Chapter 2 — The One Who Once Was My Light

While my peers spent their final days relaxing or making one last desperate sprint of studying, I remained at the repair shop. One quiet afternoon, Lu Nhan arrived. He pulled up right in front of the garage doors in his outrageously expensive sports car, the cabin shaking with deafening music. He stepped out, leaned casually against the body of the vehicle, and waved at me.

Shen Ning, come here.

I ignored him entirely. He frowned, closing the distance between us with long, irritated strides.

I am talking to you.

He reached out as if to grab my wrist, but catching sight of the black grease staining my skin, he quickly pulled his hand back with a grimace.

Go wash up. You are coming with me.

Where to?

Yue wants to go to the beach. You are coming along.

I straightened my back, refusing to budge.

I am not going.

Still throwing a temper tantrum? He clicked his tongue impatiently. I came all this way specifically to fetch you, which is already a massive favor. Do not be ungrateful!

I already said no.

Why?

I need to study.

Study? He let out a dry laugh, as if he had just heard the most absurd joke in the world. You actually need to study? You could ace the exams with your eyes closed.

He paused for a second, his expression softening slightly before hardening again.

Just come. Consider it a break. Yue said she wants to make peace with you.

There is nothing between her and me to reconcile.

Lu Nhan’s meager patience finally snapped.

Shen Ning, this is my last time asking you. Are you coming or not?

No.

He stared hard at me for a few long seconds, then suddenly burst into a cold laugh.

Fine, absolutely fine!

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a thick stack of cash, and flung it down right at my feet. The crimson bills scattered across the concrete in a disorderly mess.

This is your pay for the month. I already settled it with your boss. Take the money and get lost where I do not have to look at your eyesore of a face!

I looked down at the money pooling around my shoes, not moving an inch.

Too little? He pulled out another identical stack and threw it down. Is this enough now?

The owner of the shop, Uncle Li, hurried out from the back room. Taking in the ugly scene, he stepped forward to mediate.

Master Lu, what is the meaning of this? If there is an issue, let us talk it out properly.

Lu Nhan did not even spare Uncle Li a glance, fixing his icy gaze entirely on me. Pick it up, he commanded flatly.

I still refused to move. At that moment, Nguyen Thich Nguyet stepped out from the passenger side of the sports car. She hurried over to Lu Nhan’s side and gently tugged at his sleeve.

Ah Nhan, please do not be like this. You are going to scare her.

She knelt onto the ground, gathering the scattered bills one by one with practiced grace.

Ngie, please do not be angry with Ah Nhan. He only has your best interests at heart.

She stood back up and offered the gathered cash to me, her eyes shimmering with feigned tears.

I am begging you, just come with us. I do not want to be the reason your relationship with him falls apart.

I looked at her, then shifted my gaze back to Lu Nhan. There was not a single trace of remorse on his face. In his mind, he was bestowing charity upon me. He truly believed he had the absolute right to dictate every aspect of my existence, including my dignity. Without a word, I turned around and walked away toward the inner room. Lu Nhan’s contemptuous voice followed me through the air.

Look at that! That rotten attitude of hers! You try to give her some face, and she has no idea how to keep it!

A moment later, the roar of the sports car engine tore through the quiet afternoon, rapidly fading into the distance. Uncle Li walked into the room and let out a heavy, sorrowful sigh.

Child, do not take it to heart. Young Master Lu has always had that kind of temperament.

He picked up the bills still scattered on the floor and shoved them gently into my hand.

Take it. Given the situation at your home... you need the money.

I gripped the stack of cash tightly. Faintly lingering on the paper was the sweet, sickening perfume of Nguyen Thich Nguyet. I walked over to the wash basin, turned on the tap, and scrubbed my hands repeatedly. I scrubbed until the skin was raw and burning red, yet I could not bring myself to stop. That very night, my father showed up again. He violently robbed me of the money and smashed whatever he could lay his hands on inside the shop. I called the police. They came and hauled him away once more. Before the cruisers drove off, he leaned out of the window and spat curses directly at my face.

You ungrateful little wolf! How dare you call the police on your own father! You will never come to a good end!

I watched the tail lights of the police car disappear down the dark road, feeling entirely hollow inside. So this was what it truly felt like to be abandoned by blood, to be completely cast out by the world.

5

On the eve of the national college entrance examinations, I did not bother studying. Instead, I went to sleep remarkably early. In the dead of night, a violent, frantic pounding on the door jolted me awake. I turned the lock and pulled it open to find my father standing there, drenched from head to toe, his eyes bloodshot and unhinged.

You damned little bates! You dared to ruin me!

Before I could even react, his thick hands lunged forward and clamped tightly around my throat.

They locked me up in that holding cell for the entire night! This is all because of you!

The air was violently squeezed from my lungs, and black spots danced across my vision. I struggled desperately, digging my fingernails into his arms, but his strength was overwhelming, and escape was impossible.

I am going to beat you to death today! That way you will never go out and ruin anyone else's life again!

He dragged me bodily out into the courtyard, where the pouring rain instantly soaked me to the bone. Seizing a thick wooden club, he began raining vicious blows down upon my body. The impacts hit like a relentless storm. I curled myself into a tight ball on the muddy ground, desperately trying to protect my head. The old injury in my right ear flared up with a sharp, piercing resonance, instantly deafening me to the world. Inside my left ear, nothing remained except the roaring sheet of rain and the venomous, hateful vitriol screaming from his mouth.

That will teach you to call the cops! That will teach you to withhold your money from me!

You are just like your cheap whore of a mother! All of you are worthless trash!

My consciousness began to slip away, blurring at the edges. Perhaps death would be a mercy. If I died, I would never have to think again, nor would I ever have to feel afraid. Just as I was about to let go, my trembling fingers brushed against the phone nestled deep inside my pocket. Gathering the absolute last dregs of my fading strength, I fished it out. Relying entirely on muscle memory, I punched in the sequence of numbers I had long ago memorized by heart. Lu Nhan. The line connected. I pressed the receiver against my ear and screamed with every ounce of breath I had left in my lungs.

Lu Nhan... save me...

The other end of the line was a chaotic wall of noise, drowned out entirely by loud music and the crashing of ocean waves.

Hello? Shen Ning? What kind of insane act are you pulling in the middle of the night! Lu Nhan’s thoroughly impatient voice echoed through the speaker.