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

"What do you mean by that?"

In the guesthouse director's office, Li Jing'an lay half-reclined in his office chair, legs crossed, and lazily tapped the pile of cigarettes and alcohol on the table with the hand holding a cigarette, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Ah, Director Li, it wasn't anything else... It's because of the outrageous things I did a few days ago, please forgive me..."

The eldest son of the Lu family, standing to the side, bowed and scraped, his face still swollen, forcing out an extremely strange smile, revealing a mouth missing a front tooth, and being extremely cautious.

"Let me forgive you? Shouldn't you be saying that to the Lin family? Why are you coming here?" Li Jing'an glanced at him with a half-smile, a hint of mockery on his lips.

"Director Li, the Lin family's matter... was handled as you instructed yesterday. I delivered the money first thing this morning. In addition, the Lin family's property registration was also completed yesterday." The eldest son of the Lu family continued to smile obsequiously, his voice trembling with ingratiation.

"Now that everything's settled and the Lin family has forgiven you, what's the point of you coming here again? I wasn't even involved." Li Jing'an flicked his cigarette ash onto the ground, his tone nonchalant.

"Look at what you're saying... My uncle told me that it's not just the Lin family who needs to be satisfied, but also Director Li. Otherwise... he'll skin me alive." The eldest son of the Lu family shrank back, as if he was genuinely afraid of his uncle.

"Heh, this old Zhao, he's really making things so serious, as if I'm being unreasonable." Li Jing'an sneered.

Just as he was about to tell them to leave, the black phone on his desk suddenly rang. Li Jing'an held up his index finger to the eldest son of the Lu family, making a "shush and wait" gesture, and answered the phone: "Hello, security guard? What is it? What? What are they doing here? What exactly is it? Oh... okay, okay, let them come in."

After hanging up the phone, Li Jing'an didn't speak immediately. Instead, he slowly leaned back in his chair and silently smoked. His eyes flickered with light amidst the swirling smoke, as if he were calculating something. The eldest son of the Lu family dared not utter a sound, shrinking cautiously to the side, waiting.

Li Jing'an finally snapped out of his daze, glanced at the eldest son of the Lu family who was still smiling obsequiously, his missing tooth grinning strangely, and then looked at the cigarettes, alcohol, and gifts on the table. Suddenly, he beckoned to the eldest son of the Lu family.

The eldest son of the Lu family was stunned and confused. He took two steps closer and stuck his head out. Just as he was about to ask a question, Li Jing'an raised his hand to stop him.

"Shh—" Li Jing'an put his index finger to his lips, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

The eldest son of the Lu family stood there, bewildered, and could only hunch over and stretch his head, looking like a goose waiting to be slaughtered.

Just then, clear footsteps and voices came from outside the door: "Come this way, comrade. Our director is in his office, you can just go in."

"Click"—the sound of the doorknob turning rang out.

In a flash, Li Jing'an swung his right arm, gathered all his strength, and slapped the Lu family's eldest son hard across the face! The force was crisp and fierce, sending the man flying backward and landing on the ground with a thud, instantly unconscious.

This scene was witnessed by the person who pushed open the door.

Li Jing'an's expression changed instantly—his previous laziness vanished without a trace, replaced by a stern and righteous air. He turned slightly to the side, his body ramrod straight, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at the limp Lu family eldest son on the ground, his brows furrowed, his gaze piercing, his voice firm and powerful:

"You, surnamed Lu! Don't think you can corrupt me with a few gifts! You're dreaming! I, Li Jing'an, have been involved in the revolution since I was sixteen. I've emerged from the hail of bullets, and I didn't even flinch when facing the enemy's gunfire! How dare you presume to break my will with these sugar-coated bullets? What do you take me for! What do you take us Party members for! Do you think everyone is like you, a cadre? Let me tell you, people like you are just a small group of opportunists and bad elements hidden among our vast cadre ranks! You want to drag a cadre like me down with you? You're delusional! You're dreaming!"

Li Jing'an spoke passionately, but inwardly he was cursing: Damn it, why aren't they taking pictures yet? I'm almost frozen in this pose, this is so unprofessional!

Just when he was about to give up—

"Snap!"

The shutter finally clicked.

Li Jing'an felt a weight lifted from his heart. Satisfied, he lowered his hand, straightened his collar, and then turned to look at the doorway—a young man and woman were standing there. The man was holding a camera, and a group of office colleagues were gathered behind him, watching the commotion.

Li Jing'an immediately waved his hand outside, his tone authoritative: "Da Mao! Xu Da Mao! And Lao Huang, come here! Throw this man out!"

Xu Damao and Lao Huang squeezed through the crowd and, without saying a word, dragged the limp eldest son of the Lu family out like a dead dog.

Li Jing'an then clapped his hands, looked up at the two people in the doorway, his brows furrowed slightly, and he revealed a hint of doubt at just the right moment: "Who are you?"

One of the women stepped forward, her tone respectful and sincere: "Oh, Comrade Li, hello. We're from the People's Daily. The day before yesterday, we were out doing some reporting and happened to hear your story—we greatly admire your actions at the police station. That's why we came here today specifically to interview you. We never expected to witness firsthand this good cadre whose revolutionary spirit has not faded at all since his demobilization from the army."

"Hey—" Li Jing'an waved his hands repeatedly, with a righteous air of "what's the big deal?" "You guys even need to come all this way to interview me? What's this little thing about me? I'm just an ordinary party member and cadre. In that situation, I believe everyone would lend a helping hand. I think you should focus your attention on the grassroots employees; they are the ones who truly support our republic. Me? I'm insignificant."

"You're right, the broad masses of people are the foundation of our great edifice, a solid foundation. But it's the Communist Party members like you, with ideals and perseverance, who are the pillars of this edifice. Without cadres like you, this edifice couldn't be supported, could it?"

Unable to refuse, Li Jing'an had no choice but to reluctantly agree to the interview.

The female reporter opened her notebook and asked, "I also learned that you performed a heroic act a few years ago and received high honors and awards. You are a well-recognized good comrade."

"Please don't say that," Li Jing'an quickly waved his hand, his tone calm and humble. "That's an old almanac from several years ago, not worth mentioning. It was just a coincidence that I stumbled upon it. Anyone with a conscience in my position would have done the same."

The female reporter changed the subject slightly, with a hint of confusion: "Then... why did you later receive a disciplinary action? Logically speaking, given your character and conduct, it really shouldn't have happened."

Li Jing'an sighed softly, his expression slightly troubled. He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Sigh, I didn't want to bring this up again. Actually... this matter has little to do with me personally. It's just that an elderly leader was staying at the guesthouse at the time, and he suddenly fell seriously ill. We discovered it a little late..."

"Since you weren't directly responsible, why were you disciplined and why didn't you appeal?"

Li Jing'an raised his head, his eyes open and firm, his tone steady and powerful: "Appeal? Why should I appeal? It is my inescapable responsibility to take care of the safety of every guest who stays at our guesthouse. The incident did indeed go wrong in the area under my jurisdiction, and I should take responsibility both morally and logically. There is nothing to argue about."

After saying that, he lowered his eyes slightly, looking as if he had a clear conscience.

The female reporter's eyes reddened slightly as she listened, and her gaze towards Li Jing'an was filled with admiration and adoration.

Li Jing'an remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was quite pleased with himself—it was just a pity that although the female reporter was young, her face was too beautiful for him to bring himself to kiss her.