Chapter 8 — I Don't Need This Family Anymore

For the first time, he saw his position clearly in that house.

“Are these… your weapons?”

He looked up, his voice hoarse.

“Not yet.”

I shook my head.

“This is just bullets.”

“It helps me when facing them... to have reason, to have weight.”

“Help me make it clear — I'm not rioting, I'm just asking for justice.”

“Real weapons…”

“It's you.”

I looked straight into its eyes.

“It's the desire to continue going to school.”

“It is the courage to dare to resist.”

“And that's how you'll learn to play this game.”

I closed the notebook and pushed it towards it.

“Now, I will teach you the second step.”

"Negotiate."

"Tomorrow when you come back, your mother will definitely scold you or even hit you."

“Don't cry, don't argue.”

“Wait for her to finish washing.”

“Open this notebook.”

"Read. Line by line."

"Calm."

“Let her hear it.”

“Then tell her.”

“I don't want to cut it off.”

“I just want… a minimum amount of justice.”

“The right to continue studying in the city.”

“She won't agree…”

Tu Tinh immediately spoke, his voice full of insecurity.

“She will.”

I said sure.

“Because I will make a condition that she cannot refuse.”

“What conditions?”

“Tell her.”

“If I can continue to study in the city, I can pass the exam to the number one school.”

“So from high school to college.”

“Tuition, living expenses…”

“I take care of it myself.”

“You can even write a pledge.”

Tu Tinh looked at me, stunned.

“You… how can you do that?”

“Can do it.”

I looked at it.

“There are tuition loans.”

“There are scholarships.”

“There are tons of extra jobs.”

“She went up from there.”

“But at least…”

“Your life is in your hands.”

I stopped for a beat.

“Think about it.”

“What is your mother most afraid of?”

“I'm afraid you'll spend Tu Khai's money.”

“So I gave her a plan.”

“Clear your future.”

“There's no need for her to spend another penny.”

“She will waver.”

I continue.

“But that's not enough.”

“I need a ‘lockdown’.”

“Tell her.”

“If she still forces me to go back to my hometown.”

“That's all I heard today.”

“About independence.”

“About resistance.”

“About fairness.”

“I will repeat it completely… for Luu Ngoc Tran to listen.”

Tu Tinh did not understand.

“My grandmother's name.”

I repeat slowly.

“The real power in that house.”

“She respects men and despises women.”

“But we value face even more.”

“And control.”

“She would never want someone in the house to appear against her.”

“Duong Le... is most afraid of her.”

“I let my mother choose.”

“Accept my conditions.”

“Let me stay in the city and study obediently, and in the future I won't have to spend money.”

"Or push you to the end, turning you into an out-of-control bomb that could explode in front of Luu Ngoc Tran at any time, causing all the conflicts in that house to flare up."

“Just put this choice clearly in front of her.”

Tu Tinh listened blankly, his eyes gradually widening. He never thought... family relationships could be dissected and used like that. I looked at his overturned worldview, without a trace of weakness in my heart. Flowers in greenhouses... cannot survive in the forest. And that house... is the cruelest forest. It took him a long time to find his voice again.

“I… am still scared.”

“Fear is normal.”

I served the bowl of cooled noodles.

“But remember carefully, when you have a weapon in your hand, there is war strategy, with clear goals…”

“I am no longer the child who just hugs my knees and cries.”

“I am a person… preparing to step onto the battlefield.”

17 Campaign The next day is Saturday. I kept my word, early in the morning I took Tu Tinh to the front gate of the house.

“Remember what you said yesterday.”

I looked at it, my face still tense.

“Let her let it all out, don't argue.”

“Wait until she calms down, then take out your weapon.”

Tu Tinh tightened his grip on the notebook, as if holding on to the last lifeline. He took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.

“Auntie, I understand.”

I watched its small figure step by step enter the house that looked like a battlefield. I didn't leave right away. The car parked in a far corner, I waited. It is unknown how long this battle will last. Don't know what the outcome will be. Weapons and tactics… I can teach. But the fighter… can only be it. About an hour later, my phone rang. It's Tu Tinh. I picked up the phone right away. There was no crying on the other end of the line. Only his voice trembled, trying to suppress his excitement.

“I… your mother… agrees.”

My hanging heart… fell in half.

“Process?”

“Like you said…”