On a sweltering summer noon, heatwaves shimmered over Green Mountain Village. The ancient locust tree at the village entrance drooped listlessly, its leaves hanging like wilted handkerchiefs.


    Beneath the tree crouched Wang Tiezhu, the village fool, teasing a mangy dog with a stick.


    Tiezhu hadn''t always been simple-minded. Once the village''s "golden phoenix" – its only college student – his brilliance was shattered during a campus altercation that left him with the intellect of a four-year-old.


    "Tiezhu! Come play at my house!"


    A melodic voice cut through the haze. Ten meters away, a voluptuous widow named Zhang Qiaohua beckoned from her red-brick cottage. Her damp cotton blouse clung to her curves, a sight that stirred forbidden thoughts in every village man''s mind. Except Tiezhu''s.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "O-okay!" Tiezhu grinned vacantly, scratching his head.


    She yanked him inside, bolting the door with trembling hands. Two years of widowhood gnawed at her. This morning''s heat had driven her to desperate measures – who''d suspect a dalliance with the idiot?


    "Let''s play hide-and-seek!" Tiezhu clapped, oblivious to her flushed cheeks.


    "Hide-and-seek?" Qiaohua bit her crimson lip, torn between desire and fear of village gossip. Her gaze lingered on his muscular frame. "How about... a grown-up game instead? But it''s our secret."


    "Secret! No tell Mama!"


    As her fingers fumbled with his shirt buttons, frantic knocks rattled the door.


    "Hide! Now!" Qiaohua shoved him into a wardrobe, her pulse roaring. The village fool giggled in darkness, unaware he''d nearly ascended to manhood''s peak.