Chapter 1 Being Caught Taking a Shower
(The new book has just been released, so the rating is a bit low. The female lead is weak in the early stages, so please be gentle with your criticism.)
In the mid-1990s, time seemed to pass even slower than the turning of a bicycle wheel in this small northern town.
The old courtyard houses in the alleys at the east end of the city, with their gray bricks and gray tiles, have been exposed to the elements.
Two families lived in one of the courtyards, and their relationship was more complicated than that of the others.
Zhao Fei lived in the main house.
He was around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with broad shoulders, and didn't talk much.
He runs three pig farms, leaving early and returning late, always carrying a lingering smell of feed and livestock.
Three years ago, his first wife, Li Rui, passed away suddenly from an illness, leaving behind a three-year-old daughter, Zhao Yidi.
Zhao Fei did not remarry, partly because he was busy, and partly because he always missed his deceased wife and was afraid that a stepmother would treat the children badly. So he raised the children by himself, acting as both father and mother.
The east and west wing rooms were occupied by his cousin Zhao Qingda and his family.
In terms of blood relation, the two are the grandsons of the same grandfather, so they were already close.
Furthermore, Zhao Fei's deceased wife, Li Rui, was the niece of Zhao Qingda's mother, Li Yugu. This relationship made the two families even closer, like one big family.
Unfortunately, Li Rui was not blessed with good fortune.
Zhao Qingda was handsome and quick-witted. He drove a bus, running long-distance routes from the city to the towns below, a fashionable "steering wheel" job.
His wife, Wen Xiaoxiao, was someone he met when he was driving a sports car. She was one of the most beautiful women in the alley.
After getting married, she stopped working and stayed home to do housework. Occasionally, she would take on odd jobs crocheting sofa cushions and TV covers, earning one cent per piece. Little by little, it helped supplement her income.
The only downside is that the two have been married for two years, and Wen Xiaoxiao still hasn't gotten pregnant.
Although her mother-in-law, Li Yugu, didn't say anything, she couldn't help but have some doubts in her heart.
Wen Xiaoxiao loves children, especially Zhao Yidi, who lives next door and lost her mother.
The little girl is now seven years old and in elementary school. She is bright, clever, and excels in her studies.
Whenever Wen Xiaoxiao cooked something delicious, she would call out from across the yard, "Yidi! Come to Auntie's!" Watching the little girl eat with relish made her feel better about not having children yet.
Yidi was also happy to go into this pretty aunt's house.
The courtyard is shared, and the toilet is also shared, located in the southwest corner of the courtyard.
Li Rui used to be very clean, so she built a simple bathing shed with asbestos tiles, which both families used in the summer.
The lock on the shed door had been there for a long time, sometimes working and sometimes not. Everyone got used to it and didn't take it too seriously. They always felt that they were all family members and knew the time when people would come and go in the yard.
That afternoon, the sun was scorching, making the blue brick ground shine brightly and scorching hot.
The cicadas were howling loudly in the old locust tree outside the courtyard.
Li Yugu, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, went to the big willow tree at the entrance of the alley, where the old ladies' "information station" would chat about this and that for an entire afternoon.
Wen Xiaoxiao was crocheting a peony flower in the east wing, the cotton thread becoming rough from the sweat on her palms.
The electric fan was shaking, and the air it blew was hot.
She felt increasingly stuffy as she sat there, her undershirt sticking to her skin. She glanced at the clock; it was only a little past three in the afternoon.
My mother-in-law went out; Qingda drives long distances and usually doesn't return until it's dark.
Brother Zhao Fei also manages the pig farm. He always doesn't get home until it's completely dark.
The courtyard was quiet except for the chirping of cicadas.
She decided to take a shower.
I took a towel, soap, and a change of clean clothes and walked to the shower stall.
He reached out and twisted the lock, and with a "click," the lock lug came loose; it was broken again.
She frowned, glanced back at the empty yard, and thought that since no one was home, she didn't bother to hang it up and went straight in.
The cool water rinsed off the stickiness, and Wen Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief.
She quickly dried herself off.
Just then, the courtyard gate creaked open.
Zhao Fei dragged his heavy steps in.
He had bad luck today; his small truck carrying feed broke down on the way, and the parts for repairs won't arrive until tomorrow.
Once everything was arranged at the pig farm, he went home ahead of schedule.
He was drenched in sweat and just wanted to rush into the shower room to wash it all away.
He kept his head down and walked straight to the shed in the southwest corner.
He reached out and pulled open the slightly ajar door made of asbestos tiles.
With a loud "boom".
It was like a muffled thunderclap exploding directly in my brain.
All that remained in my field of vision was a stark, blinding white expanse, and in that fleeting glimpse, the full curves of a woman's body.
Zhao Fei turned around abruptly, the force of which almost tripped him.
He had his back to the shed, and his neck and ears were turning bright red at a visible speed.
"I'm...I'm so sorry! Xiaoxiao! I...I didn't know there were people inside!" His voice was dry and hoarse, completely distorted.
"Big...Big Brother?" Wen Xiaoxiao's voice came through, filled with disbelief and terror, "You...how did you come back?"
"The car...the car broke down, so we had to go back early..." Zhao Fei stammered, not knowing what he was explaining at all.
He stared intently at the mottled brick wall in front of him, his fingernails digging deep into his sweaty palms.
"The door lock... the lock is broken, I... I thought..." Wen Xiaoxiao's voice was choked with sobs, but even more so with boundless embarrassment.
"My fault! I should have knocked! I'm leaving now!" Zhao Fei staggered away from the area, rushing all the way to the old locust tree in the center of the courtyard, his back to the side room, panting heavily.
Cold sweat belatedly broke out, soaking through his shirt.
The sound of hurried tidying up came from the shower stall, followed by the sound of the door being gently pushed open and then quickly closed.
A series of light, quick footsteps, like a startled rabbit, disappeared in the direction of the east wing. "Click," the door was tightly closed, isolating the inside from the outside.
Only the weak chirping of cicadas remained in the courtyard.
Zhao Fei stood stiffly, completely losing his will to take a shower. His body was sticky and uncomfortable from the sweat, and his mind felt like it was filled with a wet, tangled mess.
How should he face Xiaoxiao?
What would Qingda think if he found out?
Although it was an unexpected accident, it was still...
Just as I was lost in thought, I heard Li Yugu's loud laughter coming from the alley entrance, growing louder as it approached.
Li Yugu, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan and his face flushed with the wit of someone gossiping, spotted Zhao Fei standing in the courtyard.
"Hey, Fei Zi, what are you standing here daydreaming about? Don't you want to take a shower? You smell like that." Li Yugu walked over and scolded.
Zhao Fei snapped back to reality, his expression extremely awkward: "Ah... Auntie's back. I... I'll wash up later."
Li Yugu looked at him suspiciously: "What's wrong? Your face is so red, are you suffering from heatstroke?" She reached out to touch Zhao Fei's forehead.
Zhao Fei instinctively turned his head away, saying, "No, it's nothing, it's just hot. I... I'll go back to my room and get some water." With that, he fled back to his main room.
In the east wing, Wen Xiaoxiao had hurriedly put on her old, casual undershirt and trousers, her hair still wet and dripping with water.
My heart was still pounding, making my chest ache.
Shame, fear, and grievance were intertwined.
How could she be so careless? She knew perfectly well that the lock wasn't secure!
But in this courtyard, Grandma usually goes out to chat in the afternoon, Qingda drives long distances and doesn't come back until dark, and Brother Zhao Fei is so busy that he doesn't get home until evening... How could she have imagined such a coincidence?
The image of Zhao Fei turning away in an instant flashed before my eyes, along with his altered apology.
He didn't do it on purpose.
Wen Xiaoxiao knew it in her heart. But... but what's done is done.
How will we ever see each other again? How will we get along in the same compound?
What if Qingda... no, I can't tell Qingda.
Given his temper and the unspoken estrangement between them recently, it would only cause more trouble if he found out.
Outside the window, Li Yugu's voice rang out in the courtyard, seemingly asking Zhao Fei something.
She held her breath, afraid that the slightest movement would attract attention.
Just then, the familiar sound of a bus shutting off came from outside the courtyard gate, followed by Zhao Qingda's relaxed footsteps humming a tune.
"Mom! I'm back! I had a good day, so I'll stop driving early!" Zhao Qingda's voice rang out loudly in the yard.
Li Yugu went up to greet him: "Oh, you're here early today."
Zhao Qingda casually agreed, his gaze sweeping over the quiet main house and the west wing where his mother lived, before finally settling on the tightly closed door of his own house.
"Xiaoxiao!" he called out, "I'm back! Get me some water to wash my face, it's so hot!"
Wen Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and quickly tidied her hair and clothes in front of the dressing mirror behind the door.
She blinked hard, trying to make her expression return to normal.
"Coming," she replied, her voice relatively calm, and reached out to open the door.
The light from the courtyard streamed in, almost blindingly so.
She saw Zhao Qingda standing under the locust tree, wiping the sweat from his neck with a towel.
The mother-in-law, Li Yugu, was talking to someone nearby.
Behind the window of the main house, there seemed to be a figure that quickly disappeared from the window the moment she opened the door.
Wen Xiaoxiao lowered her eyes, stepped over the threshold, went to the kitchen to fetch a basin of water, and brought it to Zhao Qingda under the locust tree so he could wash.
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