Around 3 PM, Hua Kai finished making the red bean pastries.

After it cooled down a bit, Gu Lanyan found a clean box, lined it with a new plastic bag, filled it with a large box of red bean pastries, and asked Huakai to deliver it to Ye Yifan.

Hua Kai carried the box and went to the village committee.

Just as I arrived at the entrance of the village committee, I ran into Ye Yifan, who was about to leave.

"Captain Ye, are you going out?" Hua Kai didn't want to delay his business, so she asked.

Ye Yifan stopped and said, "Let's go inside and talk." He didn't say much, but he was very assertive.

Hua Kai initially wanted to ask if it would interfere with Ye Yifan's work, but then she thought that if he let her in, it meant he wasn't busy, and talking more would only make things awkward, so she decided not to say anything and followed Ye Yifan into the house.

I followed Ye Yifan into the dormitory. He lived in a single room, which was simply furnished with a bed, a desk and chair, and a neatly folded gray checkered quilt on the bed. The floor was also very clean.

Ye Yifan turned the chair in front of his desk around and said to Hua Kai, "Please sit down." He then poured Hua Kai a glass of water. Since there was only one chair, he sat down on the edge of the bed himself.

Hua Kai placed the red bean pastries she had brought on the table: "I made these red bean pastries myself, just a little something for you." She then sat down in a chair.

Ye Yifan smelled the aroma coming from the box: "Did you make this?"

Hua Kai nodded and said, "Yes, my cooking skills are passable."

Ye Yifan was somewhat surprised: "It seems I underestimated your strength."

Hua Kai was still quite satisfied with herself: "Thank you for the compliment, Captain Ye. Actually, you're a pretty good person too."

Ye Yifan looked at Hua Kai and asked, "Is there a hidden meaning in your words?"

Hua Kai felt she had forgotten the importance of speaking less to avoid awkward situations. Now, wasn't she about to have another awkward conversation?

She smiled and said, "No, I was just complimenting you." That can't be wrong, right?

"I know what you're thinking." After saying that, Ye Yifan didn't continue the awkward conversation about the matter, but instead asked Hua Kai, "Gu Xiaoxue didn't give you a hard time today, did she?"

Upon hearing this question, Hua Kai had to admit that Ye Yifan's divergent thinking was truly remarkable, and the question itself was quite strange.

She shook her head: "No, it's just that why didn't you tell me beforehand that Gu Xiaoxue was a man?"

Looking at the blooming flowers, Ye Yifan asked, "Does gender matter?"

Hua Kai scratched her head: "It's not about gender, it's just that this is so illogical. If I couldn't help but laugh out loud, wouldn't that be terrible?"

"You won't, you're very good at managing your emotions," Ye Yifan said confidently, trusting his own judgment.

Hua Kai also admitted that Ye Yifan was right; this person's judgment was indeed accurate. She was not a fool, so she stopped worrying about it.

She shared her concerns with Ye Yifan: "By the way, Captain Ye, Director Gu has some misunderstandings about our relationship, but the more I explain, the less he believes me, so I'm worried that I might be causing you trouble."

Upon hearing this, Ye Yi's lips curled up slightly: "That's just how that kid is. I've said before that he's suited to be a screenwriter, but his dream is to be the director of the political education department."

Looking at Ye Yifan's casual smile, Hua Kai couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Why does this person's smile seem to have the power to bewitch people?"

But listening to his words, I was a little confused: "Why would someone dream of this?"

"Because he was too honest when he was in school, he was always bullied."

"No wonder, but it's rare to find someone who can actually achieve this dream."

Ye Yifan still had that irresistibly charming expression: "The message he asked you to pass on was: I should go find him?"

Hua Kai nodded repeatedly, "Yes, you really know him well." After saying that, Hua Kai sensed someone eavesdropping outside the door, looked at Ye Yifan, and pointed outside the door, "It seems like someone is there."

Ye Yifan said to the door, "Have you heard enough? Then go and recalculate yesterday's survey data ten more times."

A loud voice came from outside the door: "It's the captain!" Then there was a trotting sound, followed by silence.

Hua Kai looked at Ye Yifan: "Do you know who it is?"

Ye Yifan did not answer Hua Kai's question, but said, "Your kung fu is quite good. You were able to detect this. Have you received formal training?" Because there was basically no movement outside the door just now, it was not something an ordinary person could detect.

Hua Kai quickly denied it: "No, how could I have learned it?" At this point, Hua Kai remembered the time when Ye Yifan saw her jump from the second floor, and quickly explained: "That day I jumped from the second floor of Wang Shengli's house and was not injured. Actually, it was just that there was a sand pile below, and I was lucky."

Ye Yifan didn't ask any more questions: "Everyone has secrets, and I don't have a problem with snooping on other people's privacy. But it seems I'm pretty lucky; helping you should be a win for me."

Hua Kai felt relieved after hearing Ye Yifan's words: "I like talking to straightforward people. You keep my affairs a secret, and I will repay the favor to your satisfaction."

"I believe in your abilities," Ye Yifan said firmly.

"Then I won't bother you any longer." Seeing that it was getting late, Hua Kai said goodbye to Ye Yifan.

Ye Yifan escorted Hua Kai to the door, said goodbye again, and Hua Kai went home.

During her conversation with Ye Yifan, Hua Kai discovered that from certain perspectives, he's quite a good friend. He knows how to respect other people's privacy and is capable, but he's not tactful in his speech and his thinking is rather unconventional.

As Ye Yifan watched Hua Kai's retreating figure, he grew increasingly curious about the girl. Did she really grow up in this small village? Impossible. But what had she been through?

"Captain, could we discuss reducing the number of times I need to recalculate yesterday's survey data?" A young man wearing glasses looked at Ye Yifan pleadingly.

He was the one who was eavesdropping at the door earlier. His name was Zhang Fang, and he had been working for Ye Yifan for over two years. This was the first time he had seen his captain let a girl into his room, and his curiosity was piqued.

"What do you think?" Ye Yifan asked him in return.

The young man with glasses quickly shook his head: "No need for less, ten times, I'll go right now." With that, he dashed back to his room.

Ye Yifan also turned around and went back to his room. He took out a red bean pastry and ate a piece. It was delicious. He liked to eat sweet things because there was too much bitterness in life. Eating something sweet would make him feel better.

When Hua Kai arrived home, her older brother Hua Qingyi and younger brother Hua Qingyang were both back. The dining table was already set, and it was time to eat.

Today I bought meat, and Gu Lanyan stir-fried four dishes and made an egg drop soup. In their family, these were dishes that could only be eaten during the New Year.

Hua Qingyang washed his hands and said, "I feel like we're celebrating the New Year at home, eating good food every day."

Hua Wanjiang said with a smile, "Our family is even happier than during the New Year. In the past, only you kids were happy during the New Year, while your mother and I were worried. After eating and drinking, there wasn't much money left at home. We spent more than we earned, and we were anxious. Now it's different. We have income every other day. How can the feeling be the same?"