偷窥闺房

There were not many people living in a small village. Every move one made would be quickly known by everyone. There was no privacy here, it was difficult to make friends here, and it was difficult to get recognized here.

Lin Qing’s reply was very simple. He said, “The expenses here are low, and I don’t need to pay rent.”

“But… 1 feel like the villagers here are a little strange…” Lin Xiaowan said vaguely. She did not directly say that she felt that the villagers did not like him.

Nonetheless, Lin Qing understood her meaning immediately. His expression was relaxed as he replied, “Perhaps no one likes me here, but so what? I don’t know them so it doesn’t matter if they like me or not. Moreover, no matter how much they talk about me behind my back, they don’t dare to do anything in front of me. Since they don’t do or say anything in front of me, I’ll just pretend like 1 don’t know anything… I’m doing what I want to do. I’m not breaking the law or committing a crime. Why should I care about what others think of me?”

Then, a rare shy and embarrassed smile appeared on Lin Qing’s face as he continued to say, “Moreover… Didn’t I meet the two of you who admire me?”

Lin Qing was not like this in the beginning. His original intention of moving to this place was to escape the strange gazes that were cast on him. However, after moving to this remote place, he was even more depressed. The people here were even more excessive. They had nothing to do since they were old. They would sit together every day to gossip.

Lin Qing considered leaving this place for a long time before he decided against it. Where could he go if he left? He was not very cultured, and he did not want to give up the only thing he loved. Fortunately, as time passed, he no longer cared about what people thought of him.

Gu Yuwu and Lin Xiaowan originally planned to leave in the afternoon. However, the weather forecast was not very good at night. It was already dangerous to drive at night, but coupled with bad weather, it would be even more dangerous. For this reason, they decided to stay another night.

There was a huge cement rooftop balcony above the second floor. It was usually used to dry grains, but Lin Qing did not use it for this purpose. Instead, he built a small shed on it and left it at that.

That night, the three of them had a barbecue on the rooftop balcony.

The chicken and duck meat were from the chickens and ducks Lin Qing raised, and the fish were the ones he fished himself. Just like before, the vegetables and fruits were from his garden.

However, Lin Qing did not use many seasonings. He usually ate light food and ate simple meals. So there was only oil, salt, and soy sauce in his house.

From the rooftop, they could see the houses around them clearly. They could also see the people walking on the street or cooking in their yards.

Despite the poor signal, Lin Xiaowan liked it here. She sat on the rooftop and drew a picture of Lin Qing’s house.

Lin Qing liked it very much and asked if he could give it to him.

“Of course,” Lin Xiaowan replied. An embarrassed expression could be seen on her face as she continued to say, “However, 1 only drew this casually. Let me draw another one for you later…”

“No need. I think this one is very good,” Lin Qing said.

Gu Yuwu took a sip of watermelon juice before she said, “After 1 return, I’ll make you a photo album. I’ll also pick the photo you like the most so 1 can print it and frame it for you. You can hang it in your house.”

Gu Yuwu planned to send these things to Lin Qing by express delivery, but it was inconvenient for him to receive packages since there was no courier service in the village. He would have to go to the nearest town to pick up his packages. After thinking about it, she said, “When the time comes, 1’11 arrange for someone to send the things here so you don’t have to go and get them yourself.”

“Thank you,” Lin Qing said gratefully.

Later in the night, it began to rain, and water began to leak into the second floor.

Lin Qing ran up and down to find containers to collect the water.

Lin Xiaowan was usually a light sleeper when sleeping in unfamiliar places. The house was not soundproof so even the slightest movement would wake her up. After waking up, she decided to go out and have a look. As soon as she left the room, she saw Lin Qing. She looked at her watch and saw that it was 2 AM. She could not help but ask softly, “What are you doing?”

“Did I wake you up?” Lin Qing asked in a low voice, “There’s a leak upstairs so I’m cleaning up.”

“No. I’m just a light sleeper,” Lin Xiaowan said as she shook her head. Looking at the things in his hands, she asked, “Do you need help?”

Lin Qing was about to refuse when he thought about the situation upstairs. Hence, he said, “If you don’t mind, then I’ll appreciate it…”

Normally, if it rained, Lin Qing would move and sleep in the other room. However, Gu Yuwu and Lin Xiaowan were occupying the room today. Initially, he thought that it would be fine since the rain was not heavy. Who knew that in the middle of the night, not only did the water leak in the room, but it also leaked onto his bed?

Lin Xiaowan followed Lin Qing to the second floor.

It was very spacious and simple. Things were piled up everywhere just like a waste recycling station. However, to Lin Qing, these were not waste materials, these were materials for his designs. They were like treasures to him. Perhaps it was due to the leakage, the things were covered in transparent plastic sheets.

Seeing Lin Xiaowan looking around, Lin Qing kicked the thing next to his foot away before he said awkwardly, “The second floor is a little messy.”

Lin Xiaowan did not mind it at all. She shook her head and said, “No, it’s fine. My old room was even messier than this. There was no place to walk around at all.”

Lin Xiaowan’s old room in her grandmother’s house was very small. It was already filled to the brim with just a bed, a wooden desk, and a bulky old-fashioned wardrobe. The wardrobe was filled with her grandmother’s things so her clothes would be piled up on her bed during the day and on the chair at night.

“I’ll have to trouble you to help me move the bed.”

The water leakage on the side of the bed was particularly serious. The wall was very wet, and the bed was also very wet.

Lin Qing placed a small plastic container to collect water. Based on the sound, the water was dripping very quickly, which also meant that the leakage was very bad.

The two of them stood facing each other with Lin Qing’s bed, which had a metal frame, between them.

Lin Qing was afraid that Lin Xiaowan would hurt herself so he said, “Look at the round knobs. Just grab them. The bed isn’t heavy. Let me turn it around first before we move it to the side..”