1: distant cousin

2002, Dongguan.

The July sun was so fierce it felt like it would melt the asphalt.

Outside the large iron gates of an electronics factory in Houjie Town, heat waves distorted the air.

Wang Fugui hoisted the red, white, and blue checkered plastic bag onto his shoulder.

Sweat trickled down his sideburns, past his jawline, and pooled in the hollows of his collarbone.

He wore a white tank top that had turned yellow from frequent washing.

The fabric was soaked through, clinging tightly to his body.

The once loose tank top now looked like a semi-transparent film, outlining the contours of every muscle beneath.

His chest muscles were so full they threatened to tear the fabric, and the ridges of his abdomen flickered in and out of view with every breath.

It was shift change.

A crowd of female workers in blue uniforms poured out of the factory gates.

The noisy crowd grew strangely quiet as they passed by Wang Fugui.

A few young female workers slowed their pace.

They pretended to fix their hair, but their eyes were like hooks, firmly fixed on that tall figure.

Wang Fugui raised his arm to wipe away some sweat.

As he did, the hem of his tank top pulled up, revealing a section of his bronze waist that looked as hard as rock.

*Gulp.*

The short-haired female worker closest to him couldn't help but swallow hard.

The sound was exceptionally clear in the sweltering air.

Her companion nudged her, and the two of them ran off giggling with flushed faces, looking back after a few steps.

Wang Fugui didn't notice any of this.

He pulled a crumpled slip of paper from his pocket and struggled to make out the numbers on it.

That was the lifeline of a phone number his mother had sewn into the pocket of his underwear.

He walked to the security booth and borrowed a phone to make a call.

Ring... ring...

"Hello? Who is this?"

An impatient female voice came from the other end, with the roar of machinery and the sound of people cursing in the background.

"Is... is this Cousin Chen Yun?"

Wang Fugui shouted into the receiver, his voice booming. "It's Fugui! My mother told me to come and find you!"

There was a full five seconds of silence on the other end.

"Where are you?"

"At the factory gate!"

"Wait there."

The call ended.

Ten minutes later.

A woman in a black professional suit and high heels walked out.

Chen Yun was in a very bad mood.

A batch of goods in the workshop had exceeded the defect rate, and she had just finished scolding the Line Leader. Now, some distant maternal cousin once removed had shown up.

Though they were called relatives, they had only met once or twice during New Year visits; she couldn't even remember his face clearly.

She had intended to just give him some money and send him on his way.

Chen Yun keeping a stern face, pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and scanned the crowd.

"Cousin!"

A simple, honest shout rang out.

Chen Yun looked toward the source of the voice.

Her footsteps came to a sudden halt.

Under the sunlight, the man stood like an iron tower.

He was a head taller than everyone around him, standing there like a fierce tiger that had wandered into a flock of sheep.

Wang Fugui saw Chen Yun and grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

He strode over.

As he approached, an indescribable scent wafted over her.

It wasn't the smell of sweat.

Definitely not.

It was like a haystack baked in the scorching sun, mixed with a faint yet highly aggressive musky scent.

Chen Yun's nostrils flared slightly.

The scent was like an invisible hand that instantly gripped her heart.

The anger that had filled her completely vanished the moment that scent hit her nose.

In its place was an unprecedented tingling sensation that shot up from the base of her spine.

"Cousin, I've finally found you."

Wang Fugui stood before her, his massive shadow completely enveloping her.

Chen Yun looked up.

She had to crane her neck just to see his face clearly.

Was this kid... raised on animal feed?

"Are you... Fugui?"

Chen Yun's voice was a bit tight, her throat feeling inexplicably dry.

"Yeah, it's me. I haven't seen you in years, Cousin. How did you become so beautiful? You look like a star on TV."

Wang Fugui scratched his head with an expression of complete sincerity.

If any other man had said that, Chen Yun would have found it greasy.

But Wang Fugui's eyes were too clean.

They were clear and bright, reflecting a kind of naive honesty that hadn't been tainted by society.

Chen Yun avoided his gaze and glanced down at her watch.

"Follow me."

She turned and walked away, her pace somewhat hurried.

Wang Fugui picked up his bag and followed behind.

The two of them walked through the factory grounds one after the other.

It was midsummer afternoon, and the ground was hot enough to fry an egg.

Chen Yun walked in front, yet she felt the heat source behind her was even more intense than the sun overhead.

That scent seemed alive, drifting with the wind and burrowing into the nape of her neck.

Her legs felt a bit weak.

When they reached the stairs of the staff dormitory, Chen Yun had to reach out and steady herself against the rusted handrail.

"Cousin, are you tired? Want me to carry you?"

Wang Fugui asked with concern, stepping closer.

The heat wave was overwhelming.

As if burned, Chen Yun jerked her hand back and took a step away.

"No need! Just walk!"

She snapped, masking her loss of composure.

Wang Fugui was startled and gave a dejected "oh," following behind with his head down.

They reached the third floor.

Chen Yun took out her keys and opened the room at the very end of the hall.

This was the "couples' room" the factory had assigned her.

It was a one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and bathroom.

Her husband drove long-haul freight and rarely came home more than once a month, so she usually lived alone.

She had originally planned to put Wang Fugui in a shared dormitory.

But when they passed the dorm manager earlier, she heard that the men's dorms were already full.

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, she hadn't thought twice before leading him back to her own place.

"Come in."

Chen Yun opened the door, and a gust of stuffy air rushed out.

Without the air conditioning on, the room was like a steamer.

Wang Fugui entered and placed his bag in the corner.

The cramped space forced the distance between them to close.

The concentration of that masculine scent instantly surged tenfold.

Chen Yun found it hard to breathe, as if the man were sucking all the oxygen out of the room.

"Close the door."

Chen Yun regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth.

Closing the door turned the room into a sealed container filled with his scent.

Wang Fugui obediently closed the door and reflexively locked it.

*Click.*

Chen Yun's heart skipped a beat.

"Cousin, it's way too hot in here."

Wang Fugui was a straightforward person; if he was hot, he said so.

He reached down, grabbed the hem of his tank top, and pulled it up.

Chen Yun was about to pour some water when she reflexively looked back at the sound.

*Whoosh.*

The tank top was off.

The cup in Chen Yun's hand wobbled.

Scalding water splashed onto the back of her hand, but she didn't even feel the pain.

She stared blankly at Wang Fugui.

What a body, full of such violent aesthetic beauty.

Broad shoulders, and two chest muscles so full and firm they looked like thick steel plates.

Eight-pack abs were perfectly aligned, stretching and contracting with his movements.

Sweat slid down the grooves of his muscles, gleaming under the light.

Especially those V-lines, extending down into the waistband of his loose military-green trousers.

It was filled with a primal, savage tension.

Chen Yun had been married for five years.

Her husband was a scrawny man, and their intimate life was always a hurried affair.

She had never been confronted with such a powerful male physique.

"Cousin? You spilled the water."

Wang Fugui pointed at Chen Yun's hand.

Chen Yun snapped back to her senses, her face flushing crimson all the way to her ears.

She hurriedly set the cup on the table and turned her back to him.

"You... put your clothes back on! Have some decency!"

Her voice was trembling slightly.

"Huh? Everyone goes shirtless in my village."

Though Wang Fugui grumbled, he obediently picked up his tank top to wipe his sweat.

"This is the city! Not your village!"

Chen Yun took a deep breath, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat.

She walked quickly toward the bedroom.

"You're sleeping on the mat in the living room tonight. I'm going to change; don't you dare come in!"

*Bang.*

The bedroom door slammed shut.

Chen Yun leaned against the door, her body sliding down to the floor.

She gasped for air, her hand pressed against her chest.

Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it would jump out of her throat.

In the mirror, the woman known for being cold and harsh—the "Abbess of Extinction"—was now flushed with desire, her eyes misty.

From outside the door came the sound of Wang Fugui humming and the splashing of water—he was using a basin to wash himself.

Chen Yun bit her lower lip.

Through the door, she could almost see the droplets of water rolling across his skin.

An unspeakable heat rose in her lower abdomen.

This kid... just what on earth was he raised on?