Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

In the stillness of the night, everyone in the courtyard was fast asleep.

Qin Huairu changed into a fitted floral shirt and combed her hair again.

She gritted her teeth, pushed open the door, and tiptoed to Sha Zhu's door.

—Knock knock knock—

"Silly Zhu—are you home?"

The knocking was soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

She was determined to win over Sha Zhu completely tonight and keep this meal ticket firmly in her grasp.

Sha Zhu was lying in bed sulking when he heard a knock on the door, so he sat up.

Upon opening the door, Qin Huairu's pitiful face appeared before me, illuminated by the moonlight.

The floral shirt clung tightly to her body, outlining her breathtaking curves.

Sha Zhu's breathing instantly became heavy, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Sister Qin... Sister Qin, what brings you here in the middle of the night?"

Qin Huairu's eyes reddened, and tears fell like beads from a broken string.

"Zhu Zi, I know you've been wronged today."

"I was feeling down, so I wanted to come and see you."

As she spoke, her body went limp, and half of her body leaned against Sha Zhu's door frame, trying to squeeze into the house.

Just then, the door to Yi Zhonghai's room across the hall opened a crack.

Yi Zhonghai, wearing a coat, hid behind the crack in the door and saw the whole scene clearly.

Instead of speaking up to stop him, he revealed a barely perceptible smile.

He couldn't wait for Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu to get to the point where it was a done deal.

As long as these two are tied together, his retirement will be completely secured.

Yi Zhonghai quietly closed the door tightly, and even pricked up his ears to listen for any sounds outside, acting as a lookout.

And in the east wing of the Intermediate People's Court.

Zhang Dabiao was sitting under the grape trellis, petting his little wolfhound "Erhei" at his feet while eating a piece of golden-brown toasted bread.

His senses were sharp, and the slightest commotion in the courtyard did not escape his ears.

He sneered and tossed a slice of steamed bun to Erhei.

Then he said with certainty, "Erhei,"

"I bet idiot Zhu won't get to eat meat!"

Erhei was completely bewildered—[Which dog is Shazhu?]

I don't care whether it gets to eat meat or not, I want to eat meat!

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Jia Zhangshi sneaked into the middle courtyard to find Qin Huairu again, ruining Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu's good time once more.

As for how she happened to have something to do and came to see Qin Huairu, who knows?

"Qin Huairu!"

"Where have you been all night?!"

"Didn't you hear that your house was burgled?"

Jia Zhangshi's raspy voice suddenly rang out in the quiet courtyard.

Qin Huairu had just squeezed half her body into Sha Zhu's arms, and Sha Zhu had just hugged Qin Huairu's waist, almost getting a bite of steamed bun, but was frozen in place by that loud howl.

She gritted her teeth and cursed her mother-in-law inwardly, thinking, "Why did she have to wake up now of all times?"

She turned to look at Sha Zhu, forcing a look of grievance and helplessness onto her face.

"Zhu Zi, my mother-in-law is calling me."

"I'm going back now, you should get some rest."

Qin Huairu turned and left, her steps hurried and hurried.

Sha Zhu stood inside the door, watching Qin Huairu's figure disappear into the darkness, a surge of anger rising to his head.

He kicked the door frame hard.

Yi Zhonghai, sitting across the door, shook his head behind the crack in the door, secretly sighing that Jia Zhangshi, that old hag, was more trouble than she was worth.

and……

Such a coincidence is hard to say—perhaps it was planned by the two widows. Yi Zhonghai thought about it briefly, then decided to ignore it.

------------

The next evening, in the east courtyard.

Zhang Dabiao was taking a shower by the well, shirtless.

The well water poured over me dispelled the lingering summer heat of early September.

Mu Wanqing pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in, carrying a cloth bag in her hand, her head down, looking sullen.

Zhang Dabiao wiped his face with a towel and walked over in his cloth shoes.

"What's wrong?"

"Who made our great singer angry?"

Mu Wanqing placed the cloth bag on the stone table and sighed.

"Big Brother Biao, the winds have shifted at school."

"Today, the department head held a large meeting and said that future rehearsals and creations must follow the principles of being mandated by the Party, nationalized, and popularized."

"The teacher said that the songs you wrote for me before, 'Do You Know, Do You Know,' and 'The Song of Changle,' can no longer be sung in formal occasions."

"They said the mood wasn't right, it wasn't uplifting enough, and it wasn't inspiring enough."

"Right now, the entire department is rehearsing pieces like 'Towards the Distance'."

"Several classmates were talking about me behind my back today, saying that the songs I sang before were decadent."

Mu Wanqing became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, and her eyes even reddened.

She had finally managed to establish herself at school with those two songs, but now everything had been negated, leaving her feeling empty.

After listening, Zhang Dabiao draped a towel over his shoulder and pulled Mu Wanqing to sit down under the grape trellis.

He had anticipated this.

The overall environment is tightening, and the cultural and artistic fields are bearing the brunt.

"Wanqing, listen to me."

"Your ability to get into this university is a blessing from your ancestors, and the slight flaw in your academic background can be overlooked."

"Sing whatever the school tells you to sing."

"In recent years, following the mainstream has always been the right thing to do."

"If others sing songs that are glorious and righteous, you just need to sing them even more gloriously and righteously than they do."

"Strengthen your foundation in your major courses and master the basics of vocalization and breathing; that's what truly makes you capable."

Mu Wanqing nodded.

"Brother Da Biao, I understand what you mean."

"But I'm worried that if there are any school performances or competitions in the future, I won't be able to come up with a suitable piece of music."

"Everyone sings the same songs, and since my family background is bad, I definitely won't get a chance to go on stage."

Zhang Dabiao grinned.

He reached out and pinched Mu Wanqing's cheek.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

"It's just the mainstream ideology, isn't it?"

"Your man may not have much else, but he's got this kind of mentality all over his head."

Zhang Dabiao turned and went into the house, took out paper and pen, and spread them on the stone table.

He thought about it for a moment.

The comic book version of "Heroes and Daughters" will be published soon.

Since the painting is already done, why not just create the theme song that complements the movie as well?

What's that saying—"Since you're already here, right?"

Zhang Dabiao bit the pen handle and drew musical notation on the paper from memory.

His music theory knowledge was so-so, but he was so familiar with that song that the melody was already etched in his mind.

He hummed as he wrote lyrics on a piece of paper.

"The smoke and dust rise as heroes are sung."

"Listen attentively to the green mountains on all sides."

"Thunder roars on a clear day, like a golden drum; the waves of the sea rise in harmony."

"People's soldiers drive away tigers and leopards, risking their lives to safeguard peace."

Mu Wanqing had been watching quietly, but after Zhang Dabiao wrote out the first few lines of the poem, she couldn't help but move closer.

This is such a grand and majestic piece of writing.

Zhang Dabiao then continued writing the chorus.

"Why is the battle flag so beautiful? It is because it is stained with the blood of heroes."

"Why does spring always reign on earth, and why do the lives of heroes bloom like flowers?"

After finishing the song, Zhang Dabiao pushed the paper in front of Mu Wanqing.

"What do you think of this one?"

Mu Wanqing took the sheet music and began to hum along softly to the melody.

She stopped after singing just two lines.

This song has a very wide range and is extremely emotionally rich; it is definitely not something that a soft, weak voice can handle.

Mu Wanqing stood up, cleared her throat, and tried to sing the chorus using a combination of bel canto and folk singing techniques.

The loud, clear voice echoed in the east courtyard.

Erhei listened intently from the side.

Zhang Dabiao clapped his hands.

"Absolutely amazing!"

"The name of this song is—'Ode to Heroes'!"

"My comic book series 'Heroes and Heroines'—"

Theme song!