Chapter 7 — After taking the university entrance exam, I transferred my household registration to my adoptive mother's house

Her voice suddenly stopped. Because she saw Trieu Que Lan standing behind me. The air froze for two seconds. The lipstick in Tien Le Hoa's hand stopped between her lips, she couldn't move forward, she couldn't retreat either. Lam Kien Quoc raised his head. Lam Duyet also stopped holding the knife to trim his eyebrows. Trieu Que Lan stood at the door, a bit awkward, her fingers unconsciously clasping the hem of her shirt. Tien Le Hoa was the first to speak.

"Mrs.... Zhao Guilan, right? Why are you here?"

The tone is not exactly aggressive. But it's the kind of politeness from above looking down... The kind of politeness that can make others choke to death. Trieu's mother opened her lips to speak. But haven't had time to speak yet. I took a step forward, blocking her face.

“It was I who invited her to come.”

Tien Le Hoa narrowed her eyes.

“Why did you invite her here?”

"This afternoon a reporter came to interview. Trieu's mother was one of the interviewees."

Tien Le Hoa finally put down the lipstick and closed the lid with a "click".

"What do you mean? The reporter came to interview your parents, to interview mom and dad! Why did you call her here?"

Lam Kien Quoc also stood up and frowned:

"Chu Chu, don't make trouble. Today is a serious case..."

I looked straight into his eyes.

“I'm not causing trouble.”

In Lam Kien Quoc's eyes, there were two parts of panic, three parts of anger, and five parts of guilt. I know what he's thinking. He was afraid of losing face. A father of the valedictorian of the whole province... It was discovered that his daughter still had an adoptive mother. How difficult it would be to hear it out. Tien Le Hoa raised her voice.

"Mom, tell me, today is an important occasion! What will happen if Trieu Que Lan appears here? How will the reporter write?"

Behind me, Trieu's mother gently pulled the corner of my shirt.

“Chu Chu, maybe… mom will go home first—”

“Not coming back.”

I turned my head to look at her. Then turned around and said something to Tien Le Hoa. My voice is not loud. But everyone in the living room heard it clearly.

“Mom, don't rush.”

“The reporter is coming this afternoon, let me tell you everything.”

“And my parents…”

I stopped for a moment.

“Just sit there.”

Tien Le Hoa's face changed continuously in just a moment. But in the end she still didn't get angry. Because in her heart she knew very well— Today, the main character is me. The valedictorian of the entire province is me. The person who will stand in front of the camera and answer the interview... It's also me. If she makes a big deal out of it and I don't cooperate with the interview... Who will lose more face? Tien Le Hoa took a deep breath and coldly threw back a sentence:

"Okay. You can do whatever you want. But don't blame me for not telling you before..."

“Don't embarrass this house in front of outsiders.”

Having finished speaking, she turned around and went into the bedroom, closing the door with a "bang". Lam Kien Quoc stood in place, his lips moved a few times, and in the end he could only say one sentence:

“Chu Chu, have you thought about it carefully?”

I looked at him.

“Three years ago I started thinking about this.”

Lam Kien Quoc stared into my eyes, as if looking for something inside. But he found nothing. My eyes were as calm as the sky outside the classroom window. Empty. Don't reveal anything. He sighed, returned to the sofa and sat down. I patted Trieu's mother on the shoulder and led her into my room. A small room twelve square meters. The window faces North, the lighting is not very good. After entering, Trieu's mother quietly looked around. Her eyes turned red again. She saw a stack of scrap paper nearly half a meter high. See the plain white wall without any decorations. Seeing half of the wardrobe taken over by someone else.

“Is this where you live?”

Her voice was very soft. She sat down at the desk and gently stroked the stack of scrap paper. Half a minute later, she raised her head. Eyes are no longer red. Instead, there was an expression I rarely saw on her face. An expression that looks like he's grinding his teeth.

“This afternoon… Mom won't go anymore.”

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the reporter arrived. There are two groups in total. One group of provincial stations, one group of city stations. In addition to filming, recording and filming reporters, the whole crew had to be up to seven or eight people, filling the entire living room. It's clear that Tien Le Hoa has prepared very carefully. Exquisite makeup. The dress was ironed so that there was not a single wrinkle. The pearl necklace made her whole person exude elegance and dignity. Lam Kien Quoc also dressed neatly. Shirt tucked into trousers, belt buckle reflecting cold metal. Two people sit parallel in the middle of the sofa. Calm posture. On his face was a look of pride mixed with just the right amount of humility— The kind of expression that you could tell he had practiced in advance. I even suspect the two of them practiced their lines on the plane. Trieu Que Lan sat on the single sofa next to her. Both hands were placed neatly on his knees, silent without speaking. Her dark blue floral shirt... In this living room, it really feels a bit out of place. But she sat very straight. The reporter for the provincial station is a female reporter in her thirties. She introduced herself as Tran Kha. Short hair, neat demeanor, sharp eyes. She scanned the living room layout, her gaze stopped on Trieu Que Lan for exactly one second. Then turned to me.