Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

The people who had gone to bed in the courtyard got up and gathered around. When they saw what was happening in the cellar, they couldn't help but marvel.

I never expected Yi Zhonghai to be so cunning.

The two police officers on night duty under the crooked tree at the alley entrance were also startled. They exchanged a glance and quickly walked into the courtyard.

He Yushui sat on Sha Zhu's bed with a quilt in her arms. Hearing the noise, she hesitated for a moment, put the quilt on the bed, and followed him out the door.

Xu Damao was still awake when he heard Yi Zhonghai's scream. He was stunned for a moment, then like a cat that had smelled blood, he stubbed out his cigarette and went outside.

When he reached the cellar entrance, a crowd had already gathered around him. He squeezed to the front and craned his neck to look down.

He immediately burst into laughter.

Xu Damao's face showed a mixture of shock and schadenfreude: "Wow, Sha Zhu, Grandpa, Qin Huairu, what are you guys up to?"

Sha Zhu retorted, "Xu Damao, that's bullshit! I'm here to practice my boxing."

He dared not say he was there to catch someone cheating, otherwise what would Sister Qin think of him?

Am I not ruining her reputation?

If that were the case, she would definitely hate herself.

Inside the cellar.

Yi Zhonghai huddled on the damp mud, his hands supporting him on the ground, his face pale and cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

He wasn't fully dressed yet, with half of his dusty gray underwear showing.

Sha Zhu stood to the side, his chest heaving, his fists clenched tightly, his fingers scraped from punching someone.

Qin Huairu stood between the two men, her clothes disheveled, her hair loose over her shoulders, her gaze lowered, quietly standing amidst the noise.

Her face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see her expression, but the hand clutching her collar had white knuckles.

More and more people gathered above the cellar entrance, as if watching a play that had suddenly begun.

Xu Damao's voice came from the crowd, carrying an irrepressible chuckle:

"Hey Shazhu, why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? Why are you practicing your boxing in the cellar?"

"Fine, let's practice then, but why did you pick on Uncle Yi? Look at the state you've left him; his face is swollen like a pig's head."

His gaze swept back and forth between Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu a few times, noticing Qin Huairu's submissive demeanor.

Then I saw Yi Zhonghai seem to suddenly understand something, and a smile slowly curved his lips.

"Oh...I see, I knew it, there was a good show going on here."

Sha Zhu said angrily, "Xu Damao, shut up! If you keep spouting nonsense, believe me, I'll beat you up too."

Xu Damao took half a step back, raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, but still wore that smug smile on his face:

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything. You guys continue, continue."

He said that, but his feet didn't move an inch.

Yi Zhonghai struggled to get up from the ground, but before he could straighten his back, the pain from the injury on his face made him grimace.

He braced himself on his elbows, trying to make himself look less disheveled, but found himself unsure which way to turn.

Looking up, there was a circle of condescending gazes; looking to the side, there were Sha Zhu's fists, which were still clenched.

"What's going on? What happened?"

The voice of Aunt Li Zhaodi came from the back of the crowd. She squeezed to the front and saw the three people in the cellar. Her eyes widened immediately.

"What are you doing in the cellar in the middle of the night?"

Yan Bugui also arrived, standing at the edge of the crowd, and swept the beam of his flashlight into the cellar.

He cleared his throat, his voice neither loud nor soft: "Old Yi, this...this is just outrageous! Someone just died in the yard, and you..."

He shook his head and didn't continue.

He Yushui stood at the back of the crowd, her gaze passing through the swaying shoulders and landing on Qin Huairu.

Without saying anything, his fingers tightened a little more, then loosened again.

The lead officer, surnamed Wang, was young, but his gaze carried a calmness born from years of experience.

"What's going on? Who called the police? Why did they start fighting?"

His gaze swept over the three people in the cellar, finally settling on Yi Zhonghai's face, which was swollen like a pig's head.

"What happened to the injury on your face? Who hit you?"

Sha Zhu stood in the cellar, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fist: "I hit him. He..."

"Alright."

Officer Wang interrupted him, his voice not loud but with an undeniable force, "Come up first, let's talk here."

The three people in the cellar climbed up one by one.

They walked very slowly.

Sha Zhu followed behind him, and Qin Huairu came last.

As she peeked out of the cellar, the night wind blew in her face, and she instinctively pulled her collar tighter.

An older woman named Wang Cuilan tried to stop her to ask her questions, but when she reached out, she only managed to grab a piece of clothing.

She watched Qin Huairu's figure disappear through the doorway, withdrew her hand, and turned to glare angrily at Yi Zhonghai:

"Yi Zhonghai, say something! What exactly happened? In the cellar in the middle of the night, you and Qin Huairu were alone... How could you do this to me?"

"It's not just two people."

Suddenly, Sha Zhu spoke up, "Me too."

He couldn't let anyone ruin Sister Qin's reputation.

If the body breaks down, it breaks down; it's all secondhand anyway.

"Then why did you hit him?"

Wang Cuilan pressed on with further questions.

Sha Zhu fell silent, unsure how to explain.

"Is he having an affair with Qin Huairu?"

"Cuilan, let me explain."

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

I don't know how to explain it.

He felt countless gazes piercing through the night and falling upon him, their eyes filled with gossip and curiosity.

Having lived in this courtyard house for most of his life, accumulating a lifetime of dignity and prestige, he was now seeing it crumble inch by inch.

Officer Wang put away his notebook and glanced at the group of people. "Alright, all of you, come with me to the police station tonight and explain everything."

"Groups engaging in illicit sexual relations is a serious violation of the law and regulations. Everyone, please disperse and do not gather here, as it will interfere with the investigation."

……