Why Didn't Minister Ye Come Today

April watched as Nathan Ye, still squinting and holding up his trousers, walked back to his own room and promptly collapsed into bed, completely ignoring everyone else.

It took April a moment to recover, and she stuck out her tongue, mumbling to herself, "Nathan Ye really is exhausted. Sigh, officials like him who serve the country and the people are truly admirable."

April wasn’t in a hurry, since she’d arrived early. She simply sat in the main hall and waited for everyone else.

After a while, people at the Public Works Department began to wake up. A group of officials came out and saw a cute, lively girl sitting in the hall, her features bearing a striking resemblance to Belle.

"Are you Belle’s younger sister, April?" someone asked.

April smiled, revealing a small tiger tooth, and said, "That’s right! My sister asked me to handle the finances from now on, so I’ll be relying on your guidance, everyone!"

Seeing this adorable and friendly girl, everyone couldn’t help but smile warmly at her.

Most of the Ministry officials were single, so when faced with such a pretty and sweet girl, their attitude couldn’t have been better. Everyone cooperated enthusiastically, quickly preparing all the handover documents and even thoughtfully clearing Belle’s old desk for April to use as her workspace.

April felt a bit embarrassed by the young officials’ enthusiasm, quickly thanked everyone, and got straight to work.

For the next few months, she would be spending her days in the Public Works Department, overseeing and verifying every single silver coin.

April buried herself in work all morning, and by noon she’d sorted everything out. The Ministry had a big kitchen, and everyone enthusiastically invited April to join them for lunch.

The kitchen’s food was pretty decent. Everyone got their own meal and ate at their desks.

With April around, everyone was especially lively, chatting and laughing about all kinds of things.

April finished her meal, but Nathan Ye still hadn’t shown up. She glanced at the wooden box she’d brought—the wig patch was still waiting to be delivered to Nathan Ye.

"Why hasn’t Nathan Ye come yet?" April couldn’t help but ask.

Everyone, still caught up in the excitement of having a new young lady around, suddenly realized that Nathan Ye hadn’t shown up at all that morning.

"Nathan Ye probably overslept. Oh no, how could we forget about him!" One pale-faced official slapped the back of his head. "Alright, I’ll go wake him. Nathan Ye must be exhausted after all these busy days."

April watched as the pale-faced official headed out, and before long, he returned with a just-awakened Nathan Ye in tow.

Nathan Ye carried a food bowl with half a serving of rice and vegetables, grumbling as he walked, "I was just a little late, and all that’s left is the bottom of the bowl. You guys are ruthless—didn’t even save me a bite."

Nathan Ye was still complaining as he entered the room, only to spot a new young lady. He paused, then quickly recognized her—it was April, the girl who’d witnessed his embarrassing moment yesterday!

Nathan Ye’s expression grew a little awkward as he looked at April, clearly embarrassed.

The two of them pretended not to know each other, exchanged a quick greeting, and Nathan Ye hurriedly finished his meal. That afternoon, everyone got back to work as usual, but Nathan Ye, still hungry, soon found his stomach growling. Feeling sheepish, he made an excuse to slip out—really, he was heading back to his room to hunt for snacks.

"Huh? Where’d my snacks go? Did those rascals steal them again?" Nathan Ye scratched his bald head, sighing at the empty snack jar.

April, watching from the doorway, couldn’t help but giggle. Life at the Public Works Department was never dull, especially with Nathan Ye and his band of troublemakers.