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

"Hey, Engineer Wang, aren't you going to take a look? You're really patient!" A bespectacled technician passed by and joked with a smile, "Did you already know it was a done deal? Otherwise, why would you be smoking so leisurely?"

Engineer Wang chuckled and flicked the ash from his cigarette, saying, "No way, there are just too many people. I'll go after everyone's finished looking around. It's all the same."

Then a few more people came out and greeted them. Strangely, two of them looked at Section Chief Zhang, patted him on the shoulder, hesitated, sighed, and hurriedly walked away.

Section Chief Zhang was completely bewildered by this action, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. He turned to look at Engineer Wang, who simply shrugged blankly.

Until an old coworker came over, sighed, patted Section Chief Zhang on the shoulder with a regretful look, and said earnestly, "Old Zhang, don't take it to heart, you'll definitely be allocated a room next time."

The smile on Section Chief Zhang's face froze instantly, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head.

"What did you say?" He stared wide-eyed, his voice trembling.

The man sighed again, shook his head, and left.

It was only then that Section Chief Zhang realized something was wrong. The color drained from his face instantly, his lips trembled, and he turned around abruptly, threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, and frantically pushed his way into the crowd.

"Hey, hey, hey—why are you pushing? Can't we watch later?!" A chubby middle-aged man was suddenly shoved and almost stumbled. He turned around and yelled, "What's your rush? Even if you're breastfeeding, you have to unbutton your clothes first!"

The other young man who was hit also yelled angrily, "What's wrong with you? Can't you see where you're going?!"

Ignoring everyone else, Section Chief Zhang continued to push his way in, muttering in a trembling voice, "Impossible... This is absolutely impossible... I checked the scores a long time ago, and I was clearly last..."

His voice grew softer and softer, less and less confident.

Finally squeezing through the crowd, he stood panting in front of the red list, sweat streaming down his face, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. He didn't start looking from the top; instead, he bent down and stared intently at the bottom of the list, scanning each name one by one.

No.

still none.

The moment he saw the last name, Section Chief Zhang's eyes widened, his pupils contracted sharply, and he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

The last column of the honor roll clearly reads: Zhou Yufei from the First Guesthouse.

Zhang's mind went blank for a moment, his vision blurred and stars flashed before his eyes, all his strength drained away. He staggered and grabbed the edge of the notice board to steady himself.

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible..." he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and barely audible. "There must be something fishy going on here..."

His face flushed red, his eyes fixed on the name, his gaze so intense he seemed to want to tear the words off the paper.

Meanwhile, the guesthouse director's office was quiet.

Sunlight streamed through the glass window and fell on the desk. Zhou Yufei, carrying a stack of materials, pushed open the door and walked in with a smile on her face.

"Brother Li, I've gathered all the materials you requested. Please check if there's anything missing." She gently placed the materials on the desk, her voice soft and gentle.

Li Jing'an leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, picked up a sheet of paper, flipped through it, glanced at the second sheet, and said casually without even lifting his eyelids, "That's enough. The factory can find a way to make up for the missing parts. You don't need to worry about it."

Zhou Yufei's eyes lit up. She quickly went around behind the desk, stood behind Li Jing'an, and gently placed her hands on his shoulders, kneading them lightly as she asked with a hint of trepidation, "Brother Jing'an, is it really okay to do this? Will anyone have any objections?"

Li Jing'an's slightly narrowed eyes suddenly snapped open, his brows furrowing, his tone turning cold and sharp: "Any objections? Who dares to have any? And what can they do even if they do?"

Zhou Yufei paused, bit her lip, and lowered her voice even further: "I'm worried... this is a big deal after all, housing allocation. If I cut in line, others will definitely be unhappy. You're a model citizen who's been featured in the newspapers now, I'm afraid it will affect your reputation..."

After hearing this, Li Jing'an's expression relaxed. He patted her hand and softened his tone, saying, "Don't worry about it. This is nothing. Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide has already agreed to let him handle everything. He'll make sure it's done perfectly." He added with a hint of disdain, "If he can't even handle something this simple, I don't need to call him Brother Li anymore. I'll just call him Old Li. He'll be nothing to me then."

He sat up straight, turned to look at Zhou Yufei, his eyes full of certainty: "To tell you the truth, dealing with these grassroots cadres is much easier than dealing with ordinary employees. You don't understand, if Li Huaide can't even handle a grassroots cadre, then all these years of his life have been for nothing."

Li Jing'an finished speaking with a disdainful look, casually picked up a cigarette from the table and put it in his mouth. Zhou Yufei reacted quickly, grabbing a lighter and lighting it for him with a "click".

Li Jing'an took a deep breath, the smoke slowly exhaling from his nostrils. He squinted and continued, "Yufei, don't worry about this anymore. Just take good care of the child; that's more important than anything else. With me backing you both up, there's nothing to fear. Just wait until next year to get the keys and decorate the new house properly." His tone suddenly turned serious, and he specifically instructed, "By the way, throw away all your old furniture. Don't bring it into the new house; it's bad luck."

Zhou Yufei nodded repeatedly, her smile barely concealed, her lips almost reaching her ears: "Yes, I understand, Brother Li. Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of my son."

She paused, her voice soft and dependent: "Brother Li, with your words, I feel completely at ease. With you protecting us, mother and son, I don't want anything else, I just want to raise my son."

"That's right!" Li Jing'an patted the armrest. "These kinds of things aren't for you women to worry about. Leave it all to me. If you can't find furniture you like next year, just tell me. The manager of that factory in the city that specializes in custom-made furniture for high-ranking officials is a close friend of mine. I'll have him send someone over to your door to design something tailored to your needs."

Zhou Yufei's eyes brightened, and her grip became lighter and quicker. The two lingered tenderly for a few more moments.

As Zhou Yufei was leaving, Li Jing'an instructed her, "Go and call Xu Damao over."

Zhou Yufei was taken aback: "Why did you call him over?"

"Have him deliver these materials to the steel rolling mill to make up for the honors you've missed over the years, otherwise your points won't be enough." Li Jing'an pointed to the materials on the table, his eyes full of meaning. "It's inconvenient for the two of us to get involved, so let him run an errand."

Zhou Yufei immediately understood, nodded, and turned to walk out.

Li Jing'an was completely unaware that a fierce dispute was unfolding at the steel rolling mill at that moment.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.