Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

Yi Zhonghai, Yan Bugui, and Liu Haizhong peered out their windows, trembling with fear.

"What...what is this kid trying to do?" Liu Haizhong's voice trembled, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "He wouldn't really be going to..."

Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen. He gritted his teeth and said, "We can't wait any longer. Gather everyone in the hospital. This matter must be resolved tonight, or who knows what else that idiot Zhu might do!"

Just as the three were about to leave, Jia Dongxu returned from outside.

As soon as he stepped through the Lotus Gate, he saw He Yuzhu sharpening a knife.

Under the moonlight, He Yuzhu looked up and met Jia Dongxu's gaze.

"Oh my god!"

Jia Dongxu was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost fell. Fortunately, he managed to stand up by holding onto the railing.

Just then, Yi Zhonghai and the other two pushed open the door and came out.

Yi Zhonghai shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, come out and speak! We're having a hospital-wide meeting!"

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong also shouted, seemingly to bolster their courage, their voices were exceptionally loud, almost echoing throughout the entire courtyard.

He Yuzhu stopped sharpening the knife, glanced at the three of them, and a half-smile appeared on his lips.

Yan Bugui felt a chill run down his spine from that glance, and he dashed off to the front yard, shouting as he ran, "Meeting! Meeting! Everyone come out now!"

Liu Haizhong swallowed hard and quickly walked towards the backyard: "Old Xu, Old Wang, come out for a meeting!"

Yi Zhonghai shouted twice more, standing at his own door, but his eyes never left He Yuzhu.

Soon, representatives from each household gathered sparsely in the central courtyard.

Under the moonlight, everyone's expressions varied, but their eyes were all focused on the figure still sharpening the knife.

The "whoosh...whoosh..." sound was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Yi Zhonghai steeled himself and walked to the front of the crowd, clearing his throat as he said, "Everyone knows what happened this afternoon. I've looked into it since I got back, and something definitely didn't go right!"

"How can you spread rumors and ruin someone's reputation just because of personal grudges? This kind of behavior seriously damages the unity of our compound!"

At this point, Yi Zhonghai turned to He Yuzhu, trying to sound as sincere as possible: "Zhuzi, how about this? Teacher Yan, Comrade Liu Haizhong, and I will apologize to you on behalf of everyone in the compound."

"We promise this will never happen again!"

He paused, then continued, "And you, don't be angry anymore. As compensation, we'll get everyone in the compound to introduce you to potential partners. How does that sound?"

A murmur arose from the crowd, and several families with daughters of marriageable age showed reluctant expressions.

He Yuzhu finally stopped sharpening the knife, looked up, and said, "Comrade Yi Zhonghai, if apologies were enough, what would we need the police for?"

He stood up, picked up his knife, and walked to the front of the crowd.

Everyone instinctively took a step back, making room for each other.

He Yuzhu stared at Yi Zhonghai and said, word by word, "You had people spread rumors and ruin my reputation. Is this something that can be resolved with just an apology? How about this—"

He suddenly grinned, a smile that looked somewhat eerie in the moonlight: "Tomorrow I'll have people spread the word everywhere that the reason you, Yi Zhonghai, can't have children is because you have a physical defect, but instead you'll say that your wife is a hen that can't lay eggs."

"When you get home from work tonight, I'll apologize, and that'll be the end of it, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai shuddered violently, his face turning deathly pale.

He wasn't sure if He Yuzhu was just saying it casually or if he actually knew something.

"You... what nonsense are you talking about!" Yi Zhonghai's voice trembled slightly, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

Just then, seeing his master being humiliated, Jia Dongxu felt a surge of anger and blurted out, "Shut up, you idiot! I'm the one who had people spread rumors about you, why are you talking about my master!"

The moment the words were spoken, the entire courtyard fell silent.

All eyes were on Jia Dongxu, and even He Yuzhu slowly turned around to look at him.

Under the moonlight, He Yuzhu's eyes were cold.

"What did you just call me?"

Jia Dongxu then realized he had said the wrong thing, his face turned pale, and he stammered, trying to explain, "I...I didn't..."

"call out--"

A flash of cold light streaked through the air...

Everyone felt a blur before their eyes, and before they could react, they heard a muffled thud.

The freshly sharpened kitchen knife grazed Jia Dongxu's cheek and embedded itself deeply in his door frame, the blade sinking a third of the way in, still trembling slightly.

Jia Dongxu felt a heat in his crotch, and a warm current flowed down his thigh.

"Ah—!" Jia Zhangshi screamed.

The crowd standing between Jia Dongxu and He Yuzhu immediately scattered, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

He Yuzhu rushed to Jia Dongxu in a few steps and slapped him hard across the face.

"Snapped!"

Jia Dongxu was slapped so hard he fell to the ground, and half of his face swelled up at a visible speed.

"Damn it, you dare call me 'Silly Zhu'?" He Yuzhu stomped his foot on Jia Dongxu's chest, looking down at him. "I think you just need to be taught a lesson!"

As he spoke, he raised his foot and kicked Jia Dongxu in the mouth.

"Ugh—!"

Jia Dongxu let out a muffled groan, his mouth full of blood, and he rolled on the ground in pain.

Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi pounced on him like a madwoman, yelling, "Silly Zhu, I'll fight you to the death!"

He Yuzhu didn't even look at her, and reached out to pull the kitchen knife embedded in the door frame.

Halfway there, Jia Zhangshi saw the gleaming blade, her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud, too frightened to speak.

He Yuzhu, carrying the knife, walked back to his front door and sat back down on the small stool.

"You guys continue," he said without looking up. "If we can't reach a conclusion today, starting tomorrow, I'll be going to fight you."

"If my reputation is ruined, this compound can forget about having a good reputation."

"If any of you have a wedding or a blind date, I'll go and disrupt it. Let's see who can't take it anymore."

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.

"This won't do!"

My second son is going on a blind date next month!

"My daughter is getting married at the end of the year, what if this gets ruined..."

Everyone looked at each other, and finally their gazes all fell on Yang Ruihua and Jia Dongxu lying on the ground.

"Yang Ruihua, this is all your fault!"

"Jia Dongxu, why did you have to provoke Zhu Zi for no reason?"

"Exactly, you two families brought this on yourselves, why should we be dragged into it?"

"We need to give Zhu Zi an explanation today, or none of us will have a peaceful day!"

Looking at the indignant crowd, Yi Zhonghai knew that this matter had to be resolved today.

He walked up to He Yuzhu and asked, "Yuzhu, how do you plan to resolve this?"