Chapter 9 — Want the house to be named after your father? So You Pay The Money

There was a heavy breathing sound on the other end of the line, as if it wanted to say something more, but in the end it just snorted and hung up. The phone screen went dark, reflecting my pale face. I took a deep breath, put my phone in my pocket, and walked slowly along the sidewalk. Along the road, someone was grilling corn. The aroma mixed with coal smoke drifted towards me. I unconsciously swallowed my saliva. The phone vibrates again. To Tinh's message

“Trieu Truong Lam called you?”

“Yeah, just hung up.”

“Curse you?”

“No direct cursing, degrading innuendo.”

"Forget it, that old fox is not worth paying attention to. Did we eat hot pot last night? I cooked it."

I looked at the text for a moment, then answered

“It's okay, I want to be quiet for a bit.”

Immediately, she called.

“Where are you?”

The voice was full of worry.

“On the street.”

I raised my head to look at the pale sky

“It's okay, really.”

“I don't feel secure in this state of yours.”

She was determined

“Send your location, I'll come pick you up.”

"To Tinh, I'm not one of those little girls who just falls in love."

I laughed

“I'm thirty-two, breaking up with me isn't like the sky is falling… it's just turning over a new page.”

“If you turn the page, you have to eat.”

She replied immediately

"If you don't send me your location, I'll go straight to your house and wait."

I hesitated for a few seconds, but finally sent the location. The “received” message just appeared. Behind me a familiar siren sounded. I turned my head. Her white car stopped on the sidelines, the window rolled down, and she stuck half her body out to wave.

“Are you a hunting dog?”

I walked over and opened the passenger door

“Sniff right?”

“You just said ‘sycamore tree’.”

She pouted

"The area near your house, the place with the most trees is this part. I ran around and saw it right away."

I paused for a moment, then laughed and shook my head

“Okay, you are Sherlock Holmes.”

“Get in the car quickly.”

To Tinh urged

“Don't let you wander alone anymore.”

I put on my seat belt, she stepped on the accelerator, and the car merged into the not-so-crowded traffic.

“What did Trieu Truong Lam say just now?”

She held the steering wheel in one hand and asked directly.

“It's the same old song.”

I looked at the reflection on the windshield

“It's like 'your conditions are just the same', 'you'll regret it if you miss my son'.”

She smiled coldly

“Standards cause psychological pressure.”

“Actually, when I heard the words 'the conditions are just the same', I was very calm."

I turned to look at her

"Before, I would have low self-esteem and pay attention. Now I see... that's their opinion, not mine."

“Okay.”

She squinted her eyes, sunlight shattering in her pupils

“Remember carefully, you are not dependent on anyone.”

I replied softly. She looked at me, didn't ask any more questions, just adjusted the music volume to a moderate level, and a gentle piano music sounded in the car.

“What are you going to do next?” she asked.

"I just bought a house, I have to go through loan procedures in a few days."

“After that… start thinking about renovating.”

“Renovating a house is a big project.”

She hummed lightly

“You worry alone, it's tiring.”

“I'm not alone, didn't you say you would help?”

“Your aesthetic sense is better than mine.”

“I love hearing this sentence.”

She nodded

"Waiting for the loan to finish, we'll go around all the construction materials."

“Not in a hurry to fix it.”

I leaned back in the chair

“I want to organize my work first.”

“You have a lot of projects these days, right?”

“Last week, I just received an urban renovation project. The investor had high requirements but the deadline was tight.”

“That's even better keep stable.”

“Don't let your emotions affect your work.”

I curled the corners of my lips slightly

“I always separate things very clearly about work.”

The car drove east, passed an overpass, and the view suddenly expanded. In the distance is a new urban area under construction, cranes erect like giraffes standing still in the sky.

“That area will be very bustling in the future.”

To Tinh said. I nodded

“My design institute also has a project there.”

“You're half the guy who built the city.”

“Build your own house.”

“Building a house is easy, building a life is difficult.”

I breathed softly.

“Life builds slowly.”

She drove onto a familiar road

“Every decision you make now is to lay the foundation.”

The car stopped below my house, the engine turned off. She unbuckled her seatbelt

“I'll go sit and talk to you for a while and then go home.”

“No need.”

I waved my hand

“You still have guests this afternoon.”

“The guest has rescheduled.”

She shrugged

“Besides, my best friend is more important.”

My heart warmed up, I didn't refuse anymore. Going up to the house, opening the door, the familiar smell of wood rushed in—the smell of the furniture I replaced two years ago. To Tinh changed her slippers, got used to the way, went straight to the kitchen to boil water, and conveniently opened the refrigerator

“Why is your refrigerator always so ‘frugal’?”

“The refrigerator is for working people, it's normal.”