Chapter 12 — Return to Eighteen

Ms. Vuong nodded: "With my score, it's not a problem. What about Dung Diec Lam?" "Math." Dung Diec Lam said, then glanced at me, "Coming to Bac Dai, we can still be neighbors. The Biology and Mathematics departments are very close to each other." Ms. Vuong smiled and said: "You two are the school's two trump cards this year. Let's make Wechat friends, then we can also take care of each other." I took out my phone and opened the QR code. Dung Diec Lam scanned the code and quickly sent a friend request. His Wechat profile picture is a deep blue night sky, the display name is “Lin”. “Accepted.” Dung Diec Lam put away the phone, raised his eyebrows, "I'll cover it for you later." "Thank you." I laughed. Everything went very smoothly, Bac Dai's scholarship covered all tuition fees, and the high school also gave me an additional bonus of 300,000. I transformed directly into a little rich lady. When leaving school, Dung Diec Lam walked beside me. The summer wind blew through the rows of sycamore trees, spreading a dappled shade. “Do you still work part-time at that coffee shop?” He asked. “Yes.” “What time do you get off work?” I glanced at him: “Why are you asking this?” The corner of Dung Diec Lam's lips curled up: "Nothing, just thinking that if I ever want to drink coffee, I won't have to bother coming and not see her." I nodded, smiled and said goodbye to him: "Okay, come more." Dung Diec Lam stood in place, looking at my back, until the bus disappeared at the intersection, then he withdrew his gaze. Two days have passed in the blink of an eye. Every day I leave early and come home late, busy at the coffee shop, everything seems to have calmed down again. But I always felt something was wrong. At ten o'clock that evening, I closed the shop and walked alone towards the bus stop. Not even fifty meters away, I discovered that someone was following me. I walked faster, and the other person's steps also sped up. My heart started pounding, I pulled out my phone to call the police. A man's voice suddenly came from behind, carrying high-pitched anger. "You brat, you hurt me so badly and you still want to run away!" I turned around sharply, my pupils constricting. Under the streetlight, Uc Kien Quoc stood not far from me with a gloomy face, his eyes streaked with blood, like a mad bull. Lam Tu Cuc stood next to him, a strange excitement on his face, the corner of his mouth even showing a smug smile. "You guys..." I instinctively took a step back, tightening my grip on the phone. "Do you want to call the police?" Uc Kien Quoc rushed to steal my phone, threw it hard on the ground. He grabbed my arm, with such force that it seemed to crush my bones: "Come home with me!" "Let me go!" I struggled violently, kicking him in the shin. Uc Kien Quoc groaned, raised his hand and gave me a slap. "Shut!" My face tilted to one side, my ears were ringing, and the corner of my mouth was bleeding. Lam Tu Cuc grabbed my armpit from the other side and hissed harshly: "Stop fighting, bring someone back first, being seen by anyone will be troublesome." Uc Kien Quoc's face turned black. He pulled out a cotton towel from his pocket and covered my mouth and nose. A chemical smell rushed straight into my nasal cavity, my consciousness instantly began to blur. When I woke up again, I found myself lying in the same bedroom that the Australian family had lived in for eighteen years. The wrists were tied with rope, the other end tied to the foot of the bed. I moved and discovered that there was nothing in my mouth, but my throat was as dry as if it were on fire. The door was pushed open. Uc Kien Quoc walked in, holding a glass of water, with anger, fatigue, and something incomprehensible on his face. "Drink some water." He placed the glass of water on the nightstand, without untying the rope. I stared at him, my voice hoarse: "What do you want to do?" Uc Kien

Quoc pulled a chair and sat down, was silent for a long time before speaking: "Nhue Ninh, dad doesn't want to treat you like this. But you don't understand." "I don't understand?" Tears welled up in my eyes, but I gritted my teeth and endured it, not letting them fall. "Dad, I'm also your biological son, why do you treat me like that?" Au Kien Quoc's expression stiffened a bit. My voice trembled: "Is it because your mother is dead that you don't deserve anything in this house?" Uc Kien Quoc was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "Your mother? You and your mother are exactly the same, both are in the way." His voice was full of cold disgust, "That year, if your mother hadn't lived and died to give birth to you, I would have divorced her long ago to marry Tu Cuc!" "Your mother died, I thought I was finally freed, but as a result, there was a debt collector like you!" My heart felt like it was being hit by a blunt ax, it hurt so much that I couldn't breathe. Uc Kien Quoc stood up and turned his back. "Nhue Dao is more thoughtful than you, more understanding than you, but her health is not good, she needs this opportunity more than you!" "You repeat a year and then take the exam again, and your family doesn't support you. Can't you give in to your sister a little? Raising you for eighteen years, asking you to give up just one exam score is not okay?" Give in to your sister a little.