Chapter 3 — Another Day of Our Youth

Chu Thieu Ngon looked up at me, the whites of his eyes were full of blood, and his face looked tired and exhausted. He gently shook his head in refusal, his eyes carrying a bit of confusion. Before I could say anything else, the class bell rang. The infusion has just finished. The nurse pulled out the needle to help him. While doing so, she muttered instructions: "If you still have a fever tomorrow, you must go to the hospital. It's very dangerous to faint from a fever! Scan the code here and pay 10 yuan for the medicine." Chu Thieu Ngon nodded his head to let it go. But for some reason I have the feeling... even if he has a fever and dies, he won't go to the hospital. After paying, the nurse discovered that there was an unused bottle of glucose left. Eight dimes. It's not even worth a refund. Chu Thieu Ngon hesitated for a long time, but still took the bottle of glucose. On the way back to class, he... popped the cap off and took a sip! Finally, he used his body to cover it and quickly threw the bottle away, not wanting me to see it. Maybe… that was his lunch.

“Chu Thieu Ngon.” I stopped walking, called his name, my face was a bit awkward: "I didn't say it clearly just now... Actually, I bought too much, I couldn't eat it all, please help me eat a little less, it would be a shame to throw it away." “These are all free gifts in that Crazy Thursday program, do you know that program?” Chu Thieu Ngon slowly nodded, then habitually touched his nose to hide his embarrassment. The sunlight outside the window is a bit dazzling. I squinted my eyes, grabbed his calloused hand, and stuffed the KFC bag into it. "From now on, consider us even. From now on, let's be good table mates." Chu Thieu Ngon looked at me, his eyes suddenly became dull. Then he used force, really a lot of force, and spit out one word: "...Okay." The deep bass is smoked by the smoke and fire of life, sounding even better than a professional voiceover. I was about to compliment him a few words, when out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Tong Tram standing not far away. He was lazily looking at us, his eyes were red, quiet... 10 Tong Tram neither had lunch nor dinner. He doesn't like crowded places, and he doesn't like communicating with anyone. But in the cafeteria, if you want to eat delicious food, you have to compete. So, every time the school bell rang, I rushed out first, running as fast as I could to buy food for two people. I still have to nag and beg the cooking aunts not to shake their hands. Fill the box with the fried chicken that Tong Tram likes the most. Now I leave him alone, and he immediately endures it. It's not clear if he's angry with someone, or if he's trying to anger someone. Kieu Mien Mien was also very afraid of going to the cafeteria. She looked at the group of students fighting for food with eyes of disbelief, then gently said to Tong Tram: "They look like... they haven't eaten rice in a few lifetimes..." "It's both oily and greasy, I'm scared just thinking about it, how can they eat those horrible things?" "A little mouse like you has never fought with anyone! Tong Tram understands you, right?" As she spoke, she pulled out a small cookie from her bag and gave it to Tong Tram. Cheeks are red. Kieu Mien Mien has a lot of snacks. My desk and her desk are only separated by an aisle. I saw her secretly eating during class, sneaking after school, and even eating on her own at night. The rustling sound sounded like there was a mouse in the classroom. Tell Why does she call herself "rat rat". Tong Tram did not refuse anything, accepted all those snacks, and Kieu Mien Mien bowed her head to nibble little by little, her hair fell over her eyes, her whole body seemed to be covered in darkness. And then... the next afternoon, he had low blood sugar and fainted. 【Luc Yen, I haven't eaten anything yet.】 11 When I received a text message from a strange number with that content, I was studying physical education. The physical education teacher rarely paid attention to the 12th grade students. The whole class huddled in groups to chat and relax. Only Chu Thieu Ngon sat alone holding the book "5-3" diligently doing his homework. Actually, his friends in class don't hate him, they even invite him to play games. But he was so cold, he just bowed his head and refused. Unconsciously, I put my hand into my pocket, tightly holding his phone - Just a brick phone, the type that can only call and text. I was just about to run over and ask him a Math lesson, when another message from Tong Tram popped out. 【Luc Yen, I'm sick.】 I immediately blocked Tong Tram's third number. Unexpectedly, he used the fourth number to continue sending: 【I'm giving fluids.】 I rolled my eyes, didn't bother reading anymore, turned off the phone, and focused on finding Chu Thieu Ngon to ask the question. Just a moment later, I suddenly felt a cold shiver down my spine. It turned out that Tong Tram was standing on the fourth floor, glaring at us from the medical room window. The cold light shone on his gloomy face. He trembled, breaking four glucose bottles in a row, like a child who was rioting because he was not pampered. Four bottles of glucose cost only three yuan. Yet Chu Thieu Ngon was able to stretch it and make four lunches. Before, I was always heartbroken for Tong Tram because he lacked affection. But from childhood to adulthood, he wore AJ shoes and used the latest iPhone. As a stepchild, you can still inherit property and can later receive shares worth tens of millions from your biological father. Even if he gave up his whole life, he would never starve to death. So, for a person like me - who had to save every penny to buy a PS5 - what could have saved him in the end? You already have so much, how can people "have both fish and bears"? As for the poor, they do not dare to dream of "salvation" at all. Like Chu Thieu Ngon — His parents went bankrupt and jumped to their deaths, and his younger sister suffered from leukemia. It is clear that a qualified talent is recruited directly to Thanh Hoa or Bac Dai, yet has to work day and night at the construction site to earn money. There was no money for lunch, eight dimes of glucose, and an old phone that I was afraid my classmates would find out. People truly fall to the bottom of the abyss, their self-esteem is deeply engraved into their bones. Even the courage to raise my head and look up... was gone. “Chu Thieu Ngon, you still don't understand all the people in your class, do you?” "That guy who just invited you to play a game, actually just wanted to get close to you so that he could "stick around" and ask for cards later." “There are a lot of people in the whole class who admire you. You are the god of Mathematics and scored 148 points.” "Oh right, if you want to save money, ask the class monitor, he spends 30 yuan on food all week. And the academic staff is also very good, good at hunting for coupons and free tissues—" "Luc Yen, thank you." Chu Thieu Ngon suddenly smiled. His eyes were like the afternoon sun, sincere and brilliant. That's right. He should smile more. Such a handsome face, Smiling is really attractive. If I had won the city exam and scored 148 points in the Math exam, my whole family would have laughed in their sleep. When returning from physical education to class, Tong Tram stopped me right outside the door. His hands were clenched, his eyes were red, and he pushed Chu Thieu Ngon. But Chu Thieu Ngon still stands firm like a mountain. Tong Tram looked at us with strange eyes, then suddenly chuckled, his cold voice full of malice: "Chu Thieu Ngon, right? Do you like Luc Yen?" “This girl was once tricked into going to the bathroom by a group of boys. They stripped her clothes off and saw her entire body.” “Can you even look at someone as dirty as him?” “Don't you feel nauseous?” 12 A “Boom” sounded in my head. The whole body felt like it had been drained of blood, cold to the bone. When I was in elementary school, my parents were fired from big companies one after another. Because of their livelihood, they had to leave their hometown to do business, leaving me in the care of my grandmother. I have short hair, wear old dirty sneakers, like playing soccer and throwing bags with the boys in class. Then… they wanted to know if I was a boy or a girl. Tricked me into the men's restroom. Luckily, the teachers arrived in time... Because of that, Tong Tram started protecting me at school. He knew full well that it was my lifelong nightmare. But now it's your mouth that's tearing that wound open again! The whole class gradually became silent. I stepped up and gave Tong Tram a strong slap: "What's wrong with the victim?" "It's all over, you still want to repeat it over and over again, are you no different from some beast that bullies others?" “You're good now, don't pretend to be dumb anymore?” Tong Tram hugged his right cheek, remained silent, and smiled bitterly. Chu Thieu Ngon was about to enter class, but Tong Tram blocked the door. So — he punched, causing Tong Tram to fly out and hit the podium hard. “Bang” a resounding sound. Just a few seconds later, the tense atmosphere in the class was broken. The person collecting the cards continues to collect the cards. Those who submit their work will submit their work. No one said anything more, but everyone's eyes were different. Those who are lecturing continue to lecture. Everyone in the class implicitly understood, pretending not to see anything, as if they were completely unaware of what was going on. When passing by Tong Tram, he reached out and grabbed the hem of my shirt. Like a sulking child. When he couldn't win the toy, he intentionally soiled it. So that others will hate it and throw it away. Then that item... will belong only to him. The moment I kicked Tong Tram's hand away, my heart suddenly felt relieved. Finally realized — he's just trash. Finally understood - we will never be on the same path.