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

Paris, France.

Bernal sat on the sofa in the apartment's living room, looking completely drained. When Sandrine pushed open the door, she almost thought she had entered the wrong room—Bernal's hair was a mess, his dark circles were frighteningly deep, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was sallow and pale.

"Bernard, you look terrible!" Sandrine was startled and forgot to put her bag down.

Bernal looked up abruptly, his movements as slow as if he had just woken from a dream, and he hadn't even heard Sandrine open the door. "Sandrine, you're back?" His voice was filled with surprise, but when he stood up, he swayed twice and almost stumbled back onto the sofa.

"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Sandrine frowned as she approached, recalling Xie Hui's earlier words—"Does Bernal have some kind of medical emergency?"—she hadn't paid attention then, but now it seemed something was really wrong.

"No, no, I just...didn't sleep well." Bernal quickly waved his hand to steady himself, but his eyes darted away, avoiding Sandrine's gaze.

It wasn't just a matter of not sleeping well. These past few days, every time he closed his eyes, the sounds of Li Jing'an and Sandrine in the apartment that day would automatically replay in his mind, the images becoming clearer and clearer. The more he tried to suppress them, the more uncontrollable they became, his anger rising, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted. He awkwardly cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, why are you back? And... are you going out again?"

As he spoke, Bernal's eyes involuntarily followed Sandrine's movements, his pupils following her as she turned toward the room, and his feet honestly moving in that direction as well.

"I'm not going out." Sandrine pushed open the bedroom door, casually tossed her bag onto the bed, and said in a languid tone.

Bernal's eyes lit up, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly pressed for confirmation: "What's wrong? Are you unhappy? Did things not go well? I knew it—" He quickened his pace, taking a half-step forward eagerly, "Xie Hui is Asian, from Dongda University. That country is closed off, ignorant, poor, and backward. What good people could he possibly be? I'm just afraid you'll be deceived!"

Sandrine frowned, turned and glanced at Bernal, her tone turning cold: "How could you say that about Xie Hui? He's a good person, and our relationship is very good. He's only going back to his country on official business; he'll be back soon. Please don't slander him and his country—we truly love each other, and I accept everything about him."

Bernal panicked, his face flushed red, and stepped forward: "Sanderlyn, wake up! He's still a student from Tokyo University. Do you think your parents will accept him? Our society won't accept a student from Tokyo University either; he'll drag you down! People in that country can't even get enough to eat; he's probably just using sweet talk to deceive you!"

"Bernard!" Sandrine jumped up from the bed, staring at him in the doorway, her tone as sharp as a blade. "These are none of your business. You're just my roommate and college classmate; you have no right to say these things, and I don't need your special attention."

After saying that, she turned around, opened the closet door, and pulled out the clothes one by one, throwing them onto the bed.

Bernal was taken aback: "What are you doing?"

"I don't feel comfortable living here, and I'm planning to move out." Sandrine said without turning her head.

"Why? We've been sharing this place for years!" Bernal's voice tightened.

Sandrine stopped what she was doing, turned around, looked Bernal into his eyes, and said, word by word, "I'm sorry, Bernal. I suddenly feel that sharing an apartment with someone of the opposite sex isn't appropriate—I'm afraid Xie Hui might misunderstand."

---

Meanwhile, Li Jing'an sat on the sofa in Vice President Wang's office, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, his face grave.

"I'm sorry, sir, this inspection tour of the Swiss machinery company... failed to achieve its intended objectives. As the head of the delegation, I bear an unshirkable responsibility." His voice was low, and his fingers unconsciously clenched his trousers at his knees.

Vice President Wang waved his hand, pushing the report aside: "Jing'an, don't blame yourself so much. I've read the report. The Swiss company's production line equipment is alright, but it's too expensive overall. Small-batch purchases are acceptable, but we're restoring gold mine production lines in Shandong Province and even nationwide. Such a large quantity means we can't keep up with the foreign exchange requirements; it's not worthwhile."

He paused, poured a glass of water, and pushed it towards Li Jing'an: "Besides, you went out to compare prices anyway, and there's still Japan we haven't seen, right? And—" Vice President Wang's tone became serious, "Compared to equipment, preventing those two from defecting is far more significant. Otherwise, the capitalist media would definitely have exaggerated and used the opportunity to attack us, and the reputational damage would have been far more severe than a few pieces of equipment. Tell me, which is more important?"

"I'm ashamed, sir." Li Jing'an shook his head and sighed, "They were both members of my unit, so I also bear responsibility for what happened. My intervention at the time was merely a belated attempt to salvage the situation..."

"Hey—" Vice President Wang interrupted him, patting him on the shoulder, "You can't see into someone's heart. Don't try to take all the blame. Go back and rest for a couple of days; we have to go to Japan soon. The task of restoring mine production can't be delayed even for a day."

Li Jing'an nodded, took a deep breath, and stood up to say goodbye.

---

When I got home, I had just opened the door when I saw Wei Jialing directing two staff members to move things into the basement, with large and small bags piled up.

Li Jing'an frowned: "Jialing, what's going on?"

"Hey, everyone knows you're back!" Wei Jialing dusted off her hands. "People from the Ministry of Metallurgy and managers from the surrounding factories all came to visit you this afternoon, but you weren't there, so they just left their things and left."

Li Jing'an walked over, flipped through it, and nodded: "Have you written everything down?"

"I've written it down, I've written it down. Isn't this your rule?" Wei Jialing pouted. "When someone gives you something, you always make sure they write it down. I don't know what's wrong with you, are you afraid people won't be able to find out who you are?"

"Why are you saying such harsh things?" Li Jing'an glared at her. "My comrades care about me, so I have to put them on paper too! How am I supposed to know who sent me things if I don't write them down? You've been with me for so many years, and you don't understand any social etiquette at all."

Wei Jialing rolled her eyes at him, didn't respond, and instead said, "By the way, Dad called this afternoon and said your uncle needs to speak with you."

"Huh? What is it?" Li Jing'an asked, puzzled.

"They didn't say anything, they just told you to call back right away."

Li Jing'an took off his coat and nodded: "Okay, I understand."

He went into the study, picked up the phone, paused his finger on the dial pad, and looked thoughtful.