Taohua Village, beneath Longquan Mountain.

A clear creek wound down along the mountain’s spine. When it reached the sharp drop at the foot of the slope, it turned into a small waterfall, five or six meters high, white and bright as broken jade.

Below the fall, the pretty widow Petunia Holloway was bathing.

The view was fine. The woman in the water was finer.

Her clothes lay in a bamboo basket not far off, plain enough at a glance, yet eye-catching all the same.

The village fool, Felix Calloway, came shambling over with a bamboo basket hooked on one arm and a tree branch in the other. A stalk of dry grass hung from the corner of his mouth. He looked lazy, muddled, harmless.

He stopped by Petunia Holloway’s basket, reached in, and casually picked up a scrap of clothing with very little cloth to it. He held it up and stared at the pattern on it with a silly grin, then set it down and grabbed another.

Petunia Holloway was rinsing herself beneath the fall. She caught sight of a figure by the bank and let out a sharp cry at once, slapping both hands over herself.

“Who’s that? Who’s digging through my things?”

Hearing the scream from under the waterfall, Felix Calloway looked up and broke into a foolish laugh.

“Heh-heh... Tao... Taohua, sister-in-law, it’s me. Felix Calloway.”

Once she saw it was foolish Felix Calloway, Petunia Holloway let out a breath and relaxed.

“I thought some bastard was peeping at me bathing. Didn’t expect it to be you, you little fool. What are you rummaging through?”

Felix Calloway held up the tiny garment and compared it to himself.

“Uh... red. Pretty. I want to wear it.”

Seeing how vacant and earnest he looked, Petunia Holloway laughed so hard her whole soft body seemed to ripple.

“You silly boy, that’s for women. You’re a grown man. How can you wear women’s clothes? Put it down.”

Felix Calloway gave a foolish grin and set it back.

“Uh... okay. Okay.”

Looking at him like that, Petunia Holloway felt a stab of pity.

If it had been any normal man, she would have hidden herself by now. But Felix Calloway, standing there in all his stupidity, had the mind of a child of five or six. There was no need to dodge him, no need to keep covering herself.

Aside from food, the fool knew nothing.

Still, this Felix Calloway, though stupid, was truly handsome. Clean features, good bones, easy on the eyes. A man like that did not stir disgust in people.

Petunia Holloway was a normal woman. She had been a widow for more than two years. A normal woman had normal wants. With Felix suddenly here before her, a bold thought rose in her heart.

Parched earth needed rain.

She stepped out from beneath the waterfall and glanced around. The banks were empty. No one else was near. Only then did she smile and turn her gaze on Felix Calloway.

“Come over here to sister-in-law. I’ll give you something good to eat.”

The moment Felix Calloway heard there was food, his eyes lit up.

“Something good? I want candy.”

Petunia Holloway’s smile grew even brighter, the sly pleasure in it plain enough.

“You silly boy, I’ve got grapes here, and fresh peaches too. Want some?”

Felix Calloway looked around, but there was no fruit in sight. Then he bent down and started pawing through the bamboo basket again.

“Where’re the grapes? Where’re the peaches?”

Petunia Holloway nearly rolled her eyes. Inwardly she cursed him for being dense.

She was standing right there, a living beauty only a few meters away. Was that not feast enough for the eyes?

The grapes and peaches were right in front of him.

How could he not see them?

If it had been Eugene Greer, he would have understood in a blink.

“Come here to sister-in-law. I’ll make the fruit appear.”

Felix Calloway was fool enough not to catch the meaning under her words. He only thought she had hidden the peaches and grapes somewhere.

He chuckled and walked toward her.

Felix Calloway was twenty-three this year. He had not always been a fool.

His parents had given him that name hoping that, once grown, he would have people bringing money to him, and from there rise into luck and glory.

But the name had always sounded a little strange.

Two years ago.

He had graduated from the provincial medical academy. He should have entered Jiangcheng Hospital without trouble. Yet before he could begin, something went wrong.

A few days before starting work, he had gone out for roast skewers with his girlfriend. Some men started harassing her. He fought back. The other side fought dirty. One of them grabbed a wooden stool from the stall and smashed it hard right into Felix Calloway’s head.

From that day on, he became a fool.

Now Felix Calloway stood beside Petunia Holloway, grinning dumbly at her.

“Peach... peach... I want to eat peaches.”

Looking at the handsome young man in front of her, Petunia Holloway felt torn for a moment. She suddenly felt like a bad woman.

Was it right, tricking a fool into that sort of thing?

She hesitated only briefly. Then she hardened her heart.

He was just a fool. As long as he did not babble about it afterward, it would be fine.

Petunia Holloway turned around and slipped back into the pool below the waterfall. She faced away from Felix Calloway, showing only one smooth fragrant shoulder above the water.

“I worked hard today. My shoulders ache something fierce. Help me rub them, and when we get back I’ll buy you candy.”

“Okay!”

Felix Calloway nodded stupidly and placed his hands on her shoulders. He kneaded them gently, but his mind was still fixed on food.

“You can’t lie. I want candy.”

Petunia Holloway tilted her face up to look at him.

“Sister-in-law won’t lie to you. Rub my shoulders well. If you do a good job, you’ll get peaches and grapes, and I’ll buy you candy too.”

Thinking of sweets, Felix Calloway split his face in a foolish grin.

Petunia Holloway felt his big hands working over her shoulders. Her face filled with pleasure, and all sorts of thoughts stirred in her heart.

Ever since her man died, she had truly needed a man.

“The strength... it’s not bad.”

Her voice turned soft and breathy. Her heart pounded like a startled deer.

“Silly boy, let’s play a game. I tell you what to do, and you do it. If you listen and behave, then later, whatever you want to eat, sister-in-law will buy it for you. All right?”

She coaxed him slowly, step by step. Her body had already gone soft, weak. Her lovely peach-blossom eyes grew hazy.

“Uh... I’ll listen. I want candy!”

Felix Calloway stammered, still thinking only of food.

Such a fine scene stood before him, yet he looked straight through it. Fool to the bone.

If he only lowered his head a little, he would see every bit of that beauty.

Petunia Holloway turned back again, looking at him with a sudden hard thump in her chest.

“Go stand under the waterfall and rinse off. You stink.”

She knew there was no rushing a fool. You could not eat hot tofu in a hurry. It had to be done slowly, one step at a time.

Felix Calloway hesitated, then shook his head.

“I want to help... sister-in-law rub your shoulders.”

Petunia Holloway arched a brow and shot him a glare.

“No need. Go wash up first. Only after you bathe do you get candy. If you don’t listen, you get nothing.”

Felix Calloway panicked at once and quickly let go of her.

“I’ll listen to sister-in-law. I’ll go bathe.”

He stepped back two paces and stripped off his upper clothes in two quick motions. His body was strong, hard with muscle, packed with force.

Petunia Holloway turned around and leaned against the edge of the pool to look at him. Felix Calloway’s whole frame was knotted with solid muscle, sturdy and full of strength.

She licked her red lips.

“Silly boy, you’re built like pure power.”

Her little scheme was about to work.

Petunia Holloway’s heart raced wildly. She narrowed her eyes, her cherry-red lips parting slightly.

“Silly boy, hurry up.”

“Mm. Soon... done soon.”

Felix Calloway gave a dumb grin and tossed his outer clothes aside in a messy heap.

He had no idea that the brightest moment of his life was just about to arrive.