Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

While Yu Li and her husband were each lost in their own thoughts, there was a quiet commotion in the front yard.

A dark figure crept in from the central courtyard, hugging the wall, moving quickly and quietly.

Under the moonlight, you could see the figure of a young woman with two braids, wearing a slightly worn floral jacket. Who else could it be but Qin Jingru?

She and Yu Li had just come out of Zhou Feng's house together. They parted ways in the outer courtyard. Yu Li went back to the back room, while she went to the middle courtyard.

But not long after, she came back.

Qin Jingru walked to Zhou Feng's door, raised her hand, but hesitated for a moment.

She took a deep breath, as if to bolster her courage, and then knocked three times.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible at night.

Inside the room, Zhou Feng had just lain down and was drifting off to sleep when he heard a knock on the door. He opened his eyes and frowned.

Who would come looking for me so late at night?

He rolled out of bed, shuffled to the door in his slippers, and without opening it, asked, "Who is it?"

"Brother Zhou Feng, it's me." Qin Jingru's voice came from outside the door, low and trembling.

Zhou Feng was taken aback.

Qin Jingru? Didn't she go back?

He unlatched the door, opened it a crack, and peeked out.

Sure enough, Qin Jingru stood at the door, her hands clasped together, her head down, the moonlight illuminating half of her face, which appeared rosy.

"Jingru? Why are you back again?" Zhou Feng asked, somewhat puzzled. "Did you leave something behind?"

Qin Jingru looked up at him, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

Then, gritting her teeth, she turned to the side and squeezed through his arm into the room.

Zhou Feng was pushed back a step and instinctively closed the door behind him.

"Hey—what's wrong with you…" He turned around, but stopped mid-sentence, stunned.

Qin Jingru stood in the middle of the room, her back to him, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Then she reached out and began to unbutton her cotton-padded coat.

One.

Two.

Three.

The cotton-padded coat was open, revealing a faded floral print blouse underneath.

She didn't stop, and started unbuttoning her jacket again.

Zhou Feng was truly frightened.

"Stop, stop, stop!" He took two steps forward and grabbed Qin Jingru's hand. "Jingru, what are you doing? What's going on here?"

Qin Jingru's hand was held down by him, but she seemed to be frozen in place, standing motionless.

Her eyes instantly reddened, and her voice trembled with tears: "Brother Zhou Feng, I...I want to follow you."

Having lived this long since childhood, she never knew how to express her feelings to a man.

Unlike Qin Huairu, who knows how to seduce men, she could only take off her clothes in front of Zhou Feng.

Zhou Feng's mind went blank for a moment.

He released his grip, took two steps back, and looked Qin Jingru up and down.

This girl is only in her early twenties. Her face is full of collagen, and she is indeed to his aesthetic standards. She is considered one of the prettiest girls in the courtyard.

But the two of them haven't really had that many interactions, so why did this suddenly happen today?

"Jingru, don't cry yet. Put your clothes on, and we'll talk slowly." Zhou Feng turned away from her. "Button up your clothes."

She heard rustling sounds behind her, sniffed, and buttoned her clothes up again.

Zhou Feng then turned around, pulled over a chair for her to sit down, and sat down on the edge of the bed, about two feet away from her.

"Tell me, what happened?" Zhou Feng tried to keep his tone calm. "Did someone bully you? Or did something happen?"

Qin Jingru shook her head, looked down at her toes, and after a long while, finally spoke: "No one bullied me. I just... I just figured it out."

"What have you figured out?"

"I've figured it out..." Qin Jingru raised her head, her eyes red, but her gaze was firm. "Brother Zhou Feng, I know about you and Sister Bai Ling. I'm not stupid, I can tell. You two... you two are a couple."

Zhou Feng remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"I don't want you to marry me." Qin Jingru's voice was surprisingly steady when she said this. "I know I can't compare to Sister Bai Ling. She's a cadre, she's educated, and I'm just a girl from the countryside. I just... I just want to be with you."

"Why are you following me?" Zhou Feng asked, both amused and exasperated. "I don't need any more maids."

"I'm not a maid!" Qin Jingru exclaimed anxiously. "I mean... I mean... I want to be your person."

This statement is so blunt that even people 60 years from now might not be able to withstand it.

Despite Zhou Feng's usual lecherous demeanor, his face flushed slightly when a young woman spoke to him like that to his face.

Moreover, it was the 1960s, and even married couples would be embarrassed to talk about these things in public.

For Qin Jingru, an unmarried young woman, to say such a thing, how much courage must she have?

"Are you crazy?" Zhou Feng lowered his voice. "Do you know how you'll feel if word gets out? Will you even be able to face the world?"

Qin Jingru bit her lip, tears streaming down her face: "I know, I know everything, but I can't care about anything else."

She wiped away her tears and continued, "My sister didn't say it, but I know she brought me from the countryside so that I could marry into the city and help them. But I've seen it all during my time living in this courtyard."

"What did you see?"

"I saw Sister Yu Li! She married Yan Jiecheng, and look at her life! Her house is dark and gloomy, without a single decent piece of furniture. And my sister's family, with elderly parents and young children to support, they have to be very careful with their meager salary."

Zhou Feng paused for a moment: "That's their business."

"Yes, it's their business. But I'm scared." Qin Jingru's voice trembled with tears again. "What if my sister introduces me to someone who's short-lived, unlucky, and poor, with no skills? Then I'll have to suffer along with him."

Although she wasn't particularly cunning, she was very perceptive.

Zhou Feng is a very capable person, so she definitely can't outsmart him.

Why not just say whatever comes to mind and speak your mind directly?

Sixty years later, this action can be summed up in one sentence: sincerity is the ultimate weapon.

"So you came to find me?" Zhou Feng sighed. "How do you know I won't let you suffer?"

Qin Jingru looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears: "You won't. You're different from them."

"What's different?"

"You're rich and capable, so all the leaders treat you with utmost respect."

Qin Jingru counted on her fingers: "And you're good to people. You're good to Sister Bai Ling, and you're good to the neighbors. I've only been here a few times, and every time you bring me something delicious and buy me nice things. Sister Yu Li said that you helped her find her job."

Zhou Feng felt a little guilty after hearing what she said.

He was kind to Qin Jingru and Yu Li, but not to the other neighbors in the courtyard…

Helping them correct their mistakes is... not bad, right?

"So you just want to..." Zhou Feng rubbed his temples, "You just want to follow me, not for any title, but just for me as a person?"

Qin Jingru nodded vigorously.

"Do you know what people will say about you if this gets out? How awful they'll be?"

"I know." Qin Jingru's voice was soft but firm. "Isn't it enough to just not let them know? Even if they do find out, I don't care. I don't know anyone in this courtyard except my sister, and I don't have any reputation to speak of."

Zhou Feng stared at her for a long time.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted.

This girl is exactly his type, but this isn't 60 years from now.

These days, all the girls are truly virgins; if you take them in, you'll have to take responsibility!

Besides, what if it's a honey trap?

Qin Jingru certainly didn't have any bad intentions, but the character of Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi was another matter entirely.

"Jingru, I have a question for you, and you'd better answer me honestly." Zhou Feng's tone became serious. "Do your sister and her mother-in-law know you're coming here tonight?"

Qin Jingru shook her head: "I don't know."

"Does Yu Li know about this?"

"I don't know. After we parted ways, I waited for a long time until she left and the lights across the street went out before I came over."

"Have you told anyone anything? Like, that you're coming to my place?"

"No!" Qin Jingru cried out anxiously, "Brother Zhou Feng, do you think I... do you think I'm going to hurt you? I didn't! I just... I just..."

She started crying again as she was talking, this time even harder than before. Her shoulders were shaking, and she could barely speak.

As Zhou Feng watched her cry, the tension in his heart slowly eased.

This girl doesn't seem to be faking it.

If it were a honey trap, why would someone cry like this?

This is so similar!

He got up, poured a glass of water from the thermos, and handed it to her: "Alright, stop crying, have some water."

Qin Jingru took the cup, holding it in her hands, tears still on her face, but she smiled: "Brother Zhou Feng, you're not sending me away?"

Zhou Feng didn't respond to that question, but instead asked, "Aren't you afraid I might be some kind of bad guy?"

"You're not. I'm very good at judging people."

Hearing this, Zhou Feng couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time: "You're good at judging people? You're good at judging people by sneaking into a single man's room late at night?"

Qin Jingru lowered her head and said softly, "I...I've made up my mind. No matter how you treat me, I'll accept it."

The room fell silent immediately.

Zhou Feng remained silent for a long time.

He's not a saint; Qin Jingru offered herself to him, so there's no reason for him to turn her away.

But he needs to think carefully about the consequences.

If this gets out, how will Bai Ling explain it?

As for the others, he really didn't take them seriously.

The cooperation with the Dragon Kingdom will not be strained because of this incident, and probably no one in the courtyard would dare to gossip about him.

Even if someone reports it to the local authorities, so what?

The items donated during the Lunar New Year have been used to create a golden statue of him. Now, the Special Operations Unit is guarding outside. As long as no one crosses the line, who would dare to touch him?

That's Bai Ling, right...

Thinking about this, Zhou Feng felt a headache coming on.

Although he and Bai Ling had a cold war before, they had spent so much time together, how could there be no feelings between them?

If Bai Ling really accepts Qin Jingru, wouldn't she cause a huge uproar, given her temper?

"Jingru," Zhou Feng finally spoke, "If you stay here tonight, starting tomorrow, you'll have no status with me. Do you understand?"

Qin Jingru looked up, her eyes sparkling: "I understand."

"Have you thought this through? If you want to get married in the future, I won't stop you, but while you're with me, you're not allowed to have any contact with any men."

"I'm not getting married," Qin Jingru said resolutely. "I'll stay with you."

Zhou Feng sighed, stood up, walked to the door, tightened the latch, then turned around and turned off the lights in the room.

The room was plunged into darkness.

Only the moonlight from outside shone through the window paper, casting hazy shadows of two people.

Qin Jingru stood in the middle of the room and began to unbutton her clothes again.

This time, Zhou Feng didn't stop her.

The cotton-padded coat fell to the ground with a soft sound.

Then came the short jacket, and then…

In the darkness, the two people's breathing grew closer and heavier.

Qin Jingru's body trembled slightly, whether from the cold or nervousness, she didn't know.

Zhou Feng reached out and put his arm around her waist, feeling her trembling all over.

"Are you scared?" he whispered in her ear.

Qin Jingru shook her head, buried her face in his chest, and mumbled, "I'm not afraid."

The sound was soft and gentle, like the first rain of spring after the Lunar New Year, falling silently to the ground.

The light in Zhou Feng's room went out.

Outside, two guards from the Special Operations Unit squatted in the corner, looking at each other with the same expression on their faces.

The guy on the left, in his early twenties, had only been transferred here recently. He kept muttering, "Oh no, oh no, oh no, what do we do?"

The other one was older, in his thirties, and had worked in the operations department for five or six years. He had seen it all.

But he had never seen a scene like this before.

"Did you see that? That woman went in and hasn't come out."

The younger one lowered his voice and nudged the person next to him with his elbow.

The latter replied expressionlessly, "I'm not blind, of course I saw it."

"What should we do then? Should we report it?"

The other party paused for a moment: "Of course we need to report. But now? It's the middle of the night, Director Sun is already asleep."

"Then tomorrow morning?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow morning." The man took out a cigarette, thought for a moment, then put it back in his hand and sighed.

"But how are we going to report this tomorrow? Director Sun instructed us that Comrade Zhou Feng's safety is the top priority, and any unusual situation must be reported immediately. But... this counts as an unusual situation, right?"

"Fine! Report it exactly as it should be. We both saw Comrade Zhou Feng open the door for that woman when she entered his room. What can we do? We can't just go in and drag her out."

The young man was speechless.

The other person patted him on the shoulder again, saying earnestly, "Young comrade, sometimes it's best to just ignore what you see. The decision is to have the higher-ups handle it. Who is Comrade Zhou Feng? Is this little thing even a big deal to him?"

The two of them squatted back down in the corner, and neither of them spoke again.

The next morning, the two sent the intelligence they had recorded back to the Special Operations Division.

Sun Yue had just entered the office and hadn't even had a chance to pour himself some water when the young man stood at the door, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What's wrong? Weren't you on duty at the courtyard last night? Why are you back so early?" Sun Yue glanced at him. "Come in and talk."

Bai Ling heard the words "courtyard house" from afar and followed them inside.