Chapter 5 — After All, We All Learn How to Be Better People

Saturday came very quickly. I'm not going back to my old house. That night, at 8 o'clock, my mother called.

"Tieu Thanh, grandpa asked why you haven't come yet. His face doesn't look very good."

“I said I wouldn't go.”

"Your father sat there alone, not even daring to speak. Your uncle-in-law kept blaming you, saying you didn't understand the rules, didn't respect adults... Tieu Thanh, just give me some dignity..."

“Mom, has anyone ever given me my dignity?”

The other end of the line was silent.

“Is there anything else?”

“So I'm hanging up now.”

After hanging up, I continued to sit in the studio editing the drawing. On Monday, Ms. Diep Tu Cam called.

“Tieu Thanh, it's my aunt.”

Still the familiar exaggerated enthusiasm.

"How are you these days? Are you busy?"

"That's good. Well... if you don't come to the gathering on Saturday, your grandfather won't be happy. He won't say it, but he's definitely upset in his heart. This girl is real, no matter how angry she is, she can't help but show respect to adults."

I didn't reply. She continued.

"Tieu Thanh, I'll be honest with you. What your grandfather did was not satisfactory. But as a descendant, you have to understand him, right? Grandpa's mindset is old, thinking only the son can support the family. Don't take it to heart. Minh Huy has taken the money, and will not abandon you in the future, after all, we are all family..."

“Miss, what do you want to say?”

"I only care about you. Look at you, you're twenty-seven years old, you still don't have a lover, you're busy with work all day, you don't make much money, and you're tired. The most important thing for women is to have support, or let my aunt introduce some people to you—"

I interrupted.

"It doesn't seem to be your turn to take care of whether I have a lover or not, whether I'm married or not. If you're free, take care of Minh Huy. That's 200,000,000 yuan, see how to spend it properly, lest you end up being scammed."

"You! What are you talking about! I have a good heart and yet you say bad things about me?! No wonder your grandfather doesn't like you, who can stand this personality of yours!"

“If you can't stand it, don't stand it.”

Hang up the phone and block it. The world is quiet again. I put down my phone and opened my laptop. This week's data from Thinh Hang Technology has arrived. Last quarter's net profit was 800,000,000 yuan, up 31% over the same period. The AI application matrix is about to be announced, the valuation party has set a target of 19,000,000,000 yuan. These numbers, placed next to me sitting in a 250 square meter studio, are not out of place at all. Because up until now, no one has ever contacted me. At 5 pm, Luc Thoi Hanh texted.

"Dinner has been arranged. Next Saturday night, 7 o'clock, Nhat Hoa Phu restaurant in the east of the city. I told my assistant to book a private room, there will be no outsiders."

“Are you coming?”

I thought three seconds.

“Until then.”

"Ah, my cousin really seems to think he's a character. He asked someone to give me a project plan, saying he had acquired a plot of land in a new area and wanted me to see if it was worth investing in."

I looked at the photo of the document. Consisting of dozens of pages, the data in the feasibility analysis section looks like it was copied from the internet. Only the title is written very neatly — "Diep Minh Huy Trading Development Group - Project A Description". Diep Minh Huy Trading Development Group. It's been less than a week since I inherited it, even the name of the company finished thinking. The 200,000,000 yuan hasn't even arrived yet, it's already starting to fly away.

“What's the plan?” I asked.

"Pathetic. But he didn't say it directly, just replied 'recently the schedule is full, will respond later'."

“Don't be so quick to refuse.”

“Let him fly high enough, it will hurt when he falls.”

Luc Thoi Hanh sent three dots.

“Classmate Diep Thanh, when did you become so cruel?”

“Since the night people stepped on me.”

I finished sending the message and turned off the phone. It was gradually getting dark outside, and the city lights turned on one by one. In the tallest building across the river, the four words "Thinh Hang Technology" lit up again. Next Saturday, Hoa Phu restaurant, private room. It's a bit interesting.