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

In front of the municipal party committee building, a group of students were escorting a person out of the building. The person was dragged directly to the street outside the gate, a tall hat with the words "capitalist roader, reactionary bureaucrat" written on it was put on his head, and a stool was placed in front of him, which he was forced to stand on.

Then came the classic "jet plane" pose—hands forcefully pried open and raised high, waist bent at a ninety-degree angle, head bowed deeply, unable to straighten or raise one's head. A young student stood aside and began to loudly read out the charges. The crowd grew larger and larger, completely surrounding the scene.

At the entrance of an alley not far away, Li Jing'an waved to two young men behind him, who immediately came over. He handed them two wooden sticks and whispered, "When there are more people around, give that old guy a good beating. Remember, don't hit his head, don't hit any vital points, but make sure he feels the pain to the bone, understand?"

"Alright! Don't worry, we're experts at this kind of work!" One of them took the wooden stick, grinning. "We wouldn't have dared to touch these kinds of people before, even if you gave us eight hundred lives. But things are different now. Just you wait and see, we won't let you waste your money!"

These two were thugs that Li Jing'an specially picked up from the streets, just to test how tough this Leader Wei really was.

The criticism session continued. After the students finished reading their accusations, the surrounding crowd rushed forward to condemn them, spitting everywhere. Just as the scene was becoming increasingly chaotic, someone in the crowd suddenly stirred things up, and order instantly spiraled out of control. Many people pushed forward, wanting to take action against this once high-ranking leader.

Old Wei, who had been silently enduring the beatings and insults, suddenly felt a piercing pain in his leg. He could no longer hold on and fell off the bench. Before he could react, countless sticks rained down on his arms, legs, and buttocks. With his arms tied behind his back, he could only lie face down on the ground, his body writhing and twitching in agony, like a worm.

Not far away, Li Jing'an watched the increasingly lively commotion and let out a low, cold laugh. He threw his cigarette butt on the ground, spat, and quietly disappeared around the street corner.

……

That evening, Li Jing'an returned home early. He carefully tidied his clothes and expression in front of the mirror, waiting for Wei Jialing to return so they could go to his father-in-law's house together for a "visit".

Just as she was looking in the mirror, she heard hurried footsteps outside the door. Wei Jialing walked into the room with a gloomy face, slammed her bag on the sofa, and turned to walk towards the bedroom.

Li Jing'an's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, but he quickly suppressed the smile and followed her into the house, asking, "Jialing, why are you back so late? Didn't you say you were going to Dad's today? You're really not taking this seriously!"

"I'm not going today," Wei Jialing said, her voice trembling with tears.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Li Jing pretended not to understand and sat down next to her.

"My dad was criticized and denounced today..." Wei Jialing said, her eyes red and her heart pounding. "I don't know where these students came from, but they dragged him out of the municipal party committee building and publicly criticized him in the street..."

"What?! How could such a thing happen?" Li Jing'an was furious. "They're completely out of control! Our dad's a high-ranking official!"

"Jing'an..." Wei Jialing grabbed his arm, tears streaming down her face. "You're the director of the Revolutionary Committee now. Think of a way to protect Dad. He's so old, how can he endure this kind of torment? Don't let this happen again..."

"Jialing, you know perfectly well what's going on with these students. They're chanting the leader's slogans and acting without any restraint. Who can control them? I've already done everything I can to protect our family."

He paused, his tone becoming increasingly earnest: "If it weren't for protecting you, the child in your belly, and our son, would I be able to take on this role as the director of the Revolutionary Committee? I'm only doing this for you, by compromising my principles."

"What should we do then..." Wei Jialing leaned helplessly on his shoulder.

"Let's take it one step at a time," Li Jing comforted her, patting her back. "Our dad was criticized today, so he must be in a bad mood. We need to go and talk to him."

"But... my dad just called and said we can't go. He said the situation isn't good, and he's not feeling well today."

"How can that be?" Li Jing'an blurted out, then realized his mistake and quickly softened his tone. "I mean, with Dad in this situation, even though he doesn't want us to go, we can't really not go. How disappointed he'll be without family by his side, don't you think?"

He sneered inwardly: This old man must have been beaten up today and is afraid of losing face, right? That won't do. I've spent the money, so I need to see exactly where it went. How can I not go and check the "results" with my own eyes?

Wei Jialing was completely at a loss, and after listening to his words, she felt that there was some truth to them.

Li Jing'an pressed his advantage: "Jialing, think about it, these students suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and they might stay in the city for several days. This might only be the first day for Dad; there's a long road ahead. What if he, such a high-ranking leader, can't handle this? We have to go, support him, and help him get through this period."

"Well... okay, let's go." Wei Jialing leaned against his shoulder, her eyes brimming with tears. "Jing'an, you're so good to me."

Li Jing'an embraced her, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said tenderly, "It's good that you know. My heart only belongs to you and the three of you." As he spoke, his hand gently caressed her pregnant belly, his voice growing deeper and more sincere, "For you, I'm willing to go against my conscience to become the director of the Revolutionary Committee. I just want you to live a better life and be unaffected by the impact. This is my responsibility."

"Yes, I know... Jing'an." Wei Jialing was deeply moved.

"It's good that you know. By the way," Li Jing'an stroked her hair, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips, "when you see Dad, don't forget to tell him about my difficulties, so he doesn't misunderstand me. Do you understand?"