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

Autumn rains come down suddenly, giving no one a chance to catch their breath.

At dusk, fiery clouds hung in the sky, making the woods at the west end of the village look like they were on fire. Around nine o'clock at night, rumbling thunder began to roll overhead.

Immediately afterwards, large raindrops pounded on the tiles, flowing down the eaves and forming curtains of water.

The autumn rain in the mountains carries a chill, and a single rain shower can dispel most of the summer heat.

The paper windows of the east room rattled loudly in the wind. Lin Qingqing had just finished showering; she smelled of soap, and her hair was still wet and draped over her shoulders.

She closed the window tightly and put on a long-sleeved jacket, only then did she feel a little warmer.

The thunder outside grew louder and louder, booming like someone was pushing a millstone in the sky, making the ground beneath our feet tremble.

Lin Qingqing is afraid of thunder.

When I was a child, I heard the elders tell stories, saying that thunder was God exorcising demons, or that someone had done something wrong and was about to be punished.

Although she didn't believe in these things, the sound of something striking straight down from the top of her head always made her uneasy, and she couldn't feel at ease even when she was curled up in bed.

Just as she was about to blow out the kerosene lamp, a creaking sound came from outside the door.

The sound was very soft, but it stood out starkly against the backdrop of thunder and rain.

Her heart tightened, she grabbed the scissors on the table, held them in her hand, and peered through the crack in the door.

A dark figure stood at the doorway, like an iron tower.

"Who?" Lin Qingqing asked.

After a long while, Xiao Yong's muffled voice came from outside the door: "It's me."

Lin Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, put down the scissors, and asked through the door, "Second Brother? What are you doing at my door in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

There was silence outside for a while, then the dark figure moved, seemingly sitting down.

"The book says women are afraid of thunder," Xiao Yong said in a low voice, sounding a little awkward. "I'll keep watch for you. You go to sleep, don't worry about me."

Lin Qingqing was stunned for a moment.

Gatekeeper?

In the middle of the night, with wind and rain raging outside, he just stood there at the door.

"Second brother, go back to your room and sleep. I'm not afraid," Lin Qingqing said softly.

"No way." Xiao Yong's stubbornness kicked in again. "Big brother isn't here, third brother isn't here, and fourth brother is sleeping like a log, we can't count on him. What if... what if a clap of thunder scares you? I'll just sit here, you can sleep."

Immediately afterwards, the sound of a stool hitting the ground came from outside the door.

He actually moved a stool and sat down at her door like a guardian deity.

Lin Qingqing found it both amusing and exasperating. Why was this person so naive? His leg injury hadn't fully healed, and with the autumn rain and chilly winds blowing through, how could his injured leg withstand it?

In the west room next door, Li Dongye was lying on the bed, tossing and turning, making pancakes.

He heard the noise too.

This second brother usually seems quite shrewd, so how come he becomes such a blockhead when it comes to this kind of thing?

"You idiot." Li Dongye rolled over to face the wall and cursed irritably, "What's the use of guarding the gate? Go in then! Are you a dog or a door bolt?"

He grabbed a pillow and covered his ears, a wave of bitterness rising in his heart. In this family, only the second son would do something so foolish, yet the women always fell for it.

In the east room, Lin Qingqing sat on the bed for a while, listening to the sound of rain outside and the occasional cough coming from outside the door.

The cough was very low, as if afraid of disturbing her.

Lin Qingqing sighed, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.

She walked to the door and unlatched it.

The door opened.

A wave of dampness hit me.

By the dim light of the kerosene lamp in the room, Lin Qingqing saw Xiao Yong curled up on a small stool. His tall frame looked particularly aggrieved as he huddled there. He was wearing a coat, his trousers were rolled up, and his injured leg was stretched out straight, wrapped in gauze.

The wind swept in with raindrops, hitting his face, but he didn't flinch. He just stared blankly at the puddles on the ground.

Hearing the door open, Xiao Yong suddenly looked up.

Seeing Lin Qingqing standing at the door, he panicked and tried to stand up in a flustered manner, but he forgot that he had an injury on his leg. He swayed and almost fell over.

"Why did you come out?" Xiao Yong asked anxiously, leaning against the wall. "Go back inside quickly, it's cold outside, don't catch a cold."

Lin Qingqing looked at his injured leg, which was still trying to back away, and sighed.

"Come in." Lin Qingqing took a step back, making room for the doorway.

Xiao Yong was dumbfounded: "Huh?"

"I said, come in." Lin Qingqing raised her voice slightly, then quickly lowered it again, afraid the neighbors would hear. "It's so windy outside, do you want to lose your legs? Do you really want to be a cripple?"

Xiao Yong's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and he glanced at the bed in the room before quickly looking away.

"This...this isn't appropriate." He said, but his toes betrayed him, shifting forward half an inch. "Fourth Brother's still next door. What if he hears us..."

"Are you coming in or not?" Lin Qingqing pretended to close the door. "If you don't come in, I'll lock the door."

After saying that, she turned around and went back into the house, where she sat on the edge of the bed.

Xiao Yong hesitated at the door for two seconds.

To go in, or not to go in?

If they get inside, it won't be as simple as just guarding the gate.

He remembered the magazine under his pillow, the words Li Dongye had said, and the fire burning in his heart that kept him awake all night.

Xiao Yong gritted his teeth, picked up the stool, dragged his injured leg, and stepped into the east room.

The room was warm and filled with a faint, sweet fragrance, Lin Qingqing's unique scent.

Xiao Yong stood at the door, at a loss. He carried the chill and dampness from outside and felt like a country bumpkin who had stumbled into an embroidery room; nothing about him felt right.

"Sit down," Lin Qingqing said, pointing to the stool next to the table.

Xiao Yong stiffly moved over and sat down, placing his hands on his knees and sitting up straight, as if he wanted to wear the chair out of his body.

Neither of them spoke.

The thunder outside the window continued, but the atmosphere inside was even more unsettling than the thunder itself.

Lin Qingqing took the thermos, poured a cup of hot water and handed it to him: "Drink some hot water to warm yourself up."

Xiao Yong took it; it was Lin Qingqing's water cup, with red peony flowers printed on it. He held the delicate porcelain cup in his rough hands, not daring to use any force.

He lowered his head and took a sip. The water was a little hot, and it flowed down his throat into his stomach, stirring up a wave of heat.

"Second Brother," Lin Qingqing looked at him, "you just said it was written in a book, what book?"

"puff--"

Xiao Yong almost spat out his water.

His face, which had turned slightly bluish from the wind, instantly turned a deep liver color.

"No...nothing much." Xiao Yong stammered as he put down his cup. "It's just...it's just what Lao Si was rambling on about."

Looking at his guilty expression, Lin Qingqing roughly guessed what had happened. That Li Laosi guy had probably fed this simpleton some kind of nonsense.