"Supervisor Rhodes, why am I suddenly being transferred from my current position?" Simon Lancaster asked anxiously. "What’s going on?"

Nothing had been going right for Simon Lancaster this past month. He had recently lost out on a project lead position to two senior employees, which was already a bitter pill to swallow. Now, another project he was on had been assigned to someone else.

Simon was completely baffled. He had no idea why things had taken such a turn.

He hadn’t even recovered from the blow of losing two projects in a row when he received a notice of transfer from the company, demoting him from his current role to an entry-level position.

His current job was a junior management role with good pay and benefits. He received a generous weekly supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, and most importantly, it gave him access to the company’s key projects and significant opportunities for promotion.

He never imagined the company would transfer him out of this position.

If the new entry-level job had some potential for advancement, it might have been acceptable. But this position was purely manual labor.

After the transfer, he would be stuck running errands and doing menial tasks. Barring a miracle, he would never get a chance to work on one of Rhodes’s key projects again.

Supervisor Rhodes sighed and replied, "Simon, why can’t you keep your family in line? The incident with your brother showing up at someone’s door trying to attack them was reported to the company. You know how strict our policies are about this sort of thing. According to company regulations, we have no choice but to demote you."

Supervisor Rhodes didn’t feel good about it either. He had originally hoped for Simon Lancaster to become his son-in-law.

He knew his daughter, Holly Rhodes, had the temper of a spoiled princess and exceedingly high standards. After all these years, she hadn’t met anyone suitable. It was a rare thing for Simon to have caught her eye.

Holly was an only child, so having a man like Simon—handsome, capable, and from a wealthy family—marry into their family was the best possible outcome. But he never expected something like this to happen.

Simon’s face went pale. He knew it was a bad idea when he first heard his parents had taken his brother to cause trouble at Melody Summers’s home, but he never thought it would escalate to this point!

His lips trembled as he spoke. "Supervisor Rhodes, there’s been a misunderstanding. Someone insulted my parents, and my brother couldn’t stand by and do nothing, so he fought back! Besides, he didn’t hurt anyone. In fact, he’s the one who got beaten up."

"Supervisor Rhodes, please, try to reason with them again. Even if it’s just for Holly’s sake. Once I’m transferred, I’ll never have a chance for promotion again. How am I supposed to give Holly a better life then?"

But Supervisor Rhodes just shook his head helplessly. "The only reason you haven’t been fired is because I pleaded on your behalf. If they were to handle this strictly, I’m afraid you wouldn’t even be able to keep this entry-level job."

Simon tried to explain further, but Supervisor Rhodes waved a hand to stop him. "Simon, this order came directly from upper management. There’s no point in saying more. You should go back and think about whether you’ve offended someone high up."

When Supervisor Rhodes first heard about the complaint, he had planned to pull some strings to make it go away. He never expected that upper management would personally instruct the relevant department to conduct a thorough investigation. At that point, his hands were tied.

Simon stumbled back to his office, his mind in turmoil.

’Who reported me?’

’How could such a minor issue reach the ears of upper management?’

’I’m just an insignificant junior manager at Rhodes, after all.’

’Was it the two rivals he competed against for the project lead position? Or someone else at the company who had it in for him?’

’But how would they have even known about it?’

Simon ran through a list of everyone who held a grudge against him, but he couldn’t come up with any leads.

He also suspected Melody Summers, but he quickly dismissed the thought. The Summers family were just farmers from the countryside who, by a stroke of dumb luck, got their hands on a few million and moved to the city. How could they possibly know someone in the upper echelons of Rhodes Enterprises?

Simon mulled it over for a long time, but his mind remained a blank. Overwhelmed with anxiety, he finally picked up his phone and, clutching at his last straw, dialed Holly Rhodes’s number.

As soon as the call connected, Simon recounted the entire story to Holly in a single breath, his voice laced with panic. "Holly, can you please try to talk to them for me? I really can’t be transferred!"

Holly’s indifferent voice came from the other end. "Simon Lancaster, I told you so. Your family will only drag you down, forcing you to clean up your brother’s messes. See? Now look what’s happened."

Simon didn’t dare talk back to Holly’s taunts. Suppressing his anger, he continued in a placating tone, "Holly, listen to me. There’s more to this story."

On the other end, Holly was idly twirling a strand of hair. "What more could there be?" she replied. "Didn’t your brother show up at someone’s door with a knife, trying to attack them?"

Simon explained anxiously, "My brother didn’t hurt anyone! And the person he got into a fight with was actually my sister!"

"That sister of mine... she was accidentally switched at birth and we only found her last year. My parents went to visit her over the New Year out of the goodness of their hearts, but she was vicious to them and even tried to get physical. That’s why my brother wanted to teach her a lesson for them."

"Not only that, she injured my brother! The surgery he had earlier was her fault! Holly, this is strictly a family matter, an internal conflict. How could it lead to me being demoted?"

Holly sounded a little surprised by this. "Oh? A daughter that cruel really exists? She’d raise a hand against her own biological parents?"

Simon quickly affirmed, "It’s the absolute truth! Having a daughter like her is a misfortune for our family. She’s a jinx. Ever since we met her, nothing good has happened to us. This whole mess started because of her. My brother is innocent!"

Simon pleaded again, "Holly, can you please help me think of something? If I get demoted, I won’t be able to give you a better life. Just think about our future."

Holly mulled it over for a moment before replying, "Simon Lancaster, the person who causes a problem is the one who has to solve it. Why don’t you find a way to beg that sister of yours? Get her to explain the situation to the investigators and plead your case. Maybe then things can still be turned around."

After hanging up, Simon frowned and sank into deep thought. Holly had a point. ’But given Melody Summers’s temper, how could I possibly get her to agree?’

*

That evening, Melody Summers left her apartment with a box of vegetables.

Since the New Year, Officer Roman Rhodes had sent people over several times to deliver fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk to Miss Lowell.

There were only six people in the Summers Family, and with Miss Lowell and her grandmother being elderly with small appetites, they couldn’t possibly finish all this food. The refrigerator at home was about to burst.

In front of Crystal Mart, residents were lining up to receive their sand vine cakes. In the plaza, many others were taking advantage of the cooler evening temperatures to catch Sandvine Worms with their tools.

Melody carried the box to the emergency management office, where only Hollis from property management was on duty.

Melody greeted him with a smile. "Hollis, I heard you got married over the New Year. Congratulations!"

A few days ago, Winnie and Colin Summers had brought home the wedding candy Hollis had given out. Though it wasn’t much, it was a rare treat in these times of disaster.

"Thank you, Miss Summers." Hollis scratched his head, a little embarrassed. Before, he was just an ordinary salesman in the real estate office with a low salary, which made it hard to find a partner.

After the disaster, as a property management employee at The Metropolis Residences, he became a member of the emergency management office. He received a monthly government subsidy, and while the money wasn’t a lot, it was at least a secure job.

When his aunts and other relatives found out, they all rushed to introduce him to potential partners. With his mother also pressuring him to get married, Hollis had registered his marriage over the New Year with a girl introduced by a relative.

Melody smiled and handed the box to Hollis. "I received your wedding candy the other day, but I didn’t get to give you a wedding gift. Please take these vegetables home for you and your wife to enjoy."

Hollis looked embarrassed and quickly refused. "It was just a few pieces of candy. These vegetables are far too valuable, I can’t accept them."

Melody shook her head with a smile. "It’s alright. They were a gift to me, and my family can’t finish them all. Just take them."

Hearing this, Hollis’s face lit up, and he thanked her profusely. "Well, thank you then, Miss Summers."

After a bit more small talk, Melody got to the point. "Hollis, I want to buy two apartments. Ideally, they’d be across the hall from each other or on adjacent floors. They need to be above the 10th floor and have complete furnishings and facilities. Can you help me see if there are any suitable units currently for sale?"

Hollis froze. ’Buy apartments? Did I hear that right? Who buys property these days?’