The voluptuous and beautiful nanny, Technician Shen fell for her.

Shen Huai walked back to his private office down the corridor.

The corridor is poorly ventilated and very stuffy.

He pushed open the door, closed it behind him, and walked to his desk, throwing the notebook down.

Feeling his throat dry, he picked up the thermos on the table, poured half a glass of cold water into it, and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

The water flowed down his throat, slightly relieving the heat in his chest.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, then reached out and unbuttoned the top button of his collar to let some air in.

As soon as I close my eyes, Su Nianhe's flushed face, streaked with tears, pops up.

Two rough knocks came from outside the door.

"Come in." Shen Huai put down his water glass.

The door was pushed open, and Li Tiejun, the head of the security department, strode in.

Li Tiejun was Shen Huai's comrade-in-arms in the army. After being demobilized, they were assigned to the Jiangshi Textile Factory together, and the two had a very close relationship.

Today he was wearing a faded security uniform and holding a sealed manila file folder.

"What's wrong with you today?" Li Tiejun pulled out the chair opposite Shen Huai and sat down, slamming the file folder on the table. "I ran into Old Wang from Workshop 1 in the hallway just now. He said you were completely distracted during the meeting, and you even read the blueprints backwards. This isn't like you, Consultant Shen."

Shen Huai ignored his teasing and focused his gaze on the manila file folder.

"You found it?" His voice was strained.

Li Tiejun's smile faded, and he nodded: "How could I not take what you asked me to do seriously? I asked my comrades at the Qingxi County Public Security Bureau in the South Province to turn Liuhe Village upside down."

Shen Huai reached out and took the file folder, bypassing the white thread sealing it.

He moved quickly and took out several sheets of letter paper stamped with a red seal and a copy of the household registration.

At the very top of the first page is a black and white one-inch passport photo.

The girl in the photo has two braids, wears a dowdy floral dress, and doesn't smile much, but her features are surprisingly pure and delicate, and her stunning beauty can be seen even through the black and white photograph.

The name field reads: Su Nianhe.

Age: 18 years old.

"This girl has a hard life." Li Tiejun pulled out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and put it in his mouth without lighting it. "Her household registration is clean. She's never been married, never engaged, and is definitely a virgin."

Shen Huai tightened his grip on the paper.

The paper was pressed into a distinct crease.

She was not lying.

"However, when my comrade went to visit the village, he found out some strange things." Li Tiejun leaned forward and lowered his voice, "There used to be a mysterious old woman in Liuhe Village who made some kind of beauty powder. She tricked the villagers by saying that girls who ate it would become beautiful so they could get a high dowry later."

Shen Huai looked up at him.

"Many girls in the village have eaten it," Li Tiejun shook his head. "As a result, most of them got sick. But this Su Nianhe, she just got more and more strange-looking, her figure... cough, my comrade's words were, her figure doesn't look like a normal farm girl, it's very eye-catching."

Shen Huai's gaze returned to the paper.

"Her constitution was conspicuous, and in such a poor and remote place, it became a menace," Li Tiejun continued. "A bunch of bachelors in the village were always eyeing her. When she was fifteen, an old bachelor climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to try and harm her, but her father, Su Dahe, broke his leg."

Upon hearing this, Shen Huai's jaw muscles tensed.

He recalled the scene at noon today when that thug named Zhao Qiang cornered her against the wall in the alley.

She was so scared that she was trembling, but she didn't even dare to call the police.

"That Su Dahe isn't any better," Li Tiejun cursed. "He's a notorious drunkard. Recently, he's taken a fancy to a widow in the neighboring village and wants to marry her, but he can't afford the bride price. Coincidentally, the factory director's second son, a cripple who's almost fifty, is willing to pay a high price for a virgin. So Su Dahe plans to sell his own daughter to that cripple for money."

Li Tiejun tapped his fingers on the table twice: "This girl was forced into a corner. She fled overnight with other girls from her village, hitching a ride on a coal train. They escaped all the way to Jiang City, probably to stay with relatives. Why are you suddenly asking me to investigate her? Has a thief broken into the factory?"

Shen Huai neatly folded the file paper and put it back into the brown paper bag.

No. Just asking.

Li Tiejun looked at him suspiciously.

Shen Huai is the kind of person who never gets up early for nothing and never meddles in other people's business. How could he possibly use his connections to investigate a country girl who has absolutely no connection to him?

"Fine, I won't ask if you don't want to say." Li Tiejun stood up. "But my comrade said that Su Dahe has been asking around about his daughter's whereabouts lately, and he heard that someone saw her at Jiangshi Railway Station. If that old bastard comes looking for her, he'll definitely cause trouble."

"He can't get into Jiang City," Shen Huai said calmly.

Li Tiejun was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Shen Huai locked the file folder in the drawer: "Have Qingxi County investigate thoroughly. He's been involved in plenty of fighting, brawling, or disorderly conduct; he needs to be properly detained."

Li Tiejun was truly shocked.

He looked Shen Huai up and down, completely baffled.

"Are you serious? You want me to manage public order for some country girl?"

"Regardless of how he affects others, I owe you a favor." Shen Huai leaned back in his chair.

Seeing his serious expression, Li Tiejun knew that he was determined to meddle in this matter.

"Alright, it's not easy to earn a favor from Consultant Shen." Li Tiejun waved his hand. "Leave this to me. He's committed a lot of crimes. As long as we investigate, that old drunkard will spend the New Year in detention before he comes out."

Li Tiejun pushed open the door and left.

The office fell silent again.

Shen Huai sat in the chair, the cicadas outside chirping more and more shrilly.

He opened the drawer and took out the file again.

My gaze lingered on that pure and delicate face in the black and white photograph.

Shen Huai leaned back in his chair, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

The scene I saw outside the nanny's room on the first floor last night, and what happened in my own room this afternoon...

They were all his secrets.

In this world, besides herself, only he knew.

Shen Huai's breathing became more labored.

He raised his hand and looked at his fingers.

He felt he couldn't stay in this office any longer.

He glanced at his watch; it was four in the afternoon.

There's still an hour and a half until I get off work.

But he wants to go back now.

He wanted to see her, to see if she was hungry now because she hadn't eaten enough lunch due to the fright she had been through.

She needs to eat her fill.

Moreover, they could only eat their fill under his watchful eye.

Shen Huai stood up, picked up his briefcase from the back of his chair, and strode out of the office.