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

He Zhaoyang walked to his door, took out his key, opened the door, turned around and looked at Li Nan, "Sister-in-law, I'm fine. You should go back, it's almost dark."

Li Nan glanced at her, sighed, and said, "Alright, I'll go back first. Stand up straight and don't let Su Qinghe and the others bully you."

After Li Nan left, He Zhaoyang pushed open the door and entered the room.

Sheng Yuze was sitting at the table when he heard the door open. He looked up, his gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and then he stood up and walked over.

"Did you run into Director Su?"

"Yeah. They were waiting downstairs to ask me something."

Sheng Yuze stood in front of her. "Are you asking about the replacement?"

"Yes, they asked me if I knew or if I told you to change it." He Zhaoyang placed the cloth bag on the table.

"I told him it was your own decision and I didn't interfere. He said Qinghe was overthinking things and that I should be more understanding."

Sheng Yuze remained silent for two seconds.

He Zhaoyang sat down and poured himself a glass of water. "He asked his questions and then left. Sister-in-law Li was furious downstairs."

Sheng Yuze closed the window, turned back, and sat opposite He Zhaoyang. "If he contacts you again in the future, you can ignore him."

He Zhaoyang glanced at him, holding his cup. "Not going to acknowledge me?"

"He wasn't asking about work; he was asking about personal matters. You can ignore him if it's a personal matter."

He Zhaoyang thought for a moment, then lowered his head and took a sip of water. "I understand."

The next morning, He Zhaoyang was washing up when Li Nan rushed in.

"Zhaoyang! Zhaoyang!"

She didn't even knock; she just pushed the door open a crack and poked her head in.

"Did you hear? After Director Su went home last night, Su Qinghe and he had a fight!"

He Zhaoyang paused while folding clothes. "What's all the noise about?"

"They said Su Qinghe was upset that her father came to see you, making her lose face in the courtyard."

Li Nan lowered her voice, her eyes shining, "That's what Sister Zhao next door said. Su Qinghe was throwing things at home, and Director Su had to bite the bullet and coax her."

He Zhaoyang put the folded clothes into the closet, closed the door, and said, "You even threw things? Why were you making such a fuss?"

"That's right. She turned the tables and said her dad was meddling. Sister Zhao lives downstairs from her and heard everything clearly."

Li Nan slapped her thigh. "Serves you right! You made her dad go and confront you! In the end, you lost face yourself."

He Zhaoyang smiled.

As soon as Li Nan left, He Zhaoyang took a basin to the washroom to wash up.

Just as I reached the corner of the corridor, I heard people talking over the sink. The voices weren't loud, but the sink was empty, so the sound carried clearly.

Su Qinghe pleaded sweetly, "Feifei, please assign me to your arts and literature department, okay?"

"Look at my image, it's not bad! I don't lose face standing on stage."

Xie Fei sneered and said arrogantly, "Forget it, our arts and literature department is full."

"What about the choir? The choir is always short-handed, right? I have a pretty good voice, I even..."

"The choir is also full."

There was a two-second silence in the washroom.

Su Qinghe spoke again, her voice still soft, but with a hint of resentment, "Feifei, you weren't like this before. You used to respond when I talked to you, but now you always push me away."

"The past is the past," Sheffield said flatly. "Before, you would chat with me, and I would chat with you. Now you're looking for me to join the Literature and Art Department. These two things are different."

"What's the difference? I just want to find something to do."

"The logistics department has so much work to do, why don't you go?"

The washroom was quiet again.

Su Qinghe sighed, "Feifei, you don't know, it's all because of He Zhaoyang. If it weren't for him, I would still be coordinating things with Yuze. Now that my dad has changed his contact person, I really have nothing to do."

He Zhaoyang was taken aback. "Wait, what does this have to do with me?"

Sheffield's voice rang out, neither too loud nor too soft.

"Your father changed his contact person because of a job reassignment. What does this have to do with He Zhaoyang?"

"How can it be alright?" Su Qinghe's voice lowered, as if she was holding back something. "Yuze only replaced her after she arrived. He had never mentioned replacing her before."

"Did you ask him?"

Su Qinghe did not respond.

Xie Fei continued, "Did you ask him if He Zhaoyang made him change it? Or did you just guess?"

"Is there even a need to ask?"

"Use it." Sheffield's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. "You didn't even ask her before saying she asked you to. How are you any different from those gossipy people on the street?"

A few seconds later, Su Qinghe's voice rang out again, lower than before, as if she were explaining.

"That's not what I meant. I just... I just feel like everything was fine before, but things changed as soon as she came. Feifei, tell me, if you were in her shoes, would you feel good about it?"

"If you're upset, go find the person involved and ask them directly," Xie Fei said. "What's the point of coming to me, going to He Zhaoyang, or making a scene with your dad?"

Su Qinghe did not respond.

Xie Fei's voice rang out again, a little calmer than before: "If you really want to join the Literature and Art Department, I can ask around in the department's logistics department if there are any openings. They should be short of someone to do odd jobs."

Su Qinghe paused for a moment, "Odd jobs?"

"Hmm. Moving props, sweeping, tidying up costumes—the work isn't strenuous, just tedious."

Sheffield's tone was casual: "If you want to come, I'll let the logistics department know."

Su Qinghe raised her voice, "I'm here to dance, not to sweep the floor."

"The arts and culture department has no shortage of dancers," Xie Fei said. "What we need is someone to do the work."

"Feifei!"

"You said yourself that you wanted to find something to do."

Xie Fei interrupted her, "If you don't go to the logistics department, the arts and culture department doesn't need anyone to dance. So you'll just have to do odd jobs."

Su Qinghe retorted angrily, "Do you see me as just a handyman? I'm not a handyman!"

Sheffield said nonchalantly, "That's not what I thought."

He Zhaoyang lifted the curtain, making a slight sound.

Su Qinghe was standing by the pool, her face still showing signs of anger.

Hearing the noise, she turned around and saw He Zhaoyang. Her expression froze for a moment.

Xie Fei followed her gaze and shifted her posture from the lazy position by the pool, her expression changing.

She stood up straight, a smile playing on her lips, her tone instantly softening, "Zhaoyang? Come wash up!"

He Zhaoyang walked to the pool and said, "Hmm."

Xie Fei turned around as she spoke, her demeanor completely different from when she had been indifferent to Su Qinghe earlier.

Su Qinghe stood to the side, her gaze shifting back and forth between Xie Fei and He Zhaoyang. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something.

Xie Fei went over and turned on the tap for He Zhaoyang. "The water's cold this morning, so wait a bit before you shower."

"fine."

Xie Fei looked at He Zhaoyang, who was washing his face, and thought he looked fresh and refined. She asked, "Zhaoyang, would you like to join the arts and culture department? We're just short of a dancer."

Su Qinghe nearly ground her teeth to powder when she heard Xie Fei take the initiative to invite He Zhaoyang to the Literature and Art Department.

He Zhaoyang was taken aback. Didn't she just say it was full?

"I can't dance."

Sheffield replied warmly, "It's okay, I can teach you."

Su Qinghe, standing to the side, also felt awkward. It turned out that it wasn't that the place was full; Xie Fei simply didn't want her to come in.

"Well, I'm leaving."

Xie Fei seemed to just remember that she was still there, turned her head to look at her, and her tone returned to its usual calm and indifferent manner.

"Okay. Think about the odd jobs, and let me know when you've decided."