Chapter 9 — Return to Eighteen

"I don't care what they did, I just know, Lac Tu Hanh called me because of your problem, very urgently." Lac Man stood in front of me, looking down from above. "The Lac family in Giang Thanh is famous, you marrying into it is the only way for you to change your life." I stared at her, the string in my heart was plucked violently. Getting married again. Does everyone think the only way out of my life is to marry Lac Tu Hanh? “Auntie.” I opened my mouth, my tone was cold and decisive, "My life has never needed to rely on marriage to change my life. If I really married him, I would only feel unlucky." Lac Man's face sank, her lips pursed into a straight line: "Are you sure?" I nodded: "Sure." Lac Man smirked, pulled out a business card from her bag and gave it to me. "If you think about it, call me, but don't blame me for not reminding you, if you come to this village, there won't be this store anymore." After saying that, she turned around and walked into the police station. I looked at the business card in my hand, tore it in half, and threw it into the trash can on the side of the road. I took a deep breath and walked quickly to the bus stop. My mind was confused, Lac Man's words were like a fly buzzing in my ear. "Be careful, you will meet your retribution." I clenched my fist, my nails digging deep into my palm. Is the retribution I suffered in my previous life not enough? Stomach cancer, being betrayed, being abandoned by everyone, dying in a hospital bed without even a body picker. In this life, the person who deserves retribution is not me. Returning to the slum where my grandmother rented, the moment I pushed open the door, the aroma of rib soup hit my face. Grandmother wearing an apron poked her head out from the kitchen, smiling with her eyes wide open: "Are you home? Hurry up and wash your hands, the soup just finished stewing." I changed my shoes, walked to the kitchen door, looked at my grandmother's hunched back, her nose was stinging. "Grandma, don't be busy anymore, let me do it." "No need, no need, just sit there." My grandmother pushed me away, brought a bowl of soup and placed it on the table, "Drink it while it's still hot." I sat down, picked up the bowl, the heat blurred my eyes. My grandmother sat opposite, her rough hands holding my wrist: "Ninh Ninh, is everything done?" I nodded: "Yes, they were caught." Grandma was silent for a moment, her eyes red: "If your mother sees how you look today, she will definitely be very pleased." I put down the bowl and grabbed my grandmother's hand again: "Grandma, I won't disappoint you." We looked at each other without speaking, only the heat of the rib soup rose between us. I drank the last sip of soup, put the bowl down: "Grandma, I'm going to work at the cafe." Grandma nodded: "Be careful on the road." I changed my clothes and left the house. The July sun scorched the ground. I went to the bus stop and waited ten minutes for the bus to arrive. By the time I got to the coffee shop, a thin layer of sweat was pouring down my forehead. I put on an apron, grabbed a rag and started cleaning the bar. At noon there were not many customers, the whole shop only had the low hum of the coffee machine and the cold wind blowing from the air conditioner. The wind chimes on the door jingled once. "Welcome, guests." I didn't raise my head, continuing to clean the bar. Footsteps approached, a person stood in front of the counter. Only then did I raise my head. He is a guy wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt, very tall, straight shoulders, clean and clear facial features. He was looking up at the menu board on top of his head, his eyes glanced around, then stopped on my face. Pause for a moment, then look again. "Uc Nhue Ninh?" The boy said in surprise, "What a coincidence, do you work part-time here?" I was stunned for a moment

eyes fell on the boy's clean, angular face. He wore a white T-shirt without any patterns, his figure was tall and slender, and his facial features exuded a handsome look filled with a student's temperament. Even if placed in the entire Giang Thanh No. 1 High School, this face is still among the most outstanding. "Dung Diec Lam?" I hesitantly spoke up. Hearing me say my name correctly, a bright smile appeared in the bottom of Dung Diec Lam's eyes. "It's difficult for you to still remember me." "I thought god students would always rank first like you, and would never look down to see what the person ranked second looked like." "No way." My tense nerves eased somewhat, "Have you checked your scores this time? I heard you got more than 720 points." "724 points." Dung Diec Lam's eyes stopped on my face, "I heard you signed up for Bac Dai? Me too." "What a coincidence, then we will probably be friends at the same school in the future." I smiled, handed over the menu, "What to drink?" "A glass of iced Americano is fine." Dung Diec Lam paid, brought the coffee to the corner next to the window, took out a book and flipped through it. Every once in a while, the corner of his eyes would cross the edge of the book, secretly falling on the slender back behind the bar. The afternoon sun gradually became sluggish, and customers in the cafe were few and far between.