Chapter One: Considerable Losses

Huo Yan paused, stood up to fetch a package from his locker, and strode out of the office, catching up with Ning Shuyi who was walking ahead on the first floor.

Initially preoccupied with anxiety and frustration, Ning Shuyi had been walking fast without paying much attention to her surroundings. It wasn't until they reached the ground floor that she realized someone had been following her. Glancing back and seeing Huo Yan, she looked slightly surprised.

"Where are you going?" she asked, assuming a new work assignment had just landed on her lap the moment she stepped away.

"To help you out," Huo Yan replied. "You've been staying at the unit for the past few days, and your place is a mess. You need a hand."

He raised the package in his hand. "Also, your dad's shoes and clothes—I've washed and dried them."

"Alright, thanks a lot then!" Remembering the chaotic state of her home, Ning Shuyi didn't stand on ceremony with Huo Yan and readily accepted his kindness.

Because of the evening rush hour, by the time the two of them arrived at Ning Shuyi's apartment, the place had already been briefly tidied up. The plastic sheets and covers that Ning Shuyi had laid out over the sofa and furniture to catch the leaking water from the ceiling had been removed. Ning's father and mother sat on the living room sofa, looking deeply worried.

Her elder sister, Ning Shuyue, was nearby sorting through the daily necessities their parents had brought back.

Seeing Ning Shuyi return, Ning's mother hastily stood up to greet her. Noticing someone behind her daughter, she quickly recognized the new colleague and welcomed him warmly, "Xiao Huo is here! Oh my, I'm so sorry about the mess in the house..."

"It's nothing, I'm just here to help," Huo Yan said, handing over the clothes and shoes he was carrying. "I borrowed your husband's clothes temporarily last time; they've been washed now."

Ning's mother accepted the bundle with a slightly bewildered expression, as if she couldn't quite process the situation yet.

Ning Shuyi had no choice but to explain how she had returned home earlier to find the place flooded due to a leak from the upstairs apartment, and she also mentioned the help Huo Yan had provided.

"Weren't you supposed to come back in a couple of days?" she asked her mother with some confusion after finishing the explanation.

Before her voice had even faded, a man walked out from the inner rooms while on the phone. Hanging up, he raised his eyes and spotted Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan.

"Oh! Xiao Yi is back! Is this your colleague? Sit, sit, sit! Sorry about the place being a bit of a mess," Nie Guang said upon seeing his sister-in-law. He shoved his phone into his pocket and began rolling up his shirt sleeves. "Can you believe this nonsense? I was only gone for a few days, and our house turns into this!

"Thank goodness I was the one who brought Mom and Dad back today. If they had come home by themselves and walked in to see the place like this, who knows how badly they would have been frightened!

"And you—always so swamped with work day and night, I knew you wouldn't be able to spare any attention for the house."

Ning Shuyi looked at him without a word. Feeling slightly uneasy under her gaze, Nie Guang quickly rolled up his sleeves further and walked over to Ning Shuyue. "Honey, just leave this work to me. You go sit with Mom and Dad and chat!"

Having her husband take over the task, Ning Shuyue could only stand up. Catching Ning Shuyi looking at her, she smiled and motioned for her to entertain Huo Yan. "Xiao Yi, a guest is here, you need to be more hospitable! Hurry and get him to sit down, don't just stand there!"

Huo Yan, however, had no intention of sitting. Seeing Ning Shuyi's father stand up as if he wanted to tackle some chores, Huo Yan walked straight over. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Ning's father originally intended to be polite, but after taking in Huo Yan's tall frame, he changed his mind and patted the young man's shoulder. "Young man, come with me then. Uncle really does need your help with something! Otherwise, I'm just not quite tall enough, and at my age, climbing a ladder isn't entirely steady."

Huo Yan nodded and followed Ning's father to the back.

Ning Shuyi hadn't been home for the past few days, but since the upstairs issue had been resolved and the leaking had stopped, the apartment was at least no longer damp and soggy. Aside from several large and small water stains on the ceiling where the emulsion paint had peeled off, the rest was in relatively decent shape.

Even so, with no one living there for days, the place still appeared somewhat battered. Ning Shuyi and her sister joined their mother in cleaning the apartment from top to bottom, wiping down what needed wiping and organizing what needed organizing.

Nie Guang hovered in the background with an overly enthusiastic air, constantly making a show of wanting to help, though he didn't actually manage to accomplish much. When it came to housework, he was genuinely inept. Hesitating for a moment, he decided to head over to his father-in-law to see if there was anything he could lend a hand with.

Many hands make light work, and before long, the apartment was mostly put back in order. Ning's father, accompanied by his son-in-law and Huo Yan, went upstairs to inspect the situation there. Opening the front door and taking in the wreckage inside was enough to make one's blood pressure spike instantly.

Clearly, this was not a task that could be finished in one go. After fussing about for quite a while, they realized it was already well past dinner time.

Ning's father wanted to head into the kitchen to whip up something for everyone, but Ning Shuyi stopped him.

Mindful of her father's age and wanting to spare him the exhaustion, Ning Shuyi ordered takeout, which arrived shortly.

While delivery food couldn't compare to Ning's father's culinary skills in terms of appearance, aroma, or taste, eating a hot meal when tired and hungry was immensely comforting.

After finishing the meal, Ning's mother brewed some tea, and the group sat in the living room, chatting while digesting their food.

"You child! Ever since you were little, you've always only reported the good news and hidden the bad!" Ning's mother scolded her younger daughter while looking at the heavy dark circles under her eyes, her words masking a heart full of affection and distress. "And now you've gotten so bold! You dared to keep something this big a secret from us!

"I just heard from Xiao Huo that you've been sleeping at the office these past few days?

"How could you possibly get any rest like that? It's simply nonsense!

"If you had told your father and me about the house sooner, we could have come back earlier to clean up and deal with it, and you could have come home to get some proper rest sooner!"

"Mom, you're overthinking it!" Ning Shuyi waved her hand with a smile. "Even if you two had come back and restored our house to look like a royal palace, I wouldn't have been able to come home those days! I was anchored to the unit by a case, not just because of a water leak at home."

"Regardless of all that, not telling us is your fault!" Ning's mother glared at her. "And dragging poor Xiao Huo over here to help clean up! You've caused him so much trouble!"

"I don't mind," Huo Yan said solemnly, shaking his head.

"Ahem." Nie Guang, who had barely spoken since the meal ended, cleared his throat at this moment, successfully drawing the attention of everyone in the living room. "Dad, Mom, the losses our family suffered this time are not insignificant!"