Chapter 7 — My Tattooed Dad

Evidence of abuse, evidence of neglect, my medical examination report, the whole set of documents were placed on the judge's desk. Plus, I directly expressed to the court that I did not want to follow her. The court issued a verdict, stripping To Lan of her guardianship. Pho Nghien officially became my legal guardian. The day he walked out of the court, Hua Thanh was so excited that he almost jumped up. "General Director Pho! It's successful! From now on, Tieu Duong is officially our family member!" Pho Nghien said without emotion: "Originally a family member." Then, he bowed his head and looked at me. "Let's go. Go get the household registration." A week later, another page appeared in my household registration book. Head of household: Pho Nghien. Relationship to head of household: Daughter. I stared at those two words for a long time. Daughter. I have a home. Don't have to rely on beans. Not temporarily accepted. It's home. It's dad. 【Chapter 9】 Time passed very quickly. Seven years old. Eight years old. Twelve years old. I grow up every day next to Pho Nghien. He quit smoking. On the day he adopted me, he quit. He covered up the tattoos. Not erasing it, but starting to wear long sleeves in the summer. I once asked him why. He said: "So that next time I go to a parent-teacher meeting, other parents won't think gangsters are coming to inspect the school." He learned to cook. Even though my skills are limited, I can only cook three dishes: sweet and sour ribs, fried eggs with tomatoes, and instant noodles. But every morning he wakes up at six o'clock to make me breakfast. Regardless of rain or wind. From first grade to third grade. He also learned how to tie his hair. This is the most time-consuming skill. For the first two years, my hair was like a pothole. I brought my messy hair to school, and my classmates asked me if there was a bird nesting on my head. Then, without knowing how many instructional videos he watched, he finally learned how to braid hair. But his hands are too big, the braids are always loose. I have never criticized. Even if just once. He doesn't let me call him "Uncle Pho" anymore. Probably when I was eight years old. One day, I was doing my homework and casually called out: "Uncle Pho, I can't find my eraser." He walked over and placed the eraser on my desk. Then said: "Call dad." I was stunned. He was also stunned, as if those words suddenly came out of his mouth. The two looked at each other. The air froze for three seconds. "...If you call, call." I bowed my head, my ears felt hot. "Dad, I found the eraser." He stood in place. Didn't move at all. Later, Hua Thanh told me that that night he saw Pho Nghien sitting alone in the office, looking at the household registration book for half an hour. Hua Thanh couldn't describe the expression on his face. But he said: "It's like winning five million but I can't believe it." 【Chapter 10】 Fifteen years old. Grade Nine. Puberty comes. I began to have my own thoughts and secrets. But for Pho Nghien, I have nothing to hide. Except for one thing. A male student wrote a love letter to me. The letter was folded into a heart shape and stuffed into the desk drawer. The content is very innocent, like "you are the most beautiful sun in my heart". I don't pay attention. I folded the letter and stuck it in my textbook. As a result, that night, when Pho Nghien helped me arrange my school bag... "What is this?" He held a heart-shaped piece of paper. The expression on my face looked like I was constipated. "Love letter." I sat in front of the desk and calmly answered. "Who wrote it?" "The boy in the next class." Silence. There was a silence that lasted ten seconds. "What do you think?" He asked. "Don't think about anything." "Don't agree?" "Dad." I turned back to look at him. "I'm only fifteen years old." "What about fifteen years old?" He squeezed the paper tighter. "Is someone looking at you at fifteen years old?" "...Dad, stop squeezing it, it's a letter from someone."

I wrote it." "Dad, throw it away for him." "It's up to you." He stuffed the love letter into his pocket. I thought this was over. The next day after school, I discovered that as soon as the boy writing the love letter saw me, he took a detour, his face as pale as if he had seen a ghost. On the way home, I asked Hua Thanh. Hua Thanh coughed dryly. "This afternoon, the Deputy General Director came to your school gate." "...What happened after that?" "After that he just stood there." there." Hua Thanh stopped. "Wearing a black T-shirt. Not wearing a jacket." Not wearing a jacket means all the tattoos are exposed. "The male student walked out after class and saw General Director Pho." "General Director Pho didn't say anything. Just look at him." "Just one look." "Then the other child immediately..." "What right away?" "Legs went weak." I didn't know what to say. When I returned home, Pho Nghien was standing in the kitchen choking his ribs. I leaned against the kitchen door and looked at him. "Dad." "Yes." "Did you come to scare that boy?" The child stopped for a moment. "No." "Hua Thanh said it." "Hua Thanh." It's become too much trouble." He continued to chop his ribs. "Tell him to run ten kilometers tomorrow." "Dad." "Yes." "Don't come again in the future." He stopped and looked at me. "What's wrong? Do you love it?” “No.” I sighed.