Chapter 4 — I Bring Luck to Him, But He Criticizes Me as a Misfortune

I have no way to connect you with the young man who held my hand before leaving and told me to wait for you. The young man that year fought for me until his head bled, as if he had died in the wind and dust blown up by horse hooves on the way to the capital. The people in the long hallway had dispersed. Tieu Man also followed the woman to prepare hot water. Under the eaves, only me and Ta Lam Xuyen remained. He squatted down, took out a clean silk scarf that gave off a faint cold scent, and covered my nose on my behalf. I stared at him, tears welling up in my eyes.

“Brother Lam Xuyen, you lied to me.”

His hand stopped. I tilted my head back, my voice carrying a very nasal sound.

“Why did you lie to me and say that today there will be a paper kite competition?”

He was silent for a moment.

“……I'm afraid it won't be natural for her to leave.”

I look at him.

"Are you afraid that I won't be natural, or are you afraid that I will make you lose face?"

Ta Lam Xuyen's lips were tightly pursed.

“It's okay if you know, why do you have to let me tell you?”

I held the paper kite tightly in my hand. Yes, my bad luck as it is now has indeed caused you a lot of trouble. Last time Ta Lam Xuyen took me to a palace banquet, my paper kite fell from above, messing up the noble lady's pearls. Ta Lam Xuyen, in front of the high-ranking mandarins, apologized for my sins on my behalf. After returning to the palace, he did not speak to me for several days. Last time, I helped him clean up the books and essays on his notebook. The window was suddenly blown open by the wind, the pages were flying, the oil lamp was overturned, burning half of the essay. From then on, he did not allow me to enter his study anymore. The awkward images of the past are like sharp blades, cutting away the last bit of our pitiful self-esteem. Tears fell one large drop at a time onto the back of his hand.

"In the past, even if I caused trouble, you still wouldn't hate me like that."

“Brother Lam Xuyen, is it because you are afraid of losing face that you tell outsiders that I am your distant relative?”

He didn't speak anymore. I suddenly felt very funny. I bring my good fortune to you. Lift him straight up into the blue clouds. But now, losing my good fortune only makes you feel embarrassed.

“Ta Lam Xuyen.”

“Do you know why I became so unlucky?!”

I screamed at him, then ran away crying. Ta Lam Xuyen stood in the long empty hallway, his eyes falling on the abandoned paper kite. It was a very beautiful carp paper kite, the peach blossom paper at the edge was wrinkled. Above, there was also a small patch of dark red that was dazzling. That was Tham Tue Ninh's blood, mixed with tears, little by little wetting the fragile paper. He bent down, picked up the paper kite, his fingertips gently caressing the bamboo frame above. My thoughts drifted uncontrollably back to the most difficult and unbearable years of the Ta family. At that time, he had just crawled back from Demon Gate Pass, his heart was like ashes, he had fallen and abandoned himself. Tam Tue Ninh stayed up until his eyes turned red, tying him a crude swallow-shaped paper kite. She held that kite high before his eyes. On the kite's tail, crookedly, were written 8 large letters:

“The wind flies high, the blue clouds are thousands of miles away.”

She pulled him out onto the grass to fly paper kites. The wind is very strong. The paper kite flew wobbly tilted, almost falling several times. Little Tham Tue Ninh ran quickly on the grass. I ran so much that my bun came loose and one of my shoes fell off. Finally, the paper kite flew up. Fly higher and higher. She raised her round face, her eyes sparkling:

"Brother Lam Xuyen, in the future you will definitely fly very high, higher than all those who have bullied your family."

"Once you take one step into the clouds, no one will dare to bully you anymore."

In that blessing, he once again stood up and gathered his courage. Later, he was indeed as she had prayed. The Ta family's case was overturned. The golden sign has his name on it. Becoming a new noble makes everyone in the capital admire. But the little girl who used to hold up a paper kite in the past, her eyes were full of longing for him to take a step up to the clouds, now she held a paper kite with a broken string, her face covered in blood and asked him:

“Are you blaming me for making you lose face?”

Ta Lam Xuyen laughed at himself.