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

"Clang—"

With a muffled thud, the iron door to the interrogation room was violently pushed open. Xu Damao strode out, his hands behind his back, his leather shoes echoing on the concrete corridor.

"Two people, please."

Before he could finish speaking, two burly young men sprang out of the next room, their backs ramrod straight: "Team leader, what are your orders!"

Xu Damao turned to the side and gestured with his chin toward the room. In the dim light, he saw a man slumped in a chair, his face ashen and his eyes unfocused—it was the former deputy minister whom Li Jing'an had specifically requested to deal with, and also the biggest backer of the former deputy factory director Li Huaide.

"Take this old bastard out and move him to another room so he can 'wake up' properly." Xu Damao sneered. "This old guy is incredibly stubborn, pretending to be crazy to resist investigation. He's a complete die-hard."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over his two men like a venomous snake: "Keep him awake, don't let him fall asleep. Remember, keep him 'focused' at all times, and make him remember every single thing he's forgotten, down to the smallest detail."

"Don't worry, Team Leader Xu! I guarantee he won't even dare to take a nap!" A young man patted his chest, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Just you wait and see!" the other man grinned knowingly.

"Hmm." Xu Damao nodded in satisfaction, then added ominously, "I'll come back for questioning in a couple of days. Hopefully, by then he'll remember everything he needs to remember. Hmph..."

A few low, cold laughs faded into the corridor as he turned and pushed open the door to another office.

Upon seeing this, the two staff members inside stood up abruptly: "Team Leader Xu!"

Xu Damao waved for them to sit down, then walked straight to the table and opened the notebook. The few lines of basic information on it were particularly jarring.

"Still haven't spoken?" He frowned slightly.

"Yes...we're just starting out too," one of them replied cautiously.

"Continue." Xu Damao closed his notebook. "This reactionary technical authority and undercover agent hiding in the Ministry of Metallurgy must be thoroughly investigated! We must find out if he has ulterior motives for returning to the country to plot subversion."

After saying that, he glanced at Luo Tianyou in the chair opposite him, snorted coldly, and left in a huff.

He had more important "personal matters" to attend to.

I need to go to the political work group today and give Liu Yuanyuan a boost. If she loses the election, wouldn't my plan to "take advantage of her position" become a joke?

Walking down the street, Xu Damao's mind was already racing: if he could help her secure this spot, wouldn't this little girl be eternally grateful to him? Once she got into the factory, on his turf, the room for maneuver would be enormous. Now, as the head of the security team and the person in charge of the special task force, he was undoubtedly the third most powerful figure in the steel rolling mill. Why would he be afraid of a little sparrow fresh out of school flying out of his grasp?

As he thought about it, he couldn't help but chuckle, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

……

"Sister Lin, please wait a moment, please don't disturb us any longer!"

Xu Damao emerged from Song Yun's office with a broad smile, scratched his head, and his smile instantly vanished.

Miscalculated.

Unexpectedly, Li Jing'an personally oversaw the recruitment of art students this time. Song Yun is now just a mouthpiece; the decision-making power rests entirely in Li Jing'an's hands.

He had no choice but to go to his "boss." But Xu Damao was worried—Li Jing'an had been giving him the cold shoulder these past few days, and if he used personal matters to provoke him now, would he get scolded?

But I'm not willing to give up! How can I let this easy prize slip away?

He gritted his teeth and walked to that familiar door.

"Thump, thump, thump."

"Enter."

Li Jing'an looked up and saw Xu Damao grinning. His brows immediately furrowed: "What brings you here? Has the task force made a breakthrough?"

"Brother Li, don't worry!" Xu Damao quickly composed himself and said with a fawning smile, "We just started using the methods today, and there are no results yet. But give me two more days, and I guarantee that old bastard will vomit up everything he's got!"

"Then what are you doing here?"

"It's like this, Brother Li..." Xu Damao rubbed his hands together cautiously, "Didn't our factory just recruit a new batch of art students? Among the applicants, there was one named Liu Yuanyuan, the daughter of our neighbor in the front yard. You might remember her?"

Li Jing'an frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook his head. He hadn't lived in the courtyard house for long and hadn't had much interaction with that family.

Seeing that the leader didn't recognize her, Xu Damao quickly added, "Brother Li, his family is the most low-key in the courtyard. This Liu Yuanyuan is a recent graduate from the dance academy, and she's quite qualified. I'm just trying to find out more out of consideration for our old neighbor relationship... It's definitely not about using connections! I was just thinking, if our qualifications are similar, could we give her some priority?"

"Alright, I got it." Li Jing'an waved his hand impatiently. As long as it didn't prevent him from picking a few that he liked, what difference did it make who got the remaining spots?

Xu Damao was overjoyed and was about to take his leave when he was stopped.

"Oh, right, Da Mao, there's something else." Li Jing'an put down his pen, his eyes suddenly turning cold. "The former minister has been officially declared a counter-revolutionary gangster, a lackey of capitalist roaders—that's the final verdict. Most of his accomplices have been arrested, but some henchmen haven't been completely wiped out. I think our factory director, Yang, is one of the former minister's cronies. Go and drag him out, investigate whether he's part of the gang. Remember, be quick and severe!"

Li Jing'an was shrewd: the minister has fallen from power, why keep this factory director Yang around to freeload? It's a good opportunity to establish authority.

"Hey! Brother Li, I'll take care of it right away!" Xu Damao's eyes darted around, a wicked plan forming in his mind. "Brother Li, actually, Sha Zhu should be included too! He used to get special treatment at the former minister's house quite often. Lou Xiao'e's parents were only released because of Sha Zhu's help. Do you think we should include him as well..."

"That's enough!"

Li Jing'an glared at him and retorted without hesitation, "He's just a cook, what kind of gang member is he? Don't bring your personal grudges into your work! Get out!"

"Yes, yes, I'll leave, I'll leave right now..."

Xu Damao shrank back in anger after being scolded, and with his tail between his legs, he slunk out of the office.

……

The anger on Li Jing'an's face dissipated, replaced by a playful expression.

Xu Damao's reminder made him realize that he hadn't looked at the stack of art student files on the table in detail. Since he had nothing else to do, he took them out for a "appreciation".

His eyes lit up as soon as he turned to the first page.

"Heh, not bad, you're really energetic..."

The girl in the photo was youthful and radiant, with bright and expressive eyes. Li Jing'an clicked his tongue in admiration, his fingertips gently stroking the pages as he turned them one by one, as if selecting exquisite pieces of porcelain.

"This one is good... Wang Manqi? An elegant name, and an outstanding person. Make a note of her, and nurture her carefully."

He flipped through a few more pages, then suddenly stopped.

"Oh, so this is Liu Yuanyuan that Xu Damao was talking about?"

He pulled out the file, stared at the photo for a long time, and nodded repeatedly. The girl in the photo was pretty and gentle, with eyes that seemed to hold a lot of affection; she was just his type.

"That's strange. How come I didn't notice such a beauty when I lived in the courtyard?"

Li Jing'an muttered to himself, then suddenly realized, "Oh... that was three or four years ago. Back then she was just a little girl, not fully grown yet."

He closed the file, leaned back in his chair, and a smug smile appeared on his face.

This batch of art students is truly of exceptional quality. Especially Liu Yuanyuan and Wang Manqi—

"Two pearls bloom side by side, two lotuses bloom on the same stem..."

He murmured a sigh, his gaze deep and unfathomable, as if he could already see two delicate flowers blooming in his palm.