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

Su Nianhe sat on the folding chair, her hands kneading the old canvas bag until it was deformed.

She didn't know how to refuse.

The man opposite me, named Lu Yi, although he looked like a black tower, spoke honestly and was not as frivolous as the others.

"I can't dance," Su Nianhe confessed honestly. "I'll step on your feet."

Lu Yi smiled frankly, revealing two rows of white teeth: "What a coincidence, I'm not very good at it either. We're about the same, so we'll just wander around and learn as we go."

Su Nianhe hesitated.

Her mind was filled with Wang Liping's instructions from that afternoon—find an honest worker to marry and register her household in the city.

Then I thought of my father, who reeked of alcohol, and that lame man who was almost fifty years old in the village.

Lu Yi, working in the foundry workshop, seems to perfectly fit the criteria of a worker who stays in the city and has a secure job.

She bit her lower lip, which she had bitten until it bled, and nodded.

Lu Yi was so happy he almost lost his bearings. He quickly stood up and carefully led Su Nianhe to the edge of the dance floor.

The two stood facing each other.

Lu Yi, a rough and tough man, could carry heavy iron parts weighing dozens of kilograms without even breaking a sweat in the workshop, but now, facing Su Nianhe, he was so nervous that his palms were sweating profusely.

The light yellow dress Su Nianhe wore today really accentuated her figure; her waist was so thin it looked like he could snap it in half with one hand.

He rubbed his hands together, but dared not actually place his palm on the fabric. He only dared to hover it about two inches outside the fabric, while his other hand gently pinched Su Nianhe's fingertips.

Su Nianhe was also stiff all over.

The two of them stood there like two wooden stakes, awkwardly taking steps on the outermost edge of the dance floor.

Su Nianhe kept her head down, while Lu Yi stared at his feet with a flushed face, afraid of stepping on this delicate girl.

At the same time, in the municipal party committee compound, at the Shen family's residence.

The sky had completely darkened, and the sycamore trees in the courtyard rustled in the night breeze.

Shen Huai pushed his old-fashioned bicycle through the gate.

He was at the factory today overseeing the debugging of the new machine tool and only just got back now.

He propped his bicycle up against the wall and stepped into the living room.

At this time of day, right after dinner, that figure in the oversized old coat would always be shuttling back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room, carrying plates and washing dishes.

But I didn't see anyone today.

The large round table in the restaurant has been cleaned up.

Shen Wanshan sat on the sofa reading internal reference materials, while Liu Huizhen held a palm-leaf fan and watched Shen Tao tease Shen Ping'an with a rattle drum.

"Xiao Huai is back." Liu Huizhen turned to look at him. "The food is keeping warm in the pot. Have Aunt Wang bring it out for you."

Hearing the commotion, Aunt Wang quickly brought out the heated food from the kitchen and placed it on the table: "Technician Shen, eat it while it's hot."

Shen Huai pulled out a chair and sat down.

He picked up his chopsticks, his gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping over the half-open kitchen curtain, then over the tightly closed wooden door of the maid's room at the end of the first-floor corridor.

He wasn't in the kitchen, nor in the room.

Shen Huai picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

He was never a talkative person, and although he was puzzled, he didn't ask anything and quietly finished eating the rice in his bowl.

He put down his chopsticks and went straight upstairs to the second floor.

Soon, the sound of rushing water came from the bathroom on the second floor.

The cool tap water cascaded down from the showerhead, flowing down his defined jawline and muscular chest.

He closed his eyes, his mind filled with a jumble of images.

The sound of water stopped.

Shen Huai changed into a clean pair of gray trousers and a white tank top, grabbed a towel to dry his wet hair, and opened the bathroom door.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Shen Tao standing at the door of his room, peeking in.

"What are you doing?" Shen Huai asked indifferently as he walked over and turned the doorknob of his room.

When Shen Tao saw him come out, he quickly followed him into the house and closed the door tightly behind him.

"Xiao Huai, you be the judge. What kind of mess did Li Ping make today?" Shen Tao said in a low voice, his face full of helplessness and annoyance.

Shen Huai draped a towel over the back of the chair, walked to the desk, and poured himself a glass of cold water: "What's wrong, sister-in-law?"

"It's all because of Xiao Su." Shen Tao pulled out a chair and sat down, sighing. "Today she insisted on forcing Xiao Su to go to some kind of youth social dance at the textile factory club. Tell me, Xiao Su is a girl who just came to the city from the countryside to make a living. She should just work honestly, why go to a place like that?"

Shen Huai's hand, holding the water glass, froze in mid-air.

The water rippled, reflecting his suddenly somber expression.

"Go to a social gathering?" Shen Huai's voice was cold.

"That's right." Shen Tao, oblivious to his brother's odd behavior, continued, "Liping just can't stand Xiao Su. She thinks she's too eye-catching and is afraid she'll cause trouble at home. She'd love for her to find a worker to marry and move out as soon as possible. Do you think I don't see through her thoughts?"

Shen Tao felt increasingly uncomfortable as he spoke: "Going to a social gathering is one thing, but Liping insisted on finding that polyester dress she couldn't fit into two years ago and made Xiao Su wear it."

Shen Huai placed the water glass on the table, making a soft "thud" sound.

"That dress is yellow, and it's extremely tight at the waist," Shen Tao gestured. "Even Liping herself found it too constricting before she had her baby, and with Xiao Su's figure... she couldn't even breathe properly in it, the buttons were practically snapping off. Sending her to a ball full of bachelors like that is like sending a sheep to a pack of wolves! What if some shady character targets her and causes trouble? What will become of our family's reputation?"

The room was eerily quiet.

Shen Huai stood by the desk, his jaw muscles taut.

That tight yellow dress.

She usually wears those old, baggy blouses that can't even hide her figure, but today she actually wore a fitted dress to a social gathering full of men.

What will the people there think of her?

What kind of thoughts would those naive bachelors have when they see her charming and beautiful appearance?

Shen Huai's Adam's apple bobbed violently.

He could even picture her feeling awkward, surrounded by people staring at her.

She's so thin-skinned; when she's bullied, she just endures it with red eyes.

If someone were to take advantage of her while she was dancing, she wouldn't even have the courage to fight back.

"No, the more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel." Shen Tao stood up. "I need to talk to Dad and tell Liping not to cause trouble in the future."

After Shen Tao finished speaking, he opened the door and went out.

Shen Huai stood there for two seconds, then turned around and flung open the wardrobe door.

He tore off a clean white shirt and quickly put it on. His fingers moved swiftly, buttoning it up one button at a time, his movements revealing obvious impatience and coldness.

He picked up the watch from the table, put it on his wrist, and strode out of the room. His leather shoes made a rapid, muffled sound as they trotted on the wooden stairs.

In the living room on the first floor, Liu Huizhen looked up when she heard the noise.

"Xiao Huai, are you going out so late at night?"

Shen Huai walked to the entrance hall and picked up the bicycle keys from the cabinet: "Something's come up at the factory, I need to go."

He didn't offer any further explanation, and pushed open the door to walk into the night.

He straddled the old-fashioned bicycle with his long legs, stepped on the pedals, and the wheels spun rapidly on the stone road, heading straight for the textile factory's workers' club.