Chapter 2 — After All, We All Learn How to Be Better People

"Oh, it's finally settled. Actually, it makes sense for Dad to divide it like that. Minh Huy later becomes a civil servant and needs a lot of money. Tieu Thanh is a girl, holding a lot of money makes it easy for people to look at her. Everyone is a family, the money is in different hands."

Below is my mother's message.

"Sister-in-law, you can't say that. These years, Tieu Thanh has done many things for the family, everyone knows. Dad doing that really makes people's hearts cold."

Tien To Phuong answered immediately.

"Why is it so cold? Tieu Thanh is not a child anymore. Dad's money, he can give it to anyone he wants, can we stop it as a descendant? Does it sound reasonable to say it out loud?"

Third aunt Diep Tu Cam also chimed in.

"I think Tieu Thanh is too aggressive. Why should a girl try so hard? Getting married early is the important thing. Now it's good, if you can't win the money, you still have to displease the old man, why suffer."

Below are a series of supporting relatives.

"That's right."

“A girl's stability is the most important thing.”

“Tieu Thanh's personality should be changed.”

I scrolled through each news one by one. Fingertips are a bit cold. The car arrived, a white sedan. I opened the door, sat in, and told him the studio address. The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

"Girl, are you okay? Your eyes are red."

“It's okay, it's just a big wind.”

I turned to face the window. The city night scene passing by outside, the flashing neon lights, the bustle belonged to someone else. The phone vibrates. Private message from Diep Minh Huy.

"Sister, are you really angry? Grandpa has already planned that, don't accept old people. I'll invite you to dinner tomorrow, you choose a place, I'll say I'm sorry."

Use my money, invite me to eat, then call me sorry. I answer one question.

"No need. Keep the money and be filial to grandpa."

Then block it. My studio is located in a downtown office building, thirty-second floor. I rented half a floor, about 250 square meters. The design was made by myself, gray and white tones, long glass doors close to the ground. Pushing open the door, receptionist Tieu Ha had already finished work. The work area is empty, only the green indicator light remains in the corner of the room. I turned on the light in my private room and walked to the glass door. A strip of bustling night scene stretches out below, lights connecting in lines. A year and a half ago, when I rented this place, my grandfather came once. He clasped his hands behind his back and walked around the unfinished room.

"It's this big and there's only one person? What a waste."

“There will be a team later.”

At that time I answered like that. He snorted.

"Drawing these things is not as good as finding a decent job. Look at Minh Huy, he's about to take the civil service exam, that's the right path."

I said nothing. After that, he didn't come anymore. The phone vibrates again. I picked up the phone.

“Tieu Thanh, where are you?”

Her voice was choked, clearly crying.

“At the studio.”

"Have you eaten? I saw you didn't eat anything just now..."

“I'm not hungry.”

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds.

"Tieu Thanh, don't blame grandpa. He... must be old, confused..."

I interrupted her.

"I'm not confused. I just think you're not good enough, not as good as Minh Huy, and don't help me expand. It's as simple as that."

My mother cried again.

“But… what you have done for the family these past few years… everyone can see it… when my grandfather was sick, I stayed up all night to take care of him, and when Minh Huy's mother was in the hospital, I also helped a lot… how did it end up like this…”

"Mom, don't cry anymore. The money is yours, you can give it to whoever you want. I won't fight."

"But That's 200,000,000 yuan…”

“It's not expensive to use 200,000,000 yuan to see a person clearly.”

I said very calmly. So calm that I even found it strange.

“What is this girl saying…”

“Mom, I'm tired, I want to rest a bit. Mom, go to bed early too, don't think too much."

I hung up the phone and stood in front of the glass door for a long time. When my legs were slightly numb, I returned to the table and sat down. Open the computer, log in to email. Haven't read 99+. Mostly it's work. At the top is a collaborative email from a branding company in Beijing. Sent at two o'clock this afternoon. I replied, making an appointment for a video meeting tomorrow. Close email, open banking app. Balance 570,000 yuan. Most of it is the studio's working capital. Personal account has just over 60,000 yuan left. Last year, paying for his surgery almost wiped out all his savings. Minh Huy's celebration party that day cost 57,000 yuan, I swiped my credit card. Thinking back, it's funny. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes for a moment. My mind is as tangled as silk. Sometimes it was his grandfather's cold face, sometimes it was Minh Huy's unconcealed proud eyes. As for the words in the group—

“What do girls need so much money for?”

“It's right to get married early.”

“Personality should be corrected.”

Every sentence, every word, seemed to cut straight into the skin. I don't know how long it took, the phone rang again. I answered the phone.

“Tieu Thanh, it's uncle here.”

Diep Thua Nghiep's voice came from the other end of the line, carrying a bit of awkwardness, trying to appear friendly.

“Do you have anything?”

“It's no big deal. Don't take what grandpa said today to heart. He's old now, so his thinking is inevitably biased. Don't worry, I have plans in mind and will definitely not let you lose."

“What is not true?”

Diep Thua Nghiep laughed dryly twice.

“So, after the procedure is finished, I will ask Minh Huy to take out 2,000,000 yuan for you. Doesn't your studio need to rotate capital? It seems like I support your career."

2,000,000 yuan. From 200,000,000 yuan, take out 2,000,000 yuan. And say it like you're giving a favor.

“No need, bro. The money was given to Minh Huy by his grandfather, but he did not take any money. I told him to keep it well, there will be many places to use later."

“I say it like this… we are all one family…”

“Uncle, I still have work to do. I'll hang up now."

I hung up. The world immediately became quiet. I went into the pantry and made a cup of coffee. The concentrated bitter taste explodes on the tip of the tongue. Taking the cup back to the room, I opened the innermost drawer. Inside is a file bag. The bag is quite thick, the edges are frayed. I pulled out a share agreement. On the cover is printed the logo of a listed company — "Thinh Hang Technology". Flip to the last page. In the beneficiary section, sign my name. Ownership rate: 38%. This technology company went public four years ago, and currently has a market value of 16,000,000,000 yuan. The largest individual shareholder... is me. No one knows. Even my parents. This started in my third year of college. Luc Thoi Hanh is my immediate senior, in the computer department, two classes ahead of me. While in school, he won first prize in the national algorithm competition twice, and in his graduation year had a prototype visual recognition system in hand. I studied industrial design, my graduation project was a set of human-machine interaction interfaces. On security day, he sat in the audience and after watching came to me and said:

“Your interface logic is better than any engineer I've ever met. I understand users.”

After Then he pulled me into starting a business. He is in charge of technology, I am in charge of product design and logic. Money — I used the 60,000 yuan scholarship accumulated during my four years of college, plus the 20,000 yuan my grandmother gave me. 80,000 yuan, in exchange for 2% initial shares. The first year the company almost died. When I only had 3,000 yuan left in my account, I took on more than a dozen freelance jobs, making logos, making brand identities, making PPTs, earning every penny to support the company. Luc Thoi Hanh wrote the code, I ran the client. The two of them ate instant noodles for half a year in a rented room. Second year of raising angel capital. I put all the profits from the studio in, and gritted my teeth to keep the anti-dilution clause in the following rounds. By the end of round B, my stake was locked at 38%. It didn't fall from the sky. It's every penny I gathered. I still let Luc Thoi Hanh represent me, because the design studio is my main job and also my cover. Thinh Hang's technology is too advanced, in the early stages it was very closely watched by competitors, a girl doing the design was the largest shareholder... on the contrary, it was easier to hide. After listing, everything becomes a habit. It's not necessary for everyone to know. I put the agreement back in the file bag and locked it in the safe. The coffee has cooled. I drank it all in one gulp, the bitter taste spreading from my throat to my stomach. The mind is more alert. Grandpa said it's not wrong. 200,000,000 yuan should be given to "people with a future".