Chapter 21 — Return to Eighteen

Lac Tu Hanh approached and stopped in front of me. The corners of his eyes were red, his voice was hoarse: "Nhue Ninh, sorry." I looked at him, not a bit of anger, not a bit of resentment, not even a sigh of pity. I just looked at him, like I was looking at a stranger. "Lac Tu Hanh, your apology is not worth a penny." Lac Tu Hanh's lips trembled, as if he wanted to explain something, but Dung Diec Lam stepped forward from behind, standing next to me. "Let's go." I nodded, turned on my heel and walked out the door. The moment he stepped out of the court, bright yellow sunlight bounced straight down on the ground. Grandma stood waiting under the steps, leaning on her cane, tears rolling down her wrinkles. "Ninh Ninh, are you done?" I walked over and took my grandmother's arm. "It's done, grandma." "August 15, it's sunny, suitable to start a new life." I know, from today, my life really begins. The night the court announced the verdict, I slept soundly. No nightmares, no startled awakenings, slept straight until morning. When I woke up, sunlight had filtered through the window, drawing a shiny golden line on the bed sheet. Grandma is cooking porridge in the kitchen, the aroma of millet spreads throughout the room. The next few days passed as if I pressed the fast forward button. Dung Diec Lam appears almost every day. We walked all over Giang Thanh, from the riverside dike to the park on top of the mountain, from the ancient alleys of the old quarter to the bustling commercial centers of the new urban area. The days just passed by, quietly and peacefully like water. At the end of August, the admission date is approaching. On the day of departure, at exactly 7:30 a.m., Dung Diec Lam was downstairs. His grandmother held his hand and kept telling him: "Since you've arrived in Beijing, you two remember to rely on each other. If there's anything, let's discuss it together." Dung Diec Lam smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, grandmother, I will take good care of Nhue Ninh." Taxi is already parked at the beginning of the alley. We got in the car, I rolled down the window, turned my head to look at my grandmother standing at the end of the alley. She was leaning on a cane, her gray hair blown a bit by the morning wind. I waved goodbye to her, she also waved back. The car turned the corner and the grandmother's figure disappeared. I leaned back in the chair, my eyes suddenly burning. Dung Diec Lam didn't say anything, just quietly placed a package of tissues next to my hand. Arriving at the airport, we finished checking in for tickets and checking in our luggage. With one hour left until boarding time, we found a cafe to rest. I held a glass of water and looked out the large glass window at the planes continuously taking off and landing. An indescribable feeling of magic suddenly arose in my heart. In my previous life, I had never taken a train to leave Jiangcheng, but in this life, I was about to arrive in Beijing. Suddenly there was a call from an unknown number. I picked up the phone, and on the other end of the line, Lac Tu Hanh's urgent and panicked voice rang out: "Nhue Ninh, you're at the airport, right?" I frowned: "Lac Tu Hanh, I told you, don't look for me anymore." His voice was almost pleading: “I know I was wrong, I know I'm sorry to you, give me a chance, let me meet and explain clearly to you——” “There's nothing to say.” I was about to hang up. Lac Tu Hanh shouted: "What gate number are you at? You don't see me, I will look for each gate one by one, until I find you!" I tightened my grip on the phone. Dung Diec Lam looked at my expression and asked softly: "Lac Tu Hanh?" I nodded, took a deep breath: "Just let him come, one last time." Twenty minutes later, Lac Tu Hanh appeared at the door of the coffee shop. His hair was messy, his eyes were streaked with blood, dark circles under his eyes, and his whole body was visibly thin. Seeing me, his eyes suddenly lit up and he quickly walked towards me. Coming closer, he is new

saw Dung Diec Lam sitting next to me. Lac Tu Hanh's steps stopped, the expression on his face changed from joy to awkwardness. But he still came forward and held out the bouquet of flowers in front of me. His voice trembled: "What happened in the past was all my fault. I shouldn't have favored Au Nhue Dao, I shouldn't have disbelieved you, I shouldn't have advised you to withdraw your application... I was all wrong. Can you give me a chance and let me start over?" I did not accept that bouquet of flowers. I stood up, calmly looked at Lac Tu Hanh, my voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "Lac Tu Hanh, do you know what your biggest problem is? It's that you never value me." "In your eyes, I'm just an attachment, you think that if you say one wrong thing, I have to forgive you, have to turn back to you." I paused for a moment. "But Lac Tu Hanh, I don't love you. You hear me clearly. yet?” Lac Tu Hanh's hands holding the flowers began to tremble, his eyes turned red, his lips trembled and he was unable to speak. I stood up, picked up my bag: "What needs to be said has been said. Lac Tu Hanh, let's never meet again in this life." I turned around and walked out, Dung Diec Lam following me. Lac Tu Hanh stood frozen in place, watching the two people walk out of the coffee shop side by side, their backs gradually disappearing into the bustling stream of people.