Chapter 246: Emotion Regulator Takes Effect: Neighborhood Conflict Becomes Intangible

At three p. m. in the Siheyuan, sunlight slanted across the blue‑brick ground. The front foot had just finished a salute ceremony so quiet it made the eyes sting, and the back foot the Courtyard was already stirring.

Wang Nainai stood at her own Door Gap, hands on her hips, her voice sharper than a pigeon whistle on a clothesline: "Li De Fu! If your dog circles my pigeon cage once more, I'll grab a broom and make it eat bamboo‑shoot stir‑fry!"

Li Yeye squatted under the eaves, brushing Iron Egg's fur, not looking up: "It ran on its own; I never sent it to bother your white‑fat birds!"

"White‑fat birds?" Wang Nainai stepped forward. "You think you can say that again? Are my pigeons something you can insult? My old partner has been gone these years, and they're my lifeline!"

Li Yeye also stood up, his brows knotted: "Who's being insulted? I said the dog was mischievous, not that your keeping is bad! Why are you so upset?"

The two drew closer, their voices rising higher. A few children huddled in the corner to peek, and even Sha Zhu stuck his head out of the Kitchen, a half‑length scallion clamped in his mouth.

No one noticed that the palm‑sized box under the bench had its red light flash once, then switch to a steady blue glow.

Zhao Chen sat on a stone mound nearby, Tablet in hand, eyes fixed on the Waveform Diagram on the Screen. Both lines were leaping upward—heart rate, sound pressure, speech speed all exceeding limits. He gently pressed a button and whispered, "Let's begin."

The small projection port on the side of the bench trembled slightly, a soft light spilling onto the ground.

First the photograph appeared. The yellowed paper gradually cleared—young Wang Nainai bearing a shoulder pole, a water bucket swaying, Li Yeye beside her holding the bucket's rim, a smile creasing his face. The background showed the old well platform of this Courtyard, bricks unrenovated, trees still small.

An audio clip played, a female voice with a shy laugh: "Old Li, back then you helped me fetch water. I said I'd have to rely on you for old age later—do you still remember?"

The onlookers fell silent at once.

Wang Nainai opened her mouth, frozen in place. Of course she remembered. At that time her husband had just passed away; she raised the children alone, fetching water twice daily. Li De Fu was then a boiler worker; after work he'd pass by and always lend a hand. Once she fell, bruising her knee, and he even carried her back home.

Li Yeye lowered his head, staring at his hand, murmuring, "I remember… that day you even cooked a bowl of dried noodles for me."

The photograph changed.

This time it was the senior college stage. Wang Nainai wore a Blue Cloth, standing in the center singing "Nan Niwan," her voice clear. In the front row below, Li Yeye sat, one hand keeping time, the other subtly wiping his eye corner.

The audio played again: "That year you said I sang more accurately than the broadcast, and it made me shy for several days."

Wang Nainai's nose twitched sourly, and she turned her head. She actually knew that Li Yeye came to every performance. He didn't say it, but she saw it.

Li Yeye rubbed his face, muttering, "Who said that… I just mentioned it offhand."

But he didn't notice that the corner of his mouth had already lifted.

The two met each other's gaze, the earlier anger scattering like ash blown by wind, nothing left.

Wang Nainai sighed, "Iron Egg isn't malicious, just a bit mischievous."

Li Yeye immediately replied, "I'll leash it from now on! I won't let it touch your pigeon cage! I'll buy one tomorrow!"

Someone in the crowd applauded, others laughed out loud. San Daye passed by carrying a tea jar, nodding as he went. Sha Zhu retreated to the Kitchen, continuing to stir‑fry his dish.

Zhao Chen exhaled, hugging the Tablet to his chest, grinning broadly.

A little after eight p. m., he pulled up the system log, scrolling through each entry.

Event Log:

-18:23, Wang Xiulan voluntarily went to Li De Fu's home, delivering a bowl of stewed egg, note: "Supplement calcium, don't let your bones fall apart."

-19:05, Li De Fu swept the fallen leaves in front of Wang Xiulan's Door Gap, taking six minutes.

-20:10, the two exchanged an old photo via the neighborhood group, without caption.

System determination: non‑mandatory interaction achieved, emotional repair established.

Zhao Chen, cradling the device, sat on a stone bench in the Courtyard, looking up at the sky. The stars were few, but bright enough.

The Screen suddenly lit up, a line of text popping up:

User emotional satisfaction detected at 98.6%.

He grinned, whispering, "So technology can have warmth too."

System Prompt popped up: Community harmony at 95%, reward: psychological counseling expertise.

He was about to close the interface when his phone vibrated.

A new message popped up in the group.

It was posted by Wang Nainai, a photograph. In the picture, Iron Egg sat obediently outside the pigeon cage, a newly bought red leash around its neck. Six pigeons circled above its head, one even perched on its back.

The caption contained only five characters:

Today peace has arrived.

Zhao Chen laughed and replied with a thumbs‑up.

The next morning at five forty, the sky was just dimly bright.

Li Yeye led Iron Egg out for a walk, stopping out of habit at Wang Nainai's Door Gap.

He bent down to pick up a few Withered Leaves that had drifted over last night, then glanced at the ground beneath the pigeon cage—very clean.

He was about to leave when he noticed a slip of paper tucked into the Door Gap.

He pulled it out and read:

"Come a bit earlier today; I've steamed bean buns, and Iron Egg will bring a portion as well."

Li Yeye held the note, standing at the Door Gap for a while.

Finally he folded the note, slipped it into his chest pocket, patted Iron Egg's head, and whispered, "Let's go, we'll head Go Home, change clothes, then come back."

At seven o'clock sharp, Zhao Chen returned to the bench, opening the device's backend.

The log updated with an entry:

-05:47, Wang Xiulan and Li De Fu logged onto the neighborhood group simultaneously, wishing each other good morning.

-Postscript: Wang Xiulan sent one emoji pack, showing two animals sitting side by side, titled "Early‑rising bird and dog."

Zhao Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He was about to save the data when he suddenly noticed the device's signal was a bit unstable.

After refreshing a few times, the Waveform Diagram showed abnormal fluctuations.

He frowned, checking the source, and found the interference came from a new construction site outside the Courtyard wall. There they began piling at six a. m., the vibrations affecting the receiving module.

He noted the issue, preparing to go back and rewire the circuit.

Just as he closed the Tablet, Footsteps sounded at his ear.

He looked up and saw Wang Nainai walking out carrying an insulated Meal Ticket box, with Li Yeye following behind, holding a small pair of scissors in his hand.

Zhao Chen asked, "What are you going to do?"

Wang Nainai said, "I'm going to the activity center to give a lecture, talking about how to train pigeons to recognize the way. He said he wants to come listen."

Li Yeye glared at her and said, "I'm just going to fix the loose nails on the publicity board."

Wang Nainai pouted, "Oh please, when have you ever actually gone to fix something?"

The two walked off arguing, with Tie Dan following behind, its tail wagging like a windmill.

Zhao Chen sat back on the stone bench, opened his journal, and wrote a line in today's notes:

"Conflict resolution successful. Suggest adding an anti-interference module to prevent external construction from affecting emotion recognition accuracy."

He had just clicked save when the equipment Screen flashed and automatically switched to the debug interface.

The progress bar displayed: Local cache is being cleared.

Countdown: 3 seconds.

Zhao Chen froze. He hadn't clicked that option.

He reached out to press the return key, but the Screen suddenly froze.

The final frame was neither code nor the journal.

It was an unmarked video thumbnail.

In the image were two blurry figures sitting on a bench, their heads close together.

The playback time was marked as yesterday at 15:58.

That was after Dong Xu's salute, before the exhibition hall closed.