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

The two chatted for a few more minutes, then Bai Ling glanced at the sky outside, stood up, and said, "I'm leaving now. If you need anything, have someone find me at the Special Operations Division. But... I doubt it'll be of much use; I'm practically a nobody now."

"What, they've suspended you?"

Hearing Zhou Feng's words, Bai Ling shook her head with a wry smile: "Although my movements are not restricted, it's actually no different from being suspended from my job. I just sit in the office every day, not allowed to do any work, and just wait to be called in for a talk."

Zhou Feng frowned slightly: "Then be careful. If it really doesn't work out, we'll just quit. I can easily support you, right?"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Bai Ling rolled her eyes at him, stood up from his embrace, walked to the door, and then turned back to look at him seriously: "Remember to be careful in the future."

After saying that, Bai Ling lifted the curtain and went out.

Zhou Feng didn't feel anything special; it was just staying at home, wasn't it?

During the pandemic, as long as you gave him a mobile phone, he could stay home and isolate for two or three months without much of a problem.

Besides, if you get bored, just go back to modern society.

Tao Muyao is still waiting for him over there!

From this perspective, Qin Jingru is still better.

The two girlfriends from two different worlds each have their own things they want to do.

Tao Muyao was preoccupied with her own work and didn't want him to make arrangements for her.

The same goes for Bai Ling!

Both of them are career-oriented, while Qin Jingru is like a little pet, always at your beck and call, and she doesn't have much ambition or a strong, independent woman's mindset.

Whether a woman is inferior to a man or not doesn't matter to Qin Jingru, as long as Zhou Feng treats her well.

However, who exactly is Director Qian of the Revolutionary Committee? He has the power to directly mobilize the Special Operations Division, so he must have considerable influence.

Zhou Feng suddenly clicked his tongue, as if he had thought of something unpleasant.

His identity above must be that of a patriotic overseas Chinese, right?

During this special period, being a patriotic overseas Chinese is not a good thing.

I might really get dragged out and criticized!

Although the leader he had previously contacted said that his identity was a top-secret secret within the organization, and that no one except a limited number of people could find out about it.

But who can say for sure?

What if the Revolutionary Committee really wants to investigate and arrest him?

Forget it, I don't want to.

There's always a way out; if all else fails, just go back to Hyundai and hide there.

Thinking this, Zhou Feng got up, locked the door, went back to bed, turned over, and drifted off to sleep.

For the next three days, he stayed obediently in the courtyard house and didn't go anywhere.

I slept until I naturally woke up, and then played on my phone. I temporarily put everything related to trading on hold.

He also explained the huge changes that had taken place in the Siheyuan world to Zhou Ming and the others.

Faced with this situation, Zhou Ming and his team didn't have any particularly good solutions.

Even if there were suggestions, according to Zhou Feng, his status as a patriotic overseas Chinese made it inappropriate for him to get involved.

However, Qin Jingru, who was still living in the Jia family's house, was overjoyed.

Although Zhou Feng had said he would arrange work for her, he hadn't done so yet, but he had been staying by her side these past few days.

The two of them closed the door and ate, drank, and slept well, shamelessly enjoying themselves.

At first, everything was fine, but as time went on, Qin Jingru realized that something was not quite right.

"Brother Zhou Feng, is something on your mind? You haven't left the house for so many days, and you always seem to be frowning."

Qin Jingru brought in a steaming bowl of noodles and carefully placed it on the table. "Eat your noodles."

"It's nothing." Zhou Feng smiled, took the chopsticks, "I was just thinking about things at the factory."

"Didn't you say there was that comrade surnamed Ma in the factory keeping an eye on things?"

"It's his business to keep an eye on things, but there are some things he can't keep an eye on."

Qin Jingru nodded as if she understood, but didn't ask any more questions.

She's gotten smarter now; she knows there are things Zhou Feng doesn't want to tell her, and asking him is pointless.

On the afternoon of the third day, the sky was overcast.

Zhou Feng was lying down playing on his phone when he heard a voice from outside the door asking, "Is Comrade Zhou Feng home?"

He put down his phone, opened the door, and saw a man in a navy blue coat standing there.

The person who arrived was Sun Yue, whose face was etched with deep fatigue.

"Oh, Director Sun, what brings you to my house?"

Sun Yue forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Let's go inside and talk."

After the two entered the house, Qin Jingru thoughtfully poured two cups of hot water, then quietly slipped out and closed the door behind her.

When Zhou Feng wanted to discuss business, she knew it wasn't appropriate for her to be there.

Sun Yue took off his hat, put it on the table, slumped into a chair, and let out a long sigh.

Zhou Feng immediately noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes, chapped lips, and a scruffy beard, indicating that he hadn't had a proper rest for several days.

"No, Director Sun, you've made quite a mess of things. Have some water first, and we can talk about it slowly."

Zhou Feng pushed the water over, and the latter casually picked up the cup, not caring whether it was hot or not, and gulped down two big mouthfuls before he could recover.

"Comrade Zhou Feng, I have something to tell you, but don't rush me." Sun Yue put down his cup, sat up straight, and looked serious.

"you say."

"Comrade Bai Ling must have already told you about the Special Operations Division being investigated by the Revolutionary Committee, right?"

Zhou Feng nodded: "She said so. She said the entire department was called back for a talk, without exception."

"Yes, that's it."

Sun Yue rubbed his face. "But Bai Ling didn't tell you everything. There are some things she doesn't know, or she knows but doesn't dare to tell you. I came here today to make this clear to you."

Zhou Feng frowned: "What do you mean?"

Sun Yue took a deep breath, organized his thoughts, and then slowly began to speak.

"That means your identity is a top-secret information within our Special Operations Division. Aside from Bai Ling and me, the only other people in Beiping who know about it are our superiors."

Sun Yue was right about this, because the comrades who had previously discovered Zhou Feng's identity, as well as Comrade Hao Pingchuan who knew his identity, had all been sent to the frontier to provide support.

Aren't these the only people in all of Beiping who know this?

"I know that; my previous supervisor told me about it."

Zhou Feng nodded; it was clear that the Siheyuan World valued him highly.

"Yes, but this time when the Revolutionary Committee investigated the Special Operations Division, some people also wanted to take the opportunity to investigate your matter."

Throughout history, it has never been possible for an organization to have only one voice; there will always be different forces or factions, which is unavoidable.

Therefore, when someone knows of Zhou Feng's existence but doesn't understand the details, this situation naturally arises.

These words made Zhou Feng's pupils shrink, but before he could ask a question, Sun Yue waved his hand, signaling him not to rush, and then continued speaking.

"Director Qian of the Revolutionary Committee said very clearly that the Special Operations Division had a special project involving state secrets. He believed that the project was problematic and insisted on investigating it thoroughly. Although we do not know the source of his information, we can be sure that his target is you."

"At first, this guy thought this project was something we were doing behind the scenes, so he immediately demanded to access all the files, including the top-secret ones. I refused on the spot, but he still wanted to send people to forcibly search them, which almost led to a large-scale conflict."

Sun Yue wore a bitter smile, which sent a chill down Zhou Feng's spine.

Those people actually dared to attack the Special Operations Unit just because they were looking for him!

"Director Sun, just tell me the result."

Since Sun Yue has appeared here, it proves that this matter is not so serious that he should have to leave this world.

Sure enough, Sun Yue sighed.

"A leader spoke up about this matter. It was a top-secret file of the Special Operations Division, and no one could touch it without his signature, which is why the matter was suppressed."

"And then?"

"Later..." Sun Yue rubbed his temples, "Although Director Qian couldn't get your file, he wasn't giving up. He changed his approach; instead of checking the file, he started investigating you personally. Everyone in the Special Operations Division, from top to bottom, was interviewed, and all the questions were about you."

"Did someone say so?"

"How could that be? Our comrades in the Special Operations Division have certain guarantees regarding this matter. Let alone just asking questions, even interrogation wouldn't yield any results. If they were to speak on this matter, it would be considered a leak, and everyone knows the consequences of a leak."

Meeting Zhou Feng's somewhat probing gaze, Sun Yue sighed again: "Although this matter is over, the Special Operations Division has not yet returned to normal. Many people are still being interviewed, and nobody knows when things will return to normal."

"Then you..."

"Bai Ling and I were singled out by our superiors because of our direct relationship with you. They said our work is directly under their control, and any investigation requires their approval, so your matter is currently confidential."

"But we all know he can't give up. So right now, the only people in the entire Special Operations Unit who can move freely and carry out missions are Bai Ling and me. We're severely understaffed to protect you."

"You used to have at least two or three undercover agents following you 24/7. But now all of them have been transferred back, not a single one left. I also have to stay in the Special Operations Department office and can't be with you all the time, so..."

"So Bai Ling has to follow me around 24 hours a day?" Zhou Feng asked.

Sun Yue glanced at him, his lips twitching slightly as if he were suppressing a laugh: "Yes. This is the order from above, and it's also the result of my discussion with Bai Ling. Given the current situation, we can only ask you to make do for now."

He himself didn't believe what he said.

Making Bai Ling follow this guy 24 hours a day, ha... isn't that just doing what he wants?

Noticing Sun Yue's expression, Zhou Feng swallowed back the words he was about to say about not feeling wronged.

Good heavens, so all that buildup from Sun Yue's thick eyebrows and big eyes was all for this?

"Comrade Zhou Feng, this is the letter of appointment for Comrade Bai Ling to serve as your full-time bodyguard. This is the basis for your answer if anyone asks."

Sun Yue took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Zhou Feng. Zhou Feng took it and glanced at it.

The note read: "Comrade Bai Ling is hereby appointed as Comrade Zhou Feng's full-time bodyguard, responsible for his personal safety and providing 24-hour uninterrupted protection," and was stamped with the red seal of the Special Operations Department.

"Didn't you two say you were planning to get married? Now is the perfect time. While things aren't peaceful outside, why don't you just get married? Otherwise, it's not proper for Bai Ling to live with you, and people will always gossip."

Sun Yue patted his coat, stood up from the chair, and raised an eyebrow at Zhou Feng, who was immediately taken aback.

"marry?"

"Yeah, didn't you two say you'd get married in a month? Now Bai Ling's with you 24/7, why don't you hurry up and get your marriage certificate? If you two live together, no one can say anything."

"This..." Zhou Feng really didn't expect that even Sun Yue would come up to him and urge him to get married.

"Stop with the 'this and that'," Sun Yue waved his hand. "I've already spoken to Bai Ling; she has no objections. As for you… you won't have any objections, will you?"

"Of course I didn't..."

Zhou Feng abruptly stopped mid-sentence, feeling that he had spoken too hastily, and simply changed his words, saying, "I just feel it's a bit sudden."

"What do you mean 'suddenly'? How long have you two known each other? You've gone through so much trouble, going back and forth like this so many times! Just get this over with already!"

Sun Yue picked up his hat and put it on his head. "Alright, that's all I have to do. I have a ton of stuff waiting for me in the office."

"Why don't you eat before you leave?"

"No, I don't have time." He walked to the door, then turned back and added, "During this time, try not to go out if you can avoid it. If there's anything you need, let Bai Ling handle it. Your safety is the most important thing, understand?"

"I've got it."

He hadn't been gone long when Bai Ling came to knock on the door.

This time, Bai Ling's outfit was different from before. She wore a floral-patterned jacket, just like a typical young woman from the alley.

Zhou Feng looked her up and down, then couldn't help but laugh: "Oh, whose eldest daughter is this?"

Bai Ling rolled her eyes at him, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Stop being so cheeky. Did Sun Yue tell you?"

"I told you." Zhou Feng leaned back in his chair. "Twenty-four-hour close protection, right?"

"Yes." Bai Ling placed a small bundle on the table. "That's why I brought these things."

Zhou Feng glanced at the bundle, which was bulging and looked like a change of clothes.

A thought flashed through his mind, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

Bai Ling knew what he was thinking the moment she saw his expression, and her face flushed red instantly.

"Don't get the wrong idea!" Bai Ling glared at him. "I'm staying here specifically to protect you! We'll each sleep in our own rooms, and no one's allowed to cross the line!"

"I didn't say I was going to cross the line," Zhou Feng said innocently. "I just wanted to ask if you'd eaten yet?"

Bai Ling was so angry that she couldn't speak. She stomped her foot and turned to make the bed.

She knew that Zhou Feng's bedding was comfortable, so she didn't bring her own.

Besides, regarding the relationship between the two, it's just shyness.

Apart from the last layer, she didn't really have much resistance to the others.