The kang (heated brick bed) for left-behind women

Lin Dachun had not gone far from Lin Hao's courtyard when he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

Before he could turn around, his arm was grabbed by a considerable force.

"Brother Dachun! Wait for me!" Lin Jie's voice was choked with sobs, and there was an almost desperate stubbornness in it.

Lin Dachun frowned, trying to pull his arm away: "Lin Jie, what are you doing? Go back quickly, it won't look good if someone sees us!"

Lin Jie, however, did not let go. Instead, taking advantage of the darkness and a burst of reckless strength, she pulled Lin Dachun toward a low shed piled with last year's autumn harvest straw not far from the roadside.

The place was sheltered from the wind and secluded, a popular spot for the village's teenagers to play hide-and-seek. Now, in the dead of night, there was no one around.

"Lin Jie! What are you doing?!"

Lin Dachun lowered his voice and scolded her. If he really wanted to break free, Lin Jie's strength was no match for him. However, he was afraid that he would hurt her if he made too much of a move, and he was even more afraid that he would make a fuss and attract others. If he did, he would be in deep trouble.

In that brief moment of hesitation, she half-pulled, half-pushed him into the shadows behind the haystack.

The smell of rotting straw and dust filled the air.

Lin Jie released her hand, but used her body to block Lin Dachun from the path outside.

In the darkness, her eyes shone frighteningly, and her breathing was rapid and heaving.

"Brother Dachun..." Her voice trembled violently, a mixture of tears and a desperate madness, "I...I know I shouldn't...but I really can't take it anymore! I really can't take it anymore!"

Tears streamed down her face: "Haozi is paralyzed, and this family is on the verge of falling apart! I can't shoulder this burden alone! Hearing him groan in pain at night, seeing the half-empty water vat, my heart feels like it's being torn apart! I... I'm a woman too, I also want someone to rely on!"

She took a step closer, almost pressing herself against Lin Dachun, and looked up. In the dim light, her usually haggard face revealed a poignant resolve: "Brother Dachun, you're a good person, you've genuinely helped us... I don't want any title, I don't want anything! I just... I just beg you to look after me from time to time, so I... so I feel like I still have hope... Is that alright?"

Her words were both vague and direct, filled with a dangerous and sorrowful allure in this small, dark space.

A woman, driven to desperation and exhausted both physically and mentally, laid bare before him all the most primal and helpless "repayment" and "reliance" she could think of.

"Isn't it popular to form couples around here? How about you form a couple for my family? You don't have a wife either, right?" Lin Jie said bluntly.

Lin Dachun's body stiffened; he could feel the despair emanating from Lin Jie and the trembling of her sobs.

He wasn't heartless; he had seen the miserable state of his brother's family and understood some of Lin Jie's suffering.

At this moment, Lin Jie bears a striking resemblance to Li Ruoxue, who cried in despair in the cave dwelling, and even to He Xiulan, who said she was willing to "repay" him that night in her own house.

But it is precisely because he understands, and because he has experienced it, that he is even more clear-headed.

He stumbled back a step, his back slamming against the rough haystack with a rustling sound.

He used all his willpower to suppress the pity and primal urges that had suddenly welled up in his heart.

"Lin Jie!" His voice was deep and resolute, carrying an undeniable severity that echoed in the small space. "You're foolish!"

"Haozi is my brother! He's paralyzed on the bed right now, and he needs you the most! How can you do this? How can you face your husband and wife of so many years?"

Lin Dachun's words were like ice water poured over Lin Jie's feverish head: "I'm helping you because Lin Hao is my brother, because I can't watch your family fall apart! This isn't a business deal, and it's not what you think!"

He took a deep breath, softened his tone, but remained firm: "Life is tough, but it's not to the point where we can't survive! If there are difficulties, we'll work together to find a solution."

"I'll definitely help with the heavy lifting like carrying water and chopping wood. But remember, you're Lin Hao's wife, the backbone of this family! You can't break down first, and you absolutely can't go astray!!"

"How is this a crooked path? At night, I'm a normal woman. How is this a crooked path? Isn't forming a group a perfectly normal thing?" Lin Jie replied.

"Yes, I understand."

"You don't understand, and you don't understand Li Ruoxue either," Lin Jie asked.

"What did you say again?"

"I'm not making this up, it's perfectly normal," Lin Jie retorted. "Ask the villagers, who would believe that?"

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I have to go back. Don't worry about it for now," Lin Dachun reassured him.

"See? You're in a hurry to get back, aren't you?" Lin Jie said again.

Lin Dachun was speechless for a moment.

"Alright then, talk to Haozi about what you said later and see what he thinks," Lin Dachun explained. "I'm leaving."

Lin Dachun pushed Lin Jie away and left resolutely.

Lin Jie stood there blankly, the color draining from her face, leaving only pale shame and deeper despair.

All that courage and desperate gamble that had been mustered shattered completely under Lin Dachun's clear-headed and stern gaze.