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

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Su Nianhe let out a long breath and was about to reach for the plate next to her when a hand suddenly appeared on her waist.

Shen Huai held the spatula in one hand and used the other to pull her towards him.

"Shen Huai," Su Nianhe called out in a low voice, her hands pressing tightly against his white shirt.

"She just saw it and thinks I'm ordering you around, so she won't come back." Shen Huai lowered his head, his nose brushing against her cheek.

"I'll cook more often from now on." Shen Huai withdrew his hand and scooped the fish fillets from the pot into a plate. "Let them get used to me being in the kitchen first. Once they're used to it, they won't find it strange if I cook delicious food for them."

Su Nianhe picked up the plate and said in a soft voice, "I'm a nanny, how can I let the employer cook?"

"You're my boyfriend," Shen Huai corrected her. "Being a nanny is just a cover for you right now. With me, you're meant to be pampered."

Su Nianhe's cheeks flushed as she hurriedly walked out of the kitchen with the fish slices in her hand.

At the dinner table.

In the very center was the plate of blackfish slices that Shen Huai had made that afternoon.

Shen Wanshan sat in the main seat, picked up his chopsticks, and took a piece of fish.

"Why is Xiao Huai in the mood to cook today?" Shen Wanshan asked casually while eating fish slices.

"The cafeteria food is bland and lacks flavor." Shen Huai said calmly, holding his bowl. "I'll cook a couple of dishes myself whenever I have time."

Wang Liping had just returned from get off work and sat down next to me, pouting slightly.

"Xiao Huai, you're a manager in the factory now, spending all your time in the kitchen. I wonder what people will say if word gets out," Wang Liping said, glancing at Su Nianhe, who was standing beside her adding rice. "Besides, isn't Nianhe at home? Nianhe, are you being lazy and making Xiao Huai do it himself?"

Hearing the conversation in the kitchen, Su Nianhe stopped using the rice spoon in her hand.

"If you think my cooking disgraces the Shen family, then you don't have to eat that fish." Shen Huai didn't even look up, his voice cold and indifferent. "Nianhe cooks for the whole family. I can't stand the cafeteria food, so I just order extra. What does that have to do with her?"

Wang Liping's face turned pale and then red as she was blocked. Her chopsticks were halfway in the air, but she didn't dare to pick up the plate of fish.

Shen Tao quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Xiao Huai, do what you want to do. Self-reliance is the key to a good life. Let's eat."

Shen Wanshan didn't speak, but glanced at Shen Huai a few more times.

Liu Huizhen looked at her son, "Xiao Huai, you didn't want to see Political Commissar Chen's niece yesterday, so that's fine. But someone brought flowers today. It's Director Wang's daughter from the Commerce Bureau. She graduated from junior college and works at a bank. You often see her on your way to work in the morning." Liu Huizhen pleaded earnestly, "You have a day off this weekend, you absolutely have to go see her."

The atmosphere at the dinner table quieted down.

Su Nianhe stood to the side, her hands clasped in front of her, her heart pounding in her chest.

Shen Huai put down his chopsticks and took the towel next to him to wipe his mouth.

"I'm not going." Shen Huai refused decisively, leaving no room for negotiation.

Liu Huizhen's temper flared, and she slammed her chopsticks on the table: "Why are you so stubborn! Nothing you say will do, and this and that will be no good either. What kind of celestial being are you looking for?"

Shen Wanshan frowned and looked at his youngest son: "Xiao Huai, your mother is doing this for your own good. You're not young anymore; settling down and starting a family is the right thing to do."

The atmosphere at the dinner table turned completely cold because of Shen Wanshan's words.

Shen Huai didn't respond.

He slowly put down the bamboo chopsticks in his hand, reached into the pocket of his work jacket, and pulled out a small white plastic medicine bottle.

He placed the medicine bottle on the glass turntable, flicked it with his finger, and the bottle spun steadily in front of Shen Wanshan.

"Dad, take these two blood pressure pills first." Shen Huai's tone was calm, no different from when he was arranging production tasks at the factory.

Shen Wanshan looked at the medicine bottle in front of him, and his temper flared up instantly: "Your father hasn't even been driven to death by you yet, and you've already prepared medicine for me? What do you mean by this?"

"Prevention is better than cure." Shen Huai leaned back in his chair. "What I'm about to say might be too much for you to handle."

The whole family stopped eating.

Wang Liping even forgot to chew the food in her mouth, her eyes darting between Shen Huai and her parents-in-law.

Shen Tao chuckled awkwardly, trying to smooth things over, but Liu Huizhen glared at him and shut him up.

Su Nianhe was carrying a plate of freshly cut watermelon when she heard this. She slowed her pace and stood at the very edge of the table, barely daring to breathe.

Shen Wanshan, his face cold, poured out two pills and swallowed them with warm water: "Fine, I'll take the pills. You'd better give me a straight answer today, or you can forget about coming back to this house."

"I'm not going on blind dates, and it's not targeting any particular person," Shen Huai said, looking at his parents. His voice was soft but clear. "It's because I have no intention of dating, much less getting married."

The living room was so quiet that you could clearly hear the green electric fan oscillating.

"Nonsense!" Shen Wanshan slammed his hand on the table, making the bowls and chopsticks rattle. "You're twenty-six! What do you plan to do if you're not married? Become a monk?"

"Doing research." Shen Huai didn't even raise an eyebrow. "I've calculated the time cost. Modifying the machines in the factory and developing new blueprints will take up fourteen hours of my time every day. The rest of the time I need to eat and sleep. Getting married requires dealing with a living, breathing person. A wife needs respect, care, and companionship, and she also needs to bear and raise children. I can't spare that energy, nor can I provide emotional support."

Shen Wanshan was so angry that his fingers were trembling. If he hadn't just taken his blood pressure medication, he would have fainted right now.

"What kind of bullshit logic is that! Who doesn't work and live a comfortable life at the same time? Your older brother goes to work every day too!"

"The older brother is the older brother, and I am me," Shen Huai said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I have no interest in women. I find interacting with women troublesome and a waste of time. Rather than spending my energy on managing a family, I'd rather draw up a couple more blueprints."

Su Nianhe stood to the side, holding a plate of watermelon, completely dumbfounded by his arrogant remarks.

Not interested in women?

Su Nianhe's cheeks flushed uncontrollably, and she secretly glanced at Shen Huai.

The man remained expressionless, maintaining an aloof and celibate demeanor, more solemn than any bodhisattva in a temple.

Liu Huizhen sat to the side, her mind buzzing.

Looking at her youngest son, whom she was most proud of, her thoughts completely drifted off course.

Not interested in women?

Liu Huizhen gasped.

She suddenly remembered that night when Shen Huai sat alone in the backyard, staring intently at the faded women's fabric hanging on the wire.

In addition, he has never had a female mosquito around him since he was a child.

If any of the girls his age in the compound looked at him too long, he would freeze them away.

He spends all his time hanging out with those two big men, Li Tiejun and He Jianjun.

"Xiao Huai..." Liu Huizhen's voice trembled, her eyes filled with heartache as she looked at her son. "Tell me the truth. Is there something wrong with you psychologically? Or... do you like men? You and that He Jianjun are always together..."