Chapter One: Iron Resolve and Tenderness Entwined at the Fingertips (1)

“Beep, beep, warning, warning! Host, a temporary mission has arrived! A dimension has detected a rebirth individual; the rules are on the brink of collapse! Emergency teleportation required, initiating emergency teleport—”

“So soon?”

“Host, please prepare yourself. The system is upgrading and cannot accompany you. You’ll have to rely on yourself in this dimension!”

Fan Sijin rolled her eyes. “As if I’ve ever relied on you. Fine, you upgrade well. I’ll return victorious.”

“Emergency teleportation commencing. Selecting identity, transmitting plot... teleporting in 3, 2, 1...”

“Are you alright? How could you be so careless?”

A loud, concerned voice sounded beside her. Fan Sijin snapped back to reality, feeling a sharp sting in her knee that made her frown in pain.

Then, a warm and strong hand pulled her up from the ground.

It wasn’t so much a pull as a lift, the force almost like hoisting her into the air. Yet the man was very proper, careful not to touch anything he shouldn’t.

Fan Sijin looked down at her knee, bruised and still bleeding, the skin visibly scraped by gravel.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hold you tight enough,” the man admitted honestly. Seeing the set of steps, his heart had tightened; before he could reach for her, he had watched helplessly as Fan Sijin fell.

Following his words, she looked up and saw a tall, imposing man.

This was no exaggeration—he was extraordinarily tall and muscular, probably the tallest person she’d ever encountered.

His broad palms were bigger than her face.

Fan Sijin even wondered if her waist was slimmer than his thigh.

The stark contrast in physique made her momentarily forget the pain in her knee as she stared in awe at this giant.

He resembled a modern-day Tarzan, with thick hair and a rugged charm. In ancient times, he’d easily pass as a heroic outlaw from Liangshan. His nose, eyes, mouth, and head were unusually large, as were his hands and feet.

Her first impression: massive! Truly massive!

Seeing Fan Sijin silently pursing her lips, the man grew anxious, thinking she was hurt. Without another word, he effortlessly scooped her up and strode back.

Startled, Fan Sijin instinctively clasped his neck tightly.

Compared to men she had met before, this man wasn’t the most handsome, but his features were well-defined, exuding raw masculinity and wildness.

She guessed this must be Gao Dagui.

Her target for this mission.

However, she had no intention of pursuing him; tall, burly men were never her type.

Her mission was simple: to fix a flaw in this world caused by the appearance of a rebirth individual.

Gao Dagui brought her to a pharmacy and told her to wait outside while he quickly went in and came out with tape, band-aids, and iodine.

This giant of a man crouched carefully to treat her wound.

With one hand, he gently lifted her skirt, revealing snow-white skin and a vivid red wound on her knee that stood out sharply.

Gao Dagui paused silently before seriously apologizing, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not holding you properly.”

Fan Sijin shook her head, “It’s not your fault. I was careless.”

Gao Dagui worked swiftly, skillfully dressing the wound, then awkwardly stood up.

He considered himself a rough man, while Fan Sijin was a university student recently returned from studying abroad, reputed as a somewhat renowned artist.

Moreover, his superior wanted to set him up with Fan Sijin.

He felt he didn’t need to wait for her to reject him—he already thought himself unworthy.

Not just unworthy—he thought his background and image didn’t even merit him polishing her shoes, let alone a first meeting arranged by their families, where she had taken a nasty fall.

“…What do you think of my father’s proposal?”

“Huh?” Gao Dagui was a bit stunned. He had prepared himself for rejection... but now that she asked, a flicker of hope and joy rose within him.

Truth be told, he didn’t have the heart to say no.

No matter what, if a refusal came, it should be from her. He was a man who had been dumped before; another rejection wouldn’t faze him.

Besides, he had his own feelings. When he first accompanied his boss to pick Fan Sijin up upon her return to the country months ago, he had already taken a liking to her—but that was his little secret, unspoken by anyone.

When he later learned his boss intended to pair them up, he was overjoyed. But...

Putting everything else aside, the physical gap between them was immense.

Plus, Gao Dagui had once been engaged to be married—a match arranged by his rural parents. On the wedding day, his fiancée abandoned him. Though they barely knew each other, the episode remained a stain on his record.

He knew he didn’t yet have the courage to be worthy of his boss’s daughter.

Not only was she exceptionally beautiful, but an intellectual elite. Compared to her, he felt no comparison.

“Uh... well... I...” Gao Dagui didn’t know what to say, his ears flushing red.

Fan Sijin hadn’t expected such innocence beneath his rugged exterior; the contrast was striking. His serious face now flushed with shyness—quite novel.

Her parents had arranged for them to take a walk alone to foster feelings between them. Yet Gao Dagui hesitated—did he expect her to make the first move?

“You’re stammering. What exactly do you want to say? If you’re open to it, why don’t we start as friends?”

Gao Dagui thought he would be rejected, but Fan Sijin’s suggestion shocked him. He widened his eyes in disbelief, “Are you... serious?”

“No second chances with good offers,” Fan Sijin shot him a glance. “My father thinks highly of you. I think you’re pretty decent, and I’m not the kind to judge by looks. I’ve heard about your past. You’re not still hung up on your ex-fiancée, are you?”

“No, no, absolutely not.” Gao Dagui had no romantic feelings for Chen Chuchu. His family simply felt he was getting older and should settle down, so they arranged a forced marriage. When he found out, he rushed back to refuse, but it was no use.

To him, marriage was inevitable and marrying anyone was the same.

“I don’t like her.”

“Good.” Fan Sijin finally felt relieved. “Then you have to promise me one thing.”

“Anything, anything you want, I’ll agree to.”