In a Year of Famine, I Picked Up a Husband to Cherish

Lan An happened to finish reading a novel set in another world, and felt the deepest sympathy for Xia Xiya, the lonely, friendless boy who could never fit in.

He made a secret wish: if he could cross time and space, he would treat the poor boy well and protect him.

Who could have guessed that he would wake up to find his wish had come true?

He had transmigrated to a barren ancient mountain village, where he became a frail, sickly farmer who could be knocked over by a gust of wind.

Even more astonishing, he really did meet the boy he had long yearned for.

But the boy was now innocent and docile, with the mind of a child, and the whole village treated him like a fool, bullying and mocking him at will.

No one knew that the boy named Xie Lei had once traversed countless worlds and drifted from place to place.

He had spent half his life alone, with no one who knew or understood him. He had tasted the world's cruelty and even witnessed another version of himself, strong and decisive.

After a series of twists of fate, he settled in this mountain village and spent three years in a daze.

Timid by nature and afraid of crowds, he nevertheless ran recklessly toward Lan An the moment he saw him.

That familiar face, marked by the same fate and origin, was the only home he had chosen after wandering through a sea of people.

A hopeless pretty-boy lover with a soft heart, Lan An fell at first sight and immediately convinced himself the boy was meant for him.

So what if he was poor and frail?

The person he had wished to protect would be cherished and guarded by his own hands for the rest of their lives.

The whole village laughed at the sickly boy for bringing trouble on himself by insisting on protecting a simple-minded youth.

But no one knew they were each other's only salvation.

The world understood neither his weakness nor his broken spirit. Only they knew all of each other's pain and loneliness.

Through long years of famine, they farmed in the mountains and lived frugally.

Two souls who had endured loneliness leaned on each other and found healing together.