In the days following An Rong's return, he would often lose focus. He would be chopping vegetables, then suddenly peeling garlic; he would be wiping the table, then turning around to grab a mop to mop the floor; he would be talking to Lu Xi, but his eyes would be fixed on Hao Bin.

The way he looked at Hao Bin was strange; it wasn't exactly cold, but it certainly wasn't friendly either. However, this occasional stare had already caught Hao Bin's attention.

Hao Bin felt like he had thorns in his back. Before the male head of the household returned, he had been very diligent in doing everything, big or small. Now that An Rong was back, An Rong had taken over some of the heavy work before Hao Bin could even lift a finger, leaving him standing awkwardly to the side, unable to say anything.

For three whole days, Hao Bin was driven to the brink of madness by repeated setbacks. In desperation, he had no choice but to approach Yuan Doudou to offer his resignation.

"Why are you leaving all of a sudden?" Yuan Doudou asked, somewhat surprised, as she was unaware of what was going on.

He was full of enthusiasm when he first arrived, but he couldn't keep it up in less than half a month. He's not an ordinary person after all. It's clearly unrealistic to expect him to do hard labor all the time.

Hao Bin stiffened his neck, his eyes were red, and his nostrils flared as he tried his best to hold back his words.

The proprietress is a very nice person; I shouldn't ruin someone else's marriage because of myself.

Seeing that he remained silent, Yuan Doudou assumed he had some unspeakable difficulty, so she didn't press him further. She took out her notebook, found Hao Bin's page, and calculated his wages, which amounted to two taels and thirty coins.

"Since you want to leave, I can't force you to stay. If there's an opportunity, you're always welcome here," Yuan Doudou said sincerely, offering only polite words.

Being polite doesn't mean she's hypocritical; it just means she knows Hao Bin won't be coming back. He's no ordinary person; he came out this time to find the most important person to him. If he finds her, all will be well, and he can take her home. If he doesn't find her, he'll be heartbroken and silently return home, because he has inescapable responsibilities on the mountain.

"Boss lady, I can't accept this money since I'm leaving suddenly." He thought about how he had only been there for less than a month, and his sudden arrival and departure had caused Yuan Doudou a lot of trouble. In his heart, he couldn't allow himself to accept this money.

Yuan Doudou was amused by his straightforward manner. No wonder they say scholars will starve to death. He never loses his integrity no matter where he goes. He will not refuse what he deserves. But if he thinks something is not fair, he will not accept it easily, no matter how much it is.

She smiled helplessly and said, "I know you're a gentleman. A gentleman loves money, but he earns it in a proper way. This is the fruit of your labor, so you should keep it."

Ignoring his objections, Yuan Doudou stuffed the silver into his hand and then told him to pack his things carefully so as not to forget anything, since they were going on a long trip and it would be troublesome to come back to get anything if he lost anything.

Hao Bin nodded, turned and walked towards the room. On the way, he ran into An Rong, who was coming out of the warehouse. An Rong's eyes were dark and unreadable.

An Rong touched his nose, glanced at him, and walked towards the hall with a jar of wine in his left hand. He had been in the storeroom and had heard the conversation between the two outside clearly.

Unexpectedly, Hao Bin was quite sensible. Realizing that he couldn't tolerate Hao Bin, he took the initiative to tell Yuan Doudou that he wanted to leave. He hadn't slept well for the past few days, thinking about how to get Hao Bin to leave in a reasonable way, so that he wouldn't be hanging around in front of him every day, showing off how capable he was.

Ironically, Lu Xi was now on the same side as him. Since Hao Bin came, Lu Xi suddenly felt like she had no presence. He seemed like a god who could do everything and do everything very well, without needing anyone's help.

This was not a good thing for Lu Xi. He did not feel fortunate, thinking that he could be lazy and not have to do anything, and still get paid at the end of the month. On the contrary, he felt a deep sense of frustration and did not know how to tell anyone.

Fortunately, Brother Anrong returned. He didn't speak ill of Hao Bin in front of Brother Anrong because he wasn't the type to gossip. However, unexpectedly, after only three days, Brother Anrong couldn't stand Hao Bin's excessive competence and his words were full of disdain for Hao Bin. Hao Bin was also smart and realized that Brother Anrong had a problem with him, so he obediently left on his own initiative.

Lu Xi stood at the kitchen door, looking at Hao Bin carrying his luggage. He stood at the door, silently turning his head, his gaze sweeping over Lu Xi behind the door. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, his eyes gentle yet firm.

He thought they would become friends.

Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on his part.

Hao Bin is gone.

Lu Xi tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep until dawn.

He sat up, clutching his head in his hands, filled with regret. Why did this happen? Hao Bin was someone he disliked. From the day Hao Bin arrived, he had hoped he would leave quickly, which kept him up at night. He had thought that seeing Hao Bin leave would allow him to get a good night's sleep, but instead, his insomnia had become even worse.

Lu Xi got up with huge dark circles under her eyes, pushed open the door, and saw a familiar figure standing at the door, gazing at the starry sky.

"Brother Anrong, you're awake so early too?"

An Rong turned around and gave a bitter smile: "Can I say that I didn't sleep a wink all night?"

Lu Xi was surprised, but remained calm on the surface, offering a wry smile: "What a coincidence, me too."

They looked at each other in silence, gazing at the sky. A few bright stars dotted the deep blue sky, twinkling like eyes, as if whispering: "Look, there are two idiots on the ground, watching us instead of sleeping."

Yuan Doudou was woken up by the urge to urinate. She wasn't used to relieving herself indoors, so she got dressed, opened the door, and saw An Rong and the others looking at the sky, which was already beginning to brighten.

"Why aren't you two sleeping? What are you doing standing outside?" she asked while yawning.

Lu Xi was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say, so she could only slink back to her room and prepare to take another nap.

An Rong glanced at her, then lowered his head to hide the dark circles under his eyes, and silently walked back into the house.

His calm demeanor couldn't conceal the turmoil within him. In fact, he didn't breathe a sigh of relief after seeing Hao Bin leave; instead, he was constantly on edge, fearing that Yuan Doudou would be angry with him and stop talking to him. And indeed, from the moment Hao Bin left until they went to bed that night, Yuan Doudou didn't speak to him once.

That was the first sentence.

He finally felt relieved. As long as Yuan Doudou was still willing to talk to him, it meant that things hadn't reached the point of no return.

Seeing his cautious manner, Yuan Doudou wondered to herself, "This person hasn't been normal since he came back from outside. Could it be that he met someone or something happened outside?"

He helped Huang Rong find her mother, Zhou, and gave Huang Rong a home, which was a good deed. Shouldn't he be happy that he did a good deed? But lately, he seemed to be preoccupied. He didn't show up when Hao Bin left today, as if he was afraid to see Hao Bin. After Hao Bin left, he became a little different, from irritable to nervous. In the end, he was just being neurotic.