Northern winters in the north arrived quickly.
By early October, the wind already carried a whistling sound, cutting across the face like a knife.
Every household was busy storing winter vegetables.
Cabbage, radishes, and potatoes—these were what people relied on to survive the winter. They had to be carefully stored in underground cellars, or they would freeze and rot, leaving the whole family to starve.
“Su Wan! Where are you hiding?!”
Zhang Guihua stood in the yard, wrapped in a patched cotton coat, holding a broom. “Hurry down into the cellar and clear it out! We’re putting the cabbages in today!”
Su Wan came out of the wood shed, still wearing that thin, worn-out clothing.
Even though Lei Deshui had sent coal, Zhang Guihua treated it like gold and locked it in a side room, only burning a little at night when Wang Dajun came back.
Su Wan was freezing—her hands and feet ice-cold, her nose red.
She said nothing and took a flashlight, climbing down the wooden ladder into the cellar.
The Wang family’s cellar was in the back corner of the yard, very deep—three to four meters.
As soon as she entered, a damp, freezing smell hit her face, mixed with rotten vegetable leaves and the stench of soil. It made her head spin.
Inside the cellar it was pitch black, lit only by the weak beam of her flashlight.
Su Wan squatted on the ground, picking up rotten radishes and putting them into a basket.
The light from above the cellar entrance was small, like a watching eye.
From above, Zhang Guihua shouted, “Work properly down there! I’m going to the market to buy salt. If it’s not done when I get back, you don’t get food!”
Her footsteps gradually faded away.
The yard fell silent.
Su Wan finally relaxed slightly.
As long as Zhang Guihua wasn’t around, even this gloomy cellar felt more bearable.
She focused on cleaning up the mess, not noticing anything unusual above.
After who knew how long—
Suddenly.
“Heh… heh heh…”
A familiar, chilling foolish laugh came from above.
Su Wan snapped her head up.
At the cellar opening, a blackened face appeared in the narrow patch of daylight.
Dripping snot, drooling, eyes dull yet greedy.
It was Wang Ergou.
Su Wan’s heart dropped.
“Wife… hehe… pretty wife is in the hole…”
Wang Ergou clung to the edge of the cellar opening like a toad stalking its prey.
Ever since seeing Su Wan last time, this fool had become obsessed, always muttering about wanting candy and wanting a wife.
“Get away! Don’t come closer!” Su Wan shouted sharply, her voice trembling in the enclosed space.
“Wife… I’m coming down… I want to play…”
Wang Ergou couldn’t understand words at all. He kept grinning foolishly while starting to undo his waistband.
“Auntie said… if I take my pants off… I get candy…”
Su Wan felt her blood run cold.
The cellar was so small—if Wang Ergou really jumped down, she had nowhere to run.
And the ladder was on the other side—she couldn’t climb out in time!
“Wang Ergou! If you come down, I’ll stab you!” Su Wan grabbed a rotten radish and threw it upward.
It hit his face, but instead of stopping him, it only excited him more.
“Play! Play!”
He pulled his pants down halfway, revealing a dark leg, and was about to jump.
Su Wan closed her eyes in despair.
It was over.
This time, it was really over.
Just as Wang Ergou leaned forward to jump—
Suddenly.
A large hand, like iron tongs, appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the back of his collar.
“Who allowed you in here?”
A low, icy roar rang out like the voice of the underworld.
In the next second, Wang Ergou was lifted into the air like a chicken, legs kicking helplessly.
“Waaah—! Let go! Bad man!”
He screamed in panic.
Su Wan opened her eyes abruptly.
Against the light, she saw a towering figure.
Broad shoulders like a mountain.
It was Lei Deshui.
He had been having his men keep watch nearby. The moment Zhang Guihua left and Wang Ergou slipped inside, he rushed over immediately.
Lei Deshui said nothing.
He grabbed Wang Ergou like a sack and dragged him straight to the backyard corner.
With a heavy thud—
A dull impact echoed.
Wang Ergou was violently thrown to the ground, dizzy and disoriented.
Before he could even crawl up, Lei Deshui’s heavy foot came crashing down on him.
“Fuck your mother! You dare touch my woman?!”
“I think you’re itching for a beating! Haven’t learned your lesson since last time your head got cracked open, huh?”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Heavy, dull blows echoed through the backyard, mixed with Wang Ergou’s pig-like screams.
“Stop hitting me! Waaaah… it hurts… I won’t do it again…”
Lei Deshui’s strikes were extremely ruthless, aimed deliberately at fleshy areas like the buttocks and thighs—painful, but not lethal.
After a full two minutes, Wang Ergou had curled into a ball, his crying reduced to weak whimpers. Only then did Lei Deshui stop.
“Get lost!”
He pointed at the back gate. “If you ever step into this yard again, I’ll cut that thing off and feed it to the dogs!”
Terrified out of his mind, Wang Ergou pulled up his pants and scrambled away, running faster than a rabbit.
After dealing with the fool, Lei Deshui brushed off the dust from his hands and walked back to the cellar entrance.
Looking down at the trembling woman curled in the corner, the murderous anger in his eyes instantly softened into tenderness.
Without a word, he stepped onto the ladder and jumped down in a few quick steps.
The cellar was cramped.
The moment he landed, Su Wan threw herself into his arms.
“Brother Lei…”
She clung tightly to his waist, tears instantly soaking his shirt.
Just moments ago, she had truly felt despair.
Lei Deshui wrapped her in his arms, gently patting her back like comforting a child.
“It’s alright. It’s alright.”
His voice was low and steady, echoing in the confined underground space, strangely reassuring.
“With me here, no one can touch you.”
The cellar was dark, lit only by a flashlight that had rolled to the side, casting a faint beam.
The air was thick with the smell of damp soil, mixed with their intertwined presence.
The environment was oppressive, yet carried a strange tension and intimacy.
Lei Deshui lifted her face with his rough hands, wiping away her tears with his thumb.
“Let me see you… you were scared, huh?”
Su Wan sniffled and nodded with red eyes.
Seeing her pitiful, fragile expression, a different kind of fire rose in him—not anger, but desire.
He lowered his head and kissed her deeply.
The kiss carried both comfort and overwhelming possessiveness.
Su Wan did not resist. Instead, she stood on tiptoe and clumsily responded.
In this underground space without daylight, they were like two small beasts warming each other, with only each other in the world.
Lei Deshui’s hands grew less obedient, sliding under her clothes.
Su Wan’s body went soft, nearly collapsing into him.
“Brother Lei… don’t… what if your mother comes back…” she gasped, weakly pushing him away.
Lei Deshui growled into her neck and reluctantly let go.
“I really want to carry you away in my pocket,” he muttered, helping her fix her clothes.
“Alright, go up first. It’s too cold down here. The dampness isn’t good for you.”
He lifted her up with one arm, letting her step onto the ladder first, supporting her from behind.
His large hand steadied her as she climbed.
Once they emerged from the cellar, daylight hit them.
Lei Deshui glanced around cautiously, confirming no one was there, before preparing to leave.
But just before jumping over the wall, he suddenly paused.
He turned back and looked at Su Wan with a strange expression—part probing, part expectation.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered:
“Eat more sour foods lately.”
Su Wan blinked. “What?”
Lei Deshui lightly pressed a hand over her lower abdomen, his gaze deep and unreadable.
“You’ve looked pale these days… and you’ve been nauseous.”
“Eat sour foods. It helps.”
Then he gave her a meaningful look and climbed over the wall and disappeared.
Su Wan stood frozen in place.
A cold wind blew past, but her whole body felt hot.
Pale… nausea… sour food…
The words echoed in her mind like a thunderclap.
Her period… seemed to be half a month late.
Could it be…?
Instinctively, she covered her stomach, her heart pounding violently.