Chapter 4 — Eight Stolen Years

He thought for a long time. In the end, he still shook his head.

"Everyone thought it was just an accident. But..."

Suddenly the teacher remembered something.

"I remember the next day when I confirmed that your file was lost, Tham Nguyet came to look for me."

My heart immediately sank.

“What did she come for?”

"He asked the teacher... if my application cannot be found again, will the admission to Capital University be transferred to the second-ranked person?"

Teacher Truong's voice became very strange.

"At that time, I just thought this kid was curious. But now that I think about it, he's too calm. Besides..."

The teacher looked at me, slowly enunciating each word:

“He also said, ‘If I move down, won't it be your turn?’ At that time, the teacher also corrected me that even though he ranked second, that score was enough to get into University C. He paused for a moment before saying he had said something wrong.”

The blood in my body almost froze instantly. Tham Nguyet's university entrance exam score was 705. It was truly second place in the entire city. Also ranked second in the whole province. That score is enough to enter University C — the best school in the province. But what she wants is not University C. It's Capital University. The top school in the country. That year, the entire province only recruited one person. Only the valedictorian of the whole province can enter. Tham Nguyet ranked second. That was already a position she had achieved through her own strength. But she was not willing. She must be the leader. She doesn't want to rely on her ability to pass the exam. She wants to steal my achievements. That giant malice was like a net, squeezing me tightly. The phone vibrates. It's Tham Nguyet's WeChat message.

"Le Le, are you home yet? Don't think too much, everything depends on me."

Right after that was a photo. The selfie she just took in the cafe just now. The shooting angle was chosen extremely cleverly, fitting my haggard, tilted face into the frame. She posted it to her friends circle. Only visible to groups of people that don't include me. The caption reads:

"Accidentally meeting my girl again, it's so heartbreaking. Why is fate always so unfair?"

I looked at that photo. Suddenly burst out laughing. Tham Nguyet... You want to win so much. But she didn't know that... Those who have nothing to lose are the ones who are not afraid of losing the most. This game... Now it really begins. I opened the chat box with her, slowly typed down a line:

"Nguyet Nguyet, I stopped by the high school a while ago and met Mr. Truong. He still misses you very much."

I won't say what Mr. Truong said. This kind of half-hidden, half-open talk... That's what makes people panic the most. After sending the message, I turned off the phone and walked into a photocopy shop on the side of the road.

“Boss, help me photocopy some documents.”

I took out each item from the file bag. Exam admission notice. Even that pink sticky note. I want to give them… To the most important person. I won't tell him the truth directly. I want him to discover for himself... What exactly is the perfect wife he married. I want him... To become the last straw that crushes Tham Nguyet. I have no way to contact Luc Xuyen directly. But I know how to send a bomb exactly to him... And make him detonate it himself. I need a perfect postman. I flipped through my high school yearbook, Finally locked the target on Tran Vu. The class vice president studies, has an honest and stable personality, and currently works as a human resource in a state-owned enterprise. The most important thing is... He and Luc Xuyen both play at the same badminton club and meet every week. I called Tran Vu. On the other end of the line was a strange voice mixed with awkwardness after eight years of not seeing each other.

“Hello, who is it?”

“Tran Vu, it's me, Chu Le.”

The other side was silent for five seconds. Then an unnaturally polite voice rang out.

"Ah... Chu Le, long time no see. Is something wrong?"

“Sorry for bothering you, I have something to ask you.”