Chapter 4 — A Dao Didn't Return

Tham Tri frowned and complained: "She must have done it on purpose. She knew full well that the coach would come today." Tham Di Ninh also pouted. "Didn't she want her parents to go comfort her?" Dad threw the key down on the table and coldly smiled. "No one is allowed to look for you." "If you have the courage to leave home, don't come back." "He doesn't have any money on him, he can't last a few days." In the following days, no one in the Tham family mentioned Tham. Tri Dao. Her bowl was put in the cupboard. The room door is always closed. Sometimes when my mother saw her silent profile picture in the family group, she just snorted coldly. "You know how to pretend." "Let's see how long it can last." On the afternoon of Thursday, there was a sudden knock on the door. Outside is a little girl wearing a school uniform. The little girl held a thick notebook in her lap, her voice somewhat reserved. "Auntie, may I ask if this is the house of the upper class sister Tham Tri Dao?" Mom frowned. "Why are you looking for it?" "A few days ago I bought her notebook." The little girl held out the notebook. "Today when I was rearranging, I discovered a photo inside." "I'm afraid the photo is very important to her so I want to bring it back." Heard the three words "buy" notebooks", her mother's expression stiffened. "Did he really sell notebooks to you?" The girl nodded. "She sold a total of six notebooks, and we all bought them together." "Her notebooks were very well arranged, and the teacher also said it was very helpful." Mom stood still, not saying anything for a long time. It turned out that the two hundred yuan that fell to the ground that day was actually the money Tham Tri Dao earned from selling notebooks. She did not steal money, nor did she lie. The little girl didn't notice her grandmother's unusual appearance and just passed the photo over. It's a family photo. Parents sat in the middle, Tham Tri and Tham Di Ninh leaned on both sides. The four of them looked into the camera and smiled happily. There is no Tham Tri Dao in the photo. But in the space on the far right, someone used a black pen to draw a small person. Long hair, wearing a skirt, and a distorted smile on her face. On the little person's head were written two words: 【A Dao】. The drawing is very immature, seems to have been left many years ago. Mom stared at the photo, her fingers suddenly trembling. When taking family photos, they never thought they would have a daughter. But the child they forgot in the countryside secretly added himself. I don't know when Dad left. He looked at the photo, didn't say anything for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking. After a while, her mother asked in a low voice: "When she sold the notebooks to you... did she say anything?" The girl shook her head. "No." "She just said that she was about to leave this place." 6 After the girl left, no one spoke in the living room for a long time. Mom still holds the photo in her hand. The corners of the photo have been sharpened to a pale white, clearly having been taken out and looked at many times. The small, distorted person stood at the far end, his arms trying to reach out to the side, as if wanting to hold their hands. But when they actually took the photo, they didn't even remember her. Mom suddenly remembered, the first year Tham Tri Dao was welcomed home, she once asked in a low voice: "When will we take a family photo?" At that time, she was busy choosing a piano competition dress for Tham Di Ninh, and just casually said she would take a photo later. After that, no more after that. Dad was the first to look away, his voice stiff: "A photo can't prove anything." "If he really feels resentful, why doesn't he say it?" Mom opened her mouth but couldn't answer. Because Tham Tri Dao once said. She said the two hundred yuan was the money she earned from selling notebooks, and also said she was allergic to peanuts. But they never believed it even once. Early the next morning, my mother finally found the class group again and found the homeroom teacher's phone number. After the phone was

connecting, she still tried to keep her voice calm. "Teacher, has Tri Dao been to school these past few days?" The homeroom teacher was a bit confused. "School is closed, why did he come to school?" Mother was silent for a moment. "He ran away from home." "This child has not listened since he was young. A few days ago we misunderstood him for stealing money from the house, just said a few words and he left angrily." The homeroom teacher's voice immediately turned cold. down. "Tham Tri Dao stole money?" "Absolutely impossible. This kid has good grades and is also very understanding. Normally when you study, he patiently answers." "She got six hundred and eighty points in the university entrance exam. Logically speaking, notebooks could be sold for a few hundred yuan, but because she thought the juniors didn't have much money, she only took two hundred." Six hundred and eighty points. Mom's hand holding the phone suddenly trembled. Dad also immediately raised his head. "What did you say he got?" There was a bit of disbelief in the homeroom teacher's voice. "Don't you know?" "After the results came out, the school called the parents several times but no one answered the phone." "During the days of filling out the application form, he didn't even have the latest copy of the Admissions Plan book, so he could only borrow old books from his classmates." "At that time, I thought the parents didn't understand the situation."