Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was late spring. The weather was good today, and the sky was dotted with stars.

Taking advantage of the night, I lit a cigarette and looked up at the night sky. In the distance, one star was particularly bright.

As I gazed at it, I thought of Pei Shi Yu. I forgot to ask her which country she was in during our phone call today, but I still subconsciously looked into the distance for a while, as if that would bring us closer.

Tonight made me realize that I couldn't quite fit into this harmonious family. It wasn't about their relationship, but I realized that Wang Rui and You Xiang had a very good relationship. Me being in the middle made them seem like they were forcing conversation, as if they were deliberately supporting me. I didn't like that atmosphere. Real integration should be natural. Although You Xiang respected me, we were still too unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that it made me even doubt if we were related by blood, because our personalities were completely different.

Before getting into the car, I looked back at the laughter-filled house, then opened the car door and sat down. I didn't start the car right away. I sat in the car and pondered for a while, realizing that I had never wanted to stand up and create a career for myself, a career that truly belonged to me, as much as I did at this moment.

I immediately took out my phone and started calling Lin Hai. After he answered, he asked me directly, "What are you doing?"

"Just finished eating. I have something to ask you."

"What is it? Go ahead." Lin Hai's tone was very good.

"Who is the legal representative of your stone company?" I asked him directly.

"Why are you asking that?"

"Just answer me."

"Of course it's me." Lin Hai answered very simply.

"I have other uses for that piece of land. Calculate how much debt there is and see if I can afford it."

"Although it's not making money now, there's no debt. It's just not making money right now."

"How about I pay off the debt that Lin Yang owes you? I want to rebuild on this land."

"You're not doing the stone business anymore?"

"No, I'm doing foreign trade."

"Do you think now is the time to do foreign trade?" Lin Hai asked with a dubious tone.

"It's also Pei Shi Yu's idea." I emphasized.

"The cost is too high. I suggest you continue on the existing basis."

"There's too much competition."

"What doesn't have a lot of competition these days? When will you break even if you rebuild? If it weren't for the money I made before, I would have gone bankrupt long ago."

"Pei Shi Yu has business. What's there to worry about!"

"Doing business requires looking at the overall investment environment. Once the funds are invested, there's no turning back. Either you make money or you lose it all."

Lin Hai's answer was a bit depressing, but it didn't affect my determination at all. If I were afraid of everything, how could I let go? Because to some extent, I still trusted Pei Shi Yu very much, especially since she had already expressed her intentions.

I held my phone and pondered for a while, then replied faintly, "I want to support the Lin family."

"I don't agree with you making another choice." Lin Hai replied very decisively, with no room for negotiation in his tone.

"You don't trust Pei Shi Yu either?"

"This isn't a matter of trusting someone. It's based on my years of experience."

Before I could answer, Lin Hai's voice rang out again, "If you really want to do it, wait a bit. You won't be wrong if you listen to me."

"Why? You haven't done foreign trade either. You're not intentionally trying to leave that company to me, are you?"

"Who else can I leave it to besides you? You don't have any experience in this area either. I suggest not taking too big of a step, or it will be difficult to end."

Since Lin Hai had said so much, there was no need for me to insist anymore, because that land belonged to him. It also made me realize that his attitude was actually very similar to my mother's: taking over was okay, but changing careers or cashing out wasn't. And I just happened to want to change the original things.

So I quickly changed my tone, "Then you can keep it and do it yourself. It's no fun for me to take over."

"Lin Yang didn't listen to my advice back then, and now he owes so much money."

"Don't compare Lin Yang to me." I replied a little unhappily.

"He's my son. Why can't I compare him?"

"He's already gone, and I'm full of hope for life. I just want to do a serious career."

"I'm in the hospital and it's not convenient for me to chat with you. Think about what I said."

"No need to think about it. I'm giving up directly." I hung up the phone a little angrily.

A surge of enthusiasm was extinguished by Lin Hai's words. What I valued was that piece of land, not only was the location good, but the site was also big enough. Coupled with the rare opportunity, I really wanted to build it up in a big way.

If it were my mother, I might have pestered her to let go, but Lin Hai was different. I was afraid that he was with his wife, and if she knew about it, things would be even more difficult to handle. Thinking of this, I immediately drove out of the neighborhood at lightning speed.

...

The next day.

I arrived at Pei Shi Yu's family's company as agreed. I was a little late, so when I went directly to find Pei Xiang Long, he was already working. I stood outside the door and knocked gently...

He immediately raised his head and looked at me a little unhappily. He wasn't as enthusiastic as I had imagined. Just as I was feeling quite awkward, he opened his mouth, "Late on your first day of work?"

I smiled awkwardly and replied, "I overslept."

Pei Xiang Long looked me up and down and said, "Come in."

I immediately went inside. This was the second time I had been to this office. The overall office environment wasn't as comfortable as Pei Shi Yu's...

"Go to Ningbo alone today. I've already prepared the information. There will be special personnel there to receive you."

"Am I okay? I don't know much about the business yet." I replied a little shocked.

"I already discussed the business last time. You just need to give this information to the person in charge in Ningbo today. Construction is about to start. I don't have time these days. I was originally going to take you there to show you around."

"Is it an engineering project?" I asked a little uncertainly.

"Yes, we signed the contract last time. This time it's just a supplementary project. Just give it to the other party."

While Pei Xiang Long explained, he picked up a pen and started writing on a piece of white paper, then put down the pen and handed the note to me, saying, "I've written down the things to do in Ningbo on the note. Complete them one by one. You can call me if you don't understand anything."

"Got it." I calmly took the note.

"Call me if you can't come back at night."

"Okay."

I didn't expect that I would be given such an important task on my first day of work. I thought it would be easy to be by his side.

Pei Xiang Long looked at the time, "Go, it's getting late."