Courtyard House: The Thief System of All Realms

Chapter 34 Spatial Tempering, Beast Tracking, Free Housing, and Confronting Colleagues

Back inside, he slowly opened his eyes, straightened his clothes, and completely calmed the surge of energy within him. Before he could even sit down and rest, a soft and cautious knock came from outside, accompanied by Qin Huairu's soft, slightly hesitant voice.

"Jingyuan, are you inside?"

Sun Jingyuan got up and walked to the door. He opened the door and Qin Huairu was standing outside. Her eyes were filled with deep grievance, and her fingertips were gently clenching the hem of her clothes. When she saw him open the door, she immediately stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"You've come at the right time. I have something to tell you." Sun Jingyuan turned around with a smile, his tone calm.

Qin Huairu didn't reply. Instead, she walked straight up to him, gently rested her head on his back, and said in a soft voice, with an uncontrollable sense of grievance, "I also happen to have something I want to tell you."

Feeling the warm touch on his back, Sun Jingyuan paused slightly and said gently, "Well, you go first then."

"I...I don't want to live in that room in the rain anymore." Qin Huairu blushed, her voice full of grievance and disgust, and she lowered her voice to a very low level. "Shazhu stares at me every day with a very strange look in his eyes, and...and today he behaved particularly out of line, having some inappropriate thoughts. It really disgusted me."

"Is that so?" Sun Jingyuan immediately frowned, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.

This silly Zhu is indeed hard to change. He's always so unruly and doesn't know his place. No wonder Qin Huairu is so disgusted by him. Anyone would feel annoyed if they encountered such harassment.

Seeing his anger, Qin Huairu's resentment subsided somewhat. She leaned forward and quickly kissed him on the cheek before softly asking, "So, what do you want to tell me?"

Reminded by her words, Sun Jingyuan came to his senses, raised his hand and pointed to the street office filing documents on the table, a smile in his eyes, and slowly said, "Oh, by the way, I went to the street office a few days ago and got the paperwork done for a house for you. It's just outside the moon gate in the courtyard, and it consists of two neat side rooms."

"What?"

Qin Huairu froze on the spot, her eyes wide, completely stunned, her face full of disbelief.

For so many years, she had lived as a dependent in the courtyard house. Since marrying into the Jia family, she had never had a place of her own. She had to be subservient to others and suffer all kinds of torment every day. She never dared to dream that she could own a house of her own in the city. For her, it was an unimaginable luxury.

"No, what's wrong with you?" Sun Jingyuan looked at her, who seemed lost and confused, and waved his hand gently in front of her.

Qin Huairu snapped back to reality, her eyes instantly reddening. Unable to suppress the excitement and gratitude in her heart any longer, she rushed forward and hugged him tightly, her voice choked with sobs: "Jingyuan, thank you..."

Sun Jingyuan gently patted her back, soothing her softly. Once she had calmed down a bit, they went together to the two side rooms. When they reached the door, Sun Jingyuan took out the key and handed it to her. Qin Huairu's fingers trembled slightly as she gripped the key, slowly inserted it into the lock, and gently turned it to open the door.

The rooms were empty, with no extra furniture yet, but they were already spotless and bright, with sunlight streaming in through the windows. Moreover, these two side rooms were in an excellent location, almost completely separated from the central courtyard. Except when passing by the Jia family's house on the way in, they didn't have to interact with anyone else in the courtyard. They could enjoy peace and quiet, completely free from the hustle and bustle and disturbances of the central courtyard.

"Jingyuan, thank you, thank you so much." Qin Huairu looked at the house that belonged to her, her eyes were completely red, her heart was full of peace and joy, and she no longer had to live with others and be at the mercy of others.

"You're welcome." Sun Jingyuan smiled and gently ruffled her hair, his eyes full of tenderness.

Qin Huairu walked around the room, her gaze falling on the right-hand wall. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She quickly went over to examine it closely, then hurried outside and knocked on the wall. Turning to Sun Jingyuan, she blushed and whispered in his ear, "Jingyuan, look at this wall. Isn't it connected to your room?"

Sun Jingyuan stepped forward to examine it for a moment, then raised his hand and knocked on the wall to confirm that the two walls shared a common load-bearing wall. He couldn't help but laugh and joke, "Then if I need to find you in the future, I can just knock on the wall. That would be convenient."

"That's not what I meant." Qin Huairu blushed and shook her head gently, her eyes filled with shyness and expectation. Her voice was even softer. "I meant, could you secretly find a reliable person to make a hidden door in this wall? That way, it would be convenient for us to come and go, and the people in the courtyard wouldn't notice..."

Upon hearing this, Sun Jingyuan was instantly taken aback. Looking at Qin Huairu, who was blushing with shyness, he hadn't expected her to come up with such an idea. He was stunned for a few seconds before he came to his senses and immediately nodded in agreement: "This is easy to handle. I'll find Lei Aniu to handle it. I guarantee it will be done discreetly and securely."

After finalizing the matter, the two returned to the house to discuss the details. Before they knew it, it was afternoon. Lei Aniu, following his earlier instructions, led the construction team and timber to the courtyard.

It was the weekend, and many idle people in the courtyard gathered around to watch the workers move materials and start construction, planning to install a door partition at the moon gate. Before the neighbors who were watching the excitement could say anything, Yi Zhonghai jumped out from the crowd with a stern face.

"Don't install it! This door absolutely cannot be installed!" Yi Zhonghai said sternly, his face stern, as if he were handling matters impartially.

Sun Jingyuan walked forward slowly, looked at him calmly, and asked indifferently, "Why?"

"Every household in our courtyard gets along well, and we never lock our gates. Are you trying to completely isolate yourself from everyone in the courtyard and become special by installing a gate here?" Yi Zhonghai said righteously, and even turned to look at the onlookers, trying to win them over to his side.

Several onlookers, seeing this, instinctively joined in, and some even clapped sparsely.

Faced with Yi Zhonghai's questioning, Sun Jingyuan remained unmoved. He took out a cigarette case, handed one to Yan Bugui who was watching the commotion, lit one for himself, slowly exhaled a smoke ring, looked at Yi Zhonghai, and said in a calm but firm tone, uttering only one word: "Yes."

"What did you say?" Yi Zhonghai froze on the spot, his face full of astonishment, wondering if he had misheard.

He thought Sun Jingyuan would try to explain himself, but he never expected that the other party would admit it so frankly, without hiding his desire not to associate with the people in the courtyard, showing no mercy whatsoever.

"I said yes, I don't want to associate with you, that's why I installed a door to separate us." Sun Jingyuan glanced at everyone present, his tone still calm, yet carrying an undeniable confidence. "What? You think you can kick me out of this courtyard?"

"You...you have no respect for the neighbors and have no sense of propriety!" Yi Zhonghai's face turned red with anger as he pointed at Sun Jingyuan, but he couldn't say anything else for a long time.

But none of the neighbors who were watching dared to utter a sound. Sun Jingyuan was no longer the ordinary person who had just moved into the compound. He was the respected factory doctor of the steel rolling mill, with generous treatment and the deep appreciation of the factory leaders. He had money and ability. People in the compound could ask him for money, food, or medical treatment, but he never had to ask anyone in the compound for anything.

Throughout the entire courtyard, from Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong down to ordinary neighbors, no one had the ability to control him, nor could anyone restrain him with any personal connections. Naturally, no one dared to truly stand up against him.

"No! You've done this against the rules!" Just as Yi Zhonghai was in a bind, Liu Haizhong suddenly jumped out from the crowd, his face stern and authoritative, and shouted, "Sun Jingyuan, did you get permission from the original owner of this house, Old Zhao, to install a door at the Moon Gate?"

"That's right! This apartment belongs to Lao Zhao. If you install a door and block the light, he will definitely not agree!" Yi Zhonghai immediately echoed, as if grasping at a lifeline, certain that Lao Zhao had gone south to visit relatives and had not returned, so Sun Jingyuan would not be able to get his consent.

In their view, since Lao Zhao had disappeared without a trace and the house had been vacant, no one dared to dispose of it without authorization, and Sun Jingyuan's actions were completely against the rules.

They had considered this house before, but Director Wang from the neighborhood committee would always stroll around it whenever she came, so no one dared to move in, not even if it were free. After all, Director Wang wasn't someone to be trifled with; she really dared to call the joint defense office to arrest people. Even Jia Zhangshi, who was used to throwing tantrums and acting arrogantly, didn't dare to be disrespectful in front of her.