The courtyard fell asleep one by one, but Lin Wei stayed awake.
He sat under the apricot tree with a notebook, pencil, and a small oil lamp. His breath fogged in the cool spring night, but he didn't stop sketching.
He drew beams, pillars, drainage systems, soil density measurements learned through observation—all from memory. The architecture insight granted by the system turned the once-ordinary courtyard into a map of strengths and weaknesses.
Footsteps crunched behind him.
Liu Fang stood there, wrapped in a wool shawl.
"You're still awake," she whispered.
Lin Wei blinked. "You should be sleeping."
She ignored that. Her eyes fell onto the scattered papers."Are those… designs? For the courtyard?"
"Reinforcement plans," he corrected. "I need to prepare everything before the inspectors come."
She knelt beside him, watching him work with surprising gentleness.
After a long silence, she murmured,"Do you ever get tired?"
The question felt heavier than it sounded.
Lin Wei stared at his calloused hands."Sometimes. But if I don't work hard… what will happen to everyone here?"
"You're not responsible for all of us," she whispered.
Lin Wei shook his head. "But I want to be."
She looked at him with an expression he didn't understand—something soft, worried, and incredibly warm.
Then she stood and draped her shawl over his shoulders before he could protest.
"Don't push yourself too hard," she said quietly."I… don't want to see you collapse again."
He didn't know how to answer.
But the system did.
[Emotional Resonance Detected: Concern / Affection][Reward: Comprehension x40 for 48 hours]
Suddenly, the courtyard blueprint in his mind lit up with clarity.
He picked up his pencil.
Work began anew.