Chapter 13 — After Divorce, I Take Everything Back

"Mr. Lam, Mr. Ton is the type of person who doesn't talk much, but in his heart he is convinced, this project is finished, you are standing firmly in this industry."

I say thank you. He replied, “I said no need to thank me.” Then he looked at his phone, looked up and asked me a question.

“Are you free tonight? There's something you want to talk about in person.”

“I ask again, what is it?”

“Let's meet and talk.”

Half past six. A European restaurant in the south of the city. Trieu Thanh arrived earlier than me and had already ordered two glasses of water. I sat down.

“What?”

“Phase two of Phuong Chinh project.”

He pushed a file over.

“Ton Ton specifically said that if phase one is done well, phase two will double in size, possibly adding new partners, but the main person in charge still wants to be you.”

"Double?"

“Yes, about sixty million.”

I looked at the documents in front of me. Sixty million. A year ago, I didn't even dare to think about it.

“I will review it, then discuss it with General Tham.”

“No rush.”

He collected the documents, then picked up the menu.

“Eat first?”

While ordering, he suddenly asked an unrelated question.

"Mr. Lam, let me ask, has your previous marriage... been resolved yet?"

I looked at him.

"Done."

“That's good.”

He didn't ask more, just bowed his head to look at the menu.

“The steak here is good, you can eat a few servings.”

“Seven parts.”

“Me too, so order two.”

The meal was very quiet. He is not the type to make noise at the party table, he only talks enough, mainly about work and industry trends, without a single redundant sentence. After eating, he called to pay.

“Next time I invite you.”

"Okay." He nodded immediately. “Then next time I will choose an expensive place.”

Exit the restaurant, stand on the side of the road.

“Shall I take you home?”

“No need, I have a car.”

“You bought a car?”

“Yes, last month.”

He asked me what type of car, I said. He nodded.

“It's okay, it suits you.”

Don't say anything else. There are no statements like "this is enough for women to drive", nor are there any "change to a better car later." Just three words. Suits you. I drove away. In the rearview mirror, he stood under a streetlight. Looked at it for two seconds then turned away. Don't hold back, don't be ambiguous, don't cross boundaries. The corners of my lips moved slightly. That kind of person... I've only met one in thirty-one years. I don't know if it's because of bad luck, or if I looked at the wrong person before. Half a year later. Phuong Chinh's phase one project was completely completed. The acceptance partner gives an absolute score. During the celebration party, General Ton raised his glass and said a few words.

“This is the smoothest project I have ever worked on. Mr. Lam is the one who said he could do it, his ability is very strong, from now on we will only accept you in charge.”

The whole table applauded. That night, Mr. Tham drank a lot and held my hand to talk.

"Niem Senh, you are the bargain I picked up. If one day you leave, my company will fall back five years."

“You're drunk.”

I sat on the sofa, opened my phone, looked at my account balance. Adding salary, commissions, bonuses, and Tran Hao's installment payments— For the first time, the number in my personal account exceeded one million. I looked for a long time. Remember the first year of marriage. Every month, when I receive 2,500 yuan from Liu Guilan, I have to hesitate to buy an extra kilo of ribs. I remember one time I had a cold and went to the pharmacy to buy cough syrup for 28 yuan. I stood there thinking and chose 16 yuan, just because it was 12 yuan cheaper. Twelve yuan. Now that I think about it... it's so funny that it gives me chills. I turned off the phone and walked into the bathroom. Take a bath For a long time, let the warm water flow over your body as if washing away all the old years. I walked out of the bathroom, dried my hair, changed into the new silk pajamas I bought for eight hundred yuan, and lay down on the bed. The soft light of the table lamp spread across the ceiling. I closed my eyes and knew very clearly—those years were truly over. Tran Hao's final payment message came in the eleventh month, not three years as originally agreed. He transferred all the remaining money at once, along with a very brief wish.

"Nien Senh, the money has been paid, I wish you all the best."

I looked for half a minute and then only returned one word: "Okay." I opened the return records folder and saved the last photo in it. Thirty-four photos, each one represents a return of money to me. I looked back from beginning to end, each number like a memory. But this time, after watching it, there was only relief left in my heart. I compressed the entire folder, saved it on the system and renamed it "finalized". A neat ending, no tangles, no looking back. After finishing, I put down the phone and called Tri Thu.