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

A window seat in a high-end restaurant in Southeast Asia.

"Why do you seem so distant after all these years?" Li Jing'an held a teacup in his hand, a playful smile on his face, looking at the person in front of him. There were still a few dishes left on the table.

"What do you want to say? Just say it over the phone, no need for all this trouble." Li Xin on the other end of the line didn't even put her bag down, still holding it in her arms, her face turned towards the street outside, clearly not wanting to have any interaction with Li Jing'an.

"Heh heh, you've really gone too far these past few years. Your temper's gotten all shrewd. Talking to me like that?" Li Jing'an's smile remained unchanged. "Is this how you treat your benefactor?"

"What exactly do you want?" Li Xin finally frowned, turned her head to look at Li Jing'an who was still grinning, and asked in return.

"What for? What could I possibly be doing? We haven't seen each other for so long, I just wanted to come and see the kids." Li Jing'an maintained the same attitude as before.

"What does the child have to do with you? I hope you won't disturb our lives." When Li Xin heard him mention the child, her expression finally changed, and she stared intently at Li Jing'an as she spoke.

"How can it be nothing? I don't like hearing that. I've put in a lot of effort for the children. And you're able to come to Southeast Asia and live the life you have now, all because of me. What? Are you ungrateful?" Li Jing'an said. "Now that you've entered the Luo family and taken control of the Luo family's assets in Southeast Asia, you're quite confident, aren't you? You've already forgotten about me. It hurts me to hear you say that. Don't you think that if I hadn't arranged for you to marry Luo Tianyou, would you have the life you have now? If Luo Tianyou hadn't suddenly died in an accident when he was preparing to return to Southeast Asia, would you have been able to take over the Luo family's assets? What, do you want to eat it all yourself? The Luo family's business is so big, aren't you afraid of being overwhelmed?"

Li Jing'an's voice grew softer and his gaze sharper.

"What do you mean? Luo Tianyou..." Li Xin braced her hands on the table, her face stiff, staring intently at Li Jing'an, and said each word clearly.

Before he could finish speaking, Li Jing'an waved his hand to interrupt him.

"Hey, don't talk nonsense. I know what you're trying to say. I'm not the kind of person you imagine." After saying that, Li Jing'an picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"What exactly do you want? I won't let you see the child. Forget about it." Li Xin's expression changed as she said in a deep voice.

"Haha, it's alright, kid. I mainly came to see you," Li Jing'an replied. "It's like this, I'm planning to go back to the mainland to do some business. Right now, the mainland market has just opened up, it's still a blue ocean, full of opportunities. I want to cut a big slice of this pie. Of course, to get a large share and big profits, I'll need a large investment. I'm planning to throw money at it. You know, after all these years of working diligently as a leader in the mainland, where would I get any money? That's why I thought of you, haha."

"You..." Li Xin was furious when she saw Li Jing'an's shameless expression. "How much money do you want?" she finally asked angrily.

"That's great. Now that you're the head of the Luo Group, you're a completely different person. You speak with such magnanimity. I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Li Jing'an's smile widened even more.

After the reform and opening up, Luo Tianyou had an accident, and Li Xin had no choice but to return to the Luo family in Southeast Asia with her child. Since Luo Tianyou's parents only had him as their child, they trusted and valued Li Xin greatly. Over the years, they gradually handed over all their businesses to her to manage. Li Xin now certainly has the air of a strong, independent woman.

"Hmph, not much, not much at all. It's just a drop in the ocean for your Luo family. Because I need to dominate the market now, I need to conquer the entire country, and there are subsequent marketing expenses. I plan to take over the national market in one go. I've estimated that the marketing expenses for domestic TV stations are still relatively low. Including production materials and such, just prepare 1000 million US dollars for me."

"You really dare to ask for that much!" Li Xin was furious, her face changing drastically. "Where am I supposed to get 1000 million in cash for you? Don't be fooled by the Luo family's wealth and power; they certainly don't have that much cash on hand. And besides, there has to be a reason for getting that much cash, right?"

"You're being modest, aren't you? Everyone knows the Luo family in Nanyang is a prominent family there. 1000 million isn't much for you."

"No, I can't do it." Li Xin refused directly, turning her face away.

"Hmm? Really? You can't even get 1000 million? Then you really aren't worth much." Li Jing'an looked at the teacup and said, "What if someone spreads rumors that Luo Tianyou's child isn't his? What do you think those uncles from the collateral branches of the Luo family will think? Do you think they'll be willing to let such a large family fortune fall into the hands of outsiders? Besides, this is Southeast Asia, their territory. What will happen to you and the child then? It's hard to say." Li Jing'an said with a sinister look.

"You shameless!" Li Xin's eyes were blazing with anger as she stared intently at Li Jing'an.

Li Jing'an remained completely indifferent, letting Li Xin's anger fester. He refused to believe that he couldn't control Li Xin.

After a while, the room fell silent. Li Xin finally calmed down and asked in a composed manner, "What are you planning to do in the mainland?"

"Health supplements, do you know about them?" Li Jing'an replied.

Li Xin frowned. She understood the current situation in China. Due to lax regulation, health supplements had sprung up like mushrooms after rain in recent years, with all sorts of products appearing everywhere. She had actually researched these supplements; the profit margins were enormous—you could say that aside from the packaging, it was all profit. If she didn't lack connections in mainland China, she would have considered getting involved herself.

Li Xin thought it over carefully. With Li Jing'an's connections in China, plus the massive, paid publicity, this was a very good deal. After a moment's consideration, she said seriously, "Okay, I can give you 1000 million, but I'd like to know what percentage I'll get?"

"What? You want a percentage more? You're dreaming! This is my exclusive business, a sure-fire way to make money. I'm here to borrow money, not to find investors. Do you think I'm that stupid? Would I give away my profits for nothing?" Li Jing'an looked at her like she was an idiot, with a "don't try to take advantage of me" expression.

Li Xin was now even more furious. Looking at this rogue, she said with difficulty, "That doesn't count as my shares, so why should I come up with the money?"

"That's your problem, I don't care," Li Jing'an said with a smile, then took out a piece of paper with a string of numbers on it. "This is my account. You have to transfer the money in within a week. I'm only giving you one week. If you're even a day late, I don't know what bad things might happen. Hehe."

After saying that, Li Jing'an wiped his mouth and stood up. He walked to where the clothes were hanging, put on his coat, and prepared to leave when he suddenly whispered, "I'll live off you for the rest of my life for this."

Li Xin sat motionless in her seat, her chest heaving with anger. Li Jing'an passed by her, glanced at her, and thought to himself that the capitalist world and money and power truly nurtured people; becoming the head of the Luo family had completely changed her demeanor, giving her a different kind of aura. He lowered his head and whispered in Li Xin's ear:

"Come on, let's go back to the hotel. We're already here."