Chapter 1 — Light Age 17

Bui Chau doesn't like a country fiancee like me. To get me to actively cancel the marriage, he found a poor student at school to impersonate him. "A rich bald man, a poor man who doesn't have enough to eat, what a perfect match." "I bet this bald rich guy can't last three days, he will definitely cancel the marriage." That poor student was tall, cold, looked like he had been beaten down by life, and spoke little. I believe it's true, I think the Bui family is really bankrupt, to the point where he has no food to eat. My father's advice still rang in my ears: "Be good, if you go bankrupt, you will go bankrupt. Our family doesn't want to be rich or criticize the poor, we have money to support." So, if he was hungry, I would give him food, if he worked part-time, I would act as a bodyguard, if his mother was hospitalized, I would take care of it... I took very good care of my poor fiance. Until one day, a handsome young man stole the breakfast I had carefully prepared. I was just about to get angry when he looked at me, his eyes full of unwillingness. “Lin Uyen, look clearly, I am your fiance—” 1 My father said, I have a fiance in the city. To let me choose whether I wanted to or not, as well as to urge me to study well and get into a good university, in the 11th grade, he completed the transfer procedures for me, transferring directly to Bui Chau's class. I heard that the Bui family is the richest family in Giang Thanh, with a very strong foundation. My father even deliberately told me to bring a lot of good gifts. However, when I got off the train, no one from the Bui family came to pick me up. At first I was still a little angry, but when I entered school... Seeing Bui Chau skinny, wearing a faded T-shirt, my anger suddenly disappeared without a trace. A classmate happened to meet me on the street, saw the photo in my hand, and kindly guided me. "Grade 11 (3)? Are you looking for Bui Chau? I know him, let me take you there." That same person raised his hand and showed me. I looked in the direction he was pointing - by the window, a male student sat with his back straight, his body slim and clean. The afternoon sunlight seemed to be sifted through a thin mesh, slantingly covering his profile. Occasionally a light breeze blew past, blowing a few strands of hair, revealing a smooth forehead and straight eyebrows. I looked down at the photo in my hand, then looked up at him again. The sad voice of a classmate from earlier still rang in her ears: "You don't know, the Bui family went bankrupt two years ago. Now at school, Bui Chau has to receive subsidies, after school she has to work part-time, sometimes so poor that she doesn't have enough food to eat." My family and the Bui family had little contact, and with bankruptcy like this, the Bui family would of course not intentionally spread the news to our countryside. I quietly said "ah", nodded like a chicken pecking rice, promising him not to reveal it. “This is a new transfer classmate, Lam Uyen, everyone welcome.” The teacher pointed to an empty seat in the last row, "You go sit there first." I raised my head to look - that place was next to Bui Chau. From the moment I entered the classroom until the teacher arranged the seats, Bui Chau never raised his head once. He bowed his head very attentively, writing something on paper. To get to my place, I have to go around your back. While passing by his desk, my bag strap accidentally caught something. I gently pulled it and immediately listened “clack” — an enamel mug fell from Bui Chau's desk drawer. The mug rolled halfway across the floor, making a crisp sound. Inside, only half a dry bun fell out, covered in a layer of dust. I clearly saw Bui Chau's shoulders tremble a little, the pen in his hand tightened, but he still did not turn his head. A few suppressed laughter rang out around me. I glanced over and saw the male students next to me whispering about his back, their eyes full of contempt. It turns out that Bui Chau's life is so miserable - the teenager in the photo was once in great shape, but now he really doesn't have a full meal. I pursed my lips, hugged my bag tightly, sat down, and said softly: "Sorry, I didn't mean it." He still didn't look at me, just bowed his head, put the mug I just picked up on the table and stuffed it into the desk drawer. “I'm Lam Uyen, do you remember?” I tilted my head and leaned closer to look at him. Actually, when he was six years old, we met once. I am exactly like my mother, a passionate "beauty fan". At that time, Bui Chau was small, had a delicate face, and was so beautiful that I loved her and couldn't let her go. However, that time I took him to tease the chickens, causing him to get pecked on the butt by the chickens, so from then on he didn't pay attention to me anymore. Fortunately, he did not become "ugly" when he grew up and was still as beautiful as when he was a child. He was startled by my sudden action. He raised his head slightly and looked down at me. {Read the full story at Van Ha Tuong page} His eyes were beautiful, like sparkling black gems. His long black eyelashes, when drooped, covered his cold gaze, making him look less distant. After the shock, he still didn't say a word. I scratched my head: "I'm your fiancee, do you remember?" At that moment, he was drinking water. After listening, he choked, coughed slightly, and his voice was choked. I quickly reached out to pat his back. Waiting for him to calm down, his eyes looked at me with some confusion, his white face was slightly red. Maybe I don't remember anymore, or maybe after going bankrupt, my mood and personality have changed. In short, I understand - let's pretend we don't know each other and become friends again from the beginning. So I smiled, reached out my hand to him: "So from now on, let's be table mates. My name is Lam Uyen, nice to meet you. Oh yes, can I ask you to help me with something?" I thought Bui Chau still wouldn't pay attention to me, but this time he spoke again, but his voice was still cold: "I don't have time." 2 And the kind classmate who led me into class just now. Seeing that I was in my seat, he immediately turned to the stairs, where a few young men were waiting. Co Tieu Nhien happily said to the handsome young man in the middle: "Chau, it's over, that girl is not smart at all." "He believed whatever I said. I showed him Giang Tu, then told him the Bui family was bankrupt, and Bui Chau didn't even have rice to eat. At that time, his eyes widened." "He also saw Jiang Tu's black bun. Nowadays, things are so miserable, does he still want to do charity work to help?" "I bet it won't take more than three days. She will obediently ask her father to come and annul the marriage." Bui Chau's eyes flashed a bit of impatience, but still confirmed: "Surely it will be done in three days? Does he really believe it?" "I looked at the photo in his hand, it's just a profile picture of you, it looks no different from Giang Tu. Saying it's Giang Tu means No one doubts it.” “I also told him, after the Bui family went bankrupt, you had to avoid debt, so you changed your name, to make sure he believed it.” "If you're unlucky enough to meet someone, just say they have the same name and the same last name to avoid letting it stick to you." Bui Chau put his hands in his pockets, his delicate eyebrows relaxed a bit: "A rich bald guy from the countryside, what a time has it been that he's still playing around with an engagement contract from a young age." “That's right, after all, the Bui family is a family of hundreds of years, even if they get married, they still have to marry a young lady from the same household. Just like your eldest brother married the daughter of Kien Thanh Group, why do you have to get married to a rustic village girl?" "What's more, this made my mother angry for several days. She went on a hunger strike and forced my father to annul the marriage." “But my father listens to everything, and the old man is a loyal man who is determined to keep his promise to his childhood fighting partner.” “Ah, that's right, but I saw your fiancee…” Bui Chau gave him a cold look, so he corrected himself: “That village girl looks quite pretty, I just secretly took a photo of it, do you want to see it? Who knows, maybe it suits your taste?” Bui Chau chuckled lightly: "What's wrong with you? Is my aesthetic eye paying attention to country girls? Co Tieu Nhien scratched his head and muttered: "It's really pretty, much more beautiful than your elementary school beauty." 3 I was completely unaware of those things. Right now, I only had Giang Tu in my eyes. That's right, he said his name was Giang Tu, and his classmates also called him Giang Tu. The Bui family actually changed his name to avoid debt. Throughout the day, I tried every way to start a conversation with Giang Tu, but he answered very little, sometimes even acting like he didn't hear me. But I'm a talkative person, inheriting my father's talkativeness - normally he can stand and talk to... cows all day. In addition, I am naturally easy to talk to, I almost don't need to get acquainted to be able to talk comfortably. “Hey, do you know if there is any delicious food in Giang Thanh? Today is my first day here, I'm not familiar with anything." “Oh right, are you staying or going home?” “Eh, why is this knowledge different from what I learned in town?” “Where is the place to get water? I'm so thirsty.” At one point, Giang Tu really couldn't bear it anymore so he quietly replied: "Listen to the lecture seriously." Pausing for a moment, he added: "The place to get water is at the door of class 11 (4), you can go after class." But by the end of class, I had forgotten about getting water. I quickly called my dad and told him about the Bui family's bankruptcy. My father on the other end of the phone was surprised: “Huh, how could that be? It's okay, be good, even if you break it, it's okay. We must not be greedy for the rich and criticize the poor. In important times like this, we can clearly see people's hearts. If you really like him, at best we can raise him." I nodded, but I didn't particularly like it. It's just... Giang Tu is really a bit pitiful. I don't have much, just enough money, but at this moment, the thing he lacks the most is money.