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

Su Nianhe looked at the money on the chopping board and was just about to reach out and take it.

With a "click," the kitchen door was pushed open from the outside.

Shen Huai, wearing a white shirt with one button undone at the collar and one hand in his trouser pocket, strode in.

He got off work early today, and as soon as he entered the front door, he heard two people talking in the kitchen. He stood outside the door and listened to the whole thing.

When Wang Liping saw Shen Huai return, her hand trembled slightly, fearing that her meddlesome brother-in-law would ruin her plans.

"Xiao Huai, why are you back so early today?" Wang Liping chuckled twice.

Shen Huai's gaze swept over the thirty-five yuan on the cutting board, and finally landed on Su Nianhe.

Su Nianhe put her hands behind her back and winked at Shen Huai very quickly.

Shen Huai immediately understood.

He walked to the sink, turned on the tap to wash his hands, and said coldly, "What are you doing, sister-in-law? Since when did it become your business to worry about paydays?"

Wang Liping panicked: "Xiao Huai, didn't you hear? Nianhe herself said she didn't want to work here anymore! She insisted on leaving, saying she wasn't comfortable staying at our place. I was just being kind, taking pity on her, so I paid her a little extra for her wages and even paid her ten yuan more for rent!"

"Really?" Shen Huai grabbed a towel to wipe his hands. "She wanted to leave on her own?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wang Liping nodded repeatedly, then turned to Su Nianhe and winked, "Nianhe, tell Xiao Huai yourself, did you leave on your own initiative?"

Su Nianhe lowered her head and said softly, "Yes, Technician Shen. I just didn't want to do it anymore. Sister Wang is kind-hearted and gave me extra money."

Shen Huai threw the towel back on the rack and turned to look at Wang Liping.

"Since you're so kind-hearted, let's settle the accounts." Shen Huai's tone was calm, completely in the manner of handling matters impartially. "We had a verbal agreement with our nanny. Her departure now is considered a mutually agreed termination. Her wages for this month were twenty-five, and you just gave her thirty-five, which means you only paid ten yuan for rent."

Wang Liping was a little confused by his accounting style: "Ten yuan is enough to rent a single room."

"Not enough." Shen Huai rejected the offer decisively. "Right now, a single room in a bungalow on the outskirts of Jiang City costs at least fifteen yuan a month with utilities. Since you're going to be a good person, you can't let that girl end up on the streets. Add another five yuan."

Wang Liping was furious.

This brother-in-law usually doesn't care about money at all, so why is he being so stingy about five yuan for a nanny today?

But seeing Su Nianhe's expression, as if she might change her mind and stay at any moment, Wang Liping gritted her teeth, took out another five-yuan note from her wallet, and slapped it next to the thirty-five yuan note.

"Alright! Forty it is! Consider it an act of charity on my part!" Wang Liping pointed at Su Nianhe. "Here's the money, now go pack your things!"

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Su Nianhe unceremoniously stuffed the forty yuan into her pocket.

Fearing things might get complicated if she delayed, Wang Liping turned and headed towards the living room: "I'll go find you a snakeskin bag to pack your things, hurry up!"

The kitchen door was closed again.

Only Shen Huai and Su Nianhe remained in the room.

Su Nianhe, who had just looked aggrieved, couldn't suppress her smile at this moment.

She took the money out of her pocket, counted it twice, and found it to be forty yuan, not a penny less.

Shen Huai leaned against the chopping board, looking at her greedy appearance, his chest heaving as he let out a low chuckle.

"You've gotten quite capable." Shen Huai reached out and pinched her cheek. "You've learned to dig traps for others and then count the money yourself."

Su Nianhe carefully placed the money on her person, looked up at him, and said matter-of-factly, "She wanted to get rid of me anyway. I'm just going along with it, and I can even get an extra fifteen yuan of capital. The bold get rich while the timid starve. Lianhua is right. I need to hurry up and get the goods."

Shen Huai gently stroked her rosy lips with his fingertip.

"You've got a pretty good plan," Shen Huai said in a low voice. "But where do you plan to live after you take the money and move out? Are you really going to rent one of those run-down bungalows with utilities for fifteen yuan a month?"

Su Nianhe was stunned.

She was so focused on getting money from Wang Liping that she didn't even think about where she would go after moving out of the compound tonight.

"I...I'll squeeze in with Lianhua?" Su Nianhe asked hesitantly.

"Does Vice Mayor Li's house allow an outsider like you to stay there so easily?" Shen Huai interrupted her thoughts directly.

He withdrew his hand, braced his hands on the edge of the sink beside her, and trapped her in his arms.

Su Nianhe panicked, pressing her hands against his chest: "What should we do? I've already taken the money and agreed to move out, I can't just go back on my word and refuse to leave now."

"No need to back out." Shen Huai lowered his head, his nose almost touching hers. "I overheard your deal outside. Since you're no longer the Shen family's nanny, let's switch roles and get along."

"What is your identity?"

"Sole proprietor Su," Shen Huai chuckled, "and your landlord and partner."

Su Nianhe's mind went blank: "Landlord?"

"I borrowed a small, empty courtyard from He Jianjun on the street behind the textile factory. I was planning to have you find an excuse to move there in a couple of days." Shen Huai laid out the arrangements directly. "Since your sister-in-law is being so hospitable in seeing you off today, it saves me the trouble of finding an excuse."

Su Nianhe was stunned after hearing this.

He even found a house in advance?

"When did you find this place?" Su Nianhe's voice was soft.

"The day I decided to let you set up a stall at the factory gate," Shen Huai replied matter-of-factly, "it's close to where you're going to set up the stall, so it'll be convenient for me to take you home after we pack up at night. Most importantly, you won't have to sneak around under my mom's nose anymore."

The man's refreshing soap scent enveloped her completely.

Su Nianhe's heart was brimming with emotion, and she took the initiative to grab the collar of his shirt with both hands.

She gripped it tightly, and the cotton fabric was crumpled into several small wrinkles.

The man's clean soapy scent, mixed with the summer heat, enveloped her completely around the sink.

"You really let me stay in the borrowed courtyard?" Su Nianhe asked, tilting her head back and lowering her voice, her tone revealing a hint of disbelief.

"I really let you stay." Shen Huai lowered his head and kissed the corner of her rosy lips.

There was no deep kiss, just a lingering touch, like a stamp, with a hint of reassurance.

"Then... how much rent?" Su Nianhe's mind was still preoccupied with the calculations. Although he said it was his girlfriend, one thing was one thing.

Shen Huai was amused by her greedy attitude. He pressed his large hand on her lower back and was about to speak when a noise came from the living room outside.

Wang Liping had obviously found a snakeskin bag, and was now walking towards the kitchen in her mid-heeled sandals.

"Ta-da..."

The sound of the heel hitting the terrazzo floor was crisp and urgent, like a death knell.