I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

The factory reopened as usual the next day, but Li Jing'an took the day off and slept in the courtyard. He just wanted to sleep until he naturally woke up.

Around 10 a.m., a crisp knock suddenly broke the silence of the courtyard. Disturbed from his sleep, Li Jing'an frowned instantly and reluctantly crawled out of bed. After getting dressed, he dragged his feet towards the door, muttering lazily, "Coming, coming, stop knocking, I'll open the door."

The moment the door opened, Li Jing'an froze on the spot, his sleepiness instantly vanishing. Standing outside was none other than Wei Jialing, dressed smartly. She carried a bag, looking relaxed and at ease, showing no signs of the usual formality one might expect from a stranger.

Li Jing'an snapped out of his daze and subconsciously asked, "Why are you here?"

Without waiting for his invitation, Wei Jialing stepped aside and squeezed past him into the house, her steps light and quick: "What? Can't I come to your little courtyard?"

Li Jing'an was completely bewildered, unable to figure out her purpose, so he could only silently close the door and follow her into the main room. As soon as he entered, he saw Wei Jialing already familiarly sitting at the desk, carefully fiddling with an exquisite phonograph—the very one that had been delivered the day after he mentioned it a few days ago.

Li Jing'an walked over to her, watching Wei Jialing adjust the stylus, and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Xie Hui go to the south? Why didn't you go with him?"

Wei Jialing paused in her actions, turned around, and walked straight to the sofa to sit down, her posture as casual as if she were at home. She glanced at Li Jing'an and said matter-of-factly, "Why would I go with him? I'm not his attendant." After saying that, she raised her chin slightly and ordered, "Go, bring out the coffee machine and coffee beans. I want freshly ground coffee."

Although Li Jing'an was full of doubts, he still did as he was told, taking out the coffee grinder and a small jar of coffee beans from the cabinet and gently placing them on the coffee table. He casually probed, "Weren't you two already engaged? According to your elders, you should be getting married soon, right?"

"We broke up."

As Wei Jialing slowly fed coffee beans into the grinder, she casually uttered two words, her tone as indifferent as if she were discussing the weather, as if the engagement was nothing more than a trivial matter.

Li Jing'an froze, his eyes widening slightly, his mind instantly in turmoil. They broke up? Xie Hui and Wei Jialing actually broke up? A multitude of thoughts raced through his mind: He had spent this time with Wei Jialing, drinking coffee and listening to music, always going along with her wishes, originally only wanting to cling to her background to avoid being blamed if Xie Hui got into trouble; he had never had the slightest intention of stealing her away. Now that they had broken up, Wei Jialing had taken the initiative to come to him—this situation was completely beyond his expectations.

Suppressing his inner turmoil, Li Jing'an cautiously asked, "Aren't your two families old friends? Your father agreed to something this big?"

"Of course I agree," Wei Jialing replied without looking up as she ground her coffee. "My dad knows that Xie Hui's stubborn, principled nature doesn't suit me. Besides, it was Xie Hui who personally approached my dad to break off the engagement; it wasn't me who caused it. What, you're unhappy that I broke up with him?"

As she finished speaking, she suddenly raised her head and stared at Li Jing'an, making him feel uneasy.

Li Jing'an opened his mouth, but was momentarily speechless, his face stiff with emotion: "Happy... ah no, not happy..." He was completely at a loss for words. Wei Jialing's bluntness left him no room to pretend to be confused.

Wei Jialing was amused by his flustered appearance and laughed out loud. She stood up and walked to Li Jing'an, her tone straightforward: "Being with Xie Hui is too uncomfortable. He's always talking about rules and making a big deal out of nothing, there's no fun in it at all. I just like being with you. We have the same interests and the same lifestyle, and it's very comfortable to be with you."

Li Jing'an inwardly groaned, but could only manage a bitter smile: he didn't actually share her interests; he was just trying to please her in every way, so naturally she felt they were compatible.

He took a small step back, trying to create some distance, his tone sincere yet troubled: "Jialing, I'm not good enough for you. I'm much older than you, and my family background is worlds apart from yours. Even if I were willing, your father would never agree."

"I don't care, my dad agreed." Wei Jialing interrupted him without hesitation, stepped forward and gently put her arm around Li Jing'an's neck, her eyes tender yet firm. "Without Xie Hui, my dad doesn't care at all, as long as I'm happy. It's just that he said we can't get engaged and married right away, we have to consider his feelings for his old comrade-in-arms, and wait a while."

Li Jing'an froze on the spot, his heart turning ice-cold. He truly didn't want to be tied to Wei Jialing, much less become a second Xu Damao—a more powerful, more restrictive version of Xu Damao, bound hand and foot, forced to swallow his pride. He hadn't transmigrated to this era to live such a stifling life. Had he transmigrated for nothing?

"Don't just stand there, let's dance! Don't you like dancing too?" Wei Jialing shook his arm and suggested enthusiastically.

"I don't want to dance right now." Li Jing'an looked utterly hopeless, completely lacking any energy.

Wei Jialing suddenly seemed to remember something, immediately stepped away from him, walked quickly to the sofa, picked up her bag, rummaged through it for a moment, took out a delicate little box, and handed it directly to Li Jing'an.

"for you."

Li Jing'an took the box blankly, opened it, and his eyes lit up instantly—inside was an exquisitely crafted watch.

Before he could speak, Wei Jialing explained with a smile, "Someone delivered this watch to my dad's house yesterday, but he didn't want it, so I took it and picked this one out. There was also a Rolex, but I didn't want it because I thought it wasn't as nice as this IWC." As she spoke, she picked up the watch and put it on Li Jing'an's wrist; it was a perfect size.

"Oh, you're so foolish!"

Li Jing'an looked down at the brand-new watch on his wrist, then suddenly slapped his thigh and said with a face full of regret, "Keep both of them! I like Rolexes too!"

Wei Jialing was taken aback at first, rolled her eyes at him, then affectionately put her arm around his and said softly, "Let's go out for lunch."

Li Jing'an reluctantly looked away from his watch, cleared his throat, and said, "Okay, what do you want to eat?"

"Let's go to Lao Mo for Western food," Wei Jialing's eyes lit up immediately.

Li Jing'an helplessly shrugged: "Next time, I don't have any Western food tickets right now, so I won't be able to eat there anyway."

"What do you need tickets for? I never need tickets to go." Wei Jialing waved her hand dismissively and pulled Li Jing'an toward the door.

The two walked out of the courtyard, where the familiar black sedan was already parked by the roadside. The driver, seeing them emerge, immediately opened the door respectfully. Wei Jialing pulled Li Jing'an into the back seat, and the car smoothly started moving, heading towards Lao Mo Restaurant.

The Western meal was extremely elegant. Just as Wei Jialing had said, the restaurant manager personally served them throughout the meal, without asking for a receipt or even taking any money.

Stepping out of the restaurant, the winter sun shone on him, and Li Jing'an couldn't help but sigh, "Our dad really has influence!"