Chapter 23 — The Child You Never Knew

“What about the truth?”

*"Those photos are scenes of Khuong Niem telling stories and doing homework with the child. It has nothing to do with the program's mission. But the angle of the photo is intentionally misleading."* Khuong Niem put the phone on her lap, looking up at the slogan hanging on the wall of the waiting area opposite: "Every child is a unique star." She smiled once. That smile was as cold as the capital's October wind. During the afternoon critical interview, Tieu Chau came in for forty-five minutes. Khuong Niem waited outside the door. She didn't get up to walk around, didn't look at her phone impatiently, or talk to any of the parents. She just sat there, her hands on her knees, her eyes occasionally directed towards the closed door. The door opens. Tieu Chau walked out, the expression on her face was no different from before entering. He walked to Khuong Niem, sat down, and drank a sip of water his mother gave him.

“How are you?”

“An old man asked me a very strange question.”

“What question?”

“He said, ‘If the whole world says my mother is lying, how can I prove she's not lying?'”

Khuong Niem's hand stopped.

“How do you answer?”

Tieu Chau put down the glass of water and remembered very seriously. "I said, I don't need to prove it. Because a liar's way of speaking will be different from someone telling the truth. If you look closely, you can tell the difference. When my mother talks, the corners of her mouth have never been tilted." Khuong Niem did not speak.

“Then the old man burst out laughing.” Tieu Chau added, “Laughed for a long time.”

Twenty minutes later, the person in charge appeared again. His expression was very different from that of the morning, from a neutral look to a hard-to-conceal enthusiasm.

“Miss Khuong, the preliminary feedback from the evaluation board is already available.” He said, "Your child's performance in the feedback section, the three judges unanimously rated it at the highest level. Regarding that denunciation letter, the board said that the content lacked factual evidence and did not affect the evaluation results."

He stopped and pulled out a piece of paper with a red stamp from the file.

"This is a direct admission notice. Your son has officially been accepted by the Genius Children's Club. The admission will take effect from next semester."

Khuong Niem received the notice. Her hands are very steady. Tieu Chau stuck her head out to see. “Mom, did I pass?”

"So can we go eat hot pot, mom? You promised that if I passed, I would invite you to eat hot pot."

“If you promise, let's go.”

The person in charge standing next to him smiled. "Miss Khuong, your son is very special. Not only is he intelligent, but deep down he has a kind of talent. I don't know how to describe it, but the three judges said one thing to each other in private. They said this child seems to have been protected by a very powerful person while growing up." Khuong Niem folded the notice and put it in her bag. "Nothing harmful. Just a lot of effort." She took Tieu Chau's hand and walked out of the office building. The capital's October sunlight shines on the two people, Tieu Chau's shadow is very short, Khuong Niem's shadow is very long, falling behind each other.

“In the future I will make a lot of money.” Tieu Chau said, "From now on, mom won't have to look at anyone's face anymore."

Khuong Niem bowed her head and looked at her child. When the five year old and three month old child said these words, his tone was more certain than most adults.

“You just need to grow up and you'll be fine.” Khuong Niem rubbed her child's hand, "Let me see about your face."

The two walked along the sidewalk for a while. In front there is a hot pot restaurant, there is a queue in front of the door. Tieu Chau looked up at the sign and seriously analyzed: "This restaurant is too expensive. The restaurant in front is cheaper, the taste should be similar."

“How do you know?”

"A restaurant with an old sign is usually open for a long time. Having been open for a long time proves that the flavor is good. A newly renovated restaurant is twice as expensive, but it's not necessarily delicious."

Khuong Niem took her child to the front of the shop. Just keep walking, keep walking, suddenly she saw the bridge of her nose. It's not sad. But it's a different feeling. It was like a place that had been hidden for three years finally had some light shining in. She took a deep breath, swallowing the bitter taste.

“Go quickly.” She urged, "Let's go wait in line."

"Yes." Tieu Chau walked quickly, her small feet quickly moving forward.

A mother and daughter in the autumn weather of the Capital walked into a hot pot restaurant with a slightly old sign. The second week after returning from the capital, Wen Tam Duyet's case had new developments. It's not a case of falsifying financial records. That line is progressing slowly, still in the evidence gathering stage. What explodes is another matter. Wen Tam Duyet's former assistant accepted an interview with an investigative reporter. The interview content was posted online just as Khuong Niem was cooking dinner in the kitchen. La Dong made seven phone calls but she didn't pick up. In the end, she had to send a voice message: "Quickly go online and watch. Wen Tam Duyet's old assistant has spoken. The video from three years ago is not just a matter of cutting and collage. It was basically staged by Wen Tam Duyet. She arranged for someone to film it at the scene, deliberately provoking you, waiting for you to not be able to hold back your emotions before cropping and distorting the truth. Moreover, when she went on the show, she Pho Tu Nien was completely unaware of this plan." Khuong Niem put the ladle on the kitchen counter. The voice message continued: "The old assistant said she kept the chat history and photos of the planning script at that time. She kept it for three years. Because back then, when she was fired, Wen Tam Duyet threatened her, saying that if she dared to reveal even a word, she wouldn't be able to work in this industry again. But now Wen Tam Duyet can't even carry a snail's body, she's not afraid anymore." Khuong Niem turned off the stove and walked out to the living room. Tieu Chau was lying face down on the tea table solving a math problem, without even raising her head.