"Hey, hey, hey, wake up, wake up!"
"Mmm…"
"You, again! How many times has this been? Falling asleep on duty! Get up, damn it!"
With a sharp pain on his head, Lin Lan blinked his eyes open, groggy and with red eyes, waking up from the desk in the office.
Opening his eyes, he saw a chubby man wearing a red hard hat and a reflective vest.
"Mr. Su…"
Despite feeling as heavy as lead, Lin Lan struggled to stand up.
"Look at the time—it's already 5:30. Where are the photos of the concrete pouring from last night?"
The overweight Mr. Su angrily waved his phone in Lin Lan's face, glaring at him.
Lin Lan suddenly remembered that after taking photos at the construction site last night, he had come back to the office to use the Wi-Fi and send the photos to the work group. He ended up falling asleep at his desk because the warm air from the air conditioner and his extreme fatigue made him unable to stay awake.
After nearly 30 hours without sleep, he had just collapsed onto the desk.
"Mr. Su, I took the photos. I'll…"
Lin Lan hurriedly tried to explain, but Mr. Su only snorted in anger.
"You don't need to explain. The client inspected the site last night. Look at this!"
With that, Mr. Su shoved his phone in front of Lin Lan.
On the screen was a photo taken from the office doorway showing Lin Lan sleeping at his desk with his phone in hand, absorbed in a game.
Lin Lan, already pale from a month of intense overtime, turned even whiter, and cold sweat started to bead on his back.
"Th-this is because…"
"Bang!"
The expensive phone was slammed down on the desk by the fat project manager.
"You're almost thirty years old, Lin Lan! How can you still be addicted to childish games like this?"
"This project is a key one. I've said it before—if you don't want to do it, then get out. There are plenty of people eager to take your place!"
"Do you think just because you've passed some certifications you're above company rules? Let me tell you, if you slack off again and I catch you, I'll have you removed on the spot!"
A torrent of reprimands, with spittle flying, left Lin Lan with a face full of anger and lingering alcohol smell.
Lin Lan remained silent, enduring the abuse.
He knew that arguing now would only lead to more harsh words, so he chose to stay quiet.
After two or three minutes of scolding, Mr. Su, clearly exhausted from yelling, slumped into another office chair and waved his hand tiredly.
"I know you're tough, but forget about your full attendance bonus for this month. Just go to the site and hold a safety meeting for the morning shift."
Hearing that his attendance bonus was being deducted, Lin Lan opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Mr. Su's fierce stare, he swallowed his anger, shut his mouth, and picked up the reflective vest, safety helmet, and his still-active phone from the desk, heading for the door.
"And that stupid Azur Lane game of yours, better uninstall it soon. All you do is play games and don't strive for improvement. Back in the day, our bureau was…"
As Lin Lan reached the door, he gritted his teeth, not wanting to listen to Mr. Su nostalgically reminisce about the industry's golden days, and stepped out towards the construction site.
Outside, it was still dark and cold. The air was below five degrees with drifting snowflakes.
"If it weren't for me having to pay off that old man's debt, I wouldn't be putting up with this crap!"
"Always talking about seizing opportunities while he himself doesn't come to the site, making the rest of us work ourselves to death!"
Lin Lan walked towards the construction site under the streetlights, kicking a stone by the roadside in frustration.
His mother had died in an accident during his childhood, and in recent years, his father had developed a drug addiction, squandering the family's assets and borrowing unimaginable sums from relatives.
As the saying goes, the son pays off the father's debts. After that old man died in rehab last year, the relatives naturally turned their demands for debt repayment towards Lin Lan.
Despite his best efforts to get certifications and work tirelessly, in an industry that was already in decline, his prospects remained very limited.
Walking through the cold, watching his breath turn to mist, Lin Lan wondered how long it had been since he last visited the city.
After thinking for a moment, he recalled it was probably during last year's Spring Festival holiday.
Shaking his head, Lin Lan didn't want to dwell on his troubles and turned on his phone.
At this hour, even the drivers in the chat group were quiet.
On the cold early morning, a white-haired girl on his phone screen smiled warmly at him.
It was only at these moments, looking at his port area, that Lin Lan could feel a tiny bit of warmth in his cold heart.
After gazing at the girl on the screen for a moment, he sighed and muttered to himself:
"No wonder that Su guy always dislikes me. I really am becoming more and more like a shut-in."
"But what can I do? Which woman would want her husband to be away from home all year round? It's not like she's blind."
He quickly finished his daily tasks in the game and turned off his phone screen as he returned to the homepage.
Through the streetlight's reflection on his phone screen, Lin Lan saw his own appearance.
The face under the safety helmet was no longer young, with a scruffy beard from neglect and eyes bloodshot from long nights. His skin, weathered from working outdoors, was dry and dark.
"Isn't it a bit degrading for me to be your commander looking like this?"
Lin Lan looked at the now dark phone screen, making a self-deprecating joke, as if it had become a habit.
He once dreamed of seeing more of the world and experiencing better things.
Unfortunately, his profession, family, and even his health no longer supported that dream.
Years after graduation, he had seen too much disdain and betrayal in the workplace and family due to his family's decline.
Aside from the game that had accompanied him since school, Lin Lan felt that everything else seemed less important.
Where exactly is his future?
This question suddenly popped into Lin Lan's mind.
As he walked along the road, he pondered this question.
But thinking about those debt collectors and isolated colleagues made him take a deep breath of the winter's cold air.
"Ah."
The man's sigh was swallowed by the roaring concrete pump trucks and vibrating tools at the construction site, masking the sigh in the cold early morning.