After my divorce at thirty, I developed an intelligence network.

Gong Yuelong didn't reply, but just looked at her, a smile suddenly appearing on his face.

It wasn't a sneer, nor a mockery, just a very gentle smile.

Yu Yue was stunned.

The words she had prepared stuck in her throat because Gong Yuelong's reaction was completely unexpected.

Gong Yuelong began, "I've been quite busy lately. The power distribution room project in the High-tech Zone just finished, and the client is quite satisfied. They said they have another project worth a hundred thousand next month, and they're going to send it to me directly."

As he spoke, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, bent down, and lit one.

"President Jiang—you know Jiang Yan—called me to look at a new project last week. It's not a big project, only a few million, but the profit margin is decent."

She meant for me to gain experience first, and then when there's a big municipal infrastructure project at the end of the year, I could apply for it with my qualifications.

Gong Yuelong exhaled a puff of smoke, which drifted directly towards Yu Yue Station.

The smell of tobacco.

Strong, with a slightly tarry taste.

Yu Yue frowned subconsciously—she had always hated the smell of smoke.

Li Shida smokes, and she always makes him go to the balcony or stay away from it.

She said the smell of cigarettes on her clothes was unpleasant, and that only a spineless man couldn't live without cigarettes.

But now...

The cloud of smoke drifted in front of her, but she did not back away.

Instead, without realizing it, she gently sniffed.

strangeness.

This smell... doesn't seem so bad anymore.

Even his aura had a... very solid masculine scent—the scent of a man on the rise.

Before she could think it through, Gong Yuelong continued speaking.

"At the labor market, Cao Dayong has brought more than 20 permanent workers, and there are more than 10 more waiting to come from his hometown in Nanshan."

We've got the qualifications, the team's built, and work's starting to come in... but cash flow is still a bit tight.

He smiled as he said this:

"But it's not a big problem. Ms. Jiang also said that if needed, she can help coordinate short-term bridge financing."

His words were spoken in a very ordinary and unremarkable manner.

But every word made Yu Yue's mind race.

The high-tech zone project is in place.

The next job worth 600,000 has already been booked.

Jiang Yan personally led the inspection of the bids.

There will be a major municipal project at the end of the year.

The team has expanded to several dozen people.

The funding problem... someone is willing to help solve it.

Yu Yue stood there, gripping the mosquito repellent bottle tightly in her hand.

She suddenly realized something:

Gong Yuelong was not complaining or asking for help.

He was telling her—I got up, and I got up quickly and steadily.

The man you dumped back then is now out of your reach.

A night breeze blew by, and the dogs in the alley barked a few times.

Yu Yue took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was almost ingratiatingly sincere:

"Yuelong, I...I'm really happy for you."

She bent down and picked up the heavy canvas bag at her feet—this time the movement was quick and without the slightest hesitation:

"Take this 200,000 yuan in cash and use it for now. I know you don't lack this money, but... consider it a small token of my appreciation."

Gong Yuelong neither said thank you nor declined, he just smiled:

"I don't mind having too much money. It's just that you suddenly brought cash..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear—cash is inconvenient and risky.

Yu Yue understood immediately.

Without even thinking, she yanked open her handbag and frantically rummaged through it, finally pulling out a pen she always carried with her and tearing a blank page from her notebook.

Under the dim light of the streetlamp, she leaned over her canvas bag and began to write quickly.

After she finished writing, she read it carefully.

"I wrote a statement explaining that this money is a voluntary donation, unrelated to any loan or previous financial dealings between us. It's purely my way of supporting your business."

She looked up at Gong Yuelong.

"That way you can use it with peace of mind, and I... I can also feel at ease."

As she said this, her gaze unconsciously fell on the cigarette between his fingers.

When I was writing that gift statement just now—

She genuinely had no intention of writing.

The thought suddenly popped into her head the moment he said cash was inconvenient.

It seems that only by doing this can something be proven.

To prove her sincerity? To prove her change? Or to prove... that she's now willing to consider these small details for him?

Gong Yuelong watched her movements, and observed her focused profile as she wrote the instructions.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out with the sole of his shoe. Then he nodded.

"Okay, I'll keep it. It's getting late, you should go back now."

He turned around, pushed open the courtyard gate, and went inside.

He closed the door behind his back.

"Bang."

A soft sound.

Yu Yue stood outside the door, staring at the closed old wooden door for a long time.

Then turned and left.

In the alley, only the buzzing of mosquitoes could be heard.

She came twice.

Carrying the money, spraying mosquito repellent, and making all the necessary preparations.

But she never went through that door.

……

Gong Yuelong returned to the house without turning on the main light.

He threw the canvas bag on the table and unzipped it.

Twenty bundles of banknotes, neatly stacked.

There was a note in the side pocket, with Yu Yuejuan's neat handwriting on it:

"I hereby voluntarily donate RMB 200,000 to Gong Yuelong, which does not need to be returned. Donor: Yu Yue"

Gong Yuelong picked up the note, glanced at it, smiled, and casually put it aside.

Voluntary gift?

This is called paying back the money!

He was racking his brains – when the company went bankrupt and was liquidated, the house and car were all sold, leaving him with 500,000 yuan in cash.

Yu Yue hugged Duo Duo, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "I have to keep this money. Duo Duo is still young, and there will be many expenses in the future."

He believed it.

He felt indebted to the mother and daughter, and felt that a man who had fallen to such a state could not provide them with a good life, so he should at least leave them some security.

So he nodded and gave her the entire 500,000.

What now?

Now she comes to him in the middle of the night with 200,000 yuan in cash, and writes a note saying it's a voluntary gift.

What a load of rubbish!

Gong Yuelong took a deep drag on his cigarette.

This 200,000 is at most a partial repayment of the 500,000 he owed back then.

And it's not even enough to pay off yet—500,000, and considering inflation over the years, the interest alone would be more than that.

He recalled the years before his bankruptcy.

In the early days, I was a truck driver, sometimes driving for three days and three nights straight. When I was tired, I would take a nap at the service area, and when I was hungry, I would eat a steamed bun.

He saved every penny he earned, thinking about buying Yu Yue a decent necklace and setting aside an education fund for Duo Duo.

Later, he became a contractor, leading his fellow villagers to work hard on construction sites.

In the sweltering heat of summer, his skin peeled; in the freezing cold of winter, his hands cracked from the cold. To collect payment for a construction project, he drank so much that he suffered a stomach hemorrhage.

He saved the money he earned, thinking about buying a bigger house so that Yu Yue could have a better life.

How much of that 500,000-mile journey was made with his blood and sweat? How much of it involved the sleepless nights he stayed up, the sweat he shed, and the alcohol he drank until he vomited?

Now Yu Yue comes over with 200,000 yuan, casually saying it's a voluntary gift, thinking she can wipe the slate clean?

Think beautifully.