Chapter 14 — On the day of the university entrance exam, my parents forced me to take the blame for my sister

My first reaction was to take a half step back. The second reaction is to reach out to touch the phone. Luc Tram: "..." Looking at my actions, it was rare for him to show helplessness.

“Are you going to call the police?”

I embarrassedly put the phone back.

“It's just a conditioned reflex.”

He smiled softly. Laughter is very low.

“You are not from the Lam family.”

“It's not like I'm here to force you to sacrifice yourself.”

I raised my head to look at him. He looked at me very seriously.

“I don't like you because you're pitiful.”

“It's not because you inspire me.”

“But because I'm very alert.”

“Very brave.”

“It's also because when I lectured on the last math question of the university exam…”

“Your eyes glow.”

My ears suddenly felt hot.

“Your way of confessing your love is really classy.”

He thought for a moment.

“I thought about it for a long time.”

“In the end, it's still best to speak frankly.”

“You can refuse me.”

“You can also think slowly.”

“But I don't want to always use the name of friends to be with you.”

“That would leave me with no chance to choose.”

I was stunned. In my previous life, I met too many people who used force in the name of love. But what Luc Tram gave me... Is the right to choose. I bowed my head and looked at the ginkgo leaves at my feet. A long time later he said:

“Luc Tram, maybe you won't trust others easily.”

“I know.”

“I'm not good at relying on anyone either.”

"No problem."

“Sometimes you are very cold.”

He looked at me.

“I just feel like the boundaries are very clear.”

I couldn't help but laugh.

“You're very good at finding reasons to help me.”

His eyes were strangely gentle.

“Because you're not the problem.”

“The person who hurt you is the problem.”

That moment. There is something in my heart that has been tight for a long time. Suddenly relaxed. I don't agree. But don't refuse either.

“Then take it slow.”

Luc Tram nodded. The wind blows through the rows of ginkgo trees. Yellow leaves fall all over the ground. I suddenly realized. Maybe in this life, I don't need to forever refuse love because I've been hurt. Just this time... I will love myself first. Then decide whether to love someone else or not. Year of graduation. I represent excellent students of Kinh Thanh University on stage to speak. Below the hall sat many people. Grandma sat in the first row. She wore new clothes that I bought. Hair is combed neatly and neatly. Hua An Ninh sat next to her. The eyes have been red ever since. Luc Tram stood on one side of the hall, holding a camera in his hand. My parents also came. They sat in the last row. I didn't invite them. But they still come. My mother is much older than before. Dad's hair is also more than half gray. They looked at me. In his eyes there was guilt, regret, and complex emotions that could not be named. Lam Dao did not come. She is still serving her sentence. I heard that I was mentally very unstable, so I wrote many times. But I've never opened a single one. Not out of hatred. Which is no longer needed. I stood on stage and opened my prepared speech. At first I wrote a lot. But when it came time to actually speak, I just said:

“Hello everyone.”

“I am Lam Chieu.”

“A lot of people know me because of the incident that happened on college entrance exam day four years ago.”

The whole hall gradually became quiet.

“That day, someone told me that love Self-sacrifice means sacrifice.”

“Someone told me that older sisters must give way to younger sisters.”

“Someone told me my life could wait a little longer.”

“But later I understood.”

“Life cannot wait.”

“Purity cannot be surrendered.”

“Limits cannot be changed.”

Applause gradually rang out. I continue:

“I really wanted to be a child loved by my parents.”

“But then I realized, if a love forces me to give up my self-esteem, my future, my honor, even my whole life…”

“That's not love.”

“It's the chains.”

“So I took it off myself.”

“Over the past four years, I met a lot of people like me.”

“They are forced by their families to understand.”

“Forced to sacrifice by love.”

“Being pushed to the most painful place by the sentence ‘I am stronger’.”

“I want to tell them that…”

I raised my head and looked straight into the lens.

“Being strong is no reason to get hurt.”

“Understanding is not a reason to be sacrificed.”

“You can love someone else.”

“But never forget to pull yourself out of the quagmire first.”