Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

The neighbors whispered among themselves, looking with mixed feelings at the distraught Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu, the weeping Jia Zhangshi, and the sorrowful Qin Huairu, before gradually dispersing.

Li Yu was about to return to the house when [Ding! Sensing a strong killing intent from Long Xiaoni, emotional value 999].

Li Yu's hair stood on end instantly, and he immediately opened the door and went inside.

She had clearly turned off the notification sounds; she usually did so at every college-wide meeting. But this time, the notification sound was forcibly activated, so something serious must have happened.

He redeemed a listening device from the system store and installed it on the deaf old woman, then kept listening to what was happening on her end and why she had such a strong murderous intent.

The deaf old woman had just returned home and immediately locked the door. The reason she was in such a hurry was because she had overheard news about Li Yu during the meeting.

She never expected that Li Yu was now a Level 4 engineer and would be in charge of producing a new type of rolling mill, one that was leading the world.

As a White Party agent, she knew all too well how important this technology was. She needed to quickly arrange for the assassins lurking in the capital to take action and kill Li Yu.

The deaf old woman, after locking the door, immediately removed the washbasin stand from the bedside and then pulled open the floorboards.

Then a downward staircase appeared. The deaf old woman, who was no longer lame, quickly went down to the basement. The basement was only a few square meters, with a telegraph machine in the middle and some boxes next to it, the contents of which were unknown.

The deaf old woman turned on the light in the secret room, and her anxious face was covered in sweat. She then quickly turned on the telegraph machine and sent out two telegrams.

One was sent to a small island in the south, and the other was sent to a courtyard house in Beijing.

This courtyard house was no different from any other ordinary tenement. The seemingly chaotic passageways were just wide enough for people to pass through, but no one would have guessed that three White Party agents lived here at the same time.

At this moment, the three spies were looking at the telegram in their hands, which read: Red Star Steel Mill, Li Yu, Kill him immediately. These three hadn't received any missions from the man in the past year.

The deaf old woman's real name was Long Xiaoni, and she was a secret agent codenamed "Crutch" left behind by the White Party in Beijing.

The three people who received the task immediately began to formulate a plan.

Li Yu knew from the beeping telegrams coming through the listening device that the deaf old woman was definitely a spy. He just didn't know which side she belonged to, but no matter which side she was on, he had to find an opportunity to take her down.

Li Yu wished he could arrest her right now, but if he rushed in to take her away, how would he explain it to the police? That would be a huge problem.

Li Yu planned to think of another way later. If all else failed, he would just grab him and stuff him with red bean paste buns. Anyway, there were plenty of ways.

Yi Zhonghai, a member of the Yi family, has been sitting motionless since he returned home. An older woman called him to eat, but he didn't move. The woman sat next to him and kept wiping away tears.

After a while, Yi Zhonghai came to his senses and said fiercely, "From now on, this courtyard is neither mine nor his. It's either him or me." As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the table, making the food on it tremble.

The older woman didn't say anything, she just kept sighing.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi entered the house, she began cursing Li Yu, wishing him a terrible death. Qin Huairu, seeing this, advised, "Let it go, Mother. We can't beat Li Yu."

No sooner had she finished speaking than "a sharp crack" rang out as Qin Huairu received a solid slap from Jia Zhangshi. "You, Qin Huairu, whose side are you on? Tell me! Have you taken a fancy to that Li family boy? You little slut, let me tell you, if you dare do anything to betray my Dongxu, I'll report you to the neighborhood committee for elder abuse!"

Qin Huairu quickly said, "Mom! What are you saying! I'm doing this for our family! Look at these two times, when have we gotten the better deal?" As she spoke, Qin Huairu covered her mouth and started to cry.

When He Yushui returned home from school and entered the courtyard, she heard a group of middle-aged women chatting. Among them, they mentioned her brother, He Yuzhu, and that's how she learned about what happened last night.

She rushed home and, as soon as she opened the door, saw He Yuzhu lying face down on the table, completely drunk, with a few peanuts and an empty wine bottle scattered on the table.

He Yushui was initially worried about whether her brother was injured, but after seeing this scene, she suddenly didn't care anymore.

Li Yu had just finished cooking and put the food on the table when there was a knock on the door. Li Yu got up and opened the door to see He Yushui.

In the original owner's memories, she was not particularly familiar with He Yushui. She only knew that He Yushui was a good student and quite different from her brother, who was a good-for-nothing. She had no interaction or conflict with the original owner.

"Yushui, is something the matter?" Li Yu asked in a calm tone. Although he had a conflict with He Yuzhu, he did not have any ill feelings towards He Yushui.

He Yushui pinched the hem of her clothes and said in a low voice, "Brother Li Yu, I came here to apologize to you on behalf of Brother Wen." Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and looked at the tips of her shoes, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tighter and tighter, as if afraid of being scolded by Li Yu.

Li Yu was somewhat surprised. She thought He Yushui was coming to stand up for her brother, but it turned out she was there to apologize. Although He Yuzhu was a reckless brat, she hadn't expected his sister to be so reasonable.

"What your brother does is between him and me. It has nothing to do with you, and you don't need to apologize." After saying that, Li Yu was about to close the door.

He Yushui became a little anxious when she saw Li Yu about to close the door. She took a small step forward and raised her voice a little, saying, "No, he is my brother. It is only reasonable for me to apologize on his behalf. He can't understand why he was wrong in a short time. I just hope you won't hold a grudge against him in the future."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened and filled with tears, but she held them back.

Just as the atmosphere became a little awkward, "Gurgle, gurgle—" He Yushui's stomach rumbled. He Yushui's face turned bright red all the way to her neck, and she wished she could disappear into the ground.

Li Yu was stunned for a moment, then he understood. He Yushui's brother definitely hadn't prepared dinner when He Yushui came back, since Sha Zhu probably wasn't in the mood to cook either.

Seeing He Yushui's embarrassed state, Li Yu's dislike for He Yushui because of He Yuzhu lessened considerably, because he felt that at least He Yushui was not a bad person.

He looked at He Yushui and said in a gentler tone, "Haven't eaten yet?"

He Yushui lowered her head and said in a barely audible voice, "I just got back from school and haven't had time to do it yet."

Li Yu stepped aside and said, "Come in, I just finished cooking, let's eat together so we don't have to cook again when we get back!"

He Yushui bit her lip, and at the same time, as Li Yu turned to the side, she saw the abundant food on the table. Just as she was about to refuse, her stomach rumbled again.

"Well... alright then," she said softly, then cautiously entered Li Yu's room.

Once inside, He Yushui noticed that the room was many times cleaner and tidier than her brother's. Not only was the floor spotless, but even the desk was perfectly organized. While examining the desk, she was surprised to see a radio; she hadn't expected Li Yu to already have one.

Looking at the steaming food on the table, there were stir-fried potatoes, a plate of scrambled eggs, a bowl of noodle soup, and four steamed buns.

While marveling at the abundance of the meal, He Yushui was also surprised that Li Yu ate so much in one meal, wondering how much money he would have to spend a month to afford it.