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

"What happened at the courtyard house again?"

Bai Ling placed the documents beside her on Sun Yue's desk and then sat down next to him.

Although her relationship with Zhou Feng wasn't quite right, she still cared about him.

There were no problems when they parted yesterday. Could it be that someone is causing trouble again tonight?

The comrade who came to deliver the message stood there dawdling and rubbing his hands for a long time, his eyes constantly glancing at Bai Ling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

There's no problem telling Director Sun about this, but if we tell Comrade Bai Ling, things might get messy!

"What are you hesitating about? Just say what you have to say!"

The man pursed his lips, glanced at Sun Yue, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Who cares? Anyway, the boss has spoken, so if anything goes wrong, it's the boss's problem!

"Reporting to Director Sun, last night a female comrade went into Comrade Zhou Feng's room and didn't come out all night."

In an instant, the entire office fell silent.

Sun Yue's hand, which was still making tea for himself, froze in mid-air. He looked up, stared at the other person for a full five or six seconds, and then slowly put the tea leaves down.

Although he didn't look in Bai Ling's direction, he could clearly feel a faint chill emanating from there.

"Who?"

Bai Ling's voice was calm, but it made the comrade who was reporting shudder.

"It's...it's Comrade Qin Jingru, who hasn't been in the courtyard house for long."

Although they wouldn't interfere with Zhou Feng's life, almost everyone who got close to him had been investigated.

Qin Jingru had already registered with the Special Operations Department long ago.

Seeing Bai Ling's eyes begin to redden and her fists clench, Sun Yue sighed inwardly and waved to the man, "You all worked hard last night, go back and rest early."

The other party felt as if they had been granted a pardon and turned to leave.

"Wait, does anyone else know about this?"

Just the two of us.

"Alright, you guys go back and rest, and watch your mouths."

The man nodded vigorously, then ran off in a flash.

Sun Yue then turned his attention to Bai Ling, his hands crossed under his chin, his brows furrowed in a frown.

Zhou Feng, you're really something!

You're not an ordinary person; you're from 60 years in the future. You have technical skills, and your superiors treat you with great respect. But... you can't do this!

At this moment, the color in Bai Ling's face had gradually faded, first turning white, then bluish, and finally tinged with an unnatural red.

"Comrade Bai Ling, leave this matter to me..."

Sun Yue sighed. He, a dignified director of the Special Operations Division, was now doing the work of a neighborhood committee auntie under the tutelage of these two young men.

But he wasn't comfortable letting Bai Ling handle this herself!

"He... Zhou Feng... he went too far!"

Bai Ling's lips trembled slightly, and tears finally fell, one by one, onto the paper she was holding, spreading the ink.

"Bai Ling, don't worry, I'll definitely have Zhou Feng explain this to you."

"What's there to explain?" Bai Ling's voice was trembling with tears, but her tone was full of stubbornness: "Another woman went into his room and didn't come out all night. Does that need explaining?"

Sun Yue took a deep breath: "Comrade Bai Ling, your emotions are very unstable right now. I won't discuss this with you. You should go back and rest."

"I'm not going back!" Bai Ling's voice suddenly rose. "Why should I go back? I'm going to find him! I want to ask him face to face!"

After she finished speaking, she turned around and walked out quickly and hurriedly.

"stop!"

Sun Yue's voice wasn't loud, and Bai Ling paused for a moment, but didn't stop.

"I told you to stop right there!" Sun Yue raised his voice this time, slamming his hand on the table. "Comrade Bai Ling, this is an order!"

Bai Ling finally stopped.

She stood at the doorway, her back to Sun Yue, her shoulders heaving violently.

Sun Yue walked out from behind his desk, circled around to her side, and looked at her face.

Bai Ling bit her lip, tears still flowing, but the stubbornness in her eyes hadn't diminished at all.

"You want to go see him? What are you going to say? Ask him if he slept with another woman? And then what? What if he admits it? Are you going to make a scene? If you make a big scene, who benefits?"

Sun Yue lowered his voice and stared straight at Bai Ling, who opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.

"You are a cadre in the organization, and he is a key person under state protection. Although the matter between the two of you is a private matter, it also involves public affairs, so it cannot be resolved using private methods."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ling swayed, leaned against the door frame, and cried even harder.

She knew, of course, that Sun Yue was right, and she understood that there was nothing she could do right now.

But even though I understand, the grievances, anger, and sadness in my heart are simply impossible to suppress.

She had already been intimate with Zhou Feng so much that she even thought their relationship was already set.

Although they haven't formally proposed or registered their marriage, she feels that it's only a matter of time.

Otherwise, given her usual personality, how could she possibly act so childishly with Zhou Feng?

It's only because she treats Zhou Feng as her man that she can be so casual.

Unexpectedly, while she was wholeheartedly believing that the two of them would be together in the future, he was sleeping in the same bed with another woman.

Bai Ling felt increasingly aggrieved as she thought about it, and finally couldn't help but cover her face and burst into tears.

Sun Yue sighed, took a handkerchief out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

"Wipe it off. Don't cry."

Bai Ling took the handkerchief, wiped her face haphazardly, her eyes swollen from crying like peaches.

"Go back first and think it over carefully." Sun Yue's voice softened a bit. "I'll talk to Zhou Feng about this. If you trust me, let me handle it. Don't rush in yourself, or things will get out of hand and you won't be able to clean up the mess."

Bai Ling remained silent for a long time before finally nodding, turning and walking out.

Sun Yue stood at the door, watching her slowly move, her hunched back disappearing at the end of the corridor, and sighed again.

When I got back to the office, I picked up my teacup and took a sip of water. The water was cold and tasted bitter.

"Zhou Feng, you son of a bitch, look what you've done to one of my best female comrades!"

Although he cursed and swore in the office, he really wouldn't dare to say such harsh words if he were really face to face with Zhou Feng.

After all, given the importance of the other party, this kind of thing is actually not a big deal. The only tricky thing is that it involves Bai Ling, who is in the system.

Now that things have come to this, he needs to figure out how to handle the situation.

After thinking for a long time, Sun Yue still sent someone to the Third Steel Rolling Mill to invite Li Huaide over.

Let professionals do what they're good at.

He remembered that there seemed to be a few female comrades around Li Huaide, who should be very experienced in this area.

While Sun Yue was still scratching his head in his office, it was just dawn in the courtyard.

The light from outside shone through the window paper, casting a hazy glow inside.

Qin Jingru had already woken up.

She lay on her side on the kang (a heated brick bed), propping her head up with one hand, her eyes fixed on Zhou Feng beside her.

In his eyes, there was joy, shyness, and a hint of smugness that was hard to define.

Zhou Feng was fast asleep, breathing evenly, and his face looked exceptionally young in the morning light.

His usual energy was completely gone; his brows were relaxed, and his lips were slightly pursed, like a big child.

As Qin Jingru watched, the corners of her mouth curled up.

She reached out her finger, wanting to touch Zhou Feng's nose, but pulled it back halfway, afraid of waking him.

But after pulling back for a short while, she couldn't help but reach out again, this time gently touching his eyebrows.

Zhou Feng did not wake up.

Qin Jingru grew bolder, tracing her finger down his eyebrows, across his nose, and stopping at his lips.

The man's lips were neither thick nor thin, and they looked quite soft when he was asleep.

Suddenly, some images from last night flashed through her mind, and her face flushed red instantly, as red as a boiled shrimp, even the roots of her ears felt burning.

Despite her flushed face, she couldn't suppress her smile.

Thinking about what I did last night.

In the middle of the night, someone came into someone's house and even took off their clothes...

In the past, she would never have dared to imagine such a thing.

But last night, I don't know where I got the courage from, I just did it.

Looking back now, she may still feel scared, but she doesn't regret it.

I don't regret it at all.

Qin Jingru stared at Zhou Feng for a while, and finally couldn't resist, so she leaned over and gave him a light peck on the cheek.

The moment their lips touched, Zhou Feng's eyelids twitched.

She was startled and quickly shrank back, pretending nothing had happened, and closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep.

But her heart was pounding so hard, like a drum, that she couldn't fake it.

Zhou Feng groggily opened his eyes and saw a rosy face next to him, eyes tightly closed, but eyelashes trembling incessantly.

"What are you pretending for?" Zhou Feng's voice was hoarse from just waking up, and he said with a laugh, "I felt that kiss you gave me just now."

Qin Jingru couldn't keep up the act any longer. She opened her eyes, her pupils darting around, and stubbornly said, "Who...who kissed you? You're dreaming!"

"Dreaming?" Zhou Feng rolled over to face her. "Then why are you blushing?"

"I...I'm hot!" Qin Jingru pulled the blanket up higher, covering half of her face, leaving only her eyes showing.

Zhou Feng couldn't help but laugh when he saw her like this.

This girl was incredibly bold last night, but she's become shy this morning.

He reached out and pulled the blanket down a bit, revealing her face: "It's hot, why are you covered up so tightly? Aren't you afraid of getting heat rash?"

Qin Jingru blushed even more at his words, turned her head away from him, and muttered, "You're so annoying..."

Zhou Feng burst out laughing.

He propped himself up on one side and looked at the girl beside him.

Her two braids came undone while she slept last night, and her jet-black hair spread out on the pillow, looking quite pretty against her rosy little face.

"Jingru," he called out.

"Hmm?" Qin Jingru turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with a mix of timidity and anticipation.

Do you regret it?

Qin Jingru was stunned for a moment, then shook her head vigorously, so much so that her braids swung around: "No regrets! I said I'm going to follow you, I'm committed."

After saying this, her eyes reddened again, but this time it wasn't out of grievance, but out of excitement: "Brother Zhou Feng, I know I'm not good enough for you, and I don't want anything from you. I just... I just want to be good to you. Just let me stay by your side, I'll do anything for you."

Zhou Feng reached out and pinched her cheek: "Alright, stop talking. Why are you crying so early in the morning?"

Qin Jingru sniffed, held back her tears, and smiled at him.

That smile made Zhou Feng unable to resist pulling her into his arms again.

Let's worry about the future later; enjoying the present is the most important thing.

The two cuddled on the kang (heated brick bed) for a while longer before Qin Jingru remembered she needed to get up and tidy up.

The clothes she took off last night were scattered all over the floor—cotton-padded jacket, undershirt, and trousers—everywhere was strewn about.

She quickly crawled out of bed, barefoot on the ground, and picked up the items one by one.

When she found the floral print blouse, her face flushed again, and she quickly curled it into a ball and hugged it to her chest.

Zhou Feng leaned against the headboard, watching her busy herself without saying a word, a slight smile on his lips.

After Qin Jingru finished dressing, she started folding the quilt.

I was halfway through folding when I suddenly froze.

She stared at the bed sheet on the kang (a heated brick bed), and a blush spread from her face to the base of her neck.

There was a small, dark red stain in the middle of the bed sheet. It wasn't big, but it was clearly visible.

Qin Jingru stood there, staring at that small mark for several seconds, then quickly glanced at Zhou Feng.

Zhou Feng saw it too, but didn't say anything; his gaze just softened a little.

She bit her lip, bent down and pulled the sheet off the kang (a heated brick bed), folded it twice to make it neat, then hugged it to her chest, looked up at Zhou Feng, and whispered, "This... I'll put it away."

Zhou Feng nodded: "Keep it."

Qin Jingru was overjoyed, carefully folded the bed sheet, and stuffed it into a cloth bag she always carried with her.

That cloth bag was originally used to hold handkerchiefs last night, and it just comes in handy now.

After putting away the sheets, she looked at the bare bed and was at a loss again.

Zhou Feng pulled a clean sheet from the bedside table and handed it to her: "Put this on."

Qin Jingru took it and laid it out neatly, tucking all four corners in tightly.

She wasn't afraid of chores; for a girl from the countryside, making beds and folding blankets was a basic skill.

After tidying up, Zhou Feng got out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and went to the outer room to prepare breakfast for Qin Jingru.

Qin Jingru followed behind, wanting to help: "Let me do it, you rest."

"You can just sit down," Zhou Feng waved his hand. "You were tired last night too."

Hearing this, Qin Jingru's ears turned red again. She obediently sat to the side, resting her chin on her hand, and watched him cook.

Zhou Feng was very efficient. He added some water to the leftover half bowl of rice, threw it into the rice cooker, pressed the quick cook button, and porridge came out.

Salted duck eggs and eight-treasure vegetables were readily available, and I also fried two eggs and a few slices of bacon.

Before long, a delicious aroma began to fill the room.

The two sat down at the table and ate breakfast.

Qin Jingru didn't eat much, but she kept glancing at Zhou Feng as she ate, feeling secretly pleased with herself.

After finishing their meal, Qin Jingru rushed to clear the table, wiping it until it shone, washing the dishes and chopsticks clean, and stacking them in the cupboard.

Zhou Feng leaned against the door frame, watching her busy herself, while he was also thinking about something.