Courtyard House: Home Alone

When he arrived at the courtyard house, he saw that the gate was tightly closed. He tapped the brass ring on it, and it made a few soft "thump thump thump" sounds.

After waiting for a while, a rustling sound came from inside the door, and then the door creaked open a crack, revealing half of an old and wary face. It was Grandpa Zhang, who lived in the back house in the front yard.

When Grandpa Zhang saw that it was Lin Yifan, he was taken aback at first. Then the wariness on his face lessened slightly, but he still lowered his voice, looked around nervously, and then pulled Lin Yifan inside, quickly closed the door, and bolted it shut.

"Xiao Fan? Where have you been these past two days? We were so worried about you!"

Grandpa Zhang's voice was hoarse and filled with lingering fear, "Do you know what happened in the city these past two days? There are Japanese soldiers and their collaborators everywhere, searching house to house. They say dozens of Imperial Army soldiers have lost their lives!"

Lin Yifan's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface, pretending to know: "I know, I... I went to the school to see my dad the day before yesterday."

It got too late to come back, so I stayed at my dad's colleague's place. I wanted to come back yesterday, but there was a curfew, so I came back this morning.

"Seeing how strict the city's checks were, I found a place to hide until now before daring to come back." He had already prepared his explanation, using going to find his father as an excuse, which seemed reasonable.

Grandpa Zhang frowned, clearly somewhat disbelieving, but he didn't ask any further questions. He just sighed, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

"Go back inside and stay there. Don't come out. The Japanese are really angry this time. I heard they even killed a high-ranking officer in the headquarters. They're searching the whole city for the killer. The atmosphere in the courtyard is very tense right now."

Lin Yifan nodded, thanked Grandpa Zhang, and walked towards the two main rooms of his house in the backyard.

As he passed by the Intermediate People's Court, he keenly sensed several gazes falling upon him, filled with scrutiny and a hint of barely perceptible schadenfreude.

He glanced up and saw it was Jia Zhangshi from the Central Courtyard and her neighbor, Li Ermazi.

Han Fengzhi (He Daqing's wife), who was picking vegetables at the entrance of the main house of the Central Court, looked up and saw Lin Yifan return. She quickly put down the vegetables in her hand, came to him, and looked him up and down by the hand.

"Aunt He, what are you looking at?" Lin Yifan asked.

"What are you looking at! What are you looking at! How could you, a little kid, run off for two days without a word? Don't you know everyone in the neighborhood was worried about you? Besides, there's chaos outside right now, how could a seven-year-old like you dare to run around outside!"

As Han Fengzhi spoke, her eyes reddened slightly, her tone tinged with reproach, but even more so with genuine concern, "If anything were to happen to you, how would we face your parents? We all live in the same courtyard, after all. You can't do this again!"

Lin Yifan felt a warmth in his heart. In this cold city of Beiping, it was rare to find someone who genuinely cared about him. He could sense the sincerity in Han Fengzhi's words, unlike the other families in the Central Court, who were mostly waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

"I know, Aunt He, I'm sorry to have worried you." Lin Yifan gave a well-behaved smile. "I'm fine, I'll be more careful in the future."

"It's alright, it's alright."

Han Fengzhi patted his hand before letting go, and then instructed, "Go back inside quickly, lock the door, and don't come out for the next couple of days. The Japanese devils and Er Gouzi came to our yard to search yesterday and today, asking all sorts of questions, it was quite frightening!"

Lin Yifan nodded, replied "Okay," and prepared to turn around and walk towards the backyard.

Just then, the door to the west wing next door slammed open, and Jia Zhangshi walked out. She stood with her hands on her hips, her triangular eyes glaring fiercely at Lin Yifan, her gaze as if she wanted to devour him.

"Oh, isn't this the Lin family's last heir? You finally know how to come back? I thought you ran off with those damned rebels!" Jia Zhangshi's sharp and sarcastic voice immediately rang out in the courtyard, deliberately speaking loudly.

"You haven't been home for two days and two nights, who knows what shady business you've been up to! With such a big incident happening in the city, I think you're acting suspiciously!"

Lin Yifan paused, slowly turned around, and looked at Jia Zhangshi with icy eyes. He had long expected this woman to come looking for trouble, but he hadn't expected her to be so impatient.

"Aunt Jia, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want." Lin Yifan's voice was calm and even, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority. "Where I go and what I do is none of your business, is it?"

"How can it be alright?" Madam Jia jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, spitting everywhere.

"This courtyard belongs to everyone! You're just some random kid with no known origin, appearing and disappearing around like a ghost. Who knows if you're the murderer the Locust Army is looking for? I think you're just feeling guilty, that's why you've been hiding for two days and haven't dared to come back!"

As soon as she said this, several households in the front and middle courtyards quietly opened their doors and peeked over. Li Ermazi also poked his head out of his house, watching the spectacle with a smug look on his face.

Hearing the noise, Grandpa Zhang came out of his house, frowned, and said to Jia Zhangshi, "Old woman Jia, say less, Xiao Fan is still a child..."

"Child? Old Zhang, don't be fooled by him!" Jia Zhangshi ignored all advice and became even more enthusiastic.

"These days, you can't judge a book by its cover! Who knows what kind of bad intentions he's harboring! I think we should tie him up and hand him over to the Japanese commander so he can interrogate him properly! Maybe he'll make a great contribution!"

As she spoke, she actually took a step forward, trying to reach out and grab Lin Yifan.

Lin Yifan stepped aside and shouted at the Jia family, "Uncle Jia, can you control your wife? If you can't or don't want to, then don't blame me for being impolite."

As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain of the east wing was lifted, and Jia Gui walked out of the room with wide eyes. Jia Gui had a rather decent appearance and was a little under 1.8 meters tall.

Seeing his wife about to grab Lin Yifan with her claws outstretched, he quickly stepped forward and gave Jia Zhangshi a hard slap on the nose: "What? You think you can cause trouble after I've been in bed for two days? What can a seven-year-old child like Xiao Fan do?"

"Slap!" The crisp sound of a slap echoed in the courtyard. Jia Zhangshi staggered from the blow, covering her face and staring at Jia Gui in disbelief: "Jia Gui! You heartless bastard! You actually hit me for this little bastard?!"

A hint of impatience and disgust flashed across Jia Gui's face. He was already annoyed by the rumors circulating in the city these past two days and his wife's nagging, and now he was even more furious: "So what if I hit you? You stupid woman with long hair and short brains!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? What happened to Xiao Fan? He's just a child, his parents aren't around, he's all alone. We neighbors don't even help him, and you're here spouting nonsense, trying to ruin our whole family?"

He pointed at Jia Zhangshi's nose, his voice trembling with anger: "Do you know what the situation is like outside right now?"

"The Japanese have lost so many men, they're in a frenzy, arresting people everywhere! Are you sending Xiao Fan to the Japanese now because you think our Jia family isn't dying fast enough? Or do you think your man's life is too long?"