Chapter 5 — The Daughter No One Chose

From that day on, Giang's mother thought I was angry, so she took care of me even more carefully. She loved and pampered me in every way, afraid that I would become jealous. But she doesn't know, I'm the type of person who is very petty, once I'm disappointed enough, I won't need it anymore. The day I returned to school, I deliberately stopped Tran Le right in front of the gate. “To repay you for the hospital fees, I'll cover your breakfast this week.” He was late, I quickly stuffed breakfast into his hand, then frantically ran back to class. From then on, Tran Le and I secretly kept this agreement, but on the last day, Giang Hang suddenly discovered it. He firmly said that Tran Le and I are in love soon. “Giang Khe, do you dare to fall in love early?” Giang Hang shouted loudly in the library. Seeing that everyone was starting to look uncomfortable, I quickly pulled him out. “Giang Khe, do you also like people like Tran Le?” Giang Hang clearly expressed disdain. "What kind of person? He doesn't know how many times better than you. A playboy like me, dares to open his mouth to criticize others?" I don't want to argue, so I turn around and leave. The rumors between me and Tran Le are spreading more and more, I know, it's all because Giang Hang is pulling the strings behind. “Tieu Khe, are you really hanging out with that scoundrel?” Giang's mother asked with a cold face. This was the first time I saw her being so strict. "Could it be that in everyone's eyes, I don't know how to keep to myself? Everyone says Tran Le is not good, but when I was burned, he was the first person to take me to the hospital. He is my friend, people cannot insult him." Good people like Tran Le, why do they have to suffer contempt from them? This is the first time I got angry in front of them, because of Tran Le. Seeing that I refused to admit my mistake, Giang's mother gradually softened her voice. She patted my head and gently said: "Tieu Khe, you are still young, not capable of distinguishing right from wrong, you must believe that I will not harm you." She's always been like that, giving whips and candy, my opinion will never matter. Because of Tran Le, the relationship between Giang Hang and I fell to the bottom. He looked down on Tran Le and cursed me for self-indulgence. Tran Le didn't want me to get hurt, so he also gradually started to distance himself from me. At the grill, Tran Le quietly skewered meat, treating me like air. “Tran Le, you don't want to be friends with me anymore?” “Tran Le, please look at me!” I squatted next to him, pretending to be pitiful. I understand better than anyone that Tran Le is hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He still didn't say anything until he finished his work, took out a pink scarf from his bag and gave it to me. "Get dressed and go home. It's a mess here, I don't feel safe with you staying." "Is it for me? Isn't pink a bit childish?" I rarely joke. “You… you don't like it?” The teenager stammered, his ears turning red. “I like it very much, thank you.” Even though it's not too cold right now, how could I not love the gift you gave me with such seriousness? I took a few candies from my pocket and put them in his hand: "A return gift, even though you gave it to me, I still want you to try it." The candy is very sweet, I hope Tran Le can also feel happy, because his life is so miserable. Time passes very quickly, in the blink of an eye it's already New Year's Eve. Because he knew I wanted to celebrate New Year's Eve, Tran Le rarely worked part-time. They still don't like Tran Le, let's get out Outside, I could only lie and say I went to my friend's house to study. “Go slowly.” As soon as he saw me running out, Tran Le immediately reminded me. It's quite cold today, I took out the scarf I knitted and gave it to him, shyly saying: "I'm not very good at knitting, please try harder!" Tran Le immediately put on his scarf and smiled brightly: "It's not painful at all." He took me to the ice skating rink, it was my first time there. “Tran Le, I'm scared.” I held the railing tightly, not daring to step. “Jiang Khe, believe me, I won't let you fall.” Tran Le reached out towards me, his voice very serious. I grabbed his hand and started to slide slowly. For the first time, I saw Tran Le so happy, he forgot all his worries and returned to being a lively, optimistic boy. It was getting dark, he and I wandered around the night market. When I stopped in front of the animal claw machine, Tran Le asked: "Have you never played before?" I shook my head and smiled: "My adoptive parents are just ordinary workers, so they can't bear to use their hard-earned money to spend on random things." “Then let's try it out this time.” He didn't say another word, just put the coin into the machine. Finally, I looked at the small pile of coins left in his hand and said sadly: "Go play." The animal was picked up and Tran Le gave it to me, along with the words "Happy New Year." Feeling Tran Le's sincerity, my heart warmed up. As Tran Le and I walked side by side on the street, a man's voice rang out behind us. “Tieu Le, please lend me some money.” A bearded man rushed forward and held out his hand to Tran Le. Tran Le quickly put me behind him, his face immediately turned cold again. “My mother was killed by you, do you still have the face to come find me?” "Tieu Le, Dad has no choice. The creditors said that if I don't pay back soon, they will take my life." The man cried and wiped his nose. Tran Le was unmoved. After a while, he turned back and said to me: "Giang Khe, wait for me here, I'll be right back." Then he pulled him into a small alley. I didn't feel secure, so I quietly followed. The alley was so quiet that you could clearly hear the sound of Tran Le cracking his knuckles. “Tieu Le, dad is your dad, what you do is disrespectful.” The man trembled with fear. Tran Le's anger reached its peak, he swung his hand and punched him straight in the face. Seeing Tran Le gradually losing control, I quickly rushed to hug him, chokingly said: "Tran Le, don't hit me anymore, I'm scared." When he finally woke up, he took the opportunity to run away. Under the dim light, Tran Le sat down on the ground tiredly, like a wounded little animal. I sat next to him, quietly beside him. After a while, Tran Le spoke up: "To repay his debt, my mother had to do several jobs at the same time, and in the end she died from overwork." "Because of him, I became the child of a bankrupt, everyone stayed away from me." “Giang Khe, I'm really sad.” Tran Le's red eyes looked at me, full of despair.