Chapter 3 — A Dao Didn't Return

But I was very obedient and still couldn't receive my parents' love. I tightened my grip on the jade pendant, squatting on the side of the road, tears falling drop by drop onto the back of my hand. "Grandma, you're wrong." "They don't love me." "This place is not my home either." Over the next few days, Dad didn't pay any attention to me anymore. Every time I passed by the living room, his face fell and he turned his head to the side. My mother kept nagging in the house every day: "I spent money to take you home, feed you, give you a place to live, and in the end raised an ancestor." "Only your grandmother was in my heart, so why did you come back?" "Knowing this, that day should have left you in the countryside for the rest of your life." I still didn't say anything. Anyway, no matter what I say, in their eyes it's an argument. There's also no longer my bowl on the dining table. At night, I could only wait until everyone was asleep before going to the refrigerator to take out the hardened Mantau cake and eat it. The strange thing is that after no one was in charge of me, I felt a little more relieved. At least I don't have to drink that cup of peanut oat milk every morning anymore. The day the admission notice was sent, I looked at the school name on the envelope for a long time. That was the first request I filled out. It's also the university farthest from here. I held the admission notice and walked out of the room, hesitating whether I should tell them or not. But in the living room, my parents had finished changing their clothes. Tham Tri was wearing a newly bought backpack, excitedly talking non-stop. "The coach said that this time our team has passed the qualifying round and can definitely enter the finals." Mom smiled and adjusted his collar. "My son is really good. Today we must celebrate big." I stood at the door, calling softly: "Mom." The smile on her face immediately faded. "Don't call me mom." "Isn't it only grandma in your heart? What's wrong? Burn the paper and tell her." After saying that, she took Tham Tri's arm and left the house. Dad and Tham Di Ninh also followed. Before leaving, Dad checked the bedroom door as usual, then tried pulling the locked drawer. Confirming there was no problem, he left with peace of mind. The moment the door closed, the house became completely quiet. I stood for a long time then returned to my room, dragged the suitcase I had packed earlier to a pawn shop at the end of the alley. The boss held the jade pendant and looked at it for a long time. "Normal items, at most eight hundred." I nodded. "Okay." When he gave me the money, I didn't immediately let go. The jade pendant had been held for so long that it had absorbed my body temperature. When I was sick as a child, my grandmother carried me more than ten miles up the mountain road to see a doctor. On a rainy day without an umbrella, she covered me with her entire coat. She raised me, and when she was about to die, she took me back to the so-called family. Now, even the money to leave this place is what she left for me. It turned out that my grandmother had been gone for so long but still protected me. I bowed my head and gently caressed the jade pendant. "Grandma." "This time, I'll have to trouble you to see me off a little further." After saying that, I let go. Taking that money, I bought a train ticket to the south that same day. When the train was about to depart, several messages from my mother suddenly appeared in the family group. 【Tieu Tri's coach will come to your house later.】 【I'll clean up the house and then go downstairs to buy some fruit.】 【When you pay, call mom, she'll transfer the money. Remember to bring the receipt home.】 Looking at those words, I felt a bit funny. Even when buying a box of fruit, she was afraid that I would take one yuan too much. I don't answer. Just turn off the phone screen and lean back in the chair. The platform outside the window slowly backed away. The city that had imprisoned me for a long time finally disappeared little by little from sight. 5After seven o'clock in the evening, the Tham family brought the coach back. Throughout

Along the way, Tham Tri kept talking about the competition. Mother surrounded the coach and asked continuously: "This time my Tieu Tri performed quite well, right?" "Does he have a chance to develop professionally in the future?" She opened the door and smiled and said: "The house has been cleaned, the fruits are also prepared. Please come in and sit down." But after the door opened, the smile on her face immediately stiffened. The living room was exactly the same as when they left. The tea table was filled with bags of snacks, and no one washed the dishes in the kitchen. Not to mention fruit, not even a cup of hot water. The coach stood at the door, looking slightly confused. Mom quickly looked inside the house. "Tham Tri Dao!" No one answered. She called twice more, still no response. Dad's face darkened. The coach looked inside the house and smiled to make peace: "I suddenly remembered that the team still has some work to do." "I won't sit down anymore today, we'll talk again next time." Mom quickly held back. "You just sit down, I'll immediately tell her to clean up." "No need." Having said that, the coach quickly left. As soon as the door closed, mother's face completely changed. "Is this damn bastard trying to make us lose face?" She took out her phone. Messages in the family group went unanswered, calls were made, and no one answered the phone.