Chapter 3 — The Night Before Exam Day

“Just now you were holding the phone and dialing.” “I was just checking the time.” He looked at me, deep in his eyes carrying a certainty that made me chill. “Manh Chi, you can't blame all the bad things on me because of a nightmare.” My breathing stopped for a beat. I never told him about the dream. Even my mother doesn't know. Ms. Tan immediately looked at me. I didn't explain, just stared at Tham Chu. "How did you know I was dreaming?" Tham Chu's eyes slightly paused. Ha Vu Vi stood behind the crowd and said in a low voice: "Just now, weren't you just muttering about your soul's broken divinity? No one heard but didn't know." I turned to her. "Did I mention the dream?" Ha Vu Vi's lips moved, unable to continue speaking. Duong Tue suddenly interjected in a shrill voice. "Don't threaten the child, he has to take the university entrance exam tomorrow!" When the police arrived, the hallway was already surrounded by many teachers. Ms. Tan handed over all recordings, photos and the story to the police. The police asked Tham Chu and Duong Tue into the interrogation room. When Tham Chu passed by me, he whispered. "The more noise you make now, the more difficult it will be to clean up the consequences tomorrow." I clutched the transparent file bag tightly. The police asked me if I knew the old Ha Tay brick factory. I nodded. That place is located in a wasteland west of the city. Production stopped a few years ago and was then fenced off with corrugated iron. When I was a child, I passed by once and saw yellow-gray clay ovens from afar. I was so scared that I couldn't sleep all night. I thought I had forgotten a long time ago. But the furnace in last night's dream was exactly like the old brick factory in Ha Tay. After listening to the police, his face also became serious. "You are not allowed to act alone today." Ms. Tan immediately said: "I will take her to redo the backup paperwork and arrange for her to stay at a motel near the school tonight." My father finally panicked. "What's the point of staying at a motel? He's going home to live." I looked at him. "Dad, where's the household registration book?" He avoided my eyes. My mother whispered: "Your father left the house in a hurry and forgot to bring anything." I laughed. "Forgot to bring it, or don't want to bring it?" My father's face turned red. "Manh Chi, don't talk to me in that tone." Ms. Tan blocked me in front of me. "Mr. Manh, the most important thing right now is to make sure her exam is normal tomorrow." My dad was about to say something, when the phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen, his face immediately stiffening. I stood close and saw that the displayed number was a strange number. My dad didn't pick up the phone. That number line was quickly disconnected. The next second, my phone also rang. Same sequence of numbers. The police signaled me to turn on the speakerphone. I clicked to listen. There was only wind noise on the other end of the line. A long time later, the sound of a woman gasping for air was heard. She seemed to be leaning against a rough wall to talk. "Manh Chi." My whole body's blood turned cold immediately. That voice was exactly the same as in the dream. Ms. Tan grabbed my wrist. The police asked softly: "Who are you?" The woman did not answer. The sound of an iron chain dragging on the ground stabbed straight into the receiver. She said hoarsely: “Don't come.” My throat constricted. "Who are you?" On the other end of the line suddenly a muffled noise rang out. The woman's breathing was interrupted. Right after that, a man laughed in an altered voice. "Before 7 o'clock, Ha Tay old brick factory." "She came alone." "Otherwise, the person you see tomorrow will not be Manh Chi on the exam notice." The phone hung up. The hallway was quiet, only the sound of my heartbeat could be heard. The police immediately called back, the phone said the power was off. The homeroom teacher began to dismiss the students. Ms. Tan pulled me aside. "You can't go." I nodded. "I know." But in my heart there was a

the sound is sinking. That woman is not an ordinary person. She knows my name. She knows my dream. She even used the last bit of strength on the phone to tell me not to come. Tham Chu looked over from the interrogation room. His face was palely illuminated by fluorescent lights. He didn't smile. But his eyes seemed to say, I will definitely go.05The police contacted their technical colleagues to trace the phone number. Results are available very quickly. That number is a junk SIM card, the last time the signal appeared was near the old Ha Tay brick factory. There is no history of sending that message on Tham Chu's phone. Ha Vu Vi's phone is also gone. Duong Tue cried as if she had suffered a terrible injustice, repeatedly saying that someone had harmed her son. The police cannot temporarily rely on guesswork to take Tham Chu away. But his exam notice was also temporarily withheld by the school. Tomorrow morning, the teacher will take him to the exam site. When Tham Chu heard this arrangement, his face finally turned ugly. I looked at him and suddenly understood something. It's not that he's not afraid. He's just betting that I don't dare expose everything. Ms. Tan took me to take pictures, then asked the school to write a report of the incident.