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

By the time I returned from the village entrance, the sun was already setting.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Li Dongye unloaded something from the car, put it in a snakeskin bag, and placed it on the table in the main room with a muffled "bang".

"Fourth brother, what's this thing? It's so heavy!" Xiao Yong kicked away a pebble on the side of the road.

Li Dongye mysteriously unzipped the jacket, revealing a corner of a dark, metallic lump: "Good stuff. Just got it from the county's scrap yard, spent all night fixing it."

He quickly pulled out the items: a slightly worn video recorder and several colorful videotapes.

Qingshan Village doesn't even have many television sets, let alone such a rare item.

Xiao Yong leaned closer for a look, then curled his lip: "This junk can produce a shadow?"

"You don't know anything." Li Dongye ignored him and turned to look at Lin Qingqing, who was about to go inside to pour water. His fox-like eyes were slightly upturned. "Cousin, let's watch a movie tonight. It's much better than those war movies that the town commune shows. It's from Hong Kong, it's awesome."

Lin Qingqing paused, holding the enamel mug in her hand, and hesitated: "Keep it at home?"

"It's right in the yard." Li Dongye said with a smile as he fiddled with a bunch of red and green wires. "I had to ask someone to help me get this tape. I heard there are even kissing scenes in it."

Xiao Yong was scooping water with a gourd ladle when he heard this and almost choked, coughing until his face turned red: "Fourth brother, have you no shame? You dare bring this kind of scoundrel home? Aren't you afraid your older brother will beat you?"

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Qin Lie, who had been silent all along, sat on the threshold sharpening his knife.

The sharpening of the knife was rhythmic; he didn't even look up, but his movements became slightly heavier.

"What's there to be afraid of? Big brother needs to have some fun too, right?" Li Dongye said with a grin. "Besides, if we watch this behind closed doors, who will know?"

Jiang He brought out a small stool from the house and obediently placed it at Lin Qingqing's feet, looking up at her with a smile: "Sister, I want to watch. I heard that the fighting in Hong Kong movies is really intense."

Lin Qingqing looked down at his clean and clear eyes, pursed her lips, and smiled slightly, a rare occurrence for her.

In an era without entertainment, watching movies was indeed incredibly tempting, regardless of what you watched.

As darkness fell, the dim light bulb in the courtyard was turned off.

Li Dongye pulled a white bed sheet from somewhere and hung it between two bamboo poles, which became a makeshift curtain.

The projected light, though a little blurry, immediately created a sense of atmosphere with its interplay of light and shadow.

Li Dongye specially moved the only armchair from the main room and placed it in the middle: "Cousin, sit here, the view is the best from here."

As soon as Lin Qingqing sat down, she felt a sudden weight on both sides.

Li Dongye moved a low stool and sat down to her left, very close, so close that the faint smell of tobacco on him went straight into her nose.

Jiang He was even more direct. He didn't even sit on a stool. He simply spread a straw mat on the ground, sat cross-legged at her feet, and his back was almost touching her calves.

"The ground is cold," Lin Qingqing whispered a reminder.

"I won't feel cold if I lean on my sister." Jiang He turned around, resting his chin on her knee, like a cat begging for food.

Seeing this, Xiao Yong's cheeks puffed out in anger. He moved a large rock far away and sat down, muttering, "A bunch of good-for-nothings."

Qin Lie didn't come over to join the fun. He sat at the entrance of the main room, a cigarette between his fingers, his eyes looking particularly deep in the darkness. It was hard to tell whether he was watching a movie or looking at the person sitting in front of him.

The movie begins.

It's a typical Hong Kong martial arts film, with the sounds of ping-pong balls clapping in the quiet night sounding particularly jarring.

On screen, the male protagonist is shirtless, his muscles gleaming, and he delivers powerful punches.

Xiao Yong, who had initially maintained a composed demeanor, soon became engrossed in the plot, craning his neck to watch with great interest, occasionally throwing a few punches: "Hey! Hit him in the groin! You're so stupid!"

Lin Qingqing had no interest in fighting and killing, but this atmosphere was unusually relaxing. When she first married into the Li family, she had to rush to do laundry and chores after meals, and she wouldn't dare to sleep until it was dark. She had never had such a relaxed and leisurely time.

The summer night was sweltering, and cicadas were chirping loudly in the trees.

She instinctively turned around and looked towards the entrance of the main room. In the darkness, Qin Lie's scarlet cigarette butt flickered, like the eye of a lurking wild beast.

At that moment, the film's style suddenly changed.

The intense fight scene suddenly stopped, and the background music became tender and melodious.

On screen, the male protagonist, covered in blood, rushes into the dilapidated temple and embraces the female protagonist. They gaze at each other for a few seconds, then passionately kiss.

That's a very rare scale.

Although nothing was exposed, the heavy breathing and the sound of clothes rubbing together were amplified infinitely in the quiet courtyard.

"Mmm..." The woman in the movie let out a soft moan.

The air in the courtyard was instantly ignited.

Xiao Yong jumped up, kicked over the rock he was sitting on, and pointed at the screen, yelling, "What the hell is this crap! Turn it off! Turn it off right now!"

His face was flushed, his neck was thick, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. He was clearly very agitated by the scene and didn't know how to vent his anger.

"Second Brother, what's wrong with you?" Li Dongye frowned in displeasure. "They're just acting, why are you taking it so seriously?"

"I just can't stand it!" Xiao Yong rushed over, grabbed Lin Qingqing's arm with such force he almost lifted her off the chair. "Stop looking! Looking at this filthy stuff will give you a sty! Go back to your room and sleep!"

"It hurts..." Lin Qingqing frowned.

"Let go."

Jiang He stood up, her obedient expression vanishing completely. Her eyes turned sinister as she stared at Xiao Yong's hand. "You're hurting my sister."

"Mind your own business!" Xiao Yong snapped, showing no mercy to anyone. "And you, always so clingy like a woman, get out of my way!"

"Second Brother,"

Li Dongye also stood up, blocking Lin Qingqing's way, and looked at Xiao Yong with a forced smile:

"Second brother, this is where you're being inconsiderate. It's her freedom to watch whatever she wants, but you're yelling and shouting. What if you scare her?"

Three men surrounded Lin Qingqing in a triangular formation.

What was supposed to be a pleasant movie momentarily turned into a standoff. The air was thick with tension, as if a single spark could set it off.

Lin Qingqing, caught in the middle, looked at the three faces with different expressions and couldn't help but glance at Qin Lie again.

The moment their eyes met, his deep voice pierced through all the noise.

"Have you all made enough of a scene?"

Qin Lie walked over. His tall figure blocked the light from the projector, casting a huge shadow on the ground that enveloped everyone.

He stubbed out his cigarette, tossed it to the ground, and stomped on it.

"Second brother, put that thing away." Qin Lie pointed to the still-playing VCR. "That's enough for today."

Xiao Yong paused for a moment, then grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "If Big Brother says so, then we have to accept!"

Li Dongye's expression changed. He had put a lot of effort into getting it, but in front of Qin Lie, he simply shrugged and didn't dare to say a word.

"Fourth brother, clean up. Fifth brother, go back to your room and read a book." Qin Lie began clearing the area.

Jiang He glanced at Lin Qingqing reluctantly, but finally said, "I understand, brother."

Although the group was filled with resentment, none of them dared to act rashly in front of Qin Lie. Before long, only Qin Lie and Lin Qingqing remained in the courtyard.

The surroundings fell silent. Lin Qingqing stood there, twisting the hem of her clothes in her hands, her heart pounding like a drum. She dared not look at Qin Lie, feeling that what had just happened had exposed all her hidden shame to this man.

"Were you scared?"

Qin Lie walked up to her, blocking out all the moonlight.

Lin Qingqing lowered her head and nodded gently: "Mm."

A rough, large hand reached over and ruffled her hair.

Her movements were somewhat stiff, and her palms, calloused from years of use, made her scalp tingle slightly, but surprisingly, it wasn't unpleasant.

"They're just bored and need to be taught a lesson." Qin Lie withdrew his hand, took out something wrapped in brown paper from his pocket, and handed it to her. "Here."

Lin Qingqing was taken aback, and subconsciously took it.

It was a deep red diary with a stiff cover and a faint leather smell. Most notably, it had a delicate little brass lock on the side.

"this……"

"If there's anything you can't say to others in the future, write it down here." Qin Lie looked at her, his deep eyes reflecting her slightly surprised face.

He paused, leaning forward slightly, "Or if someone bullied you but you didn't dare to tell on them, you could write that down too."

"Only I have the key. This notebook is for me to see alone."

Lin Qingqing suddenly raised her head, her fingers gripping the cold little brass lock tightly, her heart skipped a beat.

"Did you understand?" Qin Lie asked.

Lin Qingqing bit her lower lip: "I understand."

Qin Lie's lips twitched slightly, and he turned to walk towards the main room: "Go back to your room and sleep."

***