The Courtyard House: The story begins with He Yuzhu beating up the White Widow.

He Yuzhu, He Yushui, and Xu Xiaoling had just arrived at the movie theater entrance when Song Ran arrived shortly after. Song Ran looked different today; she was wearing a light blue Lenin-style women's suit, had her hair in two braids, and wore black trousers with black mid-heeled shoes.

The moment He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling saw Song Ran, they exchanged a glance before looking at He Yuzhu. He Yushui blurted out, "Brother! You're so brave!"

He Yuzhu glanced at He Yushui dismissively, then waved to Song Ran and called out, "Teacher Song!"

Song Ran walked up to He Yuzhu and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

He Yuzhu said, "We just arrived too. You guys wait here for a moment, I'll go buy movie tickets!" With that, He Yuzhu turned around and ran towards the ticket window.

About ten minutes later, He Yuzhu returned, carrying four movie tickets for the film "The Shepherd Boy Joins the Army" and a net bag full of snacks. He Yuzhu said, "The movie's about to start! Let's go in!"

"Hey!" Song Ran responded, pulling He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling along with He Yuzhu into the movie theater.

Once inside the movie theater, He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling broke free from Song Ran's grasp. He Yushui snatched the tickets from He Yuzhu's hand, and after leading Xu Xiaoling to their seats, He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling sat together, leaving the other two seats for He Yuzhu and Song Ran.

He Yuzhu looked at Song Ran somewhat embarrassed. Song Ran smiled and sat down next to He Yushui. After He Yuzhu sat down beside Song Ran, he quickly opened a bottle of Arctic Ocean soda and handed it to the three of them. Then he took out a bag of sunflower seeds and stuffed it into Song Ran's hand. He gave the rest of the items, along with the net bag, to He Yushui. At this moment, the screening room suddenly went dark, and the movie began.

Although the theater was dark, He Yuzhu could still see Song Ran's face very clearly by the light from the screen. Song Ran, who was completely engrossed in the movie, seemed to notice He Yuzhu looking at her, and her face unconsciously flushed. He Yuzhu seemed to realize something was amiss, awkwardly turned his head away, and continued watching the movie.

An hour and a half passed quickly, and as the lights in the screening room came on, the movie ended. He Yuzhu led Song Ran, He Yushui, and Xu Xiaoling outside. He Yushui asked, "Brother, where are we going next?!"

He Yuzhu said, "It's lunchtime now, so of course we should go eat."

Song Ran said, "You treated me to a movie, so I'll treat you to dinner!"

He Yuzhu said, "You! Don't be so polite with me. Who lets a girl pay the bill?! Listen to me now, we'll discuss important matters later, and you can decide on the minor ones. But I don't think anything big will happen in the future."

He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling exchanged a glance. Xu Xiaoling whispered in He Yushui's ear, "Yushui, I've known your brother for many years. How come I've never seen him being so sarcastic?!"

He Yushui replied, "I haven't seen it either. But judging from the situation, if my brother really does get together with Teacher Song, Teacher Song will probably be in charge of the household from now on."

Although He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling spoke softly, Song Ran, who was standing nearby, still heard them. Song Ran's face flushed even redder. This was probably a skill women were born with. Song Ran reached down to the soft flesh of He Yuzhu's waist and, taking advantage of his inattention, pinched him hard.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, He Yuzhu winced in pain, but he couldn't retaliate and had to endure it. Seeing the contorted expression on He Yuzhu's face, Song Ran, fearing she had hit him too hard, quickly released her grip. He Yuzhu rubbed the sore spot and said, "Go easy on me! You almost crippled me."

Song Ran glared at He Yuzhu, gave a soft snort, and put on a "come and coax me!" expression. Seeing this, He Yuzhu asked, "Teacher Song, what do you usually like to eat?"

Song Ran rolled her eyes at He Yuzhu and gave a soft snort. He Yuzhu thought for a moment, then moved closer to Song Ran and said, "It's inconvenient to keep calling you Teacher Song. It makes me feel like your student. From now on, I'll call you Xiao Ran. Is that okay?"

"Whatever you want!" Song Ran replied, then looked at He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling and asked, "Xu Xiaoling, why are you and Yushui so close?!"

Xu Xiaoling replied, "We're neighbors. Yushui and I have played together since we were little. Of course we're good friends!"

He Yushui said, "Teacher Song, you are so beautiful and gentle. You would be perfect as my sister-in-law."

He Yuzhu quietly gave He Yushui a thumbs-up. He Yuzhu continued, "Come on! There's a state-run restaurant up ahead. Let's sit down and talk while we eat!"

There haven't been any natural disasters yet, so the food supply in state-run restaurants is still very plentiful. Upon entering the state-run restaurant, He Yuzhu asked Song Ran to take He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling to find seats, while he went to the cashier, glanced at the blackboard on the wall, and said, "Comrade, one order of braised pork, hot and sour shredded potatoes, home-style tofu, stir-fried three delicacies, ten jin of gluten, poached chicken, and pickled vegetable and shredded pork egg drop soup. Two jin of steamed buns, and four bottles of Beibingyang soda."

The waiter said, "That's seven yuan and twenty-five cents in total, seven liang of meat coupons, and two jin of grain coupons."

He Yuzhu deftly pulled out ten yuan, a meat coupon, and two grain coupons from his pocket and placed them on the counter. The waiter took the money and coupons, put the change and meal vouchers on the counter, and said, "Take your food from the window yourself."

"Hey!" He Yuzhu put away the change, took the meal ticket and walked towards the window not far away.

He Yuzhu waited at the window for about ten minutes, and dishes were handed out one after another. He Yuzhu ran back and forth three times before he finally brought everything to the table. After sitting down, He Yuzhu said, "Don't just look at it, start eating!" After saying that, He Yuzhu picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in Song Ran's bowl.

Song Ran smiled at He Yuzhu, placed a piece of meat on the plates of He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling, then looked at He Yuzhu and said, "Don't just stand there! Start eating!"

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded, picked up a piece of chicken, dipped it in some sauce, and put it in his mouth.

While eating, He Yushui said, "Brother, the chef at this restaurant isn't good. You should invite Teacher Song over to your house another day. Show him your skills!"

Song Ran asked curiously, "Rain, your brother can cook?!"

He Yushui said with a proud look, "My family is a family of chefs. My dad's dish, 'Three Whites in a Braised Dish,' beat all the chefs at Fengzeyuan Restaurant. My brother's skills are even better than my dad's. It's just that my brother doesn't want to be a chef in a restaurant!"