Chapter 4 — Another Day of Our Youth

13 No one in class talks about my past. Except… Kieu Mien Mien. Seeing that Tong Tram was lost all day, she chewed cookies and absent-mindedly said: "Tong Tram is not happy, mice and rats will be sad with him." "The mouse wants to ask if Tong Tram is still in pain~" "I've never met a girl like Luc Yen, she doesn't know how to keep herself, she seduces guys to the point of being humiliated, so you still blame people for saying it?" "If I were a rat, I'd be so embarrassed that I'd die. Since I was little, I've been taught to be obedient and I wouldn't even dare talk to a boy~" I heard the fire go straight to my head, grabbed the mineral water bottle and threw it straight over, making Kieu Mien Mien scream out of fear. "I thought I didn't dare talk to my son? I see - Tong Tram, when were you castrated?" "You... you... rude! Thick skin!" Kieu Mien Mien covered her face and lay down on the table, so angry that she cried. Tong Tram moved his lips, as if on the verge of collapse, his voice was hoarse, trembling as he opened his mouth: "Luc Yen, don't be like that..." "Do I need you to teach me how to live? Crazy." I was not polite, raised my middle finger, and then conveniently pulled the window curtain. The midday sunlight was so bright that I couldn't see the exam questions clearly, so I decided to close the curtains. The light that originally shone on Tong Tram's shoulder now gradually disappeared. His whole body was completely immersed in darkness, leaving only a dark shadow. People like him should have returned to the darkness from the beginning. The moment the curtains closed completely, Chu Thieu Ngon put down his pen and said softly: "You're not that type of person. Don't worry about what a trash person says." This is probably the longest sentence Chu Thieu Ngon has said to me since we met. I just smiled indifferently, then asked him to continue lecturing me. It's unclear when Tong Tram left the classroom. It wasn't until the first self-study period ended that he hurriedly ran back to class. His body was soaked, even his eyelashes were covered with tiny raindrops. He pulled out a carefully protected cup of milk tea from his chest and placed it on my table, along with a full set of special edition dolls. Maybe... I want to apologize. I just glanced once, then pushed it all to the ground. "You crazy person. It's already trash and you don't even know how to throw it away. Why are you putting it on my table?" Tong Tram's face was pale, but his eyes were red, filled with unspeakable anger. Teacher enters class. He was forced to return to his seat. Kieu Mien Mien immediately took out a tissue to dry Tong Tram's body carefully, grumbling as she did so: "Tong Tram is so stupid... Rat and mouse can't even look at it anymore..." "The mouse and mouse's mother once said, there are some girls who are naturally flirtatious, and if they don't seduce men every day..." Before the words were finished, Tong Tram suddenly kicked the desk over, causing the whole class to suddenly fall silent. He pointed at Kieu Mien Mien's face and angrily scolded: "What right do you have to say Luc Yen? Aren't you also a whore pretending to be obedient? Do you think I don't look good!?" 14 Tong Tram fell ill. The high fever turned into pneumonia, he had to be hospitalized for fluids, and he couldn't even participate in the final semester exam. I just hope he can get his mind checked by the way. I feel like this person is not mentally well at all. When final exam scores were announced, Chu Thieu Ngon suddenly fell out of the top 10 of the entire grade. Thinking back, there is no such thing What's surprising? He often skips self-study classes at night to go to the hospital to take care of his younger sister, and works all night at construction sites to earn money for medical treatment. The school waived all tuition and living expenses for him, and also awarded him a scholarship. But his sister's illness... was like a bottomless pit. By chance, I heard the teacher advising Chu Thieu Ngon to accept donations from friends. But he firmly refused: "I'm a transfer student, and I let everyone donate to me. I really have no face." I scratched my head, confused. Although Chu Thieu Ngon does not like to talk and is not good at communicating, he has never refused to help others. He wrote the answers to the exercises in more detail than the teacher. His notes are always shared with the whole class. Every time the water bottle in the classroom is empty, he is the first to replace it, conveniently cleaning out the trash as well. Everyone sees those things. He is not the type of person like Tong Tram - arrogant, arrogant, nitpicking, always standing on top of others. Winter vacation for grade 12 is only 7 days. Unfortunately, my grandmother had to be hospitalized. My parents took my younger brother to work far away and couldn't return. Only I remained at the hospital to celebrate Tet with my grandmother. On New Year's Eve, while everyone was setting off fireworks, I met Chu Thieu Ngon and his sister at the hospital. He was pushing a wheelchair, his six-year-old sister was sitting in the wheelchair, holding on to the IV stand. The two of them stood silently by the window looking at the stars, looking like they had been forgotten by the world. I suddenly softened and brought snacks to "feed". Soft drinks and crackers are also "given away". Seeing that the two of them were still unhappy, I started to talk nonsense: "You two are so cold. Is it possible that you have a plot to make my grandmother catch a cold, so that she can continue to take advantage of her health insurance?" Chu Thieu Ngon was stunned. And his sister laughed out loud. I later learned that I was the only friend that Chu Thieu Ngon's sister had ever met. When the clock struck 12 o'clock, brilliant fireworks exploded outside the window. I don't understand why I said one sentence to Chu Thieu Ngon: "Don't bear all your suffering alone. Having friends is to annoy each other, help each other, be grateful to each other. We meet... to enlighten each other." Chu Thieu Ngon said nothing, just quietly looked at the floor. The light from the multi-colored fireworks shines on his profile, eyes downcast, sharp facial angles - making people suddenly fascinated. His sister couldn't be exposed to drafts, so she was taken back to the room first. So I stood alone in front of the window for a long, long time, until the outdoor fireworks completely went off. I really like fireworks. But my family doesn't have the habit of staying up to celebrate New Year's Eve. Tong Tram hates excitement, and hates childish things like that even more. So every year, I'm always the one alone who watches all the brilliant fireworks, then gropes around in the dark and goes back to sleep. But this time. When I turned around, in the hallway behind me there was a tall figure leaning against the wall. Light and darkness intermingled, he seemed to gently smile at me. “I'm waiting for you to come home with me.” "Happy New Year." In that silent world, only the sound of the heartbeat remained. I couldn't help but walk quickly. “Happy New Year, Zhou Shaoyan.” 15 At the beginning of the new semester, Chu Thieu Ngon finally agreed to accept donations from the class. Compared to criticism, people's reactions were more surprised and sympathetic. "No wonder Mr. Ngon's family background is so difficult, it turns out his sister is sick! Why didn't you say so sooner!" “Your sister is also our sister, how can we ignore it?” “If there's a problem, we'll shoulder it together, we're all here!” Although the amount of money is not much, it is enough to change to a better treatment regimen for his sister. Help him feel more secure to prepare for the direct interview round. At this point, everyone in the class more or less started thinking about their future. During recess, in the bathroom, I accidentally heard Kieu Mien Mien whispering to her best friend: "It's me... the future must depend on what Tong Tram decides..." "Mouse doesn't have any big dreams, just being with the person you love is enough..." It's unclear when the two of them came back. Really feel... nauseous. What a coincidence. As soon as I returned to class, Tong Tram also came to find me and asked me which school I was planning to enroll in. We have been without contact for over a month. He was skinny, his skin was as white as paper, his cheeks were sunken, and he looked like he hadn't been able to sleep for days. "What does it have to do with you? Our rankings are more than three hundred places apart. I don't write with my left hand enough to go to the same school as you." Tong Tram's eyes softened, trying to force a bitter smile. Before leaving, he glanced at Chu Thieu Ngon — his eyes were dark like a poisonous snake. The direct interview was held in Beijing, Chu Thieu Ngon left two days in advance. But the night before the interview, his sister died. His brick phone often lost signal, his parents were gone, and the hospital had no choice but to contact his homeroom teacher. Finally, the whole class gathered together and decided to hide him temporarily, waiting until 10 a.m. the next morning, after he finished interviewing, before continuing. No one expected that — the next day, when Chu Thieu Ngon entered the university campus, he saw a large screen running a "love confession" message board. It was supposed to be the place where seniors welcomed new students. But that day, it was filled with shocking and bloody words: 【Chu Thieu Ngon, your sister is dead. You're so selfish, for the sake of your future, you abandoned your dying sister!】 The person posted the message on the bulletin board. It's Tong Tram.