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

At the same time, at the textile factory.

As soon as Shen Huai entered the factory gate, he didn't go back to the technical department, but went straight to the logistics department.

Old Ma, the head of the logistics department, was drinking water from his teacup when he saw Shen Huai enter. He quickly put down his teacup and greeted him, "Technician Shen, what brings you here today? Is there a problem with the equipment?"

"No problem." Shen Huai walked to his desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, and tapped the table. "I'm here to submit the application form for subsidized housing."

Old Ma was stunned, thinking he had misheard: "You want to apply for a house? At your rank, you should have been eligible for a two-bedroom apartment a long time ago, but you've always lived in the municipal government compound. Mayor Shen's house is so spacious, why would you need the factory's welfare housing?"

"I'm getting old, I need to have my own place to live." Shen Huai said calmly, pushing the filled-out form over. "Get me a number in the queue for this batch of newly built family apartments."

Old Ma chuckled and accepted the order: "Okay, I'll get the paperwork done for you right away. But it'll take a while before the apartment is allocated. You suddenly want an apartment, are you planning to start dating?"

Shen Huai didn't reply, only saying, "Do it as soon as possible."

The house won't be ready anytime soon, so he can't make a big fuss about it too early.

The most important thing now is to pave the way out.

After finishing his business, Shen Huai returned to the technical department office.

Just as he opened a few blueprints for machine parts, Li Tiejun pushed open the door and strolled in.

This man walked with an unsteady gait, pulled out the chair opposite Shen Huai, slumped back in it, and crossed his legs.

"Old Shen, something's not right with you today." Li Tiejun looked him up and down, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

Shen Huai, holding his pen, didn't even look up: "What's wrong?"

"Your complexion." Li Tiejun leaned forward, staring at his face. "Usually when you come to work, your face practically screams 'Don't mess with me,' like someone owes you hundreds of dollars. But today, your eyes and brows are all relaxed, you're all radiant with love."

Shen Huai paused, leaving a single ink dot on the paper.

"Are you bored?" He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Li Tiejun.

Li Tiejun wasn't buying it at all. He leaned on the table and lowered his voice, "Stop pretending. Tell me honestly, what's going on between you and that country maid? You even skipped the meeting yesterday afternoon, were you out with her?"

Shen Huai put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

He had no reason to hide anything from his brother, especially since Li Tiejun had previously helped him investigate Su Nianhe's background.

"I'm dating someone."

Four words: crisp and concise.

Li Tiejun gasped. Although he had a premonition, he was still shocked to hear him admit it himself.

He gave a thumbs up and shook his head.

"Old Shen, you're really something. The mayor's son is dating his own nanny. If word gets out, the whole compound will be in an uproar."

Joking aside, Li Tiejun quickly became serious.

He abandoned his nonchalant posture and pulled his chair forward.

"Honestly, you'd better be careful," Li Tiejun said in a low voice, his tone serious. "You know Uncle Shen's temper better than I do. He's very particular about rules and social standing. Plus, his blood pressure has been high these past few years, and his health isn't what it used to be. If he finds out now that you're having an affair with a country maid, he might just get really angry and cause a big mess."

Shen Huai placed his fingers on the edge of the table and tapped it lightly twice.

"I know."

Li Tiejun sighed: "It's only because you've always excelled in everything since you were little that Uncle Shen seems to neglect you. That's because you don't need his help. But marriage is different; it's about bringing someone into the Shen family. If you're serious this time, you need to come up with a foolproof plan; you can't just confront them head-on."

"I just submitted the application for subsidized housing today." Shen Huai looked at the blueprints on the table. "Once the house is ready, we'll move out. I'll take care of the family matters gradually and let him have time to adjust."

Li Tiejun nodded after listening.

"Okay, as long as you have a plan. If you need any help from the brothers to cover for you, just let me know."

Shen Huai didn't say anything more, picked up his pen and continued looking at the blueprints.

The intricate lines on the drawing eventually transformed into Su Nianhe as she looked at them.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he picked up the teacup next to him and took a big gulp of cold water.

After checking the blueprints of the new equipment in the technical department office, Shen Huai glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was past one o'clock.

I grabbed a quick bite at the cafeteria at noon and didn't go back to the compound.

In the municipal party committee compound, Su Nianhe tidied up the pots and pans in the kitchen.

She deliberately left a clean set of bowls and chopsticks in the cupboard, and kept the food warm in the pot.

But even as it approached two o'clock, the familiar sound of a bicycle chain still didn't come from outside the courtyard.

He didn't come back at noon today.

Su Nianhe felt a strange emptiness in her heart.

She took off her apron and hung it behind the door.

Aunt Wang was holding Shen Ping'an, who was dozing off in the shade. The little guy had eaten his fill and was sleeping soundly.

"Aunt Wang, I'm going out for a bit. I'm just going to talk to Lianhua at the back door of Vice Mayor Li's house next door," Su Nianhe said in a low voice.

Aunt Wang nodded groggily: "Go ahead, but come back early, don't delay preparing the vegetables this afternoon."

Su Nianhe pushed open the iron gate to the backyard and walked along the red brick wall of the courtyard to the next house.

The back door to Vice Mayor Li's house was ajar.

Su Nianhe stood at the door and imitated the call of a cuckoo twice.

Before long, the door was opened wider, and Li Lianhua poked half of her body out, holding a half-picked water spinach in her hand.

"Nianhe!" Li Lianhua said with a smile, pulling her into the doorway to avoid the scorching sun outside.

The two stood in the shadows.

Li Lianhua was about to complain about how difficult it was to cook for the guests at the vice mayor's house today, but she suddenly stopped talking.

She looked Su Nianhe up and down.

"Your clothes..." Li Lianhua reached out and touched Su Nianhe's red and black plaid shirt. The material was soft and the cut was generous; it was definitely not something you could buy at a rural supply and marketing cooperative. "This isn't the old jacket you brought. Aunt Liu is so stingy, how could she buy you such a nice pure cotton shirt?"

Su Nianhe's cheeks flushed red, and she clutched the hem of her clothes helplessly.

When she came back yesterday wearing this outfit, neither Liu Huizhen nor Wang Liping noticed, or rather, they didn't care at all what a nanny like her was wearing.

But Li Lianhua had grown up with her since childhood, and she knew better than anyone how many clothes she owned.

"It wasn't Aunt Liu who bought it," Su Nianhe said softly.

Li Lianhua's mind worked incredibly fast.

She recalled the scene at the social dance party that night, where Shen's arrogant youngest son pushed through the crowd onto the dance floor and dragged Su Nianhe away from Lu Yi.

"Nianhe, tell me the truth." Li Lianhua leaned closer and lowered her voice, "That night, Technician Shen took you away. What happened after that? Did he buy these clothes for you?"

Su Nianhe couldn't hide it from her best friend, so she could only bite her lower lip and nod.

"My God!" Li Lianhua gasped, nearly dropping the water spinach in her hand. "Delivering clothes? You two... are you dating?"