Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

Time flew by, and it was already the next morning. The sky was just beginning to lighten when Liu Yuheng woke up.

He sat up, his bare feet touching the cold cement floor, and walked to the window, pulling back the curtains. It was a bright, sunny day; the sky was a clear, deep blue, without a single cloud.

Liu Yuheng stood by the window for a few seconds, then turned and went to the bathroom to wash up. He shaved in front of the mirror, carefully combed his hair, changed out of the shirt he had taken off last night into a clean one, and put on a dark gray casual jacket. He looked at himself in the mirror twice, making sure he looked neat and tidy, before bending down to pick up the things he had prepared the night before and leaving.

He had already thought of the gift yesterday: two bottles of Moutai, two boxes of fine Longjing tea, and a bag of fresh fruit.

Liu Yuheng placed the gift on the passenger seat and started the car.

The car drove through several streets and turned into the quiet alley where Yao's family lived.

Liu Yuheng slowed down the car and was about to pull over when he noticed that the gate to the Yao family's courtyard was opening from the inside. Yao's parents came out pushing two bicycles, with Yao Qingwan following behind, carrying a cloth bag in her hand. She was probably going to work.

Liu Yuheng parked the car, opened the door, and got out.

"Uncle, Aunt, Qingwan."

Hearing the voice, Yao's father looked up and saw Liu Yuheng. He was taken aback at first, then laughed, "Yuheng? When did you get back? Didn't you go to the Northeast?"

Liu Yuheng walked over with a smile and casually picked up the gifts from the passenger seat: "I just arrived in Beijing yesterday afternoon, reported to the Central Military Commission last night, went home for a while, and came here early this morning."

Yao's mother also pushed her bicycle out of the yard. When she saw what Liu Yuheng was carrying, she scolded him, "You came all this way, why did you bring anything? We have everything we need at home, keep it for yourself."

Liu Yuheng smiled and said, "It's nothing special, just some tea and wine. Uncle, please have a taste."

Upon hearing this, Yao's father's eyes lit up. His gaze lingered on the two bottles of Moutai for a moment, but he said politely, "Why are you being so polite?"

Yao Qingwan then stepped out from behind her mother and quickly took two steps forward, saying, "You're here!"

Liu Yuheng nodded at her surprised expression.

Mr. Yao had already pushed his bicycle into the alley and turned back to wave to the two of them: "Alright, you two talk. We're going to work now, we won't keep you young people waiting."

Yao's mother had already gotten on her bicycle and turned back to Yao Qingwan, asking, "Qingwan, are you coming back for lunch?"

Yao Qingwan shook her head: "We don't know yet, we'll see when the time comes."

Yao's mother didn't ask any more questions. She got on her bicycle and followed behind Yao's father. The two of them turned out of the alley one after the other.

Liu Yuheng stood at the courtyard gate, watching the two elders' figures disappear at the end of the alley before turning to Yao Qingwan and asking, "Are you going to work today?"

Yao Qingwan nodded: "I need to go first, but I need to ask for leave."

"Then I'll take you there."

Yao Qingwan didn't refuse. She turned around, closed and locked the courtyard gate, and then followed Liu Yuheng to the car. Liu Yuheng opened the passenger door, and Yao Qingwan bent down and got in. He went around to the driver's seat, started the car, and it slowly drove out of the alley.

The carriage was quiet for a few seconds. Yao Qingwan turned her head to look at him and said, "You've been traveling in the Northeast for a few months. You look quite tanned."

"The sun is indeed strong in the Northeast," Liu Yuheng said while turning the steering wheel. "But the weather there is good, unlike the humid south, so the sun keeps people dry."

Yao Qingwan nodded and then asked, "How's work? Are you tired from running around?"

Liu Yuheng thought for a moment: "I'm not too tired, it's just that I've been to a lot of places, and the train rides are getting a bit tiring. But things have gone relatively smoothly; I've investigated what needed to be investigated and looked at what needed to be looked at."

The two chatted casually as the car steadily drove along the morning street.

About twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a gray three-story building. A white sign with black lettering hung at the entrance, which read "Beijing Municipal Women's Federation".

Liu Yuheng turned off the engine, glanced at the building, and then looked at Yao Qingwan: "We're here. Go ask for leave first, I'll wait for you downstairs."

Yao Qingwan got out of the car, glanced back at Liu Yuheng, and said, "Wait for me a moment, it'll be ready soon." Then she turned and walked into the building.

As soon as she stepped through the gate, the older woman on duty in the first-floor office leaned out of the window. Her gaze passed over Yao Qingwan's shoulder and landed on the jeep with the Central Military Commission license plate parked at the entrance. Her expression changed slightly.

She glanced again at Liu Yuheng, who was leaning against the car door smoking, and said in a low voice, "Xiao Yao, who are those people in the car? They don't look like ordinary people."

Yao Qingwan followed her gaze and smiled, "He's my boyfriend, he just got transferred back from the military."

Sister Li gave an "Oh" and drew out the sound meaningfully.

Yao Qingwan didn't say anything more, turned around and went up the stairs to the second floor. The second floor was the office area, and there were already people walking around in the corridor. She pushed open the door to her office, where two female colleagues were already sitting, organizing the documents on their desks. When they saw her, they both looked up.

The female colleague next to her, Zhao Yulan, who had short hair, was her closest friend. She leaned over and asked in a low voice, "I saw you get out of that car from the window just now. That car had a Central Military Commission sign. Who was that person? A relative of yours?"

Yao Qingwan didn't even look up, continuing to rummage through the drawers: "He's not a relative, he's my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend?!" Zhao Yulan's voice rose a half-octave. "The one you mentioned in the military?"

Yao Qingwan nodded, took a piece of paper from the drawer, and prepared to write a leave note.

Another slightly older female colleague, Sister Liu, also chimed in, her face gleaming with gossip: "Qingwan, you've been keeping this a secret for a while! When did you start dating? I've never heard you mention it!"

As Yao Qingwan wrote the leave slip, she said, "We didn't talk for very long; it was someone an older woman introduced us to."

Zhao Yulan pressed further, "What does he do? He doesn't look like an ordinary soldier; that car has a Central Military Commission license plate."

Yao Qingwan picked up the completed leave slip, blew on the ink, and stood up. "He's in the military, but I didn't ask for his specific rank. Alright, I'll go hand in the leave slip to the director first. You guys carry on with your work."

With that, she took the leave slip and left the office. The door to the director's office at the end of the corridor was ajar. She knocked twice, and a voice inside said, "Come in." She pushed the door open, placed the leave slip on the director's desk, and briefly explained the situation.

The director was a middle-aged woman in her forties surnamed Sun. She was amiable and signed the leave slip after glancing at it, saying with a smile, "Go ahead and have a good rest for the day."