Chapter 3 — People Come In The Cold Windy Night

21 But he turned to the shop owner: "Give me ten meat buns, two braised eggs, and one cup of hot soy milk." While the boss was wrapping the cake, Te Triet's phone rang. As soon as he answered the phone, his voice immediately became obedient: "Hello, mom... I don't play games, I just went out to study with friends at midnight." “Yes yes yes, I'll be right back.” Hanging up, he quickly paid, thrust the bag of dumplings and soy milk into my hand: "My mother called home, take it and eat it, be careful on the way." After speaking, he turned around and walked away. 22 I held the bag of dumplings and soy milk, stood quietly in one place, watching his back disappear around the corner of the street. Tears fell onto the plastic bag, forming small wet streaks. But... Qi Triet, I don't have a home to go back to. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in my ear: "Okay, follow me home." I looked up and saw him appear in front of me again. He was panting, sweat beaded on his forehead. Before I could speak, he scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly: "It's an emergency... You come back and testify for me, prove that I went out to study with you in the middle of the night, otherwise my mother will beat me to death." "Also, lately Tieu Hoang Hoang has been calling me a real dog every day, telling me to steal his food. Please come back and explain to me." I looked at him blankly, tears still lingering on my eyelashes. "What? Big brother was in trouble and you didn't help?" "Help!" He held my hand: "That's it, follow me!" His hand was warm, pulling me across the quiet street of the early morning. The wind was still blowing, but with him holding my hand, I didn't feel cold anymore. 23 Qi Triet's anti-theft door is made of heavy, dark wood, and when pushed open it makes almost no sound. The mysterious entrance is covered with soft carpets. Setting foot on it is like falling into a cloud. I awkwardly backed out the door, afraid of dirtying his carpet. “Mom, I'm home!” Qi Triet just finished calling - A beautiful aunt holding a coat hanger rushed towards him and slapped him: "Sneaking out to play games! How dare you trick your mother into going to study!" He dodged and shouted fiercely: "Mom, mom, mom! I didn't lie to you! I really went out to study, I even brought witnesses here for you to see!" 24 “Witnesses?” The coat hanger in Te Triet's mother's hand stopped in mid-air. When she turned her head to look out the door, I timidly waved: "Hello... hello." “This is Vu Diem Diem, my tablemate!” He took the opportunity to snatch the coat hanger from my mother's hand and solemnly introduced me: "Class valedictorian! Last month's exam, Math even got a perfect score!" Te Triet's mother immediately smiled like a flower: "Oh my, Diem Diem! Come in quickly, it's cold out there." I nervously tightened my grip on my bag: "I... thank you." She enthusiastically took slippers from the shoe cabinet. Qi Triet's shoe cabinet is made of carved wood, divided into many floors. His sneakers alone took up an entire floor. And my canvas shoes, discolored from repeated washing, looked completely out of place. 25 “Come on, Diem Diem, let's wear this pair.” She gave me a pair of pink cotton slippers: "New slippers, no one has ever worn them." Entering the living room, the scent of gardenia wafts in the air, completely different from the musty smell all year round in my house. Te Triet's mother pulled me to sit on the sofa, the leather chair sank a bit. I quickly sat down, only daring to let half of my body touch the chair, for fear of wrinkling the surface. She took a cookie from the plate said to me: "This cake is made by the housekeeper, try it." Then he turned to blame his lover: "Your Triet boy has a slow mind. He must be bothering you a lot lately, isn't he?" Hearing that, he immediately shouted: "Mom! I just learned wrongly!" "Studying wrongly? None of the six subjects you can pass, I think you're... born stupid." 26 “Vu Diem Diem.” Qi Triet suddenly spoke up. "Can you stay here all the time? Help me study." His mother's eyes lit up, she held my hand, smiling brightly: "That's great! Please help me take care of Triet properly." I quietly said "yes". The days at the Qi family were good. Qi Triet is very, very good. His mother is also very, very good. It was so good that I almost forgot - I was just a mouse who accidentally wandered into someone else's magnificent palace, secretly admiring the happiness that didn't belong to me. 27 After the National Day holiday, my scholarship was distributed. Round two thousand yuan. The day I received the money, I invited Te Triet to a meal. He loudly boasted that he would "slash" me for good. Then, with a fiery spirit, he entered the noodle shop and ordered... two ounces of green bean noodles with meat sauce. I told the boss to give him two more braised eggs. He picked one and put it in my bowl: "How classy, you dare to order two eggs for me, are you planning on wasting money?" I held the chopsticks and said seriously: "Qi Triet, I will definitely invite you to eat more delicious dishes in the future." He didn't pay much attention, just took a big mouthful of noodles: "Is the green bean noodles with meat sauce not delicious yet? It's really overdone." Then suddenly he gave me a phone: "Hey, big brother gave me a scholarship." 28 I don't dare admit: "It's expensive... it's too expensive." Just now I saw that the two thousand yuan scholarship was a large amount, but this phone, just by looking at it, I knew it was definitely far beyond that amount. He didn't let me refuse, he thrust it straight into my hand: "Take it! This is an order from big brother!" "My number is saved in the phone. In the future, when I call, I must pick up the phone immediately, and my message must be answered immediately." He coughed slightly, his voice a bit forced: "Also, when you have nothing to eat or a place to go, contact me. If you live miserable like that, I, as the big brother, will lose face, you know?!" My tears fell onto the phone screen. “I know… thank you, boss.” Looking into his sparkling eyes, I suddenly felt the taste of the bowl of green bean noodles with meat sauce in front of me seeping into my heart - both numb and hot. 29 "If you really want to thank me, then help me choose a gift. This weekend when I confessed my love, Luc Dao kept criticizing my rustic taste." He opened the phone and handed it to me: "Here, I chose this style a long time ago. What color do you think is beautiful?" On the screen is a delicate diamond necklace. After the listed number was a long series of zeros, making my eyes glare. I said softly: "Rose gold." Qi Triet said "oh" and clicked a few times on the screen: "Thank you, Tieu Diem Diem." In the noodle shop, the heater turned on very warm, but I felt a cold flow from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet - cold to my heart. 30 I bowed my head, used chopsticks to stir the noodles in the bowl, my eyes suddenly stinging. Teenage feelings are clear as day from the beginning. Because of Luc Dao, he persistently gave breakfast for many months, not repeating the dish. Because of a "like" from her, I went around three streets just to buy a cream puff that had just come out of the oven. Because of choosing the wire Gave it to her, considering the design and color over and over again. … This story was already written from the beginning. He is not my moon, that moon rises only to guide someone else's sunset. As for me - just someone who happened to be standing in the darkness that he passed by, accidentally picking up some of the moonlight left behind. 31 All day Monday, until self-study time in the evening, Qi Triet's seat was still empty. The whispers of the two female students in front of the table were like needles poking into my ears: "Did you hear that, last week when Qi Triet confessed to him, Luc Dao rejected him, and yet he pulled 6th grader Ton Vu to block her way! When he was rejected, he immediately retaliated, what a dirty coward." "Why, now that my parents locked me in the house and forced me to reflect, I heard that I'm about to be transferred back to the regular class." A male student wearing glasses interjected with a sarcastic voice: "You kind of trash who relies on a little house money to be arrogant, go away and clean up the class." The female student at the front table suddenly deliberately said loudly: "Do you remember? Before National Day, he stole things from home to sell, even dog food!" “It's true that people with unclean hands and feet, from head to toe are rotten.” “You guys talk nonsense!” My scream rang out, I was also stunned. Normally I never argue with anyone, and rarely even say it out loud. 32 The noisy atmosphere in the classroom suddenly froze, dozens of eyes simultaneously turned to me. The two girls at the front table were startled and turned around, a disdainful smile still on the corners of their lips: "Vu Diem Diem, what are you in a hurry for? Are you and him on the same side?" Her tablemate chimed in: "That's right, I usually never open my mouth, why are you so excited today?" I stood up suddenly, the chair leg grinding against the floor made a shrill sound: "Something that you have not witnessed with your own eyes but are fabricating wildly is slander, and in serious cases it can constitute a crime. What you just said, Qi Triet can absolutely report it to the police. If you are not guilty, then go ahead." Their mouths moved a few times but in the end they didn't dare to say more and quietly turned around. The boy wearing glasses sneered: "You say you don't have it, you don't have it? You protect him, so you like him, right?" Whistles and laughter immediately echoed throughout the classroom. "I ask you, are you saying yes? Where's the evidence?! Are you defaming him like that because you're jealous because he's rich?" I stared at him, my voice trembling, but absolutely refused to bow my head.