I also sat down next to Xiao Wu, smoking in silence with my head down.

"Think positive, you've been independent for so long anyway, just treat it like your parents are both dead."

Xiao Wu's words sounded harsh, but they had always been the driving force behind my inner strength.

I stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette, stood up and said, "Let's go, let's go up!"

"The cold wind is cold, but it makes you clear-headed."

"Tomorrow I have to go to General Li's place to find out about the electricians' team. We need to prepare many things early. Once construction starts, the motors must be ready first."

"Add oil, Lin Che! Add oil, Wu Jian!"

Xiao Wu shouted slogans, getting himself hyped up, but I suddenly felt disgusted by the surname Lin. Now that we'd broken off relations, why should I still bear his surname?

"I'm going to change my surname. From now on, I'll be called Long Che. This name is not only easy to say, but also majestic."

"Can you change it?"

"I have to, even if I shouldn't. It's just that the procedure is very troublesome."

"Then I have to call you Brother Long."

"Yes, start calling me that from now on. If you call me Brother Lin again, you'll be fined."

My tone finally softened.

"How will I be fined?"

I quickly replied, "One hundred for every mistake. The money will be deducted from your salary later."

"Really?"

"Of course. Remember, starting from now."

"I'll try my best not to call you the wrong name."

As soon as money was mentioned, Xiao Wu's tone became much more subdued. He must have been scared of being poor during this period.

"Brother Long, get me a car. Am I still supposed to take the bus to the construction site in the future?"

"We'll see. If necessary, I'll change my car and let you drive this one."

Xiao Wu suddenly exclaimed, "Speaking of cars, it's still parked at the hotel!"

"It's okay, it's parked in the parking space. We'll go to General Li's place tomorrow and drive it back."

That night, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time. There was pressure from work, and the mental damage Lin Hai had inflicted on me. I suddenly became curious about what kind of woman my mother was, and who had betrayed the marriage first. If Lin Hai betrayed me first, then at the very least he would feel guilty towards me, but his attitude was not only devoid of guilt, but also somewhat disgusted, as if he didn't want to see me at all.

In an instant, I suddenly had the idea of getting married. I wanted to have a good family, not like Lin Hai, who treated his sons differently. If I had children in the future, I would definitely love them as much as I could.

Suddenly there was a noise from the living room. I listened carefully for a while. It sounded like Xiao Wu. I immediately put on my clothes...

The sound of the door also startled Xiao Wu. He quickly looked at me, instant noodles still hanging from his mouth, and asked in surprise, "Aren't you asleep yet?"

"Aren't you asleep either!"

"Well, I was hungry, so I made a bowl of noodles."

I looked at the clock on the wall. It was already past two in the morning. He was wearing a thick set of pajamas, and looked full of energy. Although it was instant noodles, he ate them with relish.

"Didn't you have enough of the big meal today?" I asked, staring at the instant noodles.

"Were you full? I felt uncomfortable just sitting at a scene like that. Besides, Pei Shi Yu was there, so I had to maintain my image."

"What image do you have?" I asked with a smirk.

"Brother Long, sometimes you just hurt my self-esteem too much. I'm not bad-looking either. Although I can't compare to you, I'm much more handsome than Xiao Hei, right?"

Seeing Xiao Wu looking hurt, I immediately changed the subject and stared at the instant noodles. "We didn't eat any staple food tonight. Are there any more noodles?"

"That's the last bowl. I was going to have it for breakfast tomorrow."

"I'm going to bed first. I'll buy more to keep in stock tomorrow."

Xiao Wu swallowed the noodles in his mouth, looked at me, moved his lips, and then closed them again. I could probably guess what he meant, so I asked him directly, "You don't even have money to buy instant noodles, do you?"

"How did you know?" He even sounded pleased with himself.

I didn't say anything, and walked straight to the kitchen. From behind me came Xiao Wu's voice: "Living without money is worse than being a dog. Dogs even get sausages from their owners. Look at my noodles, they don't even have a sausage in them."

I was amused by his analogy, quickly turned around, walked back to him, and asked, "I was in jail for three years. You were out there. You should have been giving me money to spend."

"If you had given me all your money to keep when you went in, maybe it would have multiplied several times by now."

"You?!" I questioned him in a disdainful tone.

"What about me? Don't underestimate me. I could have partnered with a friend to do some business. Wasn't it because I didn't have any capital? That person has already bought a house now."

"It sounds like I delayed your path to wealth."

"Who says it isn't?"

I slapped him hard on the head, causing the instant noodle soup in his bowl to splash on his face. Before he could get angry, I pulled out a tissue and handed it to him, stopping his complaints.

Looking at me, he took it with a bit of displeasure. I stared at him for a few seconds and said, "You need to change your way of thinking, or you'll have a dependent heart for the rest of your life and never amount to anything."

Xiao Wu ate as he replied, "Have you ever seen such a loyal sidekick?"

"Don't say things like sidekick. I'm not fighting anymore."

"Didn't you get dragged out of the car backwards tonight?"

"No matter how much of a scoundrel Lin Hai is, I can't hit him. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll shorten my lifespan. Haven't you heard that besides heaven and earth, there are parents, so he can be unreasonable, but I can't. I'm not being tolerant for his sake. I'm just protecting my own life."

"You don't dare, but I do! I'll beat him up next time I see him."

"I don't object!"

Hearing my insincere words, Xiao Wu quickly looked up at me, paused, and then asked, "Really?"

"Of course. This kind of person will get his comeuppance even if you don't hit him, but once you do, don't involve me, otherwise you'll be dragging me down. I don't want to go to that kind of place again, and it's very difficult for people with a criminal record to get rid of that shadow."

After saying that, I walked into the kitchen, took out the last bowl of instant noodles from the cabinet, spicy beef flavor, and there was a packet of pickled mustard tuber in the bag. I opened it and put it all into the bowl.

In the living room, Xiao Wu had already finished eating, and was wiping his mouth with a tissue, looking very satisfied. Although his legs were not very long, his bold stance didn't match a pair of long legs. It was really a pity.

He was wearing my pajamas, so the sleeves and legs didn't fit well. He smoothed his sleeves, burped, and I looked at him with disgust, sitting on the single sofa farthest away from him.

"Do you always go to bed this late?" I asked curiously.

"Pretty much around this time."

"Will you be able to get up tomorrow?"

"We need to adjust our time when we're working. Haven't we been too idle these past few days?"

"We need to start preparing formally tomorrow."

"Then I'll ask Ah Cheng. He has a lot of information in this area."

Xiao Wu seemed like he was idle and loafing, but one thing was good about him, which was that he was very sharp about outside information. He knew everything that was going on.