Chapter 3 — Do I Give Myself a Home?

I nodded slightly, smiled and replied: "You too, the civil service exam went smoothly, I passed the next exam." I closed the dormitory door, pulled my suitcase and left. On the way to the train station, I suddenly remembered the first day I stepped foot in this place. At that time, I carried a tattered canvas bag and came here from a place thousands of miles away. I have nothing in my hands, and I don't understand anything about this world. It is they - people who are not related by blood - who little by little taught me how to live, how to dream about the future. These unrelated people… are even more like family than my biological parents. 6 Co Son Thach was waiting downstairs. As soon as he saw me coming, he immediately stepped up to take the luggage from my hand and neatly carried it on his shoulder. "Let's go." "YES." We went together to return the workshop card, return the key, and then take the paper to the gate. Stepping through the factory's big gate, Co Son Thach put his luggage down on the side of the road and ran to catch a taxi. The car stopped, the driver helped us put our luggage in the trunk. The car started rolling. I turned my head to look, the factory gate became smaller and smaller, so small that there was only a blurry dot... then disappeared from sight. Arriving at the train station, we lined up on the platform and easily boarded the train. This is the first time I have been on a train. I leaned my cheek against the glass door, watching the scenery outside recede. Co Son Thach was sitting next to me, suddenly brought the phone in front of him, and said softly: "When you're at school, I'll buy you a laptop." “Studying in Information Technology will definitely be needed.” I was startled and hesitantly asked: "Is... is it too expensive?" He nodded, his voice firm: "I've calculated it. Your two salaries plus the money my parents send, tuition and living expenses are enough." "Save the remaining money a little, then find a part-time job, it will definitely be enough." After listening, I nodded slightly: "Then... buy it online, Ms. Ly Quyen said online things are cheaper." “She also taught me how to shop online.” He smiled, “Yes.” “You choose the model yourself, choose it... wait for your final salary and then place your order.” Having finished speaking, he pulled out a loaf of bread from his pocket and gave it to me: "Eat your stomach first." The train ran all night long. In the morning, Co Son Thach patted my shoulder and said softly: "We're almost there, prepare to go down." The train stopped, a sea of people crowded into the station. We pulled our luggage, he always kept me inside, one hand holding my hand tightly, afraid I would get lost in the crowd. Exiting the station, there was a long line of taxis waiting to pick up passengers. Before I could react, an enthusiastic middle-aged man pulled me out to the car. “Twenty yuan per person.” There were two other passengers in the car, a mother taking her daughter to school. Waiting for the two of us to get in the car, the car immediately rolled away, heading towards the university of our dreams. 7 “Are you also going to the University of Science and Technology to enroll?” The woman sitting in front smiled and started talking, her tone carrying a bit of pride: "Your daughter is a new student majoring in Finance today." I smiled and replied softly: "I study Information Technology." Co Son Thach, sitting next to him, also continued: "I study Mechanical Engineering." The woman nodded and praised: "Every major is good. By the way, are you guys from the same country? Why don't your parents come along to take you to school?" Co Son Thach quickly replied: "We both go to the same school, we can go together, no need to bother our families." Hearing that, the woman let out an "oh" sound, then turned around to the daughter next to her, smiling gently: "See, these two siblings are so independent. In the future, you also have to learn how to take care of yourself, don't depend on your parents forever." After hearing this, the girl pouted her lips and complained in a low voice: "It was my mother who insisted on going with me..." "It's a girl who goes to school far away, so she can't go without someone accompanying her." “But I can go by myself!” I watched the mother and daughter teasing each other and laughed softly. Their relationship is really good. When the car arrived at the school gate, the sun was already high. Co Son Thach paid, carried his luggage and walked ahead, I followed closely behind, step by step entering the university campus. The school is very large, going half a day probably won't be able to explore it all. As I walked, I curiously observed everywhere: "Mr. Son, this school is so beautiful!" “There is also an elevator in the lecture hall!” “There's also a fountain on the other side, and the library is so spacious, it's so majestic.” Co Son Thach turned his head to look at me, excitement clear on his face: "Yes, the school also has five cafeterias and three stadiums!" Under the guidance of our seniors, we temporarily separated and went through the admission procedures. 8 I had just lined up at the back of the team, when suddenly a familiar voice rang out from behind: "Why are you here?" I turned around - Lo Vi Vi was standing not far away, and my brother was next to me. Apparently he came here to take his sister to school. Lo Vi Vi pulled his hand, the corner of her lips curled up in a smile like she was watching a drama: "Dude, maybe she came here to interview to be a janitor." After listening, my brother immediately took a few long strides and stood in front of me: "Haven't I warned you? Don't dream about things that don't belong to you." “Even your parents criticize you and don't even acknowledge you, but you still dare to show your face here... Don't you feel disgusted?” Listening to the two cousins juggling each other in front of me, I felt hot inside and a little uncomfortable. I took a deep breath, calmly replied: "I didn't follow you two." His brother curled his lips and smiled coldly, his voice scornful: "Don't follow? Do you believe it? Obviously you know Vi Vi's family studies here, so you deliberately followed, right?" His eyes looked at me from top to bottom, with only contempt in his eyes, as if he was looking at a lowly thing, not worthy of being placed on the table. I clenched my fists, held up the admission notice in my hand, and said clearly: "I'm here to complete the admission procedures." “Before coming here, I didn't know she attended this school at all.” “Enrollment?” — The brother laughed sarcastically, "You? You deserve to go to the same school as Vi Vi?" “Why is it not worthy?” I raised my eyebrows, my voice firm. “If I don't pass, where will this admission notice come from?” He snorted coldly and suddenly snatched the paper from my hand: "Who knows, what if the paper is fake?" "I know everyone here, the principal. Believe it or not, I just need to make one call to the admissions office and immediately send you packing to the electronics factory!" Lo Vi Vi stood next to her, pretending to be gentle: "Come on, forget it, after all, she's your sister." “She probably just used a fake notice to visit the school and feel a little bit of the university atmosphere.” "It's just that I deliberately chose the day you entered school and ran to show off, I understand." “Anyway… she's really pitiful.” Hearing my sister's words, my brother's face became darker haunted. He tightened his grip on the notice, raised his hand to rip it off, and said coldly: "Okay, let me help you wake up... go back to your electronics factory!" I immediately reached out and grabbed him back, giving him a strong push. My brother stumbled and fell to the ground. I quickly grabbed the admission notice from his hand. “If you have a problem, go fix it!”{Read full at Van Ha Tuong Tuong page} “Based on what, you think it's fake, so you want to destroy someone else's things?” As soon as the sound ended, the students lining up around them all stopped moving, some even looked over and pointed. A teacher in charge of registration saw the noise, put down his pen, raised his head and looked over: "Students, is there a problem?" I walked around my brother, went straight to the table, and calmly said: "Teacher, he said my admission notice was fake." My brother also immediately followed, pointing straight at me, his voice filled with anger: "Yes! It's fake! With him like this, how could he study in the same school as Vi Vi? It's definitely fake!" The teacher took the paper, held it up to a light to check the watermark, then turned it over and compared the code. “This admission notice is real.” “Student of Lam An, majoring in Information Technology.” The older brother stood stunned, his face as red as a gac. Even Lo Vi Vi standing next to her was speechless, her previous sarcastic smile could no longer hang. “No way!” — he gritted his teeth. I didn't bother to answer, just took the notice back, turned around and went back to lining up. Suddenly, a few giggles rang out next to me. Someone whispered in a low voice: "This guy is so weird... my sister got into college and she's still not happy?" “I don't know what kind of discrimination.” "Are you still planning to tear up someone's newspaper... are you sick?" My brother's face turned red, his hands clenched into fists, glaring at me. I also glared back: "You're bothering me." “Please stay away from me.” He snorted coldly, his face tensed, then turned and left.