Chapter 10 — After the Rain, There's No Turning Back

She raised her head, her eyes shining.

“I don't understand any great science.”

“But Ms. Trinh said, the warning is not to scare people, but to leave people a way to live.”

There was applause under the stage. I stood next to him and suddenly remembered many years ago when my father took me to the hydrological station. That day the sky was also so blue. He pointed to the water level gauge and asked me:

“Kien Vi, do you know why the ruler has to be placed underwater?”

I said:

“To measure water.”

He said:

“Not only that.”

“It also tells people when to leave.”

When I was young, I didn't understand. Now understand. Every person has to stick a ruler in their life. No matter how much you love, you should stop. No matter how patient you are, you should leave. When others turn your kindness into chains, you must know that it is no longer kindness, but dangerous water. After the graduation ceremony ended, A Lam ran to find me. Her skin is tanned, her eyes are as bright as mountain spring water.

"Miss Trinh, I also want to learn computers in the future."

“Okay.”

“My math isn't very good.”

“Can learn.”

“My family says it's useless for girls to study so much.”

I looked at her.

“So what do you think?”

She bit her lip.

“I want to learn.”

“Then learn.”

“But they will be angry.”

“Let them be angry.”

I said.

“My life is not to please others.”

A Lam was stunned. After a while, she laughed and nodded vigorously. In the distance, Ky Tram Chu was standing under the shade of a tree waiting for me. He came to Van Do to organize a class to disseminate public interest law, teaching local people to read contracts, check books and preserve evidence. Mrs. La secretly asked me:

"Miss Trinh, is that lawyer Ky your lover?"

I said:

“No.”

Ba La is full of meaning:

“Oh, not yet.”

I almost choked on the water. When Ky Tram Chu came over, he saw me coughing so hard. He gave me a bottle of water.

“Slow down.”

I take it.

“Mrs. La said you looked like a bad person.”

His expression did not change.

“Yesterday she said I was a good person.”

“Changed my mind today.”

“Why?”

“She said good people wouldn't wear white shirts every day, it looks too fake.”

Ky Tram Chu was silent for two seconds.

“Tomorrow I will change it to blue.”

I couldn't stop laughing. He looked at me, a smile flickering in his eyes. At dusk, we walked back along the riverbank. The water of Van Do River is clearer than the rivers in Cang Thanh, you can clearly see every stone at the bottom. Ky Tram Chu asked:

“Then you returned to Port City?”

“Yeah, there's a lot of work in the lab.”

“What about phase two of the Hai Dang Project?”

“Continuing.”

“What about you?”

I tilted my head to look at him.

“What should I do?”

He stopped for a moment.

“Do you feel tired?”

I seriously thought about it.

“Yes.”

He didn't say nice words like "you're already very good". He just said:

“If you're tired, you can rest.”

I burst out laughing.

“Lawyer Ky, this sentence sounds very much like a redundancy.”

“But she often forgets.”

The smile on my lips slowly faded. The river wind blew, carrying the smell of seaweed and mud. It is the smell of life. I said:

“Before, I didn't dare to take a break.”

“I'm afraid that if I stop, I'll discover that I'm actually very sad.”

Ky Tram Chu listened silently. I continue:

“Now it seems possible.”

“Because it's okay to be sad Star."

“Sadness does not engulf people.”

“Self-pity is possible.”

He looked at me. The last piece of sunset on the horizon fell on the edge of his glasses, like a small spark. He said:

“Trinh Kien Vi, you know how to summarize very well.”

“Occupational diseases.”

“So can you also summarize the past seven years?”

I looked towards the mountains in the distance. The quiet mountains undulate in the sunset, like a long unopened letter. A long time later, I said:

“Loved, was wrong, woke up.”

“What happens after that?”

I laugh.

“After that, don't turn around.”

COMPLETE.