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

Li Jing'an sat in the chair, his eyes slightly narrowed, his head tilted back as far as he could.

It made a hissing sound.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and murmured, "Xiao Wan... That's great, you learn so fast."

"That's fantastic..." Li Jing'an continued, "Hey, how should I reward you?"

"Brother Li, isn't this all I should do? Besides, you gave my sister and me a New Year's gift each today." Lin Wan blushed and looked up at Li Jing'an.

Li Jing'an reached out and stroked her hair, laughing, "Hey, you two sisters are both my people, how could I not care about you? As long as you follow me well, you'll get your share of the benefits in the future."

Lin Wan stopped what she was doing.

She swallowed hard and looked at Li Jing'an, saying, "Thank you, Brother Li. My sister also said she was very grateful to you when she received the things."

"Really?" Li Jing'an lowered his head, smiling broadly, his eyes lighting up as he stared into Lin Wan's eyes. "Your sister really said that?"

"Hmm...hmm..." Lin Wan didn't speak, only making muffled sounds from her throat.

Li Jing'an was extremely satisfied: "Well then, since you two both want to thank me, I'll call your sister now and have you both come along, how about that?"

Lin Wan stopped abruptly, forcing a stiff smile: "Brother Li, look at you, you're teasing me again."

"Who's teasing you?" Li Jing'an stared at her stiff smile and evasive eyes, his tone suddenly turning serious and filled with a strong sense of pressure. "Brother Li never jokes with you. What Brother Li says goes."

The stiff smile on Lin Wan's face vanished completely, replaced by a look of fear and disbelief. The Li Jing'an before her seemed to have suddenly become a complete stranger, shattering all her illusions.

"Brother Li...no..."

"Hmm?" Li Jing'an lowered his head, frowning as he stared at her. He placed a hand on the back of her head, covering it completely. "What do you mean? You want to keep all the good stuff to yourself? That's not right. Your sister always puts you first and has sacrificed so much for your family. How can you keep it all to yourself? You should think of her when there are benefits."

A meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"Brother Li...don't do this...you can't do this..." Lin Wan said, trying to get up and pushing Li Jing'an's arm.

Li Jing'an frowned, grabbed the back of her neck, and immobilized her: "What do you mean? I think you've forgotten the pain once the wound has healed. Don't you even think about who provided your family with the life you have now? Who gave you your job, your sister's job? Are you trying to be ungrateful?"

"It's not like that, Brother Li... I'll do whatever you want, just don't touch my sister... Please, spare my sister..." Lin Wan pleaded, her face streaked with tears.

Li Jing'an remained unmoved, shaking his head with a look of regret: "Look at you, you want to hoard good things for yourself. I feel sorry for your sister. What an ingrate!"

He paused, then his eyes suddenly became playful.

"Also, let me tell you, your sister has actually been mine for a long time. Unlike you, she doesn't mind. How could you even think like that?"

He leaned closer and lowered his voice even further.

"Don't you even think about it? Why should I go to such lengths to stand up for your family? Why should I ask for an extra five square meters of space and a few hundred yuan in compensation? Do you really think I'm one of those idiots who have nothing better to do than stand up for others all day?"

He looked at Lin Wan, who was crying her eyes out, a wicked smile playing on his lips, and reached out to pat her face.

"Think it through. I won't force you. If you really want to leave, you can leave now, taking your sister with you. But you need to think carefully about how you're going to compensate me. I got an extra five square meters for your family, and I even got your original five square meters back from the Lu family. It's like I gave you an extra room. And there's that few hundred yuan..."

His tone was flippant, but his eyes were cold.

"If you can compensate me to my satisfaction, you and your sister can leave anytime. Of course, you can also try to take advantage of my favor. But I'm afraid your family simply can't handle the consequences."

He chuckled softly.

"The Lu family, such a small fry, has already driven your family to the brink of ruin. Think carefully about what will happen to your family if you really provoke me into taking action."

As he spoke, he casually picked up the phone on the table.

"Hello, connect me to Secretary Lin."

"No—" Lin Wan suddenly raised her tear-streaked face, about to plead, but was glared back by Li Jing'an's fierce and sharp gaze. The words that were on the tip of her tongue were stuck in her throat, and she dared not say another word.

Li Jing'an stopped looking at her and said calmly into the microphone, "Xiao Lin, come to my office right away."

After saying that, he hung up the phone, looked down at Lin Wan, who was slumped on the ground with her body weak, and curled up the corners of his mouth with a half-smile, chuckling softly.

He slowly stood up, casually adjusted his belt, and spoke in a nonchalant yet authoritative tone.

"I'll go wait for you in the lounge. When your sister arrives, don't forget to open the door for her."

He let out a mocking chuckle, no longer glancing at the distraught Lin Wan sprawled on the floor, and strode to the side, pushing open the door to the lounge and stepping inside.

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.

The office was filled with smoke.

Li Jing'an was sitting in the chair behind his desk, smoking and leisurely reminiscing. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing'an sat up straight, looked up at the office door, and immediately saw Xu Damao peeking in with a fawning expression.

"Brother Li, did I disturb you?"

"Da Mao, what's wrong?"

Xu Damao rubbed his hands together, quickly walked over, and hurriedly boasted, "I delivered all the items to their designated places. One was delivered to the Ministry of Metallurgical's residential compound, and another to Sanlihe. I came back specifically to report to you."

"Okay, I understand." Li Jing'an nodded in agreement, then instructed, "See if there's anything left over, and set some aside. Take it to Qin Huairu on your way back. She's been helping me tidy up the courtyard these past few days, so I can't let her work for nothing. I'm not the kind of person who's heartless."

"Okay, I got it! I'll deliver the things to Jia's house after get off work and give them to her personally."

Xu Damao quickly agreed, outwardly respectfully echoing his words, but inwardly he was secretly relieved.

He secretly felt fortunate that he had never taken advantage of Qin Huairu's misfortune over the years, and had always treated her with respect and courtesy, whether in the courtyard or the guesthouse.

Now that Qin Huairu has latched onto Li Jing'an, it's clear that my initial choice was absolutely right.