Chapter 5 — Return to Save Yourself

He looked at me. "Defending yourself is not called scheming." "Harming others is called scheming." At that moment, my eye sockets almost turned red. In my previous life, Pho Dien always said I thought too much. He said I was sensitive, said I didn't understand, said I couldn't live without him. But Co Lam Chu said. I'm defending myself. Police quickly investigated the origin of the photo. Pho Dien went online to find a photo of the admission notice, then hired someone to make a fake one. He also took advantage of the time my grandmother was sitting in the yard peeling beans, coaxing her to hold the red paper to take pictures, saying he wanted to make a surprise video for me. The police found the detailed plan in his notes. "If you can't get the original, then force the school to check." "Her family is poor, as long as public opinion puts pressure on, the school out of caution will suspend admission." "As long as the application deadline is extended, there is still a chance for her to return home." When I saw those words, my whole body felt cold. After the case entered the investigation stage, Pho Dien asked his mother to pass on the information to me. He said he was ready to apologize to me. He said he was just too afraid of losing me. He said that if I wrote a letter of dismissal, he would never appear in front of me again. I conveyed those words to the police in full. When Co Lam Chu came with me to testify, he asked: "Do you regret it?" I shook my head. "No regrets." "This is not the first time he harmed me." Co Lam Chu looked at me. I know this sentence sounds strange. But he didn't ask further. After a while, he said: "Then let him pay the price he deserves." I replied softly. When the verdict was announced, I was in my second semester of first year. Pho Dien was sentenced to five years and six months for falsifying evidence, falsely accusing him of harm, and infringing on rights related to communications. His parents were not satisfied and appealed but were rejected. On the day of sentencing, I arrived. Pho Dien stood in the defendant's position, much thinner than on the first day of school. As soon as he saw me, his eyes immediately turned red. "Thanh Hoa, you were wrong." "I really know I was wrong." "Can you give me one more chance?"9. I looked at him. In the hospital room of my previous life, this same mouth said: "Women should kneel down and wait for alms." In this life, whether he kneels or not has nothing to do with me. I just said: "Pho Dien, I hope you go in there and study well." The look of regret on his face immediately turned into resentment. "Hua Thanh Hoa, don't be complacent!" "Then you will find out that no one loves you like me!" I laughed. "That's really good." When I walked out of the court, the sunlight was a bit blinding. Grandma sat on the steps waiting for me. Her legs were not strong, but she was still determined to come to Kinh Chau with me to hear the verdict. As soon as she saw me, she immediately stood up. "Is it over?" I nodded. "It's over." She held my hand, her palm rough but warm. "Then go back to school." "It's almost late for class." The bridge of my nose stung and I burst out laughing. "Grandma, right now you take attendance more seriously than me." "Of course." She glared at me. “Your granddaughter came here to study, not to miss class.”After returning to school, my life was finally quiet. Go to class, do your homework, go to the library. Occasionally eat with Co Lam Chu. He studied Law, I studied Journalism. We usually meet on the same floor in the library. He reads law, I read communication books. No one bothers anyone. Sometimes, when I raise my head, I will see him placing a cup of hot soy milk in my hand. Don't say anything. I didn't ask either. I know I'm not suitable to start a new relationship right now. I had just crawled out of a rotten relationship. There are still invisible wounds on his body.

Co Lam Chu never pressed me. He just stood firmly where I could see him. My second year of college, I became interested in control and emotional abuse in intimate relationships. I wrote my first in-depth report. The title is: “Prison named love”. The lecturer gave a very high score and also said that there was an extremely intense personal pain in the article. I smiled, without explanation. Because it wasn't something I imagined and wrote down. It's what I exchange for after I die once. After that, grandmother moved to Kinh Chau. I rented a small room for her near the school. Every day she goes to the market to buy food and chat with the grandparents living downstairs. Her favorite thing to do is carry a small cloth bag and go to school to wait for me to finish school. She always said to everyone she met: "That's my niece, a student at Kinh Bac University." At first I felt embarrassed. After that, I ignored her. This is the pride she deserves. In my previous life, I let her die with her injustice. In this life, I want her to stand in the sunlight and live straight. The year he graduated from college, Pho Dien was still in prison. I was recruited straight to graduate school. Co Lam Chu also successfully interned at a law office.