On the day the agreement was signed, a group of longtime neighbors gathered outside my mother's noodle shop, demanding to know where the property-owned shops had gone. Over the years, I had replaced the streetlights, cleared the drainage ditches, and helped one neighborhood business after another get back on its feet. When our old street failed to make the renovation list, I made countless trips to secure subsidies and three years of rent reductions for the entire neighborhood. Yet one rumor was all it took to turn me into an outsider in everyone's eyes. I withdrew my authorization letter and simply said, 'If it's too difficult, then let's not do it.' The opportunity went to the old warehouse district on the North Bank instead. Those who followed the rules finally got ahead, while those who took shortcuts paid the price. Only later did I understand that kindness is important, but so are boundaries. Helping others is a kindness; refusing to help is my right.