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

"Sanderlyn, are you going out again tonight?"

Bernal stared at his roommate, Sandrine, his gaze instantly fixed on her. Sandrine was meticulously dressing up, a black bodycon dress perfectly accentuating her curves, leaving Bernal mesmerized. Her long, golden curls cascaded lazily over her shoulders as she carefully applied makeup to her eyebrows in front of the mirror.

"Oh, Bernal, you're off work too?" Sandrine saw him in the mirror and replied casually, "I have an appointment later."

Upon hearing the word "date," Bernal's expression froze. They were college classmates and inseparable friends—at least that's how Sandrine saw them. As for Bernal, he gave a bitter smile, then asked casually, "Where are you going? Isn't it getting late? Should I take you?"

"No need, someone will come to pick me up soon, hahaha." Sandrine laughed lightly, picked up a lipstick to try the color, then put it down and picked another one.

"You're not in love, are you?" Bernal probed jokingly, but his voice was slightly tense. "Could it be... a man came to pick you up?"

Sandrine had finished drawing her eyebrows. She turned around, looked at Bernal, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes: "Haha, you guessed it, it's a man after all."

"No way, Sandrine, you're not really in love?" Bernal forced a smile, his eyes fixed on her back, hoping she would say "no." "You told me before that you wouldn't fall in love easily."

"It's not really dating, just a crush," Sandrine said casually, breaking Bernal's heart.

"Really? What for?" Bernal's expression stiffened even more.

"A government employee." Sandrine paused, glanced back at him as if sharing a huge secret, "I'll let you in on a secret, he's a foreigner."

"Foreigner?"

"Yes, you'd never guess what country they're from, they're very mysterious."

Bernal's mind went blank for a moment, an image of a black man pinning Sandrine down uncontrollably flashing into his head. He shook his head violently, trying to banish the horrifying image, and asked in a trembling voice, "What else could be so mysterious? It can't be an African, can it?"

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Hahaha, I knew you wouldn't guess!" Sandrine laughed even harder. "More mysterious than Africa, let me tell you, it's a great Eastern country."

"What? Tokyo University? No way!" Bernal's eyes widened in disbelief. "Sanderly, you haven't been fooled, have you?"

"Believe it or not." Sandrine finished applying her lipstick, checked the time, and walked to the window.

She lived on the second floor in a two-bedroom apartment, which she and Bernal had shared for three years. She opened the window and looked down, seeing an Asian man standing next to a taxi. He was looking down at his watch, his posture upright. Sandrine's eyes lit up with surprise, and she called out downstairs, "Xie Hui!"

The man downstairs looked up at the sound, his gaze precisely locking onto her location, and waved happily.

"Oh, he's here to pick me up." Sandrine turned around and said to Bernal while putting on her shoes, "You can eat whatever you want tonight."

"What time will you be back tonight? Do you need me to pick you up?" Bernal asked in rapid succession, his voice carrying a barely perceptible pleading tone.

"Don't wait for me, I don't know what time it is either. If I come back, he'll take me." Sandrine put on her shoes, walked to the door, put her hand on the doorknob, then turned back and winked playfully at Bernal. "Aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?"

"Have fun." Bernal's facial muscles twitched stiffly, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Haha, thank you!"

Sandrine disappeared through the doorway, leaving only her cheerful laughter echoing in the empty living room.

The moment the door closed, Bernal's smile vanished completely, replaced by a somber expression. He strode to the window and looked down.

Downstairs, Li Jing'an stood there listlessly. The taxi driver leaned out and called out, "Sir, how much longer?"

Li Jing'an frowned, took out his wallet, pulled out a banknote, and threw it through the car window.

"Yes, yes, sir, please feel free to do as you please." The driver's voice immediately became obsequious.

"Damn it, this capitalist country is all about money, they don't have the same simplicity as us Dongda people," Li Jing'an muttered under his breath, then habitually looked up at the window where Sandrine had just appeared.

He was stunned when he saw it.

Behind the window, a young man's face was staring intently at him.

Why are there men in the house? Her brother? Or her younger brother? Or... hehe.

Bernal, on the second floor, was also sizing up the East Asian man downstairs. He was decent-looking and had a good build, but Bernal knew that East Asians tended to look younger; this man was at least thirty. He couldn't understand what Sandrine saw in him. Why choose a man from a backward, poor, and closed-off East Asian country? Wasn't this a disgrace to France? Were all the men in France dead?

More importantly, he only had one thought in his mind: Why didn't he come to me?

I've waited for you for so many years and taken such good care of you. Don't you know how I feel?

Bernal's eyes were filled with resentment as he stared intently at Li Jing'an.

Downstairs, Li Jing'an noticed the unfriendly gaze. Instead of flinching, he raised an eyebrow and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

There's hope!

Just then, footsteps echoed in the stairwell, and a strikingly beautiful figure appeared at the entrance of the building. Li Jing'an first let out a flippant whistle, then quickly went to greet her.

"Miss Sandrine, you are so beautiful! You practically light up this whole neighborhood. I should have brought sunglasses with me." Li Jing'an said with a beaming smile, his words as sweet as honey.

"Haha, really? It's not as pretty as you say. You're just trying to comfort me, so fake," Sandrine said playfully, but inside she felt as sweet as if she'd eaten honey. Who doesn't like being praised?

"I swear, I swear on my integrity, on my whole family, if I am lying, may my whole family die."

"What are you doing! How can you say such a thing?" Sandrine was speechless, yet also found it amusing. "Who swears on their family like that?"

"Isn't this just to show my sincerity? I wish I could rip my heart out and show it to you right now." Li Jing'an said, naturally reaching out to put his arm around her waist, and with a slight pull, leading her towards the taxi.

His hand touched her slender, supple waist. Li Jing'an felt a surge of excitement: So thin, so wonderful. Damn it, I need to eat more today to replenish my energy.

He strode to the taxi, gentlemanly opened the door for Sandrine, and carefully helped her inside. After closing the door, he was about to walk around to the other side when he suddenly remembered something, stopped, turned around, and looked at the man staring expectantly from behind the second-floor window.

A menacing smile appeared on Li Jing'an's face.

He clenched his fists, pulled them back, squatted slightly, and then thrust his hips forward.

One, two, three, four.

The actions were full of blatant innuendo and provocation.

Bernal on the second floor was spitting fire in his eyes and was trembling all over.

Li Jing'an didn't care at all. After enjoying the other person's breakdown, he walked around to the other side of the car with satisfaction, opened the door, and got in.

"Oh, by the way, I saw a boy in your window just now. Who was he?" Li Jing'an asked casually after starting the car.

"Oh, that's my college classmate, and now my roommate. We live together," Sandrine explained.

"Really? A friend?"

"No, he's my best friend!" Sandrine corrected earnestly. "He's so considerate. He's been my confidant since college, someone I can talk to about anything. He's so caring and..."

"Oh, really? Isn't that Always?" Li Jing'an said subconsciously, tightening his arms around her waist.

"What is Always?" Sandrine asked, looking puzzled.

"It's nothing." Li Jing'an chuckled lightly, offering no further explanation, but tightened his grip on her arm.

(That should be one chapter today; I need to have a couple of drinks with some friends.)