Chapter 2 — Gentlemen at the Wholesale Market

“I told you, I'm not going.” Her face finally darkened.04 Her face turned completely cold. The fake friendliness that always hangs on his face disappears completely. She looked at me like she was looking at a defective item that didn't belong to her. "Okay." She only said one word. Then she turned around, stepped on her high heels and left without even turning around. The fruit basket and bucket of chicken that my aunt's family brought are still lying on the ground. Old Tuong walked over and touched the bucket of chicken with the tip of his foot. "Throw it away." He told another worker. The stall quickly returned to its previous busy scene, as if nothing had ever happened. No one talked, no one looked at me one more time. But I felt a gaze behind me. It's Old Tuong. He didn't say anything, just silently smoked his cigarette. I picked up the tape and continued to close the box. But my hands are shaking. I know this isn't over yet. I'm not the type of person to give up easily. Sure enough, that evening while I was lying on the folding bed, my mother called. I hesitated for a moment but still answered the phone. "Son!" Mom's voice was both impatient and angry. "What's wrong with you? How can you talk to aunt like that?" My heart sank. "Mom, it's not like you think." "What do you think? My aunt called me crying! She said she'd been looking for me for two days, and couldn't even eat food. As a result, I'm good, I hang out with bad people, and I still refuse to recognize this aunt. more!”Indecent people? Is she talking about Old Chiang? A fire rose in my chest. "Auntie never looked for me. I stood outside the market gate waiting for her for eleven hours." I tried to keep my voice calm. "You're talking nonsense! Auntie said her phone is broken! How can this child not understand something like that? I'm your biological aunt, the superior! Are you still lying to me?" "Mom, I'm not talking nonsense." "I'm just stubborn! I've been stubborn since I was little! Mom, tell me, now I have to go and apologize to my aunt immediately!" "I'm not going." "What did you say?" Mom's voice was high-pitched, trembling because she couldn't believe it. "You said you wouldn't come to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." The other end of the line was silent for a long time. Then came the mother's voice trying to hold back her tears. "Vuong Vu, you disappointed me so much. I worked hard to bring you to rely on you to learn bravery, not for you to go there and anger me!" "Do you know how long it took me to beg for you to agree to let me come?" "Now immediately go away and apologize to me! If not, otherwise don't accept this mother anymore!" Tut. The phone is disconnected. I held the phone, my mother's last words still echoing in my ears. It was very hot in the warehouse, but my whole body was cold. I always thought I lied because I didn't want my mother to worry. Only now do I understand that the truth is not important. In my mother's heart, my aunt will always be right. And I was the child who didn't understand things, making my mother disappointed. I stuffed my phone under my pillow and pulled the blanket over my head. In the darkness, I could clearly hear my heart beating. Each sound, each sound, was both heavy and dull.05The next day, while working, I always lost concentration. When packing the box, the tape got tangled several times. When I posted the order, I mistakenly pasted the addresses of two customers. Luckily, Lao Tuong discovered it in time and fixed it. "What's going on?" Old Tuong asked me. “Nothing.” I bowed my head. He didn't ask any more questions, just patted my shoulder. In the afternoon, the stalls are a little less crowded. I was squatting on the ground, arranging a pile of scattered samples. A pair of shiny women's leather shoes stopped in front of me. Without looking up, I knew who it was. Aunt comes. But she didn't look at me but went straight towards Lao Tuong who was drinking tea. There was a smile on her face again

familiar but distant. "Boss, are you busy?" Old Tuong raised his eyes and nodded in response. "I have something to tell you in private. It involves my nephew." Auntie's voice was not loud, but she spoke very clearly. I squatted on the ground, pretending to continue arranging things, but my ears were already erect. Old Tuong looked at me, then said to his aunt: "Go to the back and talk." The two entered the warehouse. I couldn't see them, but I could still vaguely hear my aunt's voice. Auntie deliberately lowered her voice, but a few words still got out. "This child has a stubborn personality, ran away from home..." "Our family can't handle it..." "The boss is a good person, don't let him fool you..." "We can't guarantee whether his hands and feet are clean or not..." My heart sank little by little. I squeezed the sample in my hand, the plastic edge biting my palm painfully. I didn't expect my aunt could say that to me. Through my aunt's words, I became a runaway with bad qualities and could even steal things. She wanted to cut off my way out. Auntie wanted Lao Tuong to send me away. So, when I had nowhere else to go, I could only turn back and beg my aunt. I stood up, wanted to rush in, wanted to confront my aunt right in front of Lao Tuong. But my legs felt like they were nailed to the ground, unable to move.