Chapter 12 — The Last Gift Is Goodbye

When I had just finished the recital and had not even had time to get off the stage, he stood up from the third row and strode onto the stage. On his hand is a ring. In front of more than a thousand people, he walked in front of me.

"Lam Niem."

"Marry me."

"I want to hear it all my life."

"Hear what?"

"Listen to me play."

I smiled right in front of thousands of spectators: "Okay." The wedding was not held in private, we only invited Dao Nhien, lawyer Vuong Van, Trieu Nhat Nhien and a few really close friends. Today I returned to the Academy of Music because the Trieu Duc Hinh Foundation had a fundraising ceremony here. As soon as I reached the hall door, several students recognized me.

"Miss Lam! Can Miss Lam sign for me?"

"Where to sign?"

The girl held out a CD cover, which was my latest album cover. After signing, the girl hugged the CD tightly and ran away. The hall was packed with people. I stepped onto the stage, looking down at hundreds of young faces below. After the host finished introducing my resume — Champion of the International Chopin Competition, artist contracted to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, founder of the Trieu Duc Hinh Music Foundation — he invited me to speak. I stood in front of the microphone, thought for a moment, then said, "There's nothing worth mentioning." There was laughter below.

"Say something serious!"

I looked at them and said in a low voice: "There are very difficult paths. There will be people who will hurt you, there will be people who will take away what belongs to you, and there will be people who will find every way to make it impossible for you to get up." I raised my left hand. Those three fingers appeared extremely clearly under the light.

"But as long as these hands are there, as long as you want to play — no one can really make you stop."

The whole hall was silent for two seconds, and then there was thunderous applause. When I got off the stage, I saw Tham Dien standing in the last row of the hall. He leaned his back against the wall, hands in his pockets, quietly looking at me. I walked over: "Why are you here? Didn't you say there was a meeting today?"

"Looking at your appearance standing on stage giving a speech, it looks much more pleasing to the eye than going to a meeting."

I nudged him: "Let's go, let's go home." We walked out of the hall, shoulder to shoulder. The autumn wind blows and leaves fall all over the ground. He took my hand. Those three fingers were firmly covered by his fingers. It's so warm. Ah, that's right. Later, someone asked me: "Do you hate Co Hoai Tham and Giang Uyen Thanh?" After being released from prison, Co Hoai Tham moved to the South. It is said that he opened a construction materials store in a small district, but business was not very good. After Giang Uyen Thanh's probation ended, she disappeared from public view. Some people said they had seen her in a small country in Southeast Asia, her appearance was completely different from before. Chu Ngoc Lan had a stroke not long after Co Hoai Tham went to prison, and now has to use a wheelchair. As for Giang Duc Vinh's business, it is getting worse and worse. Last year, Giang Thi Group was acquired by a state-owned enterprise. When asked by reporters, my answer was simply —

"Those people?"

I bowed my head and looked at the faint calluses on my left fingers from pressing the keys, calmly Answer:

"I already forgot everything."