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

"Big Flower! I'm back!"

The moment these words came from the front yard, they exploded like a scorching thunderclap in the already unsettled crowd.

The courtyard instantly descended into chaos, filled with chatter, exclamations, and gasps of surprise. The neighbors who had been gathered around turned to look in the direction of the noise, their faces a mixture of astonishment and curiosity.

Even Yan Fugui, who was excitedly turning to run home to get pens, ink, and paper, abruptly stopped in his tracks, frozen in place. Before the smile on his face could fade, his eyes were filled with bewilderment, clearly stunned by the sudden commotion.

Meanwhile, Song Dahua and Xu Damao, who had been watching with detached interest, arms crossed and tiptoeing, seemed completely unconcerned. But when the name "Dahua" accompanied by that familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached their ears, they felt as if they had been struck by lightning. They shuddered violently, their faces turning deathly pale.

They exchanged a panicked glance, both seeing extreme fear and helplessness in each other's eyes. Forgetting all pretense of decorum, they lowered their heads and desperately squeezed through the crowded throng toward the backyard.

Xu Damao was running too fast and accidentally bumped into someone next to him with his elbow. He didn't even bother to apologize and just kept pushing forward, his steps hurried as if he were dodging some kind of flood or ferocious beast.

Song Dahua bit her lip tightly, her expression still full of shock, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into immediately.

As the two fled in a disheveled state, the crowd showed disdain on their faces, and many people even mocked them directly, their voices neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone around to hear clearly.

"Oh, so you know to run away now? Weren't you all so enthusiastic when you were watching the show? You were all craning your necks like quails, now you're dumbfounded, aren't you?" An older woman curled her lip, her tone full of disdain, and spat lightly on the ground.

"That can't be right, can it? I remember Liu Haizhong was sentenced to a year in prison before, how long has it been since he came back? The timing doesn't make sense! Why were the Jia family and Liu Haizhong released on the same day?" Someone asked with a puzzled look, expressing the question on everyone's mind.

"Yeah, that's so weird! Do you think Old Liu would faint from anger if he knew about his wife Song Dahua's dirty deeds?" Another neighbor, who loved watching the drama unfold, covered his mouth and chuckled, his tone full of schadenfreude.

"Tsk tsk tsk, speaking of which, Old Liu is really pitiful. He went to jail, came back and his family was gone! His wife remarried, and to a twenty-year-old young man. Anyone would be devastated by that!" Someone shook his head and sighed, but there was little sympathy in his tone, more of amusement at the spectacle.

Yan Fugui finally snapped out of his shock. He and Liu Haizhong had been friends for many years. Although he disliked Liu Haizhong's tendency to put on airs and the two had had their share of conflicts, he felt a little sorry to see his old friend being surrounded by so many people pointing and laughing at him before he even showed up.

He turned to look at his wife and waved to her.

Seeing this, the three older women quickly pushed aside the people around them and hurried over, asking in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Yan Fugui leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.

Upon hearing this, the three women instantly understood Yan Fugui's meaning and hurriedly turned and left the courtyard.

Not long after the three women stepped out of the courtyard, a figure emerged from behind the moon gate.

When everyone looked up, it was indeed Liu Haizhong. However, compared to his previous chubby appearance, Liu Haizhong had lost a lot of weight. His once round, fat belly had completely disappeared, his cheeks were sunken, and he looked much more haggard.

But he had barely stepped into the courtyard, before he could even see the chaotic scene inside or look for Song Dahua, when Yang Ruihua suddenly rushed up and blocked his way.

Without saying a word, Yang Ruihua grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the yard.

"Hey hey hey! Yang Ruihua, what are you doing? What are you doing?"

Liu Haizhong was pulled so hard he almost fell to the ground. He quickly struggled to his feet, his face full of displeasure and confusion. "Don't you know men and women shouldn't touch each other? What kind of behavior is this, pulling and tugging at each other in public! Old Yan, you better control your wife! Is this appropriate?!"

Yang Ruihua's face flushed crimson at Liu Haizhong's words, even her ears burning. She knew Liu Haizhong had misunderstood, but remembering her husband's instructions, she disregarded her embarrassment and hurriedly explained, "Old Liu, don't misunderstand! Come with me, I have something important to tell you. If you go in now, you'll definitely be in big trouble! You won't even have time to regret it then!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong felt relieved. He thought Yang Ruihua was worried that he would be pointed at and gossiped about in the prison after his release, so she stopped him to avoid embarrassing him.

He was about to say he didn't care about the gossip when he caught sight of Zhou Weiguo standing at the entrance of the east courtyard out of the corner of his eye. His eyes lit up, and Liu Haizhong straightened up abruptly, deliberately putting on a stern and serious expression. He spoke in an official tone, "Um, Comrade Yang Ruihua, please let go. I understand you're doing this for my own good, worried that I'll lose face since I just got out, right?"

Before Yang Ruihua could respond, he continued, his voice rising several decibels: "But don't worry, since I, Liu Haizhong, underwent ideological reform through the organization, I have deeply realized my past mistakes! I have turned over a new leaf and started anew! Now that the organization has released me, it means they have forgiven me, and perhaps... perhaps they are even preparing to reinstate me! At this time, how can I hide from everyone? I need to meet with my neighbors in the compound and let them see my new face after my reform!"

The moment those words were spoken, the courtyard fell silent for a few seconds.

Immediately afterwards, everyone looked at Liu Haizhong with strange expressions, some trying to suppress their laughter, others with disdain.

Liu Haizhong, however, was completely oblivious to the strange behavior of the crowd. He straightened his back even more and a smug look appeared on his face.

Just as he was about to give a few more "reflections on reform" to further demonstrate his "enlightenment," his peripheral vision finally caught sight of Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi in the center of the courtyard.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he pointed at Jia Zhangshi with an incredulous expression, instinctively exclaiming, "Holy crap! You're Jia Xiaohua's daughter?!"