Chapter 1 The Melon Field Outside the Village

  That year, after failing the college entrance exam, I was in a bad mood and didn't want to stay in the county town, afraid of running into classmates. Under my father's arrangement, I returned to our old home in the mountains, and that's when all the stories began to unfold, everything was arranged by fate.

  My hometown is in the deep mountains, transportation is not convenient, it's a very closed small mountain village. However, the folks there are all very kind and simple. There aren't any close relatives left at my old home, so I can only stay at my uncle's house. Because my uncle doesn't have children, he has been especially good to me since I was little. Every summer vacation, I would always come back, but I don't really like what my uncle does for a living - he is an undertaker, and the atmosphere in his home always feels somewhat gloomy.

  The old house still has some backwardness, at least the mobile phone does not have a signal in the village. The village is mostly made up of old brick houses, and a ten-meter-wide road runs through the entire village. However, the village is located in a small valley, with about 100 households. The villagers are all familiar with each other.

  Of course, I don't mind these things. What I like most is a patch of watermelon field a few miles east of the village. It's the watermelon in the village, and we young people often go to the melon field to steal watermelons. That place holds many memories of our childhood. Almost every year when summer vacation starts, I will go there and pick two watermelons back home. This year won't be an exception either. It seems like it has become a habit, always thinking about this time.

  The second day after I went back, I took Li Xue from my aunt's family to steal melons together. After all, we needed someone to keep watch, otherwise it wouldn't be funny if we were caught by the cadres in the village. Li Xue's mother is my aunt, but I'm not very clear about what kind of aunt she is, and even my father said it vaguely when I asked him. Anyway, she's just an aunt, and this relationship still counts for something. Li Xue is one year younger than me, and we've been close friends since childhood.

  That day, under the scorching sun, I and Xiaoxue quietly slipped away to the side of the melon field. At this time, the melons had not yet fallen in large quantities, perhaps because of this reason, the village did not arrange for someone to watch the melons. Because there was no quilt in the hut by the melon field, I let Xiaoxue hide behind a big tree not far away and keep watch. Then I slipped into the melon field, bent over at the waist to find already ripe melons. Everything was just like every other year, and my mood was still very happy at this time.

  It was hard to find a melon, and just as I was about to look for another one, Xiaoxue suddenly ran over, looking somewhat anxious and whispering: "Brother, there's someone coming this way..."

  My heart tightened, and I cautiously looked northward. Indeed, two figures were walking towards us, but they were too far away to see clearly who they were. To be on the safe side, I pulled Xiaoxue into the thatched hut made of corn stalks, which was especially thick on the northern side, making it easy for two people to hide.

  Looking out from the hut, they were getting closer and closer, but it turned out to be a man and a woman, both only 26 or 27 years old. I didn't recognize them, at least they weren't from our village. Although I didn't know them, Xiaoxue did recognize the woman. As she looked at the approaching couple, Xiaoxue lowered her voice: "Brother, that woman is the wife of Dazhuangzi from the west end of the village, but I've never seen that man before..."

  Nodded, no matter who it was, listening to Xiaoxue's tone, it shouldn't be about looking at the melon field. Anyway, I felt relieved, but I thought these two people were more like thieves, walking stealthily and constantly glancing around, their expressions somewhat flustered. However, they didn't rush towards the melons, instead heading straight for the melon shed, making Xiaoxue and me tense up. No matter what they were doing, it was better not to be discovered. I pulled Xiaoxue into the corn stalks, where we couldn't be seen from the outside. Besides, it was a bit dark inside the shed, so it would be hard for them to notice us.

  What's depressing is that these two people actually went straight into the hut, which is fine, but they held hands and hugged each other as soon as they entered, and then started kissing. This was clearly a secret affair. If Xiaoxue hadn't said anything, I might not have thought much of it, but now my mind is filled with curses. Dazhuang is several years older than me, and when we were young, he would often take us to play, even taking me to catch fish in the river last year. Today, seeing his wife cheating on him with someone else is a huge shock to me. What's even more despicable is that these two shameless people came here specifically for an affair and won't leave anytime soon, making it difficult for Xiaoxue and me, who are hiding in the cornstalks, getting soaked from head to toe in just a short while.

  No matter how much I cursed in my heart, but Xiaoxue and I didn't dare to move, if we bumped into them, it would be embarrassing. I just hoped they would leave after being affectionate for a while, but God didn't hear my prayer, the couple was still entwined, tearing at each other like two snakes, only miserable for us hiding in the corn stalks.

  I closed my eyes, but the gasping sounds still reached my ears. In my mind, I involuntarily imagined possible scenarios, which was undoubtedly a test for me. How could someone as hot-blooded and young as I endure all of this? Before I knew it, I had already wrapped my arms around Xiaoxue's waist. It was unconscious; I just instinctively wanted to stick close to her. My breathing gradually grew heavier.

  I don't know if Xiaoxue has discovered it, but she didn't move, just like me, her breathing also became heavier, and she didn't dare to move, afraid of being found by the couple. In this situation, I felt stimulated, tense, and helpless, and my body was sticky and uncomfortable, I don't know why I sweated so much.

  It feels like time has passed for a long time, and I don't know if I want to leave quickly or reluctantly. I've forgotten when I opened my eyes, staring blankly at the passionate men and women inside the hut. My heart trembled with every impact, but just then, a cool breeze suddenly blew in, and Xiaoxue and I couldn't help but shiver together. The body that was hot just now, after being blown by the cool wind, the feeling is really...

  At this time, the dog man and woman in front of me also shivered, and stopped moving. The man looked out of the hut with some surprise, muttering to himself: "How can it be windy today?"

  But just as the man was muttering to himself, I was startled. The woman who had been hanging her head suddenly lifted it up. It wasn't anything in particular, but the indescribable glow that shot out of her eyes seemed to pierce through the corn stalks and land on me, making my heart skip a beat. A strange feeling emerged, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

  The woman turned over and the man let go, the man was still staring at something, the stuffy hut that had been suffocating just now suddenly became cool and refreshing, feeling strange, even the little Xue in my arms stiffened, obviously also scared by the woman's facial expression just now, the chill in the woman's eyes really gave people a sense of terror.

  The sun outside still hung in the sky, with no clouds, and the big willow tree not far away didn't sway at all. The man let out a strange sigh: "How did it suddenly cool down? It's really strange, Xiū é..."

  As she turned around, the woman stood up right in front of him. The man didn't get a clear look at her facial expression either, but he was somewhat surprised by the sudden drop in temperature and looked up at the sky, muttering to himself: "This scorching sun isn't going to rain, is it?"

  To be honest, at that time I really felt strange, anyway, it can't be said why, always feeling a chill from the bottom of my heart, although everything in front of me was still very fragrant, but I no longer had that thought, there's a feeling that wants to leave and escape far, far away, the farther the better, my heart is not at ease, always feeling like something is going to happen, of course it will never be anything good, but after all, I didn't move, if the two people who were having an affair discovered me, I don't know what would have happened.

  "Ahh——" A blood-curdling scream overwhelmed the cicadas' chirping outside, and for a moment, it seemed as if the entire world was filled with the man's anguished cry. The man's face, which had been contorted in pleasure just moments before, suddenly twisted into a grotesque grimace, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, his voice a jarring mix of agony and terror.

  The man suddenly pushed the woman away, then stumbled and fell out. For a moment, I and Xiaoxue were scared by her miserable cry and didn't know what happened. But as the woman turned her head to one side, she spat out something with a "pu" sound. When I saw clearly, I felt a chill rising from my feet, my body tensed up, especially in my crotch, which contracted suddenly. It was actually that man's thing! What on earth happened?

  "Ah——" Another scream, suppressing the man's miserable cry outside again. At least my ears were filled with screams, and Xiaoxue was frightened and screamed. Before I could react, the woman suddenly turned her head towards our hiding place, her twisted face, eyes flashing cold light, mouth still dripping blood...