Yu Jia, even with her capricious and difficult temper, had been in the entertainment industry for over a decade. She had a sharp eye and could immediately discern the subtle tension between Zhu Yiyi and He Shen.

She secretly observed Zhu Yiyi for a few moments. Her features were pure and plain, her temperament ordinary. She wondered what was so special about her.

But her intuition told her that this woman was not to be offended.

Yu Jia immediately put on a apologetic expression, “Miss, the security guard at Yu Mansion was rude and offended you. May I apologize on his behalf?”

Zhu Yiyi didn’t expect things to turn out this way. It was the first time she had truly experienced the power of influence.

Because of He Shen, these people’s attitudes towards her and Ling Mai were completely different.

Because of He Shen, she received an apology from Yu Jia.

But it wasn’t something that made her very happy.

However, Zhu Yiyi understood the principle of knowing when to stop. He Shen had the power, she and Ling Mai didn’t, they couldn’t afford to offend a big figure like Yu Jia.

“Ms. Yu, you’re too kind. It was all a misunderstanding, there’s no need to apologize,” thinking of the purpose of their visit, Zhu Yiyi’s eyes darted around, and she took the opportunity to ask, “We came to Yu Mansion mainly for an interview, do you have time?”

Yu Jia smiled, “Of course, I’ll find some time later.”

“Thank you.”

“Then Mr. He…” Yu Jia was still worried.

“Since Ms. Zhu said it was a misunderstanding, then it was a misunderstanding.” He Shen picked up his phone heavily, then put it down lightly because of Zhu Yiyi’s words, “Ms. Yu, please.”

Yu Jia let out a long sigh of relief.

The farce ended, Zhu Yiyi and Ling Mai successfully entered Yu Mansion and conducted the interview.

The interview was over an hour later.

They drove back the same way, Ling Mai was going to stay at her sister’s place tonight, so she got off the car halfway.

The car door slammed shut, leaving only Zhu Yiyi and He Shen in the cramped space.

The air seemed to become thinner.

They were silent all the way.

Zhu Yiyi was bored and scrolling through videos, she received a message from Ms. Zhu, saying she had gone out to play mahjong, she hadn’t cooked dinner, and if she was hungry after work, she could eat some bread to hold her over.

Zhu Yiyi replied “Okay,” her peripheral vision accidentally caught He Shen’s black suit.

She remembered that the coat she had worn back from the apartment was still at her place.

Zhu Yiyi leaned against the leather seat, she was about to tell He Shen that she would return the clothes later, but sleepiness suddenly struck, her eyelids became heavier and heavier.

She unconsciously closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When they arrived at the old residential area in the south of the city, the car slowly stopped.

He Shen looked in the rearview mirror, the girl in the back seat was asleep, her head tilted to one side, her phone was still on the short video page.

He turned up the air conditioning in the car, the cramped cabin became warm and cozy.

Zhu Yiyi slept very comfortably, she changed positions and fell asleep again.

There was no sound in the car.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Yiyi showed signs of waking up, she opened her eyes, she was groggy for a while. When she realized that the car had stopped at the entrance of the community, she suddenly jolted awake: “We’re here?”

He Shen: “Just arrived.”

Zhu Yiyi breathed a sigh of relief, she thought they had arrived earlier, she had been sleeping like a log.

“Thank you, Mr. He, for today.”

It was the same polite thanks as Ling Mai.

He Shen: “How was the interview?”

“It was pretty good, Ms. Yu was very cooperative.”

“Do you think she’s suitable to play the female lead in Morning Phoenix?”

Zhu Yiyi’s expression was dazed.

She had read the original novel “Palace of Morning Phoenix,” the female lead, Qi Hanxue, carried a blood feud, she was patient and burdened, she schemed step by step, from a lowly laundress to the Empress Dowager who held the reins of power. Such a character undoubtedly required a lot from the actress.

Yu Jia’s image was very suitable.

But her eyes lacked the ruthlessness of Qi Hanxue.

However, Zhu Yiyi didn’t intend to tell the truth: “I’m just a small employee in the advertising planning department, you’re asking the wrong person, Mr. He.”

“Everyone has their own opinion, employees, fans, directors, they can all be a reference for choosing an actor,” He Shen turned sideways, “I want to hear your thoughts.”

He Shen’s rationality was ingrained in his bones, Zhu Yiyi wouldn’t worry that he would change Yu Jia because of her words.

Since it was a work issue, she also tried to be as professional as possible: “Although Ms. Yu Jia has starred in many palace intrigue dramas and won many awards, if you look closely at the characters she has played, they are different from the female lead in Morning Phoenix. Their core values are morally at opposite ends. The former is for the world and for justice, the latter is solely for revenge. Qi Hanxue, in the end, is only pursuing power for herself.”

“So?”

“So I don’t think Ms. Yu Jia is the best actress to play the female lead in Morning Phoenix.”

The dashboard in the car ticked.

He Shen’s left hand rested on the steering wheel, his index finger tapped lightly, after a long pause, he spoke: “I understand.”

Zhu Yiyi didn’t understand what those three words meant.

But it wasn’t something she should speculate about.

She brought up another matter: “Mr. He, your coat is still with me, can you wait here for a bit?”

He Shen didn’t show any emotion: “Okay.”

Zhu Yiyi went upstairs to get the coat.

The old apartment in the south of the city didn’t have an elevator, only a staircase, the walls were pitted and uneven, sometimes if you weren’t careful, your clothes would get a layer of white dust. The lights in the hallway usually flickered and barely lit up, today they had completely stopped working, the hallway was pitch black.

Fortunately, her house was on the second floor, it was a two-minute walk.

Zhu Yiyi opened the door with her key and went inside, she casually turned on the living room light, but it was dark no matter how many times she pressed it, the same thing happened in the room.

No wonder Ms. Zhu went out to play mahjong, it turned out the electricity in the house was out.

He Shen was still waiting downstairs, Zhu Yiyi didn’t have time to deal with this, she fumbled around in the dark in her room, but she couldn’t find the coat.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of the living room.

Zhu Yiyi’s heart skipped a beat, this was an old residential area, there were many petty thieves, she peeked out to see.

But her gaze suddenly stopped.

A tall figure stood at the door.

The faint moonlight in the corridor was like a spotlight shining from behind him, even his hair was clearly visible, like a character from a comic book.

He Shen turned on his phone flashlight and walked over, “The lights are out?”

“Yeah, the electricity in the old community is unstable, the circuit breaker tripped.” After saying that, Zhu Yiyi was a little worried about how she would open it later, the huge basement substation was pitch black, she was a little afraid.

“Where’s the breaker?”

“Basement level one.”

“Take me there.”

Zhu Yiyi hesitated: “That’s not a good idea.”

He Shen held his flashlight in his left hand, a few rays of light fell on his profile, his features were sharp, “What, don’t you need it?”

The old community in the south of the city didn’t even have security, let alone an on-call property manager. If she didn’t ask He Shen for help, Zhu Yiyi could only wait for Ms. Zhu to come home.

After considering for a few seconds, she said softly: “Then thank you.”

The basement level one hallway was even more dilapidated, covered in cobwebs, the damp environment had a strong musty smell.

Zhu Yiyi covered her nose and walked, her arm was pulled, He Shen leaned forward, “Wait.”

She stopped.

He said: “I’ll go ahead.”

The sound echoed in the empty hallway.

He Shen held the phone flashlight and went down the stairs first, when he encountered cobwebs, he waved his arm away. His white shirt and expensive suit were now dirty from the cobwebs.

Zhu Yiyi watched him from behind.

His back was tall and reassuring, as if the sky would fall and he would hold it up.

If it had been a long time ago, if she could have interacted with He Shen like this, Zhu Yiyi would have done everything she could to get close to him, she would have frantically tried to impress him, thinking that He Shen was special to her, that he had a little liking for her.

But Zhu Yiyi now simply thought He Shen was well-mannered, a true gentleman.

Something like this, even if it wasn’t her, if it was any Timeshun employee, He Shen would have helped.

—She was no different from anyone else in his eyes.

She had known this answer for a long time.

The circuit breakers in the old community were separate, one for each household, it took a while to find Zhu Yiyi’s main breaker.

It was rusty, the wires were messy, and covered in dust.

It was even hard to find the switch.

Zhu Yiyi felt embarrassed: “…My breaker has never been broken, I haven’t looked at it much, I don’t know how it became like this.”

He Shen found the switch, he pulled it up, but the breaker didn’t respond.

“The circuit must be broken.”

“What do I do then?” Zhu Yiyi was anxious, “Will we be without electricity all night?”

She still had to look at several documents tonight.

“Yiyi.” He suddenly called out.

“Yeah?” She replied subconsciously.

After replying, Zhu Yiyi realized something was wrong.

Her ex-boyfriend shouldn’t be calling her so affectionately.

And she, his ex-girlfriend, shouldn’t be replying so naturally.

Zhu Yiyi coughed lightly: “What?”

He Shen handed her his phone, “Can you hold the light?”

“Oh, okay.”

He Shen rolled up his sleeves, revealing a small section of his arm, it was lean and strong, when he pulled out the wire, his muscles bulged, and the veins were clearly visible.

He was fixing the wiring.

Zhu Yiyi diligently acted as a lighting assistant, “Mr. He, you know how to do this?”

“I’ve learned.”

When they were dating, Zhu Yiyi had also seen him dismantle phones, dismantle models, and solve all kinds of difficult problems that she had and hadn’t seen.

She asked, and he said he had learned.

Truly, behind a successful man, there is always a spirit of hard work and learning, and a pair of skillful hands.

Zhu Yiyi was absent-minded, her mind was racing.

After ten minutes, He Shen had neatly wrapped the wires, tucked them into a corner, and pushed the switch up, the black screen of the meter immediately lit up, and the red light started flashing.

“Done.” He said.

“It’s fixed?” Zhu Yiyi couldn’t believe it, someone upstairs had a broken meter before, the electrician they called dragged it out for hours and couldn’t fix it, forcing the family upstairs to curse loudly.

He Shen turned away, walked a few steps away from Zhu Yiyi, brushed off the dust on his arm before turning back, “Go upstairs and have a look.”

“Your phone.”

“Can you put it in my suit pocket?”

Zhu Yiyi nodded, she stretched out her arm, she was going to throw the phone into his pocket, but she tripped over the wire, her upper body fell into He Shen’s arms, her face pressed directly against his chest.

So close that she could almost hear his heartbeat.

In the dim environment, the darkness seemed to provide a layer of camouflage.

The things that had been deliberately hidden and carefully disguised were now slightly revealing their true colors.

He Shen’s eyes were deep and heavy.

Like the still waters of a lake, beneath the surface calm, there was a deep abyss, a hunting beast, with a faint glow.

This kind of look was rare in men.

Zhu Yiyi had only glimpsed it in bed.

Her face flushed, she blinked, wanting to see it more clearly, but the man returned to his usual aloof appearance.

As if what just happened was just an illusion.

Zhu Yiyi felt uncomfortable being looked at by him, she immediately stood up, threw the phone into his pocket, and said in a formal tone: “I didn’t mean to.”

She turned and walked upstairs first, “I’m going.”

The living room switch was by the door.

Zhu Yiyi pressed it, and the entire living room was instantly illuminated.

She felt relieved: “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Zhu Yiyi was silent for a moment.

Her ex-boyfriend helped his ex-girlfriend fix the circuit breaker, was that really “You’re welcome”?

Although she was sometimes bold, she wasn’t heartless enough to exploit her ex-boyfriend, “No matter what, I still need to thank you, Mr. He. The Yu Mansion and my circuit breaker both took up a lot of your time.”

“You’ve been saying those two words to me all day.”

“Shouldn’t I?”

He opened his lips and said slowly: “You used to say them very rarely.”

Zhu Yiyi lowered her eyes, “That was then, this is now. We’ve broken up, you don’t have any obligation to help me.”

The air became stiff.

The harmonious atmosphere of “you’re welcome, you’re welcome” just now became a little awkward.

Old lovers meeting each other, it really does make things awkward.

Zhu Yiyi’s eyes darted around, she was worried that her mother would come back at any time, and she was racking her brains to figure out how to send He Shen away.

Until her gaze fell on a touch of red.

The light in the basement was dim just now, now the lights were bright, she finally saw He Shen’s wound.

Zhu Yiyi was stunned: “You’re hurt?”

He Shen was expressionless, “It’s nothing.”

She grabbed his hand, his pale skin made the wound look worse, blood was still oozing out, “Such a long scratch, it’s still bleeding, how can you say it’s nothing?”

He Shen didn’t answer, his lips were tightly pressed together.

Zhu Yiyi didn’t understand why he was suddenly in a bad mood, she didn’t have time to care about that, she pulled him to the sofa and sat him down, “There’s a lot of dust and bacteria in the basement, it needs to be disinfected. You wait, I have iodine at home.”

She said, she took a small medicine box from the TV cabinet, took out the iodine and alcohol swabs, and sat opposite him: “Give me your hand.”

He extended his hand.

“Move closer, I can’t reach.”

He obediently leaned closer.

From He Shen’s perspective.

Zhu Yiyi carefully avoided the skin around the scratch as she disinfected it with tweezers, she lowered her head and gently blew on it. The girl’s long, curled eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

His other hand, hanging by his thigh, secretly clenched, trying to control the itch in his fingers.

Finally, Zhu Yiyi wrapped a few layers of bandages and tied a knot, “It’s done, be careful not to get it wet when you go back, it will heal in a few days.”

He Shen looked at the bandage: “You’re very skilled.”

Zhu Yiyi stopped her movements of putting away the things.

When she was in school, she was often bullied, and every time she came back, she had bruises here and there, and blood was flowing. Ms. Zhu worked hard every day and had no time to take care of her. Zhu Yiyi didn’t want to worry her mother, so she learned to bandage herself, anyway, she learned to cook and wash clothes by herself.

But she wouldn’t mention these old stories to anyone, including He Shen.

She casually said: “I’ve been hurt a lot before, I was too lazy to go to the doctor, so I just did it myself.”

“Why were you hurt?”

“Kids run around and play, it’s inevitable to get hurt.”

“Really?”

He Shen had eyes that could see through people’s hearts.

When they were dating, Zhu Yiyi could never lie to him, she could always be seen through. Now, her heart was a little nervous.

“Of course, how else could it be,” she emphasized seriously, “I had a happy childhood.”

Fearing that He Shen would probe deeper and discover something, Zhu Yiyi changed the subject: “By the way, I can’t seem to find your coat, maybe my mom put it somewhere else when she cleaned the house today.”

“It’s okay,” he said, “You can return it when you find it.”

After saying that, He Shen walked towards the door, ready to leave.

Zhu Yiyi took the opportunity to remember what Nan Er had said at the company entrance, she added: “Next time, ask Nan Er to bring it to you.”

He Shen’s footsteps stopped abruptly, after a few seconds, he turned back, he walked directly towards her, step by step, his eyes met Zhu Yiyi’s puzzled gaze.

“Why involve others with our business?”