Courtyard House: Home Alone

Lin Yifan looked into He Yuzhu's longing eyes, which were like two bright black grapes, shimmering with innocent light in the winter sun.

A thought stirred within him: this child, though young, possessed a stubborn streak.

He crouched down to be at eye level with He Yuzhu, his tone softening slightly: "I can teach you kung fu, but you have to promise me that you won't use it to bully others. You can only use it to improve your health and protect yourself and your family, understand?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu nodded her head vigorously, excitedly grabbing Lin Yifan's arm and repeatedly promising, "I understand! I understand! Brother Yifan, I definitely won't bully anyone! If I learn kung fu, I can protect my mother, protect you, and even drive away those bad Japanese devils!"

As he spoke, he clenched his little fist and waved it forcefully, his face full of determination beyond his years.

Lin Yifan chuckled and playfully pinched his nose. "That's ambitious. But learning kung fu isn't easy. You have to be able to endure hardship and persevere. Are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid!" He Yuzhu shouted, his neck stiff. "I can endure any hardship! I can get up early every day!"

"Okay," Lin Yifan stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Starting tomorrow, every morning at cockcrow, you'll come to the backyard and practice horse stance to solidify your foundation. As for the red chili peppers, come on, I'll take you to the kitchen to look for them."

"Great!" He Yuzhu cheered, grabbed Lin Yifan's hand and ran to the backyard. The snow under their feet crunched under their feet, and their clear laughter echoed in the quiet yard, adding a touch of warmth to the bleak winter day.

Lin Yifan, pulled along by him, quickened his pace. Looking at He Yuzhu's thin yet energetic back, the coldness and heaviness in his heart brought by the killing seemed to be melted a little by the child's innocence and enthusiasm.

Perhaps, protecting these ordinary moments of happiness and allowing children to grow up carefree is the meaning behind his current struggle. He took a deep breath of the crisp, snowy air, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

Just as they entered the backyard, the door to Xu Fugui's house in the west wing opened. Xu Fugui turned back to the house as he walked out and said, "Guixiang! It's almost Chinese New Year these days, and I have to run errands for the boss to deliver gifts. I might be back late most of the time. You and the children should stay at home. Nobody knows what's going on outside right now."

From inside the house came the voice of Xu Fugui's wife, Li Guixiang: "I know, Damao and I will stay at home and not go anywhere. Be careful out there too." As she spoke, she led three-year-old Xu Damao to the door.

Upon seeing Xu Damao, He Yuzhu rushed to his door and said, "Damao, Brother Xiaofan agreed to teach me kung fu. Do you want to come along?"

Xu Damao hid behind Li Guixiang, peeking out half his little head to timidly glance at Lin Yifan before quickly shrinking back. He tightly gripped his mother's clothes and muttered softly, "My...my mother won't let me go out to play with her."

When Li Guixiang saw Lin Yifan, she was taken aback for a moment, then her face showed a mixture of wariness and politeness: "It's Xiaofan! I haven't seen you for a few days. You just got back? With all this chaos, you shouldn't be running around."

As she spoke, she pulled Xu Damao further behind her, clearly still somewhat wary of her neighbor, Lin Yifan.

After all, rumors about Lin Yifan "crippling Jia Dongxu" had already been circulating widely in the hospital.

Lin Yifan nodded to Li Guixiang as a greeting, then looked at Xu Damao and smiled gently: "It's okay, Damao is still young. It's not too late for him to learn when he grows up."

He Yuzhu, however, wouldn't let it go. He ran up to Xu Damao, patted his chest, and said, "Brother Xiaofan isn't a stranger! He's amazing! He can even build a snowman! We're just about to go find Red Pepper to make the snowman's nose, do you want to come?"

Xu Damao's eyes lit up as he looked in the direction of the "snowman" that He Yuzhu had described, then looked at his mother, his face full of longing, but he dared not agree on his own.

Xu Fugui turned around at this moment, saw Lin Yifan, and put on a worldly smile: "Xiao Fan is back? I heard... I heard you had a conflict with Jia the other day?"

"Hey, that kid's been corrupted by Jia Zhangshi, don't take it to heart. It's almost New Year's, harmony brings wealth, right?"

As he spoke, he subtly moved his wife and children aside, seemingly not wanting them to get too close to Lin Yifan.

Lin Yifan smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing: "Uncle Xu is right." He didn't want to get too entangled in these neighborhood matters, so he said to He Yuzhu: "Zhuzi, come on, let's go to the kitchen and find some chili peppers."

"Hey!" He Yuzhu responded, then turned around and made a face at Xu Damao before following Lin Yifan toward the kitchen.

Xu Fugui watched the two figures walk away, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. He whispered to Li Guixiang, "This Lin Yifan looks young, but he's quite wild. You should keep Da Mao away from him and that brat He Yuzhu, lest he go astray."

Li Guixiang nodded repeatedly: "I know, you should go quickly and be careful on the road."

Xu Fugui grunted in acknowledgment, gave his wife and children a few more instructions, then tucked his hands in his pockets, hunched his shoulders, and quickly walked out of the courtyard.

In the kitchen, Lin Yifan quietly took out a red chili pepper from his spatial storage and handed it to He Yuzhu: "Here, I found it."

He Yuzhu took the chili pepper as if it were a treasure, carefully ran to the snowman, tiptoed, and awkwardly stuck the red chili pepper into the snowman's "face".

"Wow! Brother Xiao Fan, look! Doesn't it look even more like him?" He Yuzhu clapped his hands and exclaimed excitedly.

Lin Yifan walked over and took a look. The red chili pepper stood out starkly against the white snow, and with its two black, coal-like eyes, it actually looked rather comical and cute. He nodded with a smile, "It's just like it, so very much like it."

Just then, Han Fengzhi's voice came from He Yuzhu's house: "Zhuzi! Zhuzi! You went out to play in the snow early this morning, aren't you cold? Come back quickly, or your dad will beat you when he sees your clothes are all wet."

Hearing the call, He Yuzhu rushed into the house and shouted, "Mom! Brother Xiaofan is back! I'm playing with Brother Xiaofan!" As soon as he finished speaking, the door of his house creaked open.

Han Fengzhi poked her head out: "Oh! Xiao Fan, did you just get back? Come back inside with Zhu Zi."

"Aunt Han, I just came back from my master's house. It's almost Chinese New Year, isn't it? I wanted to come back and see if my parents sent anyone to look for me." Lin Yifan said to Han Fengzhi with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Han Fengzhi's face showed a hint of pity, and she quickly said, "Come inside and talk, it's freezing outside, don't get cold."

You poor child, you've had a hard life. If your parents had any news, they would have contacted you immediately. Come on, it's warm inside, Auntie has boiled some water for you.

As she spoke, she enthusiastically pulled Lin Yifan's arm and ushered him into the house. He Yuzhu also skipped and hopped behind, glancing back at his "new nose" snowman in his hand.