Chapter 7 — I Don't Need This Family Anymore

“I don't want to go back to my hometown.”

“Miss… can I stay here for a few days?”

It looked up. Eyes full of hope. Exactly like me... a few months ago, lying in a hospital bed, hoping someone would save me. I looked at it. Silence for a long time.

“Have you eaten anything yet?”

It shook its head. I went into the kitchen. Take the noodles and two eggs. Cook him a hot bowl of egg noodles. He hugged the bowl and ate greedily. Tears fell drop by drop in the bowl of noodles. I sat opposite. Quietly look. Waiting for him to finish eating, I gave him a piece of paper.

“Tomorrow, I will take you home.”

He was startled and looked up.

“This is not a place for you to hide.”

My voice was calm, even a little cold.

“There are roads… you have to walk on your own.”

“There are battles… you have to fight them yourself.”

It burst into tears.

“You can't win.”

“If you don't win, you have to fight.”

I looked straight into its eyes.

“Because besides yourself… no one can save you.”

“I… don't know what to do.”

I opened the drawer. Take out the notebook. Flip to the blank page. Place another pen in front of it.

“Now, I'll teach you the first step.”

Tu Tinh looked at the notebook and pen in front of him, his eyes blurred, as if facing something completely unfamiliar.

“Miss… what is this?”

His voice was still choked, clearly his emotions had not yet calmed down. I did not answer immediately, but asked in return.

“In that house, what do you want most?”

It froze. This question… seems out of this world. From childhood to adulthood, no one ever asked him what he wanted. Everyone just tells him... what to do, what to give up. He bowed his head for a long time, his hand unconsciously rubbing the corner of his shirt.

“I… I want to continue going to school.”

It spoke very softly.

“In the city... I want to get into the number one school, everyone says the university admission rate there is the highest.”

I nodded. A clear goal, specific enough to fight for.

“That is a ‘benefit’ that you must earn for yourself.”

“Now, let's analyze… the person blocking your way and your weapon.”

“The one in the way?”

It looked at me, a little scared.

“Anyone who prevents you from achieving your legitimate rights… in this game is an opponent.”

“So now, who is your opponent?”

He bit his lip and hesitated for a long time before saying two words.

“Who else?”

It's silent.

“And your father, Tu Duong.”

“His silence… is the support that my mother uses to do all of this.”

“As for grandmother, Luu Ngoc Tran… her ideology of favoring men over women is the root of all injustice.”

“Even your brother, Tu Khai… he is the one who benefits from all of that.”

“They are a bundle of interests.”

“And you… are alone.”

My words were cold, straight and sharp as a knife. Stripping away the shell of "family" which is just a beautiful excuse. Tu Tinh's face turned white, but he did not refute. Because he knows... I'm right.

“So, you can't cry.”

“Crying… is the most useless thing.”

I stuffed the pen into his hand.

“You have to learn how to fight.”

“And the first step… is to have weapons.”

I pointed to the notebook.

“From today, I start recording.”

“Record… what?”

It's even more confusing.

“It's not just about money.”

“It's about 'what did you give' and 'what did you get in return'.”

I speak slowly, leading him step by step.

“Think back… from childhood until now.”

“What have you done for your brother, for your parents, for your grandmother?”

“And they… what did they do for you?”

Its eyes gradually changed. From vagueness… to focus. It begins to remember.

“You… what day? After school, I have to cook."

“Mom said my brother is tired from studying and shouldn't be distracted.”

“Okay, write it down.”

I nodded my head.

“Line one: take on long-term housework, support Tu Khai's entire daily life.”

His hand trembled as he wrote the first line.

“What else?”

"During Tet... my brother's lucky money is always twice as much as mine."

“Mom said my son will need more money in the future.”

“Line two: unfair division of family resources, difference in lucky money.”

It hesitated.

“I've never been to a parent-teacher conference for my child, not even once.”

“But my brother's… he goes every time.”

“Line three: skewed father role, clear bias in education.”

“My mom… buys me things all the time on sale.”

"And said girls don't need to dress nice."

“But one pair of my brother's shoes… costs three sets of my clothes.”

“Line four: differential spending, absolute priority for sons.”

The room is quiet. There was only the sound of pen rustling on paper. Line by line, line by line... Not words. It's proof.

"Line four: There is a huge gap in the allocation of living resources, causing both physical and mental pressure."

I guided step by step, the more Tu Tinh wrote, the faster his handwriting became. The small things that he once ignored, got used to, even took for granted... are now gathered on paper, becoming a flow that makes people choke. When it fills two pages, stop writing. His hands trembled. There are no more tears in my eyes. There's only one thing left... It's resentment that's been repressed for too long.