I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Zhang Cuilan nodded, picked up her child, and tiptoed out the door. But as soon as she entered the yard, she overheard a few words from her neighbors, and her expression instantly changed.

The neighborhood committee staff had already left, leaving only some elderly women and men. Even Old Man Yan and Third Aunt were keeping their heads down, covering their mouths, their shoulders twitching as if they were trying to suppress laughter or were in shock.

The neighbors huddled together in twos and threes in the corner, whispering among themselves, their eyes filled with curiosity and disdain.

When they saw Zhang Cuilan come out, they subconsciously moved to the side, but they didn't stop talking. The whispers still drifted into her ears.

"Did you hear that? The commotion at Qin Huairu's house in the front yard just now was really something..."

Aunt Wang glanced at Qin Huairu's house, her voice barely audible, but her face a mixture of disgust and excitement. "I heard Director Wang even kicked the door down, and she's still locked inside! This single woman causing trouble in broad daylight, she's a disgrace to our neighborhood!"

Grandpa Li, standing nearby, sighed and shook his head: "That's right! I used to think it was tough for her to raise the child alone, and I felt sorry for her. I never imagined she was so immoral!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Uncle Li was nudged in the arm by Aunt Zhao next to him.

Aunt Zhao gestured with her lip to look in the direction of Xu Damao's house, lowering her voice even further: "What's this? Didn't you see Xu Damao's house? The people from the neighborhood committee just went in, and they heard... they heard that Xu Damao is discussing getting married with Second Aunt Song Dahua!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding neighbors gasped in shock.

Aunt Wang's eyes widened, and she almost cried out. She quickly covered her mouth and exclaimed in a low voice, "Xu Damao and Second Aunt? They're from different generations! Besides, Second Aunt's husband, Old Liu, is still inside! This is so indecent!"

Grandpa Li was also shocked, shaking his head repeatedly: "What's going on today? The commotion at the deaf old lady's house in the backyard was also strange, with things being thrown and shouting. It seems like our whole neighborhood is having some kind of mischief today!"

"Who can argue with that!"

Aunt Zhao glanced in Zhang Cuilan's direction, and seeing that she didn't come over, continued, "The strange noises at the deaf old lady's house are probably related to Yi Zhonghai too. Think about it, how could all these things happen so coincidentally? Maybe Old Yi and Xu Damao have done too many bad things and are being plotted against behind their backs! But no matter what, our neighborhood is now completely infamous. From now on, people will talk about us behind our backs whenever we go out!"

Hearing these discussions, Zhang Cuilan felt a tightness in her chest and quickened her pace toward Xu Damao's house, pretending not to hear anything and just wanting to find Director Wang as soon as possible to report back.

But as soon as she reached Xu Damao's door, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Zhou Weiguo and He Yuzhu were standing on either side of the door frame.

Zhou Weiguo stretched out two fingers and gently lifted a corner of the curtain, his eyes filled with a hint of mockery; He Yuzhu, on the other hand, had his mouth pursed and his cheeks puffed out, looking like he was trying hard to suppress a laugh. The two of them were obviously eavesdropping on the sounds inside the house.

Zhang Cuilan subconsciously shrank back, even her breathing became softer. After hesitating for two seconds, she pretended not to see anything, lowered her head, and reached out to lift the curtain, preparing to go in and find Director Wang.

Before her hand could even touch the curtain, Director Wang's impatient reprimand came from inside: "Alright, Song Dahua! From now on, you are Xu Damao's legal wife! I've already had your divorce papers with Liu Haizhong expedited. Here are your divorce certificate and marriage certificate, take them!"

After a pause, Director Wang's tone grew even stern, full of warning: "I'm warning you, behave yourselves from now on! If you dare to do such immoral things in broad daylight again, I'll have you paraded through the streets and let the whole capital know about your shameful deeds!"

Zhang Cuilan gently lifted the curtain, and the scene inside the room instantly came into view: Director Wang stood in the center of the room with a frown, holding a large red paper in his hand, his face so gloomy it could drip water; Xu Damao and Song Dahua stood side by side by the bed, both with their heads down, Song Dahua's shoulders were still trembling slightly, her face full of humiliation and unease; Xu Damao clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, no matter what, at least his life was saved.

"Director Wang," Zhang Cuilan called softly, her voice tinged with a hint of restraint.

Upon hearing the sound, the people inside all turned to look at her. Xu Damao and Song Dahua even had a hint of panic in their eyes, as if they had done something wrong and had been caught red-handed.

When Director Wang saw Zhang Cuilan, his furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and his tone softened: "Oh, it's Cuilan. Is there something you need?"

She knew in her heart that Zhang Cuilan was Yi Zhonghai's wife, and guessed that she had come to talk about Yi Zhonghai. Her face immediately darkened again. The mess in this courtyard today was just one thing after another, and it seemed endless.

Zhang Cuilan, holding the child, took two steps forward, lowered her head, and said softly, "Director Wang, the old lady asked me to invite you. She said she has something important to discuss and would like you to come to her house."

No sooner had he finished speaking than He Yuzhu's barely suppressed sneer came from outside the door, followed by Zhou Weiguo's light cough as a reminder, clearly indicating that the two were still at the door and hadn't left.

Director Wang's face darkened further. She knew without a doubt that the two of them had overheard everything that happened inside. She glared fiercely at Xu Damao and shoved the large red paper in her hand into his: "Here! Keep it safe! I'm going to check the backyard first. If I hear you causing any more trouble, I'll see what I do to you!"

Xu Damao quickly took the large red paper, bowing and scraping as he replied, "Yes! Yes! Don't worry, Director Wang, we'll definitely behave ourselves and won't do anything to upset you!"

Song Dahua nodded hesitantly, her eyes darting away, not daring to look at Director Wang.

Zhou Weiguo and He Yuzhu exchanged a glance at each other at the door before stepping aside. He Yuzhu suppressed a laugh and quickly walked to the side of the strange-looking Third Uncle Yan Fugui.

He patted Yan Fugui on the shoulder, his tone full of mockery and meaning, and said, "Third Uncle, look at him, even Xu Damao managed to 'win over Second Aunt's beauty,' and even that guy is married now. Aren't you going to hurry up and help Jie Cheng? If you keep dragging this on, he might be overtaken by Xu Damao!"

Yan Fugui was speechless, his face turning ashen. He cursed Song Dahua in his heart: "That shameless Song Dahua! Old Liu is still in jail, and she's already in such a hurry to get a marriage certificate with that scoundrel Xu Damao! She's disgracing our family and bringing shame to our compound! If word gets out, I, Yan Fugui, will lose all face too!"

No matter how much they cursed in their hearts, they dared not be too outrageous on the surface. The matter was already settled, and there was no point in taking it too seriously; on the contrary, it would easily offend people.

He suppressed his anger, forced a stiff smile, and said perfunctorily, "Shazhu, what are you saying? How can a marriage be compared to that brat Xu Damao? My family's arranged marriages are carefully selected, how can we be so hasty? Besides, Song Dahua... sigh, every family has its own problems, we outsiders shouldn't gossip."

P.S.: Please urge me to update more and give me good reviews. Thank you!