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

Inside a hotel in Paris, France.

Li Jing'an called the liaison officer into the room, handed him a wad of cash, and said, "Go tell the group members that due to some unforeseen circumstances, the inspection mission has ended early, and we will return home tomorrow. Everyone, go out for a walk today. Here are some unspent funds; divide them among yourselves and go buy some things to take back home. Everyone has worked hard."

Li Jing'an counted the money on the table and gave instructions.

"Commander, aren't you going to announce it yourself? Everyone will thank you." The liaison officer asked doubtfully.

"Why thank me? This is what everyone deserves." Li Jing'an waved his hand. "Also, let me tell you all, you know what you can and cannot buy. Customs also told them what items were prohibited when they left the country, so don't go looking for trouble. Also, although using extra money to buy things is an unspoken rule, it is still an unspoken rule, so please keep your mouths shut and don't spread it around after you return home, it will have a bad influence."

"Yes, Minister, I will explain it to them." The liaison officer picked up the money and solemnly assured them.

Li Jing'an nodded, then added seriously, "Remember, everyone must act as a group. No one is allowed to leave the group alone! What happened to those two people must not happen again. We must remain vigilant, supervise each other, and not turn a good thing into a bad thing."

"Understood!" the liaison officer replied and left.

Li Jing'an was left alone in the room. He took out a large sum of money from the file folder, checked it, and found it was quite a lot. He stuffed the entire wad of cash into his wallet, a thick wad that almost made the wallet fold up. He struggled to put the wallet in his pocket, feeling uncomfortable as if it were a brick.

Then, he picked up his coat and prepared to go out. He hadn't finished the task Wei Jialing had given him; he needed to go shopping to avoid endless nagging when he got back.

……

Champs-Élysées.

Li Jing'an was carrying two bags, containing clothes and cosmetics he had bought for Wei Jialing. He looked up at the store in front of him and paused slightly in surprise.

Isn't this the famous LV (Louis Vuitton) of later generations? I didn't expect it to still exist today.

He pushed open the door and went inside.

"Hello sir, what would you like to order?"

The shop assistant, Sandrine, greeted the Asian man who walked in with a professional smile in English.

Her gaze swept over the bags in his hands, and her eyes lit up immediately—they were all bags from luxury stores on this street, definitely high-end goods!

She had to win over this customer; he wasn't one of those penniless people who just looked and didn't buy. Her smile grew even brighter.

Li Jing'an sized up the saleswoman in front of him, secretly admiring her: French women are so beautiful, so exquisite! Especially those long, straight legs, that high nose bridge, and those refined features. No wonder it's romantic Paris, France; with women like that, how could they not be carefree and romantic?

"Sir?" Sandrine called out softly when she saw the guest staring at her in a daze.

"Ah, I'd like to see if you have any women's bags here?" Li Jing'an snapped out of his reverie.

"Yes, sir, please come with me. We have several handbags for ladies." Sandrine smiled and led him aside.

Li Jing'an looked around at the displayed merchandise and was taken aback. "Damn, I only knew LV sold women's bags before, I never knew they sold suitcases!"

"Sir, these are some of our latest handbag designs, and the customer feedback has been excellent," Sandrine introduced enthusiastically.

Li Jing'an hadn't actually listened at all; his mind wasn't on the handbag at all, but rather on the saleswoman's pretty face. It wasn't until Sandrine called out "Sir" twice that he snapped out of it.

"Oh, okay, then. Wrap both of these up for me." Li Jing'an casually pointed to two handbags.

Seeing that the man had chosen two bags without even asking the price, Sandrine became even more certain that he was a wealthy man, and her smile widened. This meant she'd be making a hefty commission. As she wrapped the bags, she smiled and complimented, "Sir, it's clear you love your wife very much. Are you here for tourism?"

"Haha, no, I'm on a business trip," Li Jing'an laughed.

"Are you Japanese?" Sandrine pressed. In her mind, Asians who could come to France at this time of year and enter such luxury stores were most likely Japanese.

Japanese?

Li Jing'an was about to nod when he suddenly realized: Damn it, why am I sneaking around? Why should they get all the good reputation? What about our national pride? It starts with me!

"No, I am Chinese," Li Jing'an said frankly.

"Chinese?" Sandrine was taken aback, an incredulous look on her face. After all, at this time, China was synonymous with closed-off and mysterious in their minds.

Realizing she had been a bit rude, Sandrine quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know you were from China. I hope I didn't offend you." Although she didn't know much about China, she was afraid of jeopardizing the deal, especially since she had just mistaken him for a Japanese person.

Li Jing'an waved his hand generously: "It's okay."

Sandrine looked at the cheerful East Asian man before her, secretly surprised. He was completely different from the Japanese she had met before; tall, with pleasant features, and possessing a composed demeanor. Unlike those Japanese, who were either timid or had the air of nouveau riche, he appeared generous, at ease, and extraordinary.

This sparked Sandrine's curiosity about this mysterious country.

Looking at the apologetic shop assistant, Li Jing'an thought she was becoming more and more beautiful, so he comforted her, "It's alright, it's alright. By the way, you just said that my wife and I have a good relationship. I'll tell you a secret: in China, it's popular to be introduced by a matchmaker these days. My wife and I were introduced. Before we got married, we didn't have much of a relationship and didn't communicate much."

Sandrine's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief. Could people without feelings for each other really live together?

"Oh, by the way, miss, I see you have suitcases here, could you prepare one for me too?" Li Jing'an suddenly said, pointing to the large suitcase next to him.

"Oh? Sir, you mean the suitcase over there?" Sandrine hadn't expected him to buy a suitcase after buying a handbag.

"Yes, it's inconvenient for us to carry things when we travel on official business. It seems you have some good stuff here, I'll buy one too."

"Yes, sir, I'll get it for you right away!" Sandrine, seeing how generous he was, couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sir, are you a government employee or a businessperson?" She quickly added, "Of course, if you don't want to say, just pretend I didn't ask."

"Haha, how could I not answer such a beautiful lady's question?" Li Jing'an joked. "I'm a government official, on a business trip to Switzerland, and I'm transiting through France on my way back home."

"Thank you for telling me, I'm so honored! This is the first time I've hosted friends from China," Sandrine said with a smile.

"Haha, really? That's quite novel. You see, I'm pretty much the same as everyone else, with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. I haven't disappointed you, have I?"

"Sir, you are so humorous. You are very different from the China I have in mind."

"Oh? What's the difference? It's probably due to a lack of communication between East and West. Like, I know nothing about France right now. Actually, I'd like to make a French friend. I'll be flying to Europe frequently in the future, and having a local friend would be helpful for both my personal life and career. I'd also like to learn about your local customs and culture."

"Hehe, sir, with your status, many people must want to be your friend." Sandrine's words were not an exaggeration. Anyone who could freely enter and leave that great Eastern country must have an extraordinary background.

"Really? Too bad I haven't met that person yet." Li Jing'an changed the subject, staring intently into her eyes, and said seriously, "Then I'd like to ask, can you be my friend? May I have dinner with you?"

"Huh?" Sandrine's eyes widened in surprise. "You...you're serious?"

She felt conflicted. A man from a mysterious country, humorous, generous, and an official—all these qualities combined held a fatal attraction for her.

"I see you're working right now, how about I pick you up after get off work?" Li Jing'an looked into her eyes, his tone sincere.

"Well...it's my pleasure." Sandrine finally nodded.

Li Jing'an's face immediately lit up with a bright smile: "That's wonderful, beautiful lady. May I ask your name?"

"I...I'm Sandrine."

"Sanderly, a nice name." Li Jing'an smiled.

"I'll give you an address. I need to go back and tidy up after get off work, so you can pick me up at this address. I've also written the time on it." Sandrine quickly took out a piece of paper from the counter, wrote a few lines in French, then realized that Li Jing'an couldn't understand it, so she crossed them out, rewrote them in English, and handed them to him.

Li Jing'an looked at it and solemnly put it in his pocket.

"Okay, see you tonight. Oh, by the way, I haven't told you my name yet—I'm Xie Hui."