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

About fifteen minutes later, Jenny returned and handed the items in her hands to He Yuzhu, saying, "Mr. He, these are the property certificate, land deed, and contract, as well as the deposit slip for Miss Lou Xiao'e's account today, and the villa key."

He Yuzhu took the property certificate and land deed, examined them, then looked at the contract and bank statement. After confirming everything was in order, he put them into a file folder and said, "Miss Jenny, see you later! I'm off!"

"Mr. He, please take care!" Jenny breathed a sigh of relief after seeing He Yuzhu out of the bank.

A little after 2:30 PM, He Yuzhu arrived at the entrance of the tea restaurant owned by Tan Lingya. Just as He Yuzhu was about to enter the restaurant, Lou Xiao'e ran out from inside, excitedly calling out, "Brother Zhu!"

He Yuzhu was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Xiao'e, you're here quite early!"

Lou Xiao'e replied with a smile, "I didn't have classes this afternoon, so I came early." Then she urged, "Come on! Come home with me!"

"Okay!" He Yuzhu replied and followed Lou Xiao'e to their place.

The apartment Tan Lingya and Lou Xiao'e lived in—it was unclear whether they found it themselves or Lou Zhenhua provided it—but the location was quite good. The only downside was the floor. It was on the fourth floor, and they lived on the second. The ground floor was occupied by shops. Upon reaching the top floor, Lou Xiao'e took out her keys, opened the door, and called out, "Mom! I brought Brother Zhuzi back!"

Hearing the shout, Tan Lingya came out of the kitchen and greeted, "Zhu Zi's here?!"

"Aunt Tan!" He Yuzhu greeted her, saying, "These are some snacks I brought back from Beijing. Please accept them as a small token of my appreciation!"

Tan Lingya said with a smile, "Zhu Zi, you're too kind! Please have a seat!"

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded and sat down on the sofa. Lou Xiao'e put her bag back in the bedroom, then poured a cup of tea and placed it on the coffee table in front of He Yuzhu before sitting down next to him.

He Yuzhu handed the file folder to Lou Xiao'e, saying, "This is a gift for you!"

Lou Xiao'e was taken aback for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Brother Zhu, what is it?!"

He Yuzhu picked up the cup and said, "You'll see when you open it!"

Driven by curiosity, Lou Xiao'e opened the file bag, took out its contents, placed them on the coffee table, and then poured out the keys from the file bag, looking at He Yuzhu in surprise.

He Yuzhu knew Lou Xiao'e had guessed, so he put down his cup and said with a smile, "It's rare for me to come to Gangcheng, and I was afraid I might have left you too little so you wouldn't have enough to show for it."

Lou Xiao'e picked up the property certificate and land deed, and seeing that her name was on them, she couldn't help but shed tears. He Yuzhu said, "Xiao'e, you're a real little rich girl now. Once you've made some money, don't forget to hire a designer to tear down and rebuild that row of villas. Build them the way you like." Then He Yuzhu took out the keys from his pocket and handed them to Lou Xiao'e, saying, "These are the keys to my two villas. Find someone to clean them for me when you have time."

"Yes!" Lou Xiao'e nodded heavily, took her things and went back to her room.

"Xiao'e! Zhuzi! Dinner's ready!" A little after 4:30 PM, Tan Lingya brought the food to the table. He Yuzhu went to the kitchen to wash his hands, then walked to the table, looked at the dishes, and said, "Aunt Tan! These dishes are all quite impressive!"

Tan Lingya said with a smile, "It was a bit rushed, please don't mind!"

"How could that be?!" He Yuzhu said, sitting down. "Even in Beijing these days, it's hard to find such authentic Tan Family Stir-fry."

Lou Xiao'e sat down next to He Yuzhu and said, "Several of my senior brothers and sisters from the Tan Family Cuisine lineage live in Gangcheng. They came to my mother a while ago, asking her to open a Tan Family Cuisine restaurant. My mother didn't agree."

He Yuzhu said, "Opening a Tan Family Restaurant in Hong Kong is no easy task. You could easily lose all your capital."

Lou Xiao'e continued, "In a couple of days, I plan to hire a lawyer to help me register a company. My next step is to buy a property and collect rent."

He Yuzhu said, "Let's only talk about happy things now. We won't discuss work or business matters!"

Tan Lingya asked, "Zhu Zi, what's the situation in Beijing right now?!"

He Yuzhu replied, "What else can we do?! It's pretty much the same as before. It's just that those who didn't leave are having a harder time."

Lou Xiao'e suddenly asked, "Mom! Dad came by today?!"

Tan Lingya nodded and said, "He was passing by and stopped by to see me. Your dad isn't having an easy time either."

Lou Xiao'e said, "Whether he's doing well or not, that's his business."

He Yuzhu changed the subject, saying, "Xiao'e, if it's not safe to live here, you can move to the hillside. I won't live in the houses there anyway."

Lou Xiao'e said, "Brother Zhu, let's talk about it later!" Then she called out, "Eat your food!"

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

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, the meal was almost finished, and Tan Lingya brought out the sweet soup. He Yuzhu took a couple of sips, then suddenly felt a heaviness in his head, and collapsed onto the table.

Tan Lingya glanced at He Yuzhu, then looked at Lou Xiao'e and asked, "Xiao'e, have you thought this through?!"

Lou Xiao'e nodded emphatically and said, "Mom! I've thought it through!"

Tan Lingya sighed and said, "I'll help you carry the pillar to your room!"

"Hey!" Lou Xiao'e stood up and, together with Tan Lingya, helped He Yuzhu back to her room. ... (Tens of thousands of words omitted)

The next morning, a ray of sunlight shone on He Yuzhu's face, and he groggily woke up. Suddenly, He Yuzhu realized someone was curled up in his arms. He Yuzhu was startled. Upon closer inspection, the person in his arms was none other than Lou Xiao'e. He Yuzhu immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Trying hard to recall what had happened the previous night, He Yuzhu couldn't help but give a bitter laugh. At this moment, Lou Xiao'e also woke up.

He Yuzhu said, "Xiao'e, why are you doing this?!"

Lou Xiao'e hugged He Yuzhu tightly and said, "Brother Zhu, I don't want to be your sister. But reality forces us to separate. This is my own choice!"

He Yuzhu asked, "What if you get pregnant?!"

Lou Xiao'e said with a smile, "I've already thought about this. Once I get pregnant, I'll give birth to the child. Whether it's a son or a daughter, I'll name him He Xiao."

He Yuzhu asked, "Why don't you let the child take your surname?!"

Lou Xiao'e replied, "You're not a son-in-law who moved in with his wife's family, so why should you take my surname?! Are you suggesting we name the child Lou Zhu or Lou Yu?!"