Courtyard House: I'm surrounded by celestial beauties on either side.

Fang Chengxuan sneered: "Boss, you should ask him if he made someone wash his underwear."

The top leader has keen insight.

He Yuzhu scratched his head, saying dismissively, "What man would do things like laundry and cooking? I'm helping Qin Huairu out, so she helps me with housework. Isn't that normal?"

Fang Chengxuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The top leader slammed his fist on the table in anger: "Are you stupid? How can you let another woman wash your underwear?"

He Yuzhu looked bewildered: "Why not? Didn't Fang Chengxuan also find a distant relative to help with the housework?"

"They're relatives! And they're about the same age!" The big boss was furious.

He originally thought that Fang Chengxuan was targeting He Yuzhu because of the cooking competition, but he didn't expect that it was all He Yuzhu's own wild imagination.

"I'm sorry, I was misled by one side this time." The senior leader suppressed his anger and apologized to Fang Chengxuan.

Fang Chengxuan remained indifferent: "Is there anything else?"

Seeing his aloof attitude, the senior leader said no more: "That's all, I'm leaving now."

The senior leader did not delve further into Fang Chengxuan's scheme against Yang Jianguo. After calming down, he had figured it out.

"Even if Fang Chengxuan did something, there's no evidence right now, and besides, he might not have even laid a hand on it?"

The high-ranking leader got up to leave, and He Yuzhu hurriedly followed, saying, "High-ranking leader, why are you leaving so soon? You didn't actually believe Fang Chengxuan's nonsense, did you?"

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 10 ...

Fang Chengxuan watched the senior leader and He Yuzhu leave and sighed, "Everyone says the worst thing is a bad teammate, and He Yuzhu really knows how to screw people over."

Factory Director Li smiled knowingly and glanced at Yang Jianguo: "That's right. If it weren't for him, you might not even be in this factory director position."

Yang Jianguo lowered his head and remained silent, an awkward expression on his face.

His nephew had already warned him that his current predicament wasn't entirely someone else's fault.

"I didn't expect this big leader to be so easily swayed by one side," Fang Chengxuan said as he walked out of the conference room, watching the departing figure.

Factory Director Li casually replied, "I heard that this guy has already been targeted by higher-ups and won't be long before he falls from grace."

Fang Chengxuan raised an eyebrow, recalling that this character had indeed lost power in the original plot, and nodded, saying, "Just look at how he listened to He Yuzhu's one-sided story today and immediately questioned me. Anyone would hold a grudge."

"Alright, this has nothing to do with us, let's disperse." Director Li waved his hand.

Fang Chengxuan nodded and returned to his office.

Outside the factory gate, He Yuzhu kept pestering the top leader: "Top leader, Fang Chengxuan is the most cunning guy. Even if he did it, he'll never admit it..."

"Enough!" the big boss suddenly shouted, "If he really did something wrong, we'll have the evidence to deal with him."

As for you—"

"There are so many problems! Fang Chengxuan is right, you are both stupid and clueless."

It's normal that Ran Qiuye and Yu Haitang don't like you. What girl could accept you being entangled with other women?

He Yuzhu was so anxious he was jumping up and down: "Big leader, I'm completely innocent with them! I just saw that Widow Qin was having a hard time raising her family, so I helped her out. Her helping me with laundry and cooking was just repaying a debt of gratitude!"

"I, Fang Yuzhu, am upright and honest, unlike Xu Damao who has ulterior motives! You've known me for so long, do you think I'm that kind of person?"

The top leader, seeing the unrepentant He Yuzhu, got into his car and drove off in anger—the nickname "Silly Zhu" was truly fitting!

He Yuzhu scratched the back of his head and muttered, "What's going on now?"

Back at the courtyard house, He Yuzhu caught Lin Feng and Ran Qiuye talking intimately in the backyard and immediately flew into a rage: "Hmph! Some people are just looking for trouble, ignoring decent people and insisting on hanging out with a scoundrel!"

Lin Feng jumped to his feet: "He Yuzhu, are you looking for death?"

Ran Qiuye pulled her boyfriend back: "Ignore him."

By the way, how about I have my parents and Brother Fang discuss the wedding arrangements at the state-run restaurant tomorrow?

Lin Feng immediately put on a smiling face: "I'll listen to whatever Brother Fang says."

Although this house isn't in my name, I can live here indefinitely.

Brother Fang also has a courtyard house; if you don't like it here, we can move there.

"I don't need to worry about finding a job either, Brother Fang promised to help me arrange one."

"Don't worry, I will definitely work hard to earn money to support the family." Lin Feng solemnly promised, holding Ran Qiuye's hand.

The sweet sight of the young couple infuriated He Yuzhu, who turned ashen-faced and stormed into the deaf old lady's room, cursing under his breath.

The old lady asked in surprise, "What brings you here today?"

He Yuzhu plopped down, and after hesitating for a long time, finally spoke: "Grandma, do you think I should continue to support Qin Huairu? Fang Chengxuan insists that this is why I can't get married... But we're completely innocent!"

The deaf old woman gave him a deep look: "If I said yes, would you really cut off all contact with me?"

He Yuzhu fell silent.

The deaf old lady looked at He Yuzhu with a hesitant expression, and finally just sighed softly, "Silly Zhu, the old lady still thinks the same thing."

"Now that you've lost your job at the steel mill, why don't you sign up to go to the countryside?"

Although life in the countryside is tough, you'll never go hungry with this skill.

"Leaving here might bring new opportunities, and finding a wife might be easier."

He Yuzhu's face lit up with impatience: "Sending me to the countryside again! What's so great about the countryside? Why can Xu Damao and Fang Chengxuan marry beautiful wives in the city, but I have to go to the countryside?"

"In what way do I fall short of them?"

Thinking that his two rivals were doing well while he was constantly hitting roadblocks, He Yuzhu suddenly stood up.

"It must be because I'm unemployed! I'll go find work right now. If the steel mill won't take me, there's the soda factory, the movie studio. With my skills, how could I not find a job?"

At the same time, Lin Feng excitedly approached Fang Chengxuan, his face beaming with joy: "Brother Fang, Qiu Ye and I have made plans to meet at the state-run restaurant this Saturday. Are you free?"

Seeing his beaming face, Fang Chengxuan nodded with a smile: "I'm free. What are the specific arrangements?"

"That's how it is," Lin Feng explained, rubbing his hands together, "we haven't officially met each other's parents yet."

For the sake of Akiha's reputation, we plan to meet at a restaurant first.

He then pulled out some banknotes and said, "This is what I've earned recently; I'm giving it all to Brother Fang."

Once things are settled, I'll ask you to propose marriage to the Ran family as their elder brother, so that the neighbors will know about our relationship.

Fang Chengxuan praised, "You've thought this through very thoroughly. It seems you've truly moved on."

Your brother would be so happy if he knew.

He then took out an envelope: "This is what your brother entrusted to me for safekeeping. Now it's back to its rightful owner and can be used as a betrothal gift."

"It's settled then. See you at the state-run restaurant at 11 a.m. on Saturday." Lin Feng took the envelope and left happily.

Fang Chengxuan turned to Rong Xinrui and asked, "Are you coming along that day?"

Rong Xinrui thought for a moment and said, "Go."

Since Lin Feng treats you like an older brother, it wouldn't be appropriate for me, as your sister-in-law, to not step in.

"Okay, I'll come pick you up then." Fang Chengxuan helped her back to her room and gently massaged her calves: "You've been getting cramps at night lately, I'm afraid you're calcium deficient."

I asked Aunt Chen to make more bone broth.

"Mmm." Rong Xinrui responded lazily, then suddenly brought up, "Uncle has been coming to see Aunt a lot lately, it seems like he wants to rekindle their old relationship."

Fang Chengxuan laughed and said, "These two still have a long way to go."

However, Uncle He's feelings for the fake aunt ultimately stemmed from his love for the real aunt.

To call it betrayal... well, not necessarily.

Rong Xinrui suddenly became serious: "If someone were impersonating me, would you be able to recognize them?"

"Of course." Fang Chengxuan gazed at her, his eyes reflecting her clearly. "I've never loved just this face."

Rong Xinrui blushed, but still pressed on, "But Uncle didn't recognize me back then..."

"It's different," Fang Chengxuan explained gently. "The more you cherish something, the more easily you become anxious about losing it."

My uncle wasn't unaware of what was wrong, but he dared not think too deeply about it, attributing everything to the events of those three months.

"It is precisely because of such deep love that this is the case."

That's why the old men didn't stop him from pursuing his aunt again.

Rong Xinrui buried her face in the crook of his neck and whispered, "I knew you would recognize me... because you've always been different from everyone else."

Fang Chengxuan hugged her: "That's why we're a match made in heaven."

If I hadn't met you, I probably would have grown old alone.

"Me too..." Rong Xinrui's voice gradually faded.

Outside the door, Rong Yushu's hand, which was about to knock, froze in mid-air.

She stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then quietly left.

The next morning, everyone was surprised to see He Xueyi, looking radiant, leading Rong Yushu to the breakfast table.

Fang Chengxuan and his wife exchanged a knowing look.

At 10 a.m., Fang Chengxuan glanced at his watch, gave Xu Pei a few instructions, and then left the steel rolling mill.

Half an hour later, he took Rong Xinrui into the state-run restaurant and chose a corner seat by the window.

"Excuse me, I'd like a serving of braised beef and braised pork..." Fang Chengxuan estimated the number of people and ordered the dishes. "Could you bring them later? I can pay the bill first."

Add six bottles of soda and two bottles of liquor.

Just as the waiter was about to agree, someone suddenly interrupted sharply: "That's not right! This is a place to eat. If you're not going to eat, please leave!"

Fang Chengxuan frowned at the familiar voice.

Looking up, I saw He Yuzhu standing behind the counter in a waiter's uniform.

He shook his head inwardly:

"So stupid, there's no hope for them."

"I'm not going to cause you any trouble, can't you just behave yourself? Why do you have to provoke me?"

He stared at He Yuzhu, who glared back defiantly, holding a spatula in his hand, chin held high, and a look of contempt on his face.

"It's you, He Yuzhu?"

"A state-run restaurant actually has a former convict in charge of cooking? Won't he spit in the food?"

A hint of sarcasm flashed in Fang Chengxuan's eyes. He feigned surprise and spoke with a hint of lingering fear in his voice.

He glanced at the food that had just been served at the window, his face full of disgust, and deliberately scanned the dishes on the other diners' tables.

The few customers who were originally there changed their expressions instantly upon hearing this and looking at the food in front of them.

"Brother, is that cook really a convict?"

Someone couldn't help but ask.

Fang Chengxuan nodded: "That's right, this guy has something wrong with his head, his nickname is 'Silly Pillar'. He was fired from the kitchen of the steel mill before, I don't know how he got into the state-run restaurant."

"Does anyone know what ingredients he added when he cooked? I heard that some of the seasonings he used were dark in color; does anyone know if there's anything wrong with them?"

He added with a look of disgust.

The waiter next to him looked at He Yuzhu suspiciously—indeed, he mixed several of the seasonings himself and never let anyone see them.

This caused an uproar among the restaurant's customers.

Someone slammed their fist on the table and shouted, "What do you mean? This state-run restaurant is so big, can't they find a chef? Do they have to use convicts?"

"Exactly! Who knows if he spat in the food? Maybe he added something else! We pay to eat here, and this is the kind of filthy food we get?"

Some people joined in the commotion.

"Refund!"

"I can't eat this!"

The loudest shouters were those customers who had almost finished eating.

Upon hearing that the food might be unclean, the others also put down their chopsticks and rushed to the counter: "Give us our money back! Who dares to eat this food?"

Fang Chengxuan watched coldly as the panicked waiter and the dumbfounded He Yuzhu appeared, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"idiot."

He cursed He Yuzhu silently.

"Don't listen to his nonsense! He has a grudge against me and is deliberately smearing me! How could I spit on him? If I were to spit, it would be in his bowl!"

He Yuzhu was sweating profusely and blurted out his explanation.

Fang Chengxuan almost burst out laughing—this was practically digging his own grave.

"Oh, you actually dare to spit?!"

Immediately, someone slammed the food on the counter, yelling, "Give me my money back! Who would dare eat this?"

"What the hell? A chef dares to threaten customers? Whatever your grudge, customers pay to eat here, so you have to cook clean food! Spitting? Disgusting!"

There was a chorus of curses.

"How could a state-run restaurant hire someone like this? Give us our money back right now, or this isn't over!"

He Yuzhu was dumbfounded.

The more he explained, the fiercer the fire became, like pouring water into a pot of oil, frying himself until he was covered in wounds.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the waiter quickly ran to call the manager.

The manager rushed over, repeatedly apologizing, and even tasted a few bites of the food on the spot: "Don't worry, everyone, our food is absolutely clean! As a token of our apology, we'll give each table two meat buns!"

He handled the situation skillfully, both appeasing the customers and decisively offering compensation, quickly stabilizing the situation.

"You need to be more careful when hiring! Who would dare to eat here if you kept a chef who threatens to spit on them?"

Customers are still dissatisfied.

The manager forced a smile: "Yes, yes, we will definitely handle this seriously!"

Fang Chengxuan watched coldly, then suddenly said to the manager, "Forget it, I'd better leave."

I need to remind acquaintances in the future that this state-run restaurant... is a dangerous place to go.

His tone was calm, but every word was piercing: "He Yuzhu is a vengeful person; he even hates my friends."