Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

Seeing her lower her eyes in hesitation, his voice reappeared, calm yet unyielding:

"I'm on the other end, too far away to reach you, and I can't hurt you in the slightest."

"If you don't sign, I'll find someone else."

"But this time, it might be the closest you've ever come to a turning point in your life."

Qiao Jingjing fell silent.

A year ago, the virus shattered order, and humanity was stripped away bit by bit by hunger and fear.

She, a woman, has managed to survive to this day amidst hordes of zombies and the cutthroat world of the black market, not because of gullibility, but because of her honed and meticulous caution.

But Lin Quan was right—this might really be the turning point in fate!

The zombies were just a symptom; what truly eroded hope were the dwindling supply of canned food, the depleted water purification tablets, and the burnt-out fuel...

In the apocalypse, a single compressed biscuit is enough to turn brothers against each other and draw their guns.

Once the thought was made up, she no longer hesitated, her voice clear and decisive: "I agree to the contract."

Swah——

As soon as the words were spoken, the mirror hummed, and the contract was finalized.

Fine golden lines suddenly appeared on the back of her hand, moving as if alive, and instantly condensed into an ancient bronze mirror mark.

It matched the one on the back of Lin Quan's hand perfectly, without the slightest difference.

The mark was imprinted, and the outline of the world in the mirror flooded into her mind—

It is ten meters square, perfectly square and clear, with only a large dark brown wooden box standing quietly in the center.

The passage between the two realms was thus opened.

At this moment, the time-space mirrors in their hands resembled a pair of transparent video receivers, with clear images and audible sounds.

Lin Quan smiled slightly, his gaze gentle: "Would you like to come over and take a look?"

"it is good."

Upon hearing Lin Quan's invitation, Qiao Jingjing paused for only half a second, her eyes flickered slightly, and then she readily agreed.

Seeing her nod, Lin Quan didn't say anything more. He raised his hand and gestured, and the Time-Space Mirror suddenly rippled with light.

Swah——

A silver arc suddenly rippled across the mirror, and a figure wrapped in a plain white bathrobe stood steadily beside him, the ends of her hair still damp with moisture.

Lin Quan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He quickly composed himself and straightened his expression: "Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Lin Quan."

"Qiao Jingjing".

Before he finished speaking, his gaze had already swept over her face; and she was also looking up at him—around twenty years old, with clear features and a high nose bridge, he was indeed a handsome man.

But his worn-out shirt, his loose trousers, the faint bluish shadows under his eyes, and the thin layer of paleness on his fingertips clearly revealed a sense of emptiness and lack of exercise due to prolonged sitting and insufficient food.

Qiao Jingjing frowned almost imperceptibly between her brows.

The moment her subtle reaction occurred, Lin Quan, as if anticipating it, spoke first: "How about I explain my situation first?"

"Um."

She nodded slightly. Having survived a year in the apocalypse, being alone had become instinctive, and suddenly finding herself in such a peaceful atmosphere made her feel somewhat lost.

Lin Quan didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "I am currently in 1950, when the new China had just gained a foothold..."

"Despite a century of decline, the streets and alleys are filled with a fresh atmosphere, factories are emitting smoke, fields are turning green, and everything is growing vigorously."

"Putting everything else aside, there's plenty of rice, flour, oil, and salt, and you can sleep soundly through the night. Plus, there aren't any of those zombies that pounce on you."

As Qiao Jingjing listened, her eyelashes trembled a few times, and her expression subtly changed.

The two worlds had no intersection, but their historical threads surprisingly overlapped—1950, the year at the foot of Linquan, was the starting point of the same journey on her homeland.

But her world suddenly collapsed in 2030: a zombie plague swept the globe, and within a year, 90% of the population mutated, cities were reduced to ruins, and the remaining 10% of people were scrambling for food, fleeing for their lives, and living in constant fear of death amidst the ruins.

After Lin Quan finished speaking, his gaze gently fell on her face: "That's roughly the situation... How about you? How are you doing now?"

Qiao Jingjing took a deep breath and, without the slightest hesitation, described the apocalyptic scenario in detail—

Supplies are exhausted. Not just scarce, but completely depleted.

It's only been a year since the virus outbreak, but the gold bars piled up in bank vaults have long been thrown into the river as ballast; a compressed biscuit can often save a life.

The most sought-after item is the crystal core that condenses in the zombie's brain—a faint blue glow, about the size of a thumb, that can refresh the mind, enhance physical abilities, and even temporarily suppress signs of infection.

When she spoke of the crystal core, her gaze fell back on Lin Quan: young and handsome, but so thin that his shoulder blades were digging into his shirt; the world before him seemed vibrant and promising, but undercurrents were already surging—spies were lurking in the streets and alleys, secret reports were flying through the shadows, and even his small courtyard where he lived alone might have already been secretly recorded.

She is the master of the Time Mirror and understands better than anyone else that this seemingly ordinary young man is the only way she can secure her livelihood.

As long as Lin Quan lives, that world will always be her foundation, a place where she can retreat or advance as needed.

Therefore, he must not fall.

Seeing Lin Quan staring intently at the zombie crystal core, Qiao Jingjing's fingertips paused slightly, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes. In an instant, it was like a fine crack appearing on the surface of ice, and she quietly loosened her grip.

"Wait a moment, I'm going to get a sample..."

whoosh-

Before she finished speaking, her figure had already transformed into a black shadow, disappearing into the darkness at the end of the corridor in the blink of an eye.

Lin Quan opened his mouth, the sound still stuck in his throat, leaving only a slight tremor in the air. He paused, then a sudden realization dawned on him, as if he had expected this scene.

In a moment, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, forming a very faint and quick arc, like the wind sweeping across a lake, leaving no trace.

He didn't sit idle either. He turned around and stepped into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and began scooping rice, rinsing it, setting up the pot, and lighting the fire. His movements were swift and steady.

While I was busy washing rice, the curtain was lifted and Qiao Jingjing was standing at the door again.

Lin Quan looked up, his breath catching in his throat—the person before him was truly captivating.

In terms of looks and figure alone, she is already a top-tier person, one in a million; coupled with her mixed-race features, high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, cold yet resilient, beautiful but not vulgar.

In that instant, Lin Quan suddenly recalled the image of one of the three beauties of Xinjiang from his past life, whose features were so similar they almost struck his heart.

At this moment, she was dressed in a matte black leather jacket, her long legs tucked into matching leather pants, and knee-high studded combat boots. Every line of her body was taut and flamboyant, perfectly capturing her innate sharpness and flexibility.

"Cough...cough cough!"

A few breaths later, Lin Quan lowered his head and covered his mouth, coughing three times to try and hide his sudden heartbeat.

Qiao Jingjing looked at him quietly. A faint smile appeared on her usually cold and aloof face, as thin as a cicada's wing and gone in an instant.

Even she herself didn't realize that the nerve that had been taut for a whole year had quietly relaxed a little in the warmth of a cough and the aroma of a meal.

"Please sit for a while, and try the dishes I made later."

"This isn't a wasteland overrun by hordes of zombies, and you don't have to live with your fists clenched all the time."

As Lin Quan chopped scallions, he spoke casually in a gentle tone, like the bubbling soup on the stove—warm but not scalding.

He would occasionally glance at her, then look down at the food and casually advise her to relax her shoulders and take a break.