Walking to the side of the road, there happened to be a mobile stall, and I bought a pack of tissues to gently wipe the blood from my face. The touch felt like a burn.

The stall was run by a woman in her fifties, her face etched with the marks of time. She kept looking at my face, a concerned look in her eyes, and said, "The injury is so serious, you should go to the hospital for a check-up, to avoid infection."

I smiled, but the muscles in my face ached with every movement, a stabbing pain like being cut by a knife.

"Sit down and rest for a while." The woman politely offered me a stool.

I didn't sit on the stool, but sat on the flower bed next to it. The ground was a little damp, probably from watering the plants.

I was considering whether to go back in and talk to Director Li, tell him that I didn't want to do it anymore, that I wanted to give up this opportunity, even though it hadn't started yet, but after all, I had just signed the contract.

I lit a cigarette and suddenly felt like I was at the end of my rope. What else could someone like me do? Go to work in a factory? Or go back to manual labor on a construction site? A bitter smile crept onto my face.

At that moment, a red BMW 8 Series sped past me. The speed was a bit outrageous. It came out of the parking lot with the accelerator pedal floored even when turning, and the dirty water splashed on my face. It was clearly intentional. The owner of the car was Pei Shiyu.

I looked a little embarrassed at the car, but only saw its rear. The way someone drives is like their personality. That kind of speed clearly indicated strong emotions.

"Driving like that is really infuriating."

The woman suddenly said loudly. I then realized that the things she was selling at her stall were also splattered with dirt. She looked helplessly at the departing car.

Perhaps because I lacked motherly love, I suddenly felt a sense of sympathy. I stood up, took out two red bills from my pocket, and put them directly on the cart. The incident was caused by me, and she was just a victim. Many of the unpackaged foods could no longer be sold.

I said with a bit of guilt, "Throw away what's been soiled."

After saying that, I walked back into the parking lot. I didn't go to find Director Li. Pei Shiyu would definitely make a decision before I did. I would just wait for Director Li's reply.

I lowered my head and went straight to my car, where I sat blankly for a while until Xiao Wu called, his voice sounding very energetic...

"Brother Lin, have you settled things?"

"Where are you?" I didn't answer directly.

"I'm waiting for you at the barbershop. I've been waiting for a while."

"Then wait a little longer, I'll be right there."

On the way, my mood became very depressed. When I came earlier, I was full of motivation for my future, but now it seemed like my hopes had been dashed. That woman would undoubtedly block my path to wealth.

This barbershop, which I used to frequent, had a large storefront and luxurious decorations. The old-fashioned shop certainly had good craftsmanship, and there were many customers. I often made appointments in advance.

In less than half an hour, I parked directly on the side of the road and honked the horn. After a while, I didn't see Xiao Wu come out, so I had to park the car in a parking space, cover the injured side of my face with my hand, and walk into the shop.

I looked around the shop, but I didn't see Xiao Wu. Just as I was about to make a call, my usual stylist saw me and asked with a smile, "Getting a wash?"

Since my hair didn't need to be cut, having just come out of prison, I didn't really have a hairstyle to speak of.

"No, where's my brother?"

"He was just here. Maybe he went to the restroom. You can wait a little while."

Just as I was about to turn around, I saw Pei Shiyu coming over with a towel wrapped around her head. The stylist said very attentively, "Miss Pei, sit over here."

Pei Shiyu also saw me at the same time and immediately showed a vigilant expression. She probably thought I was following her. Despite being wary, she didn't seem afraid at all. With a cold expression, she directly avoided eye contact and sat down calmly in the swivel chair.

"Enemies on a narrow road" probably described my current situation. I simply walked outside. After waiting for a while, Xiao Wu came out of the convenience store next door with a pack of cigarettes in his hand. He came over and asked, "Did you make the deal?"

I got directly into the car before letting go of my face. It was on the left side, so Xiao Wu saw it as soon as he got in. He thought I had gotten into a fight with someone and asked indignantly, "Who hit you?"

At this moment, I was feeling very dejected and didn't want to answer. I started the car and drove towards home.

Xiao Wu didn't seem willing to let go of the question and continued to ask with a lot of anger, "Are you going to talk? Who hit you?"

I drove all the way into the residential area and parked the car before saying, "The deal didn't go through. That project is being developed by Pei Shiyu's company. I happened to run into her at Director Li's place."

"She hit you?"

"Scratched," I corrected him.

Because Xiao Wu didn't know about what had happened later between Pei Shiyu and me, I wanted to gloss over it.

"She's too vicious. Didn't her dad beat her twice already? It's been so many years, and she's still holding a grudge."

"Forget it, don't mention it. Let's think more about the future."

"She's cutting off our path to wealth."

I didn't want to dwell on this matter anymore, so I got out of the car feeling depressed.

"Plead with Director Li." Xiao Wu said from behind, not giving up.

I didn't turn my head and said, "Don't you have any ambition!"

"What is ambition worth in the face of survival?"

I stopped and looked at him with a contemptuous look and said, "That woman has already made it clear to me that someone like me, a piece of trash, has no right to do business with their family. Do you still have hope?"

"We're talking to Director Li, what does it have to do with her!"

"Their family is developing it, do you think it has anything to do with her? Do you want to ruin Director Li's business too? Or do you want to get him involved?"

Xiao Wu threw the cigarette he was holding in his mouth hard on the ground. His temper suddenly became very irritable, and he started cursing, "Damn it, do you believe I'll kill her?"

I picked up the cigarette butt from the ground, threw it in the trash can, wiped my hands and said, "Don't talk about anything about her anymore. That woman has a big prejudice against me. Give up the fantasy. I already have a criminal record. From now on, I just want to live a good life and don't want to cause trouble anymore. Tomorrow I'll go find someone else and see if anyone is willing to give me something to do. If not, I'll find another way out."

"That woman is really a jinx. Nothing good has happened since I met her."

"You were the one who took on this business in the first place."

I deliberately extinguished all his expectations for me. Maybe the change in the situation was too sudden, and Xiao Wu couldn't accept it all at once, because he had been wandering around for a while and had high hopes for me.

"Then give me some money first. I only have a few dozen dollars left in my pocket."

"You spend all your money as soon as you have it. Are you against money or do you have a feud with it? Starting today, you have to be independent. I don't have much money left either. Before we find a way out, we have to live frugally. Don't go to those nightclubs anymore."

After saying that, I counted out another thousand and gave it to him.