Chapter 9 — I'm in charge of my own life

You also keep 80,000. We will still be friends from now on.” I looked at him. Suddenly asked: "Is your other car locked?" Bui Huc Ngon's face changed. “What car?”

“That car costs 280,000 yuan. You're not short of money, are you?"

He was silent for a moment.

"That's a college entrance gift my parents promised me, it has nothing to do with this."

“Why is it not relevant? You told To Van Tinh that if you don't have 120,000, you can't go to college. You canceled the car purchase, doesn't that mean you already have money?"

He frowned: "Two different things."

“What's different?”

“The car is my parents' money.”

“The scholarship is also money given to me by the business.”

Bui Huc Ngon was clearly irritated: “Chu Thoi Nhat, don't cause trouble without reason. My family and Van Tinh are not relatives, so why should we be responsible for her tuition?" His voice fell. The hallway was so quiet that only the hum of the air conditioner could be heard. I looked at him.

“So what is my relationship with her?”

He gasped: “You guys are friends.”

“Friends have to donate 120,000 yuan?”

“Your situation is different.”

“Because I like you?”

Bui Huc Ngon avoided my eyes. No reply. That's already the answer. I pushed past him. Behind him came his suppressed voice:

“If you walk away today, don't expect to be able to come back like before.”

My steps don't stop.

"Originally, I never intended to go back."

06 The breakfast restaurant is closed for three days. Her mother's back pain became more and more severe, but she firmly refused to go to the hospital. She told me to lie down for two days and I would be cured. Dad called everywhere, asking relatives to borrow tens of thousands of yuan. With each call, Dad's voice lowered a level. The college tuition payment notice lies silently on the table. Only 5 days left until expiration. Corporate scholarships are still on hold. The online cursing never stopped. Some people even dug up a photo of me participating in a speech competition in high school, mocking me for saying dedication, but when faced with money, I showed my true form. I sit in the room. In front of him is the school's donation agreement for 120,000 yuan. The homeroom teacher sent me a soft copy, saying that if I changed my mind, I could sign at any time. I stared at the agreement for a long time, and finally printed it out. The pen nib hovered above the signature, hesitating forever, not putting the pen down. The room door was suddenly pushed open. Mom stood there holding on to the door frame.

“What are you doing?”

I reflexively covered the paper: "Nothing." She walked over and snatched it away. Seeing the amount of money written on it, her face immediately changed: "Chu Thoi Nhat! Who gave me the signature? If we keep hanging on like this, we don't know when the scholarship money will be distributed." I bowed my head: “The restaurant can't close forever. Dad is still having to borrow money. Accept donation of 120,000, at least there are still 80,000 left.” Mom stared at me. The edges of her eyes slowly turned red.

“You think that Mom and Dad worked so hard for all these years, just to make you feel pitiful, and then force you to hand over your things?”

“I didn't mean that…”

“So what is it?”

She turned around and returned to her room. When I left, I was holding an old savings book in my hand. The corners are frayed white. She placed the savings book in front of me. 37,621 yuan. Each account is a few hundred or a thousand sent in. The first deposit was when I was in 7th grade.

"This is the money my parents saved for me to go to college. I originally thought that if I didn't get into a good school, it would be enough to pay my first-year tuition. Now that I passed the exam with first class, we won't use this money anymore. But it's not because I don't deserve to use it."

Mom put her hand on the agreement paper.