Chapter 12 — The Child You Never Knew

The boy stopped for a moment, his eyes moved away from On Tam Duyet's face, looking down at the stands where Khuong Niem was sitting.

“Then I will protect mother.”

Khuong Niem sat in the third row of the stands, her hands clasped together, her knuckles white. She could feel the surrounding audience turning to look at her, but she only looked at the small figure on the stage. On the judges' bench, another judge spoke first: "This answer, 98 points." The third judge raised the board, 95 points. Wen Tam Duyet was the last person to raise the sign. 80 points. 80 points. Lower than the lowest score of all other contestants. The comment section at this moment seemed to be split in half. One part said *"The grading is reasonable, the answer is off topic, the question is 'how', not 'why'"*. The larger part said *"On what basis do you give 80? This answer is better than everyone"*. *"Does Wen Tam Duyet have any grudge against Khuong Niem? Deliberately trying to force points on other people's children?"* *"That's too much, it's amazing for a five-year-old child to answer with such depth."* *"That's right, every sentence in the answer is right to the point, what does Wen Tam Duyet mean by 80 points?"* The director said something through the headset, Wen Tam Duyet then added in front of the camera: "I saw Chau Chau pay Very sincere words, but in terms of logical completeness, there is still room for improvement. 80 points is an encouragement, not a negative." Her tone was sweet, like she was comforting a upset child. Three rounds ended. When synthesizing the scores, a delicate situation appeared: If that question was given by Wen Tam Duyet over 90 points, Tieu Chau's total score would be first. But because of that 80 points, the boy tied with Doa Doa.

“In case of a tie, according to the rules, there will be an extra round.” The director announced.

Additional round questions were improvised by the judges present at the scene. On Tam Duyet raised his hand: "Let me give you the question." The director hesitated a bit. The producer - Mr. Ton - from backstage handed out a small piece of paper, the director glanced at it and nodded. Wen Tam Duyet stood up, walked to the front of the stage, squatted in front of Tieu Chau and Doa Doa, leading one child in one hand, like a gentle sister.

“Last question, very simple.” She smiled and said, "What kind of person do you think is worthy of being a good mother?"

Khuong Niem's back was straight for a moment. This question is not to ask the children. It's a question for the 48 million viewers watching the livestream. No matter how you answer, the topic will be led in the direction of "Is Khuong Niem a good mother or not?" Doa Doa answered first: "A good mother is the one who buys you a beautiful dress and takes you to the amusement park." The audience laughed. Warm, lovely, standard answer. Then it was Tieu Chau's turn. Tieu Chau did not immediately speak. The boy looked at Wen Tam Duyet squatting in front of him and tilted his head slightly.

“You want me to say my mother is not good, right?”

The whole hall seemed to have pressed the mute button. Wen Tam Duyet's smile cracked a gap, but quickly mended it. "Why does Chau Chau think like that? I just want to hear your thoughts."

“So you say.” Tieu Chau's voice was calm, neither angry nor afraid, "A good mother is someone who can raise her grandchildren by herself. When everyone else speaks ill of you, mother." I didn't cry, but I still went home and continued to cook for my grandchild. When someone wants to take you away from me, I'm not afraid of anything."

The boy paused for a moment.

“My mother is a good mother. No need for others to grade.”

48 million people online. The comment stopped for a full three seconds. Then it poured out like a broken dam. *"I'm already crying."* *"This child really understands things to the point of making people feel sad."* *"What did Khuong Niem go through?"* *"For a five-year-old child to say these words, what kind of life must be behind it?"* On Tam Duyet stood up, forced a smile and returned to the judge's chair. Her steps were very steady, but when she walked to the edge of the chair, she had to put her hands on the edge of the table to sit down. Khuong Niem sat in the stands, not crying. She dug her nails into her palms, her vision clearly focused on the small figure on the stage. The director announced that he was entering the stage of final score statistics. While waiting for statistics, the big screen began replaying unique moments of each family in the program. Tieu Chau's group's retrospective video includes a scene of bargaining at the second-hand market, a negotiation at the vegetable market, and an escape through an intellectual maze. The collage is smooth, touching, and the comments are cheering. Then the image changes to the episode where Wen Tam Duyet leads Tieu Chau on a puzzle task. The voiceover says: "Under the dedicated guidance of Wen Tam Duyet, Chau Chau excellently completed the task." In the picture, On Tam Duyet and Tieu Chau sit next to each other, she smiles and hands the puzzle, the boy obediently accepts it.