asking him to stay for a sham marriage wouldn’t be unfair to anyone.
Most importantly, Ji Huan could tell the wanderer had unfinished business. He was a man destined to leave one day, so she wouldn’t have to worry about any future entanglements.
’After analyzing it from every angle, he was the perfect fit.’
"To the outside world, we’ll be husband and wife. But privately, we’ll have no relationship. We won’t have to fulfill any... spousal duties. That means we won’t have to share a bed. Understand?"
Having laid out all the necessary explanations, Ji Huan waited. When the wanderer gave no reaction, she figured she might not have been clear enough.
"Look, here’s what I’m thinking. You’re not in a hurry to leave, right? Otherwise, you could have left in early September. Why would you have stayed until now?
I can guess what your concerns are, too.
You’ve recovered well, but that’s only compared to an average person. Actually, no, in your current state, you probably couldn’t even win a fight against an average person.
Even if you did go back, what could you accomplish? If you ran into a few highway robbers, you might not even make it out alive, let alone seek revenge... or fulfill whatever grand ambitions you have.
So why not stay a while longer? Wait until you’re fully recovered before you head back. It’s the safer, more prudent choice.
I promise I’ll nurse you back to perfect health, with no lingering injuries. Once your strength is fully restored, you can leave whenever you want. When that time comes, I’ll just tell everyone you’ve gone missing. It’s the perfect solution for both of us, isn’t it?"
Ji Huan’s throat was dry from talking. She felt like she was trying to recruit him into a pyramid scheme.
And yet the wanderer just sat there, as still and silent as a mountain, completely unmoved. The only thing that changed was the strange look in his eyes as he watched her.
’Ji Huan desperately wanted to yell, ’I’m a beautiful young woman, and I’m not afraid! What are *you* so afraid of?’’
’But she was the one asking for a favor, and you had to humble yourself when you needed help.’
"Everything I’ve said is true. I promise you won’t lose out on this deal, and I won’t take advantage of you. You just have to put on an act with me for everyone else to see."
The wanderer’s unreadable gaze landed on her face. This time, he finally deigned to speak.
"I don’t play-act with people."