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

After lunch, the sun after the rain dried the muddy ground in the yard.

On an early autumn afternoon, the air was stuffy and the cicadas chirping in the trees were irritating.

Lin Qingqing came out of the house carrying a large wooden basin filled with washed clothes. The basin was so heavy that it made her slender waist bend over.

She went into the yard, intending to hang her clothes on the wire strung between the two old locust trees.

At the other end of the yard, Li Dongye was shirtless, washing his car by the well. The old Jiefang brand truck was parked outside the gate, and he was running back and forth carrying a bucket of water.

Sunlight shone on his young, muscular back, his bronze skin gleaming with an oily sheen. With each powerful movement, the muscles in his shoulders and back were clearly defined, radiating the vibrant energy of a young man.

He had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth and was humming an unknown tune, looking like a nonchalant, roguish type.

Hearing the noise, Li Dongye turned his head.

Seeing Lin Qingqing biting her lower lip and struggling to carry the wooden basin that was almost half her size, he immediately threw the bucket in his hand on the ground and strode over.

"Leave it to me." Li Dongye's lazy, smiling voice drifted over even before he arrived.

He stretched out his large hands, which were covered in water droplets and a little oil stains, and grabbed the edge of the wooden basin.

"No need, I'll hang it up myself. You go wash your car." Lin Qingqing had washed a few of her own clothes, which were lying under her shirt, so she tried to take the basin back.

"With your meager cat strength, your wrists will be broken by the time you finish hanging this basin of clothes."

Li Dongye chuckled and, with a little effort, easily lifted the heavy wooden basin over.

He not only carried it over, but also deliberately held the basin high with one hand supporting the bottom.

"Give it to me!" Lin Qingqing cried out anxiously, standing on tiptoe to reach it.

But her height was no match for Li Dongye's; even with her arms outstretched, she couldn't reach the rim of the basin. Instead, this movement made the full curve of her chest even more obvious under her thin summer dress.

Li Dongye looked down at her, his eyes darkening, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

A wicked smile crept across his lips, and he simply held the basin even higher: "Call me 'husband' and I'll give it to you."

"How can you be so shameless!" Lin Qingqing glared at him with her big, watery peach blossom eyes, but it had no intimidating power at all. Instead, it sounded like she was being coquettish.

She lunged forward to grab it again, but slipped and fell forward.

Li Dongye reacted quickly, holding the basin steadily in one hand while stretching out his other arm to embrace Lin Qingqing's slender waist and pull her into his arms.

"oops!"

Lin Qingqing gasped as she crashed solidly into his hard, broad chest.

Li Dongye had gotten himself all wet from washing the car, and now the water droplets had all gotten onto Lin Qingqing's clothes. The thin fabric clung to her skin, revealing a hint of alluring flesh.

"Your arms are as thin as hemp stalks. If you hurt your back carrying such heavy water, who will be responsible?" Li Dongye looked down at the person in his arms, his voice a little hoarse, and his fingers around her waist gave her soft flesh a light pinch.

"Li Laosi!" Lin Qingqing slapped his chest in embarrassment and anger, and reached out to push his hard pectoral muscles.

Although they had done all sorts of intimate things, Lin Qingqing was still very embarrassed to have someone else hang her underwear out to dry.

Li Dongye, seemingly without temper, smiled and grabbed her soft, boneless hand, pressing it directly onto his left chest.

He lowered his head slightly, his warm breath brushing against Lin Qingqing's forehead, his usually carefree eyes now filled with undisguised passion: "Touch, does it beat fast?"

Lin Qingqing's palm was pressed against his burning skin, and beneath her palm was the strong, powerful heartbeat, thump, thump, so loud that it made her fingertips go numb.

Her cheeks flushed bright red instantly, like a ripe peach.

She forcefully pulled her hand back, took a step back, and said coquettishly, "You're so frivolous!"

Seeing her embarrassed expression, Li Dongye let out a low, pleasant chuckle.

He placed the wooden basin at his feet, shook the water droplets off his hands, and said, "Alright, alright, I'm being silly. Go take a break, I'll let you dry it."

As he spoke, he turned around, washed his hands, then bent down, scooped a piece of clothing out of the basin, wrung it out, and draped it over the wire.

Lin Qingqing stood to the side, helpless. She knew that the more she forbade Li Dongye from doing something, the more excited he would become.

She had no choice but to pull out a few wooden clips from her apron pocket and hand one over rather irritably.

When Li Dongye took the clip, he deliberately brushed lightly against the back of Lin Qingqing's delicate hand.

Lin Qingqing glared at him, only to see him tilting his head and whistling innocently.

"If you touch me again, I'll call for big brother!" Lin Qingqing threatened.

"Go ahead and shout, Big Brother went to check for traps in the back mountain, he can't hear you right now." Li Dongye was fearless and picked up another piece of clothing.

This time, he was holding one of Lin Qingqing's close-fitting vests.

The fabric was pitifully small, and it was embroidered with a tiny forsythia flower.

Li Dongye picked up the little dress between his fingers, looking at Lin Qingqing with a teasing gaze: "This one really skimps on fabric!"

Lin Qingqing's face turned bright red when she saw it, and she quickly lunged forward to snatch it away, shouting, "Give it to me now! Don't look!"

Li Dongye wasn't about to let her snatch it so easily. He stepped back, raised his hand high, and teased her like he was playing with a kitten.

Lin Qingqing dodged and parried, her nose beaded with sweat, but she couldn't even touch a hem of his clothes.

She was furious and stopped trying to take it. She stood there, panting, her eyes red-rimmed: "Li Dongye, you're bullying me!"

Seeing that the little woman was really getting angry, Li Dongye immediately dropped his nonchalant attitude.

He quickly lowered his hand, walked up to Lin Qingqing, and said with a tone of patience and doting that he himself didn't realize: "Why are you still angry! Okay, okay, I was wrong, I was wrong, alright? Don't cry, I was just teasing you."

He carefully draped the little garment in the most hidden corner of the wire, smoothing out the wrinkles, then turned to look at Lin Qingqing, a smile returning to his lips: "Your temper isn't as good as it seems, is it? You're taking out your anger on me like this!"

Lin Qingqing burst out laughing at his smug yet earnest expression.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and rolled her eyes at him: "If you don't want to be the one taking your anger out on, then run away from home."

Seeing her smile, Li Dongye felt a ticklish sensation in his heart, as if a feather had gently brushed against it.

He loved watching Lin Qingqing smile; her peach blossom eyes curved into crescent moons, glistening with moisture, captivating him without her even realizing it.

The two worked together casually, one handing over clothes and the other hanging them up. Occasionally they would grab a clothespin, or Li Dongye would deliberately flick water droplets from the clothes onto Lin Qingqing's face, making her laugh and dodge. Lin Qingqing's clear and delicate laughter and scolding could be heard from time to time in the yard.

The sunlight shone on the two of them, adding an indescribable charm and warmth.