I got into the car, and there was a male student sitting in the back seat who also greeted me: “I’m Yan Lei, Cheng Xia’s colleague.”

“Hello, I’m Cheng Xia’s childhood friend.” I greeted him with a smile: “My name is Ren Dongxue.”

He smiled and said: “I’ve heard of you. You’re the youngest project manager in your company in the past two years.”

Heard of me.

I sighed. Then he must have also heard those rumors about me and Old Feng.

“And me, I’m Yu Shixuan.” The jelly girl turned around from the front seat, blinking her eyes at me: “Big sister, is Africa fun?”

“It’s actually quite nice for tourism. Just don’t go to dangerous places like Congo. There’s plenty of scenery worth seeing.” I said: “If you have time to go, I can be your guide!”

“That’s great!” She cheered: “Cheng Xia, let’s go see the animal migration when the time comes!”

Cheng Xia didn’t say anything, and the car fell into silence for a moment.

After a while, my phone rang.

I answered and said a few words, then apologetically told them: “I’m so sorry! Something came up at the construction site temporarily. I need to go back. Cheng Xia, pull over.”

Cheng Xia was stunned and stopped the car, saying: “Didn’t we agree to go to the movies?”

I said: “You should know how construction sites are. When something comes up suddenly, can they notify the cinema?”

His two colleagues both laughed at my comment.

Cheng Xia didn’t laugh. He said: “But we haven’t seen each other for two weeks, and we already agreed…”

I got out of the car and said: “Next time.”

“Don’t get out. Let me drive you…”

“Don’t trouble yourself. The driver is coming to pick me up.”

I still got out of the car and stood by the roadside. Cheng Xia also got out, looking somewhat at a loss, saying: “How about I drop them off at home first, then come back to find you?”

“Come back to find me for what?” I said: “At this hour with something urgent, I’ll probably have to sleep at the construction site tonight.”

The light in Cheng Xia’s eyes extinguished all at once. He wanted to say something more when a car’s headlights flashed—the driver had come to pick me up.

I got in the car and waved back at Cheng Xia: “I’m leaving!”

In the rearview mirror, Cheng Xia stood there in a daze for a long time.

I received his WeChat message. He said: “They’re just my colleagues. We worked overtime together, then I gave them a ride since it was on the way.”

I replied: “I know.”

But I also knew at the same time that that girl liked him.

She had clearly and plainly used a little girl’s way to assert her claim to me.

But I wasn’t a little girl anymore.

I wasn’t afraid to compete with any girl for dominance.

But it was unnecessary. I had known long ago that what I was racing against wasn’t any beautiful girl, but Cheng Xia himself.

His affluent family, bright future, and his social class.

And him not choosing me barely had much to do with me personally.

He just unconsciously would only choose girls who belonged to his world.

Like this jelly girl, and like his dazzling ex-girlfriend, as well as those countless girls from their university days who brushed past me.

If I were to say I was sad, it was only the appearance of the jelly girl, like a sudden blow to the head, that made me clearly realize that I was still not from the same world as them—even though I had already struggled for so long.

The old me would have been furious, would have thrown a tantrum, secretly waiting for Cheng Xia to coax me, then deceive myself into believing that I was important to him, that I wasn’t much different from them.

The current me would only accept reality.

After that day, Cheng Xia still shared things with me every day like before.

Cheng Xia: [Photo of Christmas tree in front of the mall] The event seems quite lively today.

Cheng Xia: …Does every office have to order bubble tea? I don’t even like drinking it.

Cheng Xia: I have a bit of a cold. My nose is stuffed.

I uniformly replied: Hahaha.

I no longer chatted with him or went out to eat together.

He acted as if he didn’t notice anything unusual and still sent me these messages. Only occasionally when I refused him coming to find me after work, he would add a sentence himself: It’s okay, it’ll be better once you finish this busy period.

It won’t get better, Cheng Xia.

This time I had no time for melancholy feelings. The project had reached a critical stage. Every day I had to deal with all sorts of matters in a frantic rush. Even lying in bed, I would obsessively and repeatedly think about what I should do if something went wrong somewhere.

The more you fear something, the more it comes.

That was the darkest day in my professional career, so terrible that even over a decade later, it still reappears in my nightmares.

The cause was when the supervisor went to inspect and accept the project work, they discovered that a section was substandard.

This was a very normal thing. Just hurry and make corrections.

But after investigation, it was discovered that the reason it was substandard was that an important data point had been wrong from the very beginning. You couldn’t see any problem at first, but if we continued, not only would there be safety hazards, but it would also deviate from the entire blueprint.

This was a major taboo in the construction industry.

Either all the work done in the past month had to be completely overturned—and our construction period was already running out of time.

Or the original blueprint would be voided.

Both of these paths pointed to one outcome: we were finished.

I only felt shrouded in a kind of enormous sense of absurdity. Every step felt unreal.

Everyone was waiting for me in the office. This time there was no gloating.

Li Gong stammered to explain: “Manager Ren, they thought I was too strict and didn’t construct according to the construction plan I prepared…This is illegal…”

I turned my gaze toward that construction worker called Bao Long.

Technical matters had always been Li Gong’s responsibility. Many people looked down on me and rarely communicated with me. Bao Long was one of them.

And at this moment he stood there trembling, opening his mouth several times before finally managing to say one sentence: “I really didn’t do it on purpose—my daughter is still in elementary school…”

After saying this, he viciously wiped his eyes.

I didn’t scold anyone. I no longer had any energy to vent, and could only say: “If crying were useful, everyone could cry every day. I’ll go figure something out. You all continue doing whatever can be done.”

When there’s a problem, you have to solve the problem. This was the only way for poor people to survive in this world.

I went to headquarters to find Old Feng.

This time he wasn’t reading newspapers or practicing calligraphy. In front of everyone in the conference room, he threw a pile of materials right at my face.

Those sharp papers hit my eyes painfully. I didn’t dare move and could only stand there letting him scold me.

In the end, Old Feng only said one sentence: “If the project cannot be completed, you will bear all losses yourself. Headquarters will definitely handle this seriously.”

He was cutting ties with me.

The so-called master-disciple bond—we both knew in our hearts that he wouldn’t protect me.

I wiped my face and said: “I understand. Please give me a little time.”

When leaving, passing by a window, I looked at the vast height and the particularly soft clouds, thinking to myself, how nice it would be to jump down.

Didn’t jump. Had to figure something out.

I kept bowing and scraping at the company, begging various departments to help. They all avoided seeing me. Only a female leader took pity on me and said: “Actually this kind of situation isn’t uncommon. Your biggest problem is lack of experience…I advise you to beg Old Feng again. He definitely has ways to smooth this over.”

I left with profuse thanks.

With my qualifications, taking on this project was already pushing it. I was only suitable to be a deputy doing odd jobs. But I so badly wanted to succeed. I thought I’d gamble once. What if I was extra, extra careful? But human wisdom can’t fight against fate’s will.

All gamblers will lose to the house. I was no exception.

I walked out of the company like a dripping wet dog. It was already evening.

I took a taxi to Old Feng’s home.

Overall, Old Feng was a very upright person.

But people of his generation just inexplicably believed that the closest connection between men and women must be the pleasure of the bed.

After we encountered the robbery in Africa, we drank together once. He suddenly grabbed my hand and said: “Don’t be afraid. You will have an boundless future.”

I smiled and said: “I’m grateful for Master’s auspicious words.”

“No, not auspicious words.” He gripped my hand harder and said: “You will definitely have a boundless future.”

I looked at him. For a middle-aged man, he wasn’t ugly. He could even be considered stern and refined. The hand gripping mine was burning hot and powerful.

These hands could give me everything I needed. I knew that after sleeping with him, I would become his true “one of his own people.”

He would use all his resources to let me grasp real power in the company, then truly help him realize his ambitions and aspirations together.

I slowly withdrew my hand and said: “I believe that to you, I’m the same as Juanjuan.”

Juanjuan was his daughter. His wife was in the country, the only child of an official family, but the two had been separated for years.

I had already walked to Old Feng’s building.

I knew he had ways to help me solve this. As long as headquarters allocated a little funding, I would have breathing room.

If I could complete this project, I would truly establish my footing in the company. Then no one would dare look down on me again.

Those pains, embarrassments, and insults that others had inflicted on me, swallowed down with broken teeth and blood.

Open this door, and it would all be over.

And at the last moment, what appeared in my mind was Cheng Xia’s face.

Sixteen-year-old him standing at the entrance to the vegetable market, looking at me with a face full of bewilderment, with vast light surging from behind him, so bright it made one unable to open their eyes.

I slowly walked past Old Feng’s door, walked to the street, and hailed a taxi.

“To Number 3 Xinghua Road,” I said.

That was the construction site address.