Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

The ground was paved with blue bricks, and some flowers and plants that she didn't know the names of were planted in the corners (although it was winter, they showed signs of being tended to). The three large tile-roofed houses, facing south, had bright windows and were quite impressive.

Her large eyes, which had been lowered by fear and grievance, involuntarily revealed intense curiosity and amazement. Her small mouth was slightly open. This was completely different from the dilapidated shacks she had imagined living in after being "sold into slavery." The life of city people was indeed unimaginable to her, a girl who had just entered the village for the first time.

Li Bing didn't give her much time to look around. He walked straight to the door of the main house, knocked lightly twice, and a deep voice came from inside saying, "Come in."

Li Bing pushed open the door, stepped aside to let Qin Huairu in, and stood in the doorway, giving a brief report to Liu Jianguo, who was sitting behind his desk inside: "Director, the person has been brought back; it's Qin Huairu."

He then gave Qin Huairu a sharp look, his eyes filled with warning and reminder, meaning "Stay put and don't try anything funny." He then took a step back, gently closing the door behind him, and stood guard outside. Inside, only Qin Huairu and the man to whom she was about to entrust her fate remained.

Sitting behind his large desk, Liu Jianguo watched Li Bing's series of clean and efficient movements, which had a hint of "escort," and then glanced at the girl at the door with her head down and her body trembling slightly. A strange feeling welled up in his heart.

The more I look at this scene, the more it resembles the scene in the old days when a bandit leader "offers" his wife to the bandit king.

He shook his head and chuckled to himself, realizing that he, a revolutionary cadre and combat hero of the new era, had been created into this kind of atmosphere by his subordinates.

Composing himself, Liu Jianguo cleared his throat and broke the suffocating silence with as calm a tone as possible: "Why is this lady keeping her head down? Is there gold on the ground?"

He tried to ease the other person's tension with a slightly joking remark.

Qin Huairu, who was so nervous that she didn't know where to put her hands and feet, was startled when she suddenly heard this voice.

The voice was neither the serious and rigid bureaucrat she had imagined, nor the rough and loud voices of the men in the village. Instead, it was deep and gentle, with a peculiar magnetism that made people feel at ease involuntarily, and even... somewhat pleasant to listen to.

Subconsciously, she slowly raised her head, which had been hanging down.

Under the light, what came into her view was a face that was completely unexpected.

The man sitting there looked very young, probably in his early twenties, wearing a well-fitting light blue cadre uniform, with an upright posture. His face was angular, with a high nose bridge and lips pressed into a resolute line. Most striking were his eyes, bright and deep, like stars in the night, yet carrying a calmness and insight that had been tempered by war.

His eyebrows were thick and black, and his hair was neatly combed. He exuded a spirited and clean-cut air, completely unlike the bloated or menacing figure she had imagined.

Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. She remembered that Li Bing had said on the way that he would take her to meet a "Deputy Director Liu".

Although she didn't know exactly how high a rank a "deputy director" was, she knew it must be a very, very high-ranking leader.

She had originally thought she would be serving an old man or someone with a strange temper, but upon seeing Liu Jianguo's true face, the immense fear and resistance she felt had unknowingly dissipated by more than half, and she even vaguely felt that... this outcome... might not be entirely unacceptable.

The moment Qin Huairu raised her head, Liu Jianguo saw her in full and a look of amazement flashed in his eyes!

The girl in front of me was about seventeen or eighteen years old, in the prime of her youth.

She wore a faded floral cotton-padded jacket, which, though rustic, couldn't hide her slender figure. She had a classic oval face and healthy, milky-white skin; her cheeks were flushed naturally from nervousness and rushing, like those of a ripe peach.

Her eyes were large, with long, thick eyelashes, still glistening with traces of undried tears, making them appear watery and pitiful. Her nose was small and pert, and her lips were full and red, slightly pursed, conveying a girlish shyness and unease. Two long, glossy black braids hung down her chest, adding to her simple and charming beauty.

Liu Jianguo secretly praised:

Indeed, she was exceptionally beautiful, with a lovely face, young and gorgeous! This was Qin Huairu, just arriving in the city, still carrying the innocence and timidity of a country girl, not yet worn down by life in the tenement to develop the shrewdness and pitiful, innocent charm she would later possess. But this raw, vibrant youthful beauty was all the more striking. He now understood why that simple-minded character, Sha Zhu, in the TV series was so easily won over; her natural beauty was simply too good.

Only the two of them remained in the room, and the air seemed to freeze.

Liu Jianguo broke the silence as he looked at the girl in front of him, whose fingers were twisted together nervously yet whose youthful beauty was undeniable.

His voice was calm, devoid of any discernible emotion, as if stating a given fact, or perhaps offering a final chance for choice: "Your family should have explained the situation in Qin Family Village and the conditions under which you came here, right?"

He paused, his gaze fixed on Qin Huairu, his tone carrying an undeniable authority, yet strangely mixed with a trace of final mercy:

"If you regret it now, it's not too late. I can have Li Bing send you back immediately, untouched. The 30 yuan will be considered a token of our factory's sympathy for your family's difficult situation; you don't need to return it. However, you must get back the job offer letter from the steel rolling mill. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu abruptly raised her head, her face drained of color, and she shook her head frantically, her lips trembling, almost crying out, "No... I won't go back! I... I won't go back!"

She knew perfectly well that the woman had already gone to the city and met the "buyer." Although it was nominally a marriage, the news had probably already spread throughout the village. If she were sent back now, not only would her brother lose his job, but her family would also have to make a mess of the 30 yuan they had received for nothing. Her own reputation would be completely ruined, and she would never be able to face anyone in the village again.

Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Having taken this step, there's absolutely no going back.

Seeing Qin Huairu's resolute attitude, Liu Jianguo nodded slightly and no longer mentioned taking her home. He changed the subject, his tone softening, but with a hint of testing: "Can you read? Have you ever been to school?"

Seeing that Liu Jianguo no longer mentioned seeing her off, Qin Huairu felt slightly relieved. Her voice became a little louder, carrying a hint of the timidity of a country girl, but her words were clear:

"I studied... I went to school for a few years. I finished elementary school, and then... I was admitted to the junior high school in town. I studied there for half a semester... but my family... they really couldn't afford to support me anymore, so... I dropped out of school and went home to work."