Chapter 11 — I'm in charge of my own life

To Van Tinh placed the admission waiver form on the table. When she turned around, she glanced at me. There was no resentment under his eyes, just enough warmth. It's Bui Huc Ngon's turn. He didn't bring scratch paper. Standing on the podium, he looked towards To Van Tinh first.

"I admit, the original donation proposal was made by me. I thought Thoi Nhat would agree. Because before the university entrance exam, he once said that no matter how Van Tinh took the exam, we would help her."

As he spoke, a screenshot of the garbled chat appeared on the big screen.

"I didn't expect that a promise would be changed for just 200,000 yuan. I also didn't expect that our relationship of more than ten years would come to this point."

His voice was very calm, not even half reproachful, but it was easier to gain sympathy than to curse me directly.

"Thoi Nhat is very excellent. He passed the exam with first place in the whole district, and is about to enter a top university. With his ability, the future will certainly not lack opportunities. But Van Tinh only has this one chance. If people feel that I have done wrong, I am ready to take responsibility. But I still hope, Thoi Nhat can give Van Tinh a chance to change her fate."

From the stands, sporadic applause rang out, quickly spreading into a large round of applause. Bui Huc Ngon stood amid the applause, looking towards me. As if waiting for me to bow. The principal cleared his throat: "Friend Chu Thoi Nhat, you can go up and explain the situation." I walked up to the podium. Not even looking at Bui Huc Ngon. The first thing I did was pick up the donation confirmation form on the table.

"This paper does not have my signature. Before the scholarship was announced, no one asked me if I agreed to donate or not. So the first thing: It's not that I flipped out at the last minute. It's that someone arbitrarily decided for me."

The livestream comment stopped for a second, then started jumping again: 【Didn't Bui Huc Ngon say she once agreed?】 【Friends say they help each other, actually that counts as a promise, right?】 I opened the backup of the WeChat messages I exported before leaving the group, projecting the entire chat history on the big screen. The garbled half of the chat immediately appeared in full. 【If you really don't pass, we'll help you think of a way no matter what.】 【Just compile the wrong answers first, I'll review them with you tomorrow.】 【You can check out some low-cost schools, or learn about student loans.】 I turned to look at Bui Huc Ngon.

"The 'help' I'm talking about is homework tutoring, school selection, and finding out about financial aid channels. It's NOT giving away the scholarships I haven't received yet."

Bui Huc Ngon frowned. "But now she passed, only missing tuition fees. So I..."

“So I put together all the financial support options on her behalf.”

I project another document onto the screen.

“Local student loans can be applied for every year according to regulations.”

“Schools have admission support channels, and tuition fees can be postponed upon admission.”

“From the current family profile, To Van Tinh is completely eligible to apply for state-sponsored scholarships.”

“Her university also offers student support jobs and grants sudden difficulties.”

“It's not like she doesn't have a university to study at. She just doesn't have a way that's completely free of debt, without having to work part-time, and without having to owe the Bui family a favor!”

To Van Tinh suddenly raised his head: "Thi Nhat, what do you mean by that?"

“Your family is poor, doesn't mean I deserve to have you step on my back to go to college.”

“I didn't say you deserved it!”