Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

"Yangzi, it seems the blind date failed. The girl left in a huff," Tian Yu said with some regret.

Lin Yang smiled, a smile of great satisfaction.

"Good riddance. I was just worried that my brother would be bewitched by that woman's beauty. Now it seems that although my brother is honest, he has backbone and sharp eyes."

Lin Yang stood up, took Tian Yu's hand, and walked towards Lin Fan.

"Brother, what's wrong? Didn't the girl like our new bicycle?" Lin Yang walked over and teased with a smile.

Lin Fan saw his younger brother, sighed deeply, and shook his head with a wry smile.

"Yangzi, sister-in-law. This girl is really pretty, but she's too ambitious. All she talked to me about was how you and Commander Li could use your connections to get her promoted to lead dancer. I rejected her outright."

Lin Fan looked at Lin Yang and said earnestly, "Yangzi, I'm not capable enough to help you much. But I absolutely cannot bring back a troublemaker who will hold you back!"

Hearing his elder brother's heartfelt words, Lin Yang was deeply moved.

This is the bond between brothers, thicker than blood! Faced with immense temptation, Lin Fan's first thought was still to protect his younger brother.

"Brother, you did the right thing!" Lin Yang patted Lin Fan's shoulder heavily. "Even if we gave her to our Lin family as a maid, I'd still think she was too cunning. We don't want her!"

Tian Yu nodded in agreement, "Brother, it's not your fault. Women who treat marriage as a ladder to climb higher, even if you force them into marriage, will only cause chaos in the household."

"But don't be discouraged, brother."

Tian Yu's eyes darted around, and a mysterious smile appeared on her face.

"Actually, I came here today not only to help you look after that girl from the performing arts troupe, but also with a mission."

"The comrade-in-arms I mentioned to you before, Ding Qiunan. I've already contacted her. She's currently working as a factory doctor at our Hongxing Machinery Repair Factory, not far from the warehouse where you work."

Tian Yu then gave a detailed explanation.

"Qiu Nan is a girl with a somewhat aloof personality. She doesn't talk much, and everyone calls her 'Ice Queen.' But deep down, she's an extremely... extremely kind and pure person. When she was in the field hospital, she stayed up for days and nights to treat the wounded. What she hates most are those who flatter and fawn over the powerful. What she values ​​most is a man's steadfastness, integrity, and sense of responsibility."

Tian Yu looked at Lin Fan and said earnestly, "Big brother, I think you two are a match made in heaven."

Lin Fan was stunned, scratching his head somewhat uncertainly: "The factory doctor? She's an intellectual. Would she even consider a roughneck like me?"

"Why wouldn't you like him?" Lin Yang said domineeringly. "My brother is now a respectable cadre, with excellent character and handsome looks. He's more than a match for a factory doctor!"

"I've already made arrangements," Tian Yu said with a smile. "Tomorrow at lunchtime, brother, ride this new bicycle to the machine repair shop's infirmary to find her. Just say I asked you to deliver something. You two can meet first and get a feel for her."

Lin Fan looked at the brand-new Flying Pigeon bicycle, and then at the encouraging looks in his younger brother's and sister-in-law's eyes.

He took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.

"Okay! I'll do my best this time!"

In the cold wind, Lin Fan pushed his bicycle, his back ramrod straight, taking a firm step towards a new life. And his true destiny was about to blossom quietly in the machine repair shop's infirmary.

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Noon the next day.

Red Star Machinery Repair Shop, Medical Clinic.

Early winter sunlight filtered through the dappled shadows of the trees, casting slanting rays onto the glass windows of the infirmary. A faint scent of Lysol filled the air, cool and quiet.

Lin Fan, dressed in a sharp dark blue serge Zhongshan suit, pushed his brand-new Flying Pigeon bicycle and stopped at the entrance of the infirmary.

His heart was pounding, and his palms were sweaty; he was even more nervous than when he went on a blind date at Beihai Park yesterday. But this time, his nervousness wasn't tinged with inferiority; it was only a mixture of trepidation and anticipation for something wonderful and unknown.

He took a deep breath, parked his bicycle, and stepped into the medical room.

The clinic was small, but spotless. A young female doctor in a white coat sat at a desk by the window.

She was looking down, completely absorbed in a thick Russian medical textbook in her hands. Sunlight outlined the beautiful profile of her face, highlighting her straight nose and long eyelashes. Although she wore no makeup and her hair was simply pulled back, her natural, cool elegance and ethereal beauty made it impossible to look away at first glance.

This is Ding Qiunan, the famous "ice queen" of the machine repair shop.

Hearing footsteps, Ding Qiunan slightly raised her head.

Her eyes were clear as water, yet they carried a sense of aloofness that kept people at a distance. In the machine repair shop, countless young workers would come to the clinic every day under the pretense of having a headache or fever to strike up a conversation. She was already used to it and fed up with their glib and slick faces.

"Where do you feel unwell?" Ding Qiunan closed the book, her tone flat and without any emotion.

Lin Fan paused for a moment, then quickly straightened up and waved his hand somewhat awkwardly: "No, no. I don't see patients. Excuse me, are you Dr. Ding Qiunan?"

Ding Qiunan frowned slightly and looked Lin Fan up and down.

The man before her was dressed in an expensive, high-end Zhongshan suit. Although his face bore the marks of time, his features were regular, his posture upright, and his eyes shone with a rare clarity and honesty. Most importantly, there was no frivolity or greed in his gaze that disgusted her.

"Yes, it is. What can I do for you?" Ding Qiunan's tone softened slightly.

Lin Fan quickly pulled a neatly folded envelope from his inner pocket and handed it over with both hands.

"Dr. Ding, I'm from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. My name is Lin Fan. It was...it was Tian Yu who sent me to find you. This is a letter she asked me to give you, and some special frostbite cream she brought back from the army."

Upon hearing the name "Tian Yu," Ding Qiunan's face, which seemed perpetually covered in frost, instantly blossomed into a genuinely radiant smile.

That smile was like a spring breeze and rain, melting away ice and snow. Lin Fan felt the entire infirmary brighten up, and his heart skipped a beat.

"You were introduced by Sister Tian Yu?" Ding Qiunan stood up, took the envelope, her eyes full of surprise. "How is Sister Tian Yu doing now? We haven't seen each other for so long since we parted ways at the field hospital."

"She's doing well." Lin Fan scratched his head sheepishly and answered truthfully, "She's married to my brother now and they live together. She heard you work at the machine repair shop, so she specifically asked me to bring this frostbite cream over, saying that your hands are prone to frostbite in winter."

Ding Qiunan opened the envelope and quickly read through the contents of the letter.