The Wizard's Journey Begins in a Courtyard House

Chapter 39 First Encounter with the Male Protagonist

After finishing his digestion, Li Qin left the planting area.

By this time, it was getting dark outside, and Li Qin was preparing to return to the courtyard house.

He first put away the magic suitcase, shrinking it to carry it with him, and then checked his surroundings to make sure there were no problems.

Li Qin carefully cast the illusion spell on himself again.

Then he used Apparition to return to Beijing, to a relatively secluded alley.

As it turned out, Li Qin's caution was correct.

Although the alley he chose was relatively remote and there were indeed not many people there usually.

But this was the time when the workers were getting off work, and people would still pass by the alleyway from time to time.

If Li Qin hadn't cast the illusion spell on himself beforehand, he would definitely have been discovered when he teleported over.

It might be hard to explain later.

Unless Li Qin uses the "Forget All" technique on those who see it.

When no one was around, Li Qin immediately dispelled the illusion curse on his body.

His clothes, however, were now filthy again.

After checking himself over carefully and making sure there were no flaws on his body, Li Qin slowly walked out of the alley.

At this time, the alley was mostly filled with workers leaving get off work, and Li Qin's figure blended into the crowd, heading towards Tongluoguxiang with the flow of people.

When Li Qin returned to the vicinity of the courtyard, he happened to run into the protagonist of "Full House of Love," the famous He Yuzhu, also known as Sha Zhu.

Li Qin previously thought that He Yuzhu looked so old in the story mainly because the actor was older.

But after actually seeing He Yuzhu, he realized that wasn't the case.

When the story officially begins, He Yuzhu is thirty-one years old, and it is now 1956. There are still nine years until the beginning of the story in 1965.

In other words, He Yuzhu is actually only twenty-two years old now, three years older than Xu Damao.

But when He Yuzhu, who was only twenty-two, went out, no one would doubt that he was thirty.

Li Qin quickly understood the reason after a moment's thought.

One reason is that He Yuzhu's profession is a chef, and he is exposed to fire every day, which is quite damaging to his skin.

Another point is that chefs are prone to getting covered in oil and grease, and He Yuzhu doesn't usually pay much attention to grooming himself.

Finally, there's the genetic factor that contributes to premature aging.

As for He Yuzhu, some people feel sorry for his fate, while others think he brought it upon himself...

Li Qin didn't have any opinion about He Yuzhu, or rather, in Li Qin's mind, everyone in the courtyard was just a tool for him to manipulate his emotions.

Therefore, naturally, there wouldn't be many thoughts about it.

As long as He Yuzhu doesn't provoke him, Li Qin has no interest in doing anything.

However, if the other party is foolish enough to provoke him, Li Qin will not tolerate it and will definitely teach them a lesson.

However, since they had met, Li Qin took the initiative to greet them with a smile out of politeness.

"He Yuzhu, you're off work pretty early today?"

Li Qin did not use the derogatory nickname "Silly Zhu" but addressed the other party by his name directly.

During this period, the benefits at the steel rolling mill were quite good. They provided breakfast and lunch every day, but dinner was not provided.

This is why the working hours of the steel rolling mill canteen staff are very different from those of other workers.

Because they need to prepare breakfast in advance, they start work two hours earlier than regular workers.

Correspondingly, since there is no need to prepare dinner, canteen staff can leave work two hours earlier.

Of course, this applies to ordinary employees; if you become a head chef, you'll have even more freedom in your schedule.

Because breakfast is actually just steaming some buns and preparing some pickled vegetables.

Therefore, as long as the chef doesn't delay preparing lunch for the workers, he can sleep in until very late before going to work.

If there are no special meals scheduled for the afternoon, I can go straight home after making lunch.

He Yuzhu has been working at the steel rolling mill for less than three years, so he is not yet the head chef of the first canteen, nor has he taken over the small canteen.

However, because of his good cooking skills, he is often asked to stay and help out when there are special meals prepared for him.

Therefore, the original owner had very few opportunities to meet He Yuzhu in the courtyard.

Li Qin never expected that he would encounter this so soon after he transmigrated.

"I ran into the female lead, Qin Huairu, while washing up in the morning, and then I ran into the male lead, He Yuzhu, in the evening. What a coincidence!"

Li Qin thought to himself.

Upon hearing Li Qin's voice, He Yuzhu immediately looked over.

However, after recognizing that the person who greeted him was Li Qin, a look of disdain flashed in He Yuzhu's eyes, followed by an arrogant tone.

"I finished cooking for the boss and then went straight home."

After saying this, He Yuzhu raised his head slightly, stopped talking to Li Qin, and turned to walk towards the courtyard.

Looking at He Yuzhu's retreating figure, Li Qin was somewhat bewildered, for two reasons.

One was He Yuzhu's strange look just now, and his posture afterwards;

Another thing is the notification he just heard from the system:

[Emotional Power +300]

[Emotional Power +200]

[Emotional Power +100]

......

"As expected of the protagonist, his emotional power is really impressive. Just saying hello is enough to unleash so much emotional power."

At this moment, a strange look flashed in Li Qin's eyes as he looked at He Yuzhu.

At first, he couldn't quite understand why He Yuzhu would unleash so much emotional power.

However, based on the other person's eyes and expression, as well as Li Qin's understanding of He Yuzhu through the plot, Li Qin roughly guessed what the other person was thinking.

The people in the courtyard basically knew about the original owner's situation;

It can be said that it is at the bottom of the food chain in the courtyard house.

That's why He Yuzhu showed a disdainful expression when he saw Li Qin.

In particular, He Yuzhu has always been proud of his identity as a chef, and his culinary skills are indeed quite good; the leaders of the steel rolling mill must have praised him as well.

This further fueled He Yuzhu's arrogance.

That's why she acted arrogantly in front of Li Qin, who didn't have a formal job.

"Such fragile and sensitive self-esteem!"

However, Li Qin was able to see through appearances to He Yuzhu's true nature.

Behind that arrogance lies a deep-seated inferiority complex.

Only those who are insecure will be eager to display their arrogance and self-esteem when facing the weak.

However, considering He Yuzhu's experience, it's normal for him to have such psychological problems.

When she was a teenager, she was abandoned by her father, He Daqing, and lived with her younger sister, He Yushui, who was a few years older.

Most importantly, the reason He Daqing abandoned He Yuzhu and his sister on the surface was actually for a widow.

This made He Yuzhu and his sister feel ashamed and unable to lift their heads in the courtyard for a time.

In addition, He Yuzhu endured hardships that were beyond the limits of his age in order to support himself and his sister in the early years.

Lacking much education and proper guidance, He Yuzhu could only resort to violence and a sharp tongue to arm himself.

All these factors combined to create He Yuzhu's complex inner world.