A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

He Zhaoyang leaned against the doorframe, looking at her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Su Qinghe, and my dad is Director Su of the Logistics Department." She pushed the bowl forward. "I made some white fungus soup and brought a bowl to Yuze. Where is he?"

"They've gone out."

Su Qinghe said "Oh," and glanced over He Zhaoyang's shoulder into the room, as if confirming something.

Then she pulled it back, the smile still on her face, "Then you drink it for him. It's freshly made, drink it while it's hot."

He Zhaoyang did not answer.

She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and tilted her head to look at Su Qinghe, "Brother Yuze?"

Su Qinghe paused for a moment while holding the bowl, then smiled, as if she hadn't expected her to ask that question.

"Yes, Yuze-ge. We've been partners during rehearsals, so we call each other that. It's just a habit, don't overthink it."

"If my sister-in-law really minds, I won't call her that."

"I didn't think much of it." He Zhaoyang took the bowl, glanced down at it, and saw that the white fungus was stewed until soft and tender, and the red dates were floating on the soup. It did smell quite fragrant.

She steadied herself, looked up at Su Qinghe, and said, "You went to all this way to bring me a bowl of soup; that's very thoughtful of you."

Su Qinghe smiled and said, "Brother Yuze's leg injury has just healed, and I was worried that he wouldn't get enough nutrition. If I had known that my sister-in-law was here, I would have brought him two bowls."

"His leg injury has healed long ago." He Zhaoyang turned and walked inside with the bowl in his hand. He put the bowl down at the table, glanced back at her, and said, "But thank you anyway. I'll let him drink it when he gets back."

Su Qinghe stood at the door, her smile fading slightly, but quickly returning. "Sister-in-law, you're new here. If there's anything you're not familiar with, feel free to come to me. My house is the second room on the east side of the first floor. My dad works in the logistics department, so you can ask me for help if you have any difficulties."

"Okay." He Zhaoyang looked at her. "I've got it."

Su Qinghe smiled again, then turned and left.

He Zhaoyang stood at the door, watching her figure disappear around the corner of the stairs, and then slowly closed the door.

She returned to the table and looked down at the bowl of white fungus soup.

Sheng Yuze's leg injury had long since healed. Was she bringing him soup to show her displeasure?

He Zhaoyang sat on the edge of the bed.

Su Qinghe. Her rehearsal partner. Director Su's daughter. She calls him "Brother Yuze" all the time.

Sheng Yuze never mentioned her.

Su Qinghe was standing downstairs, talking and laughing with the woman who had just been carrying the water basin, occasionally glancing up at the second floor.

He Zhaoyang closed the window.

When Sheng Yuze returned, he was carrying two lunch boxes. As soon as he entered the room, he saw He Zhaoyang sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Why don't you take a break?" He put the lunchbox on the table.

"I'm not tired." He Zhaoyang didn't even look up. "Someone brought you some soup just now."

Sheng Yuze paused for a moment. "Who?"

"Su Qinghe. He said you're my practice partner." He Zhaoyang finally looked up at him.

Sheng Yuze frowned. "Why is she here again?"

He Zhaoyang sneered, "Again?"

Sheng Yuze looked at her, remained silent for two seconds, then walked over and sat down in a chair. "She's the daughter of my dad's old comrade-in-arms. She helps out in the logistics department, and we see each other occasionally."

"Oh." He Zhaoyang sat down at the table. "I thought being a practice partner meant just practicing together. Turns out they even bring soup."

Sheng Yuze opened the lunchbox and handed her the chopsticks. "I'll talk to Director Su next time and tell her to be more careful, she's a young lady."

He Zhaoyang took the chopsticks, lowered his head, ate a mouthful of rice, chewed twice, and then picked up a piece of vegetables.

"Is the food to your liking?"

She finished chewing her food, looked up at him, and said, "I like it, you should eat."

Sheng Yuze grunted in agreement, picked up the bowl, and took a couple of bites.

He Zhaoyang turned his head and glanced at the bowl of white fungus soup on the table.

"The soup's still there." She gestured with her chin towards the bowl of soup. "Do you want some? Someone specially brought it over."

Sheng Yuze followed her gaze and saw the bowl on the corner of the table. He looked away, his brows furrowed. "I'll go empty it in a bit."

He Zhaoyang paused, his chopsticks still in his hand. "It spilled?"

"Okay." Sheng Yuze lowered his head and ate his rice. "Don't accept anything she gives you from now on."

He Zhaoyang looked at him for two seconds, then stood up, picked up the bowl, opened the door, and dumped it out.

After closing the door, she sat back down at the table and ate her meal quietly.

After a while, He Zhaoyang spoke up, "Have you received anything from her before?"

"No." Sheng Yuze put down his bowl. "I didn't accept any of the things she gave me, and I wouldn't open the door when she came to find me later."

He Zhaoyang nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Sheng Yuze looked at her and added, "If she comes again in the future, just don't open the door."

He Zhaoyang shoveled the last bite of rice into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it. "Okay."

Sheng Yuze stacked the bowls, stood up, and took them to wash.

That evening, He Zhaoyang had just finished showering and was carrying a basin upstairs.

As she turned the corner of the stairs, she saw someone standing in front of her room.

Su Qinghe.

She changed into a dark-colored dress and stood by the door.

Seeing He Zhaoyang come up, she smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you're back."

He Zhaoyang didn't stop walking. He reached the door, placed the basin in his arms, and looked at her. "Is there something you need?"

"Is Brother Yuze inside?" Su Qinghe glanced towards the door. "I have a document for him; it was forwarded from the logistics department."

"He's not here," He Zhaoyang said. "If you need anything, you can go to him during the day, instead of waiting at our door in the middle of the night."

Su Qinghe's smile froze for a moment. "It's okay, I can wait for him here."

He Zhaoyang looked at her for two seconds, then took out his key and prepared to open the door.

She looked at Su Qinghe and said, "Excuse me, I need to open the door."

Su Qinghe's smile also faded.

He Zhaoyang opened the door and stood in front of it, blocking Su Qinghe's view inside, and continued, "He might not be back tonight. If you want to wait, wait here. I'm closing the door."

Su Qinghe simply nodded in the end, "Then I'll go see him again tomorrow."

She turned and left.

He Zhaoyang closed the door, thinking to himself: Why is this person so difficult to deal with?!

She had just put the basin down when the door was pushed open, and Sheng Yuze walked in, carrying two thermos flasks.

Seeing her sitting on the edge of the bed with her hair dripping wet, I put down the thermos and pulled a dry towel from the rope to dry her hair.

"Why aren't you wiping it?"

He Zhaoyang: "Su Qinghe just arrived."

"Tsk." Sheng Yuze was already getting impatient. "Why is she here again?"

He Zhaoyang shook his head. "She told me she had a document for you. It was forwarded from the logistics department."

Sheng Yuze: "It makes her look bad. Why can't I deliver it to her anytime? Why does it have to be the night I bring my wife home for the first time?"

He Zhaoyang looked up at him. "She said she'd wait for you to come back, but I told her that since you weren't coming back tonight, she should go to the office tomorrow. She stood at the door for a long time before leaving."

Sheng Yuze turned around and put the thermos under the table, his voice muffled, "Tomorrow I'll go see Director Su and change the person I'm in contact with."