After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

The truck's headlights, like two torches about to burn out, struggled one last time on the winding mountain road full of gravel and mud before going out.

The ride was so bumpy it felt like my bones were going to fall apart.

Li Dongye pushed open the car door, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, his knees buckled, almost causing him to bow deeply to this unfamiliar land. He steadied himself against the mud-covered door frame for several seconds to catch his breath.

Ahead was an open area, or perhaps it was originally an open area, but now it was densely packed with military green tents.

People were everywhere. Stretcher teams were running through the mud and water. Doctors and nurses in white coats were barely touching the ground. There were also disaster victims squatting by the roadside and on the ruins, their faces numb or still wailing.

Li Dongye's life-or-death emotions in J City suddenly seemed pretentious and insignificant in the face of the overwhelming disaster before him.

He didn't have time to reflect; he turned around and opened the passenger door.

Lin Qingqing was still asleep. She had barely woken up the whole way. The aftereffects of carbon monoxide poisoning were strong, and the shock left her like a porcelain doll whose energy had been drained, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.

"Qingqing," Li Dongye stroked her cheek, "we've arrived."

Lin Qingqing opened her eyes with difficulty.

The momentary confusion in his eyes tugged at Li Dongye's heartstrings.

Only when he saw that the unshaven, even somewhat ferocious face in front of him was Li Dongye did he relax.

"Fourth Brother." Her voice was still hoarse.

"Okay, get out." Li Dongye unbuckled his seatbelt and lifted the person out of the car seat.

As soon as she landed, Lin Qingqing staggered.

Li Dongye reacted quickly, grabbing her waist and pulling her behind him.

The surroundings were chaotic, and no one paid them much attention.

Li Dongye protected Lin Qingqing as they stumbled and walked toward the center of the camp.

where?

Where are those bastards?

If he can't find anyone, he'll definitely tear this shabby camp apart.

Just then, a muffled thud came from an open space not far away.

"One, two, go!"

Those were the shouts from several thick voices.

Li Dongye paused in his steps.

Even in such a noisy environment, he knew that voice all too well.

He turned his head abruptly.

Dozens of meters away, several shirtless men were carrying a broken roof beam out. The one in front had shoulders as broad as a wall, his muscles bulging from the effort, and sweat streamed down his bronze back.

Beside Qin Lie, Xiao Yong was cursing and pushing a cart stuck in the mud with his blacksmith's hands. The cart was piled high with supplies.

"Which bastard built this road!" Xiao Yong cursed as he nudged the back of the car with his shoulder.

Meanwhile, near a medical tent in the distance, a boy was squatting in front of a little girl whose face was covered in dirt.

Jiang He held a brightly colored candy wrapper in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Don't cry, the pain will go away after you eat the candy." Jiang He put the candy into the little girl's mouth and patted her head. "Sweetie, tell your brother, are there any other people in your family?"

Seeing this scene, Li Dongye's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

He sniffed, trying to laugh, but the movement pulled at the wound on his lip, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, "They're all here."

Lin Qingqing saw it too.

She grabbed Li Dongye's sleeve. At that moment, she even forgot how to breathe. She just stared at those familiar figures against the gray background.

"Fourth brother!?"

That shout was like a thunderclap out of nowhere.

Xiao Yong pushed the cart out, and just as he straightened up to wipe his sweat, he looked up and saw Li Dongye and Lin Qingqing standing by the roadside.

This roar stunned everyone around.

Qin Lie turned around abruptly.

He threw the roof beam material in his hand to the ground with a "bang," splashing up a cloud of mud.

Li Dongye stood there, stubbornly refusing to fall. He wanted to wave and say as usual, "Oh, everyone's busy," but he only managed to raise his hand halfway before he ran out of strength and let it fall back down.

He just stared at his brothers, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and smiled in a way that was as ugly as it could possibly be.

"Big brother," he called out, "we're back."

Qin Lie strode over, his eyes scanning Lin Qingqing and Li Dongye from head to toe.

Lin Qingqing was pale and listless. Li Dongye's hair was singed, his face was covered in injuries, his clothes were so torn they could be used as rags, and the skin on his calves was rolled up.

Qin Lie's brows furrowed deeply. "Did you go begging for food, or did you go risking your life?"

"Pretty much," Li Dongye surprisingly had the energy to joke around. "They don't provide food over there, and they kill people. So I ran back."

Qin Lie ignored that rubbish and turned to Lin Qingqing instead.

Lin Qingqing was also looking at him.

One glance, and a thousand words are spoken.

Qin Lie was filthy, covered in mud and ash, and stained with blood of unknown origin. But standing there, he was like a mountain that would never fall.

"Big brother," Lin Qingqing called out.

Qin Lie's Adam's apple bobbed violently.

At this moment, Xiao Yong had already rushed up to him.

"Holy crap! Fourth brother, what's with your outfit? Did those bastards in J City abuse you?!" Xiao Yong's voice boomed, making Lin Qingqing's ears ring. "How's Qingqing? Are you hurt? If those sons of bitches dare to lay a finger on her, I'll go kill them right now!"

Jiang He stood two steps away, his usually misty, smiling eyes now staring intently at Lin Qingqing's bloodless face and the faint soot marks on her neck.

"Sister, who did this?"

Aftershocks were frequent in this area, and things were chaotic. Qin Lie didn't want Jiang He to cause trouble, so he turned around and shouted at the figure not far away who was bandaging the wounded: "Gu Laosan! Come here!"

Gu Qiangying had actually heard the commotion a long time ago.

But he was busy treating a villager with a broken leg with hemostats and had no time to spare. When he heard the sound, he didn't stop. He steadily tied a knot, cut the gauze, and then took off his gloves and stood up.

"What happened?"

As Gu Qiangying approached, she immediately noticed that Li Dongye was putting on a brave face and that Lin Qingqing was uncomfortable.

"Second brother, go get them something hot to eat first," Qin Lie said to Xiao Yong. "Don't fucking yell here."

Xiao Yong scratched his head: "Okay, I'll go right now! The porridge over there is just ready!"

Qin Lie didn't ask why things had turned out this way, how Li Dongye brought the person back, or what exactly happened in J City.

He simply took off his coat and draped it over Lin Qingqing's shoulders, completely covering her up.

"Clothing".

The coat was covered in Qin Lie's scent—warm, familiar, the scent Lin Qingqing had been longing to smell in her dreams these past few days.

The strength that had been supporting her dissipated the moment she was enveloped by this scent.