Which carbon-based lifeform came up with this rule?
If you don't accept the official man assigned to you, you'll be kicked out of the base. Why should that be?!
Ellie refuses!
But this is the year 2323, the post-apocalyptic wasteland world. People are precious, there's no freedom to marry, and no single-life ideology.
When someone turns 20, the base officials take control of their marriage and assign them a partner.
The results come out the same day, and that night you're already married, then forced to have children.
It's all about high efficiency!
Ellie feels like crying. Why not just send her to die?!
She was originally busy picking leeks on a rainy day. The rain was even worse than the night Ping went to ask her father for money.
Then, a lightning bolt struck, and she found herself in the wasteland world.
The original owner was also named Ellie, and she was the least powerful, least favored, and least noticed child in the family.
In a world with scarce resources, everyone except her parents and close family members hoped she'd be assigned away, so they wouldn't waste food on her.
"Ellie, being assigned to Zach is your luck, but don't be ungrateful!"
Suddenly, a proud and displeased voice sounded beside her.
It was the original owner's cousin—Yazhi, the most capable one, the favored child in the family.
Standing next to her was a handsome man, Zach, looking at Ellie with a critical and sharp gaze.
He was handsome and had many girls in the base dreaming about him.
"Yazhi, don't worry, even if I marry this useless girl, I will treat you well."
His domineering and warm words caused a stir around them.
The proud man of the family was about to marry the useless Ellie...
What kind of tragic love was this?
Just as Ellie was about to curse, she glanced at a man sitting in the corner.
He had a crew cut, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, and lips that weren't too thick or thin. His skin was healthy.
There was only a shallow scar on the corner of his left eye.
This was Zyler, the man paired with Yazhi.
Although he was in a wheelchair, Ellie could tell just by looking at his exposed arm, veins, muscles, and his sharp face that if he stood up, he'd definitely be a strong, tough guy.
Ah!
At that moment, her mind went blank.
She unconsciously swallowed, gulping.
Today, even if the god of floods comes, he won't be able to save her.
Actually... she had never been fond of pretty boy types; she liked tough men...
And tough men who were also handsome.
This was a taste she developed from her love of farming.
In her past life, she ignored her family's objections and stubbornly applied to an agricultural university. After graduating, she went back to her hometown to run a greenhouse.
After a few years, she had a small-scale operation.
She had the body, the education, and the money.
But when the men she met on blind dates heard she worked in farming, they blocked her before she even showed them her hundred-acre land.
That's why she had been single all her life.
And now, the official man assigned to her...
People need to learn how to be flexible.
She closed her eyes and thought, being kicked out of the safe base meant death, and she couldn't fight the base's rules on her own.
She had to choose a man today.
But she wanted that man in the wheelchair!
A handsome, tough man, just her type, disabled and pessimistic, so he definitely wouldn't cause much trouble.
Maybe after he died, she could even be a widow in peace.
Perfect!
As for his character... he had to be better than Zach.
Just in case, Ellie quickly checked her thoughts again, making sure there was no rule in the base forcing widows to remarry.
She made a decision that went against tradition and pointed at the man in the wheelchair.
"I request to change the assignment, I want him!"
Wow!
The usually quiet Ellie, who always kept her head down while walking and didn't dare to speak loudly, had never even gone outside the base gate. Now she was doing something like this!
Clearly asking for a man, and even daring to challenge the base's rules!
Everyone immediately became alert.
In previous years, there were never any issues with assigned partners, but for a century, everyone had been used to prioritizing survival over love and emotions.
No one had ever questioned arranged marriages.
It was really about "marrying whatever comes," and no one cared.
No one expected a rebellious one from the Shen family this year!
The crowd was in an uproar...
The yellowish sky, with the sun barely a small ball, and the high metal walls shining with cold white light.
Ellie remained unaffected, standing tall and firm.
This made Zyler think of a kind of wild and tough grass he once saw in the wasteland.
His usually calm eyes slightly raised.
Ellie smiled at him, showing her two small tiger teeth.
Thud thud!
The person in charge, leaning on a cane, walked over and struck the ground twice.
In the wasteland era, original wood was scarce. The twigs people tossed aside in Ellie's original world were treasures here.
"Quiet!"
"Are you sure you want to change the person?" The old man's sharp eyes stared at her.
Before she could speak, Yazhi sneered, "What? Ellie, do you know you're not good enough for Zach?"
"But, a useless one with a useless one is also reasonable. I, representing the Shen family, agree to this."
"You!" Ellie's parents were angry but didn't dare say anything.
The old man turned to Yazhi, his gaze softened, "The base has never seen anything like this, but you and Zyler being paired together is indeed a waste."
His sharp eyes swept over the crowd, "I'll decide. Yazhi will be paired with Zach, Ellie with... Zyler."
"This is a one-time exception, never again!"
After speaking, someone behind the old man took out something like a tablet and operated it.
Ellie and Zyler's electronic bracelets emitted a sound.
[Matching successful, matching locked]
From beginning to end, no one asked Zyler's opinion.
People left, gossiping, but they had other things to do.
Ellie walked up to Zyler, bent down, and met his dark, shiny eyes.
"Hello, I'm Ellie, and I'm your... girlfriend from now on."
Zyler's hand, which had been resting on his knee, subtly tightened.
Girlfriend, such a fresh word.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Ellie smiled and showed her small tiger teeth again, "I'll take you back, and maybe show you the way."
"No need," Zyler lifted his head.
As expected, his voice was just the way Ellie liked it: clear, low, and soothing like a morning bell.
He raised his wrist and gently tapped Ellie's bracelet with his own.
[Beep]
"The address is sent to you," Zyler said calmly, then hesitated a moment before speaking, "If you change your mind, you can stay with the Shen family, or if you have your own place, that's fine too."
Thinking about her situation with the Shen family, Ellie smiled sweetly.
"No worries, wait for me."
Saying that, her eyes subtly scanned Zyler's lower body.
Good, looks like... that part must also be useless. Ellie smiled even sweeter.
Zyler, however, suddenly blushed.
"Ellie," a strange yet familiar voice came from behind them.
Ellie immediately stopped smiling, turned, and looked at the Shen family members in front of her.
One by one, their faces full of schadenfreude, not even bothering to hide it.
Heh, they still think she's the same weakling as the original?
The Shen family had treated the original so badly; she was the real outcast.
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TL's Note:
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