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

The rain was abruptly torn apart by two beams of intense light, and the motorcycle engine roared in the yard, still running and sputtering, belching black smoke.

As soon as Mu Wenbin stepped out the door, one of his high heels sank into the mud.

"Ouch!"

The woman on the bus wanted to get off, but she slipped and fell into the mud pit.

She was dressed fashionably in a beige trench coat; if she had fallen hard, she would have instantly turned into a terracotta warrior.

Mu Wenbin's eyelids twitched, he threw down the black umbrella in his hand, and took two steps at a time down the steps.

Just a second before that delicate face was about to make intimate contact with the red clay, a large hand firmly gripped her waist.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Mu Wenbin's voice was cold, but his hands didn't loosen their grip. He pulled her closer into his arms until she was steady.

Song Weihe was still in shock, her hands gripping Mu Wenbin's collar tightly, her expensive leather gloves creating several creases on his shirt.

She took a couple of deep breaths, looked up, and started cursing:

"Mu Wenbin, you heartless bastard! I've been on a bus for ages, but they couldn't get in, so I had to take a motorcycle. Do you know how hard it was for me?! This road is full of potholes!"

Rain dripped down her hair, and her once stylish, permed waves now clung to her face like seaweed.

"Who sent you?" Mu Wenbin asked with a stern face, leading her under the eaves.

"I'm not coming? Are you planning to settle down in this remote mountain valley if I don't come?" Song Weihe flung his hand away, hopping on one foot to pull out her high heel, which was stuck in the mud. "Get it out! Hurry up!"

Inside the room, five men and Lin Qingqing stood in neat rows watching this scene.

Li Dongye forgot to light his cigarette. The lighter spun twice in his hand before finally falling onto the table with a thud.

"Who is this woman?" Jiang He leaned against the window, watching with amusement. "She's ruthless for daring to order this guy surnamed Mu around like this."

Qin Lie shielded Lin Qingqing behind him to protect her from the wind coming in through the door.

With a dark expression, Mu Wenbin bent down, reached out and grabbed the mud-covered high heel, then pulled it off forcefully.

With a "pop," the shoe came out.

He carried the shoe with one hand and supported Song Weihe with the other, leading her into the main room as if serving an empress dowager.

As soon as Song Weihe entered the house, the already cramped main room instantly felt even more crowded.

She took off her soaking wet trench coat and was about to throw it aside when she saw the greasy surface on the bench. Her hand froze in mid-air, and she pulled it back, shoving it directly into Mu Wenbin's arms.

"Take it."

Mu Wenbin held the mud-splattered trench coat, the veins on his forehead throbbing twice, but he didn't lash out and hung it on a nail behind the door.

Only then did Song Weihe have time to look at the people in the room.

Her gaze swept over Qin Lie's cold, hard face, then looked at Gu Qiangying beside him, and finally landed on Lin Qingqing, who was staring at her from the corner.

Song Weihe's eyes lit up immediately.

Her previous arrogance vanished instantly. Ignoring the fact that she only had one shoe, she limped toward Lin Qingqing.

"Oh my, whose little sister is this?"

Song Weihe moved closer to Lin Qingqing, her face almost touching hers.

Lin Qingqing was startled and instinctively shrank back.

"Why are you dodging?" Song Weihe reached out and pinched Lin Qingqing's face. "Tsk, so smooth, like a peeled egg. Mu Wenbin, is this the 'sister-in-law' who brought you so much trouble?"

Lin Qingqing was stunned by the pinching.

This woman's hands weren't very strong, her fingers were soft, and she had a pleasant perfume scent, completely different from the rough hands of the women in the village who worked year-round.

"Don't touch me." Qin Lie frowned, reached out and pulled Lin Qingqing to his side, separating her from Song Weihe's hand.

Song Weihe wasn't annoyed at all; instead, she looked at Qin Lie with a smile.

"They're protecting her quite tightly. Don't worry, I'm not stealing her, I'm just looking. She's really beautiful, like a New Year's picture doll."

She casually pulled over a stool and sat down, raising her bare foot and nodding at Mu Wenbin.

"Your shoes are dirty, let's clean them."

The room instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Li Dongye picked up the lighter, finally lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and looked at Mu Wenbin through the swirling smoke.

The eldest son of the Mu family has such a bad temper. If he were to kneel down and shine shoes for someone right now, the sun would have to rise in the west tomorrow.

Mu Wenbin stood still, coldly staring at Song Weihe.

Song Weihe wasn't afraid of him at all. She just stood there with her legs crossed, her toenails painted with red nail polish, which looked glaringly red in the drab room.

"Mu Wenbin, my feet are cold." Her voice softened, with a hint of coquetry and a touch of threat. "I've been soaked in the rain all the way here to find you. If I catch a cold, I'll tell your mother that you're mistreating me when we get back."

Mu Wenbin took a deep breath.

He turned around and went to the corner to get a towel, which Li Dongye had left there while wiping his head.

He walked up to Song Weihe and knelt down on one knee.

A large chunk of ash fell from Li Dongye's mouth. "Damn, are you using my towel to wipe your shoes?" But he didn't say a word.

Mu Wenbin grasped Song Weihe's foot, his movements not gentle, even a bit rough, and roughly wiped the sole and instep of her foot with a rag to remove the mud.

"Alright." Mu Wenbin tossed the towel aside, stood up, and said, "Put it on."

Song Weihe pouted. Although she wasn't entirely satisfied with the service, she knew when to stop. She put the high heel on and finally felt a little more comfortable.

"Is there any water? I'm dying of thirst."

Lin Qingqing then went to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of ginger soup.

"This is all we have; it's good for warming you up." Lin Qingqing handed over the bowl.

Song Weihe took it, and after just one sip, her brows furrowed, and she almost vomited.

"What is this?! It's so spicy!"

She shoved the bowl onto the table, acting incredibly spoiled: "I want something sweet! Sugar water!"

Lin Qingqing was in a bit of a dilemma.

We just used up all the brown sugar we had used to make ginger soup, and the white sugar jar is almost empty too.

"No sugar," Mu Wenbin said coldly from the side. "Take it or leave it."

"I want something sweet! My mouth tastes like mud!" Song Weihe glared at Mu Wenbin. "You definitely have some on you. When you come to play with me, don't you always have candy in your pocket?"

"You said it yourself, that was when I was looking for you to play. Do you think we're out playing now?" Mu Wenbin really didn't want to lose face here; he wanted to close his eyes.

Just then, Qin Lie reached into Lin Qingqing's coat pocket.

Lin Qingqing was wearing a floral blouse today, with the pockets on her waist. Qin Lie's hand slipped inside, his fingertips inevitably brushing against her waist. Lin Qingqing trembled slightly, her face flushing a little, but she didn't pull away.

Qin Lie took a White Rabbit milk candy out of her pocket.

The sugar traced a parabola in the air.

"Smack."

It landed precisely on the table in front of Mu Wenbin.

Mu Wenbin looked at the candy, then at Qin Lie.

Qin Lie's face remained expressionless; he simply said, "Qingqing gave it to me."