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

The warehouse beams cracked with a dull thud in the firelight.

Lin Qingqing lay prone on the ground, each expansion of her lungs bringing in scalding fumes. She could feel the concrete floor against her cheek rapidly heating up. The burning pain seeped into her bones, causing her to hunch her shoulders.

We must survive.

She pressed her wrist tightly against the shard of glass, the rough hemp rope digging into her flesh. With each movement, the sharp edge of the glass sliced ​​through her skin. Blood streamed down her palm, soaking the rope; the slippery texture actually made it easier to pinpoint the glass.

The pain in her wrist had gone numb. She stared at the falling sparks above, her mind filled with images of the Qin family courtyard.

Qin Lie's hands were always covered in thick calluses, but when he touched her head, he did so very gently.

If he were here, he would definitely frown and shove her into his arms.

Xiao Yong, that simpleton, gets drenched in sweat while forging iron. He always boasts about his strength, saying he can lift her over his head with one hand. If he saw this fire, he'd probably smash this wall down with his shoulder.

And then there's Gu Qiangying. That man would always gently pinch her waist, his fingertips icy cold, and ask her if it hurt.

Jiang He, that crazy boy, will definitely rush into the fire while crying, shouting for his sister not to leave him.

Li Dongye...

The man who always teased her with a cigarette in his mouth, who enjoyed seeing her embarrassed and also helped her out of her predicament, is now unaware of any danger he might be in.

Lin Qingqing was extremely worried...

The rope broke.

Lin Qingqing abruptly pulled her right hand back, ignoring the torn flesh on her wrist, and frantically tried to untie the knot on her ankle.

The roof beams above her head were shaking violently, and a burning wooden plank crashed down at her feet.

Lin Qingqing pushed herself up, but her legs, numb from being bound for so long, gave way and she fell back down. Gritting her teeth, she used her elbows to support herself and slowly moved toward the iron gate.

The door was tightly shut, with only a tiny sliver of light seeping through the crack.

She crawled to the door, covered her mouth and nose with her shirt, which was already soaked with sweat and cold water, and leaned her body against the scorching hot iron door.

Open the door.

She cried out in her heart.

There was no sound outside the door, only the howling wind blowing across the wasteland. The oxygen in the warehouse was dwindling, and consciousness began to drift and sink like a kite with a broken string.

She laughed self-deprecatingly.

It turns out that dying doesn't really hurt that much.

……

Li Dongye straddled the motorcycle, the engine's roar almost shattering his eardrums. He wasn't wearing a helmet, the wind whipped his hair into a mess, and the blood on his face had dried, forming dark red scabs on his skin.

He saw the smoke.

It rose from behind the woods, thick and dark, like a dragon with its claws outstretched, ready to devour this wasteland.

Li Dongye's heart skipped a beat.

"Lin Qingqing!"

He roared, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

The motorcycle bounced violently on the bumpy dirt road, and several times the whole vehicle was thrown into the air. All he could see was the burning silhouette.

It was an old brick and wood warehouse, and the fire had spread from the inside to the roof. Red flames peeked out from the vents, licking at the surrounding dry branches.

Before the motorcycle had even come to a complete stop, Li Dongye jumped off. The motorcycle lay askew on the ground, its wheels still spinning rapidly, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He rushed to the warehouse door.

The huge iron padlock hanging on the door frame looked particularly glaring in the firelight.

"Qingqing! Are you inside?"

Li Dongye slammed his shoulder hard against the iron gate.

"Bang!"

The iron gate made a dull thud and remained motionless.

"Speak up! Lin Qingqing! Give me a shout!"

He pounded on the iron gate frantically, his palms blistered from the scalding metal, but he seemed oblivious to the pain.

There was no response from inside.

There was only the crackling of the flames and the rumbling of the collapsing roof beams.

Li Dongye took two steps back and looked around. Fatty Liu and Skinny Monkey were nowhere to be seen.

He found a rusty crowbar in the collapsed rubble.

He rushed over and grabbed the crowbar. The iron bar was extremely heavy; he lifted it with one hand, the veins on his arm bulging like earthworms from the effort.

He inserted the crowbar into the crack in the door, hung suspended above it, and used his weight to press down.

"Open it for me!"

He roared, the veins on his forehead almost bursting.

Inside the warehouse.

Lin Qingqing had completely lost her strength.

She huddled in the corner of the doorway, her eyelids as heavy as lead.

She heard the sound of the door being banged on.

Was that Li Dongye's voice? Or was it a hallucination before his death?

That man was always so noisy. He liked to whistle while driving and would always say shameless things to tease her in private.

She said she was afraid of the dark.

He said that wherever he is, the stars in the sky will always be bright.

Lin Qingqing struggled to raise her hand, wanting to knock on the door, but her fingers slipped down as soon as they touched the iron door.

She wanted to tell him that she was not dead.

She also wanted to go back to Qingshan Village with him, cook for the Qin brothers, and play in the stream behind the mountain in the summer.

Before her consciousness completely faded into darkness, she heard one last loud bang.

"boom!"

That was the sound of the iron lock snapping.

Immediately afterwards, a breath of fresh air rushed in.

Someone rushed into the fire.

At that moment, Lin Qingqing felt herself being embraced by a broad, trembling arms.

The man's chest was hard, his clothes smelled of tobacco, and he had that familiar, comforting roguish air about him.

"Qingqing...Qingqing, wake up..."

Li Dongye's voice was trembling. This fearless and reckless man was now speaking with a sob in his voice.

He took off his leather jacket and wrapped Lin Qingqing up tightly, the flames already reaching his trouser legs.

Li Dongye picked her up and ran outside.

The moment he stepped out the door, a deafening roar came from behind him.

The roof of the entire warehouse collapsed completely.

A huge fireball shot into the air, and the heat wave knocked Li Dongye to the ground.

He rolled twice on the ground, still holding Lin Qingqing tightly in his arms, using his back to shield her from the flying wood fragments.

Li Dongye lay on the grass, panting heavily. He didn't bother to look at the wound on his back, but hurriedly looked at the person in his arms.

Lin Qingqing's face was blackened by the smoke, and the bloodstains on her wrists had dried, making it look shocking.

"I'm here... I'll take you home..."

Li Dongye lowered his head, tears falling onto Lin Qingqing's face, leaving two white streaks.

Lin Qingqing slightly opened her eyes.

She saw Li Dongye's face, which was covered in dust and blood.

"Fourth Brother..." Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

"Hey, here I am." Li Dongye hugged her even tighter. "We're not staying here anymore. We're not staying in J City anymore. I'm taking you back to the village."