Chapter 1 — The Path of Remembrance

I am a real genius who was switched. This is already absurd, but the way my biological parents found me is even more absurd. When they arrived, I was riding Gray Gray down from the top of the mountain. Gray Gray is my mount, a big gray donkey with a hot temper but only recognizes me. Behind me are eighteen white geese, each with its neck craning, arranged in two vertical rows, wings slightly spread out, running with the same spirit as a military parade. Behind them was a flock of chickens and ducks running around to see what was going on. A man and a donkey like me led that mixed army and aggressively rushed down the mountainside, suddenly braking right in front of the yard gate. Gray Gray kicked his front legs hard, almost sending me flying out. Two strangers stood in the yard looking at that scene, their eyes almost bulging. Immediately afterwards, the woman wearing an exquisite dress excitedly grabbed the arm of the man next to her. “Husband, have you seen it?” “I see!” “This scale, this momentum, this dominance!” The two shouted in unison: "Sure! This is definitely our biological child!" I: "???" I slid down from the donkey's back, the soles of my shoes were still stuck in the mountain mud, and on my head there was still a tree branch that got stuck from who knows when. My father stood next to me with a live expression that had no regrets. My mother rushed out of the house and shouted at me: "To Niem Niem! How many times have I told you not to ride the donkey!" “But Gray Gray volunteered to let me ride.” “Even if you cheat, you know how to volunteer?!” I looked at Gray Gray. Gray Gray bowed his head to graze, refusing to answer this question. Talking about Gray Grey, it's a long story. My mother is a picture book artist, specializing in drawing illustrated story books for children. My mother criticized the city for being too noisy and not being able to draw good works, so every few days she ran back to the countryside. Dad was afraid that Mom wouldn't be safe alone in the countryside, so he rented a piece of land at the foot of the mountain behind the town, built a house with a yard, and then contracted for two more hills. Dad said he wanted to raise some completely natural chickens, ducks, and geese. The day I went to buy baby geese, I followed my father to the market in town. At the next stall, an old man was leading a gray donkey with drooping ears, looking extremely pitiful. “Dad, you bought a goose for mom, buy me a little donkey too.” “What is the use of raising donkeys like children?” "But when mom was painting, she kept telling me not to bother her. Even if I tricked her into being my friend, I wouldn't bother her anymore." My father hesitated for three seconds. “Boss, how much is this donkey?” Even though I successfully led the donkey home, I still felt like I was being plotted. Because after that, my father proudly boasted to his mother: "I bought you a free nanny. If Niem Niem plays with you in the future, he won't bother you to paint anymore." It turns out that the donkey and I are of the same rank. When I first arrived, the gray donkey was only as tall as my knees and had an extremely stubborn personality. Anyone who came close to it would kick it, and I was kicked down no less than ten times. Some parts of the hands and feet are blue and some are purple. My mother felt sorry for me and told me not to raise her anymore. But I have one advantage, which is stubbornness. Even more stubborn than a donkey. Every day I feed it carrots, brush its fur, and when it's sunny, I set up a roof to shade it. A month later, Gray Gray only recognized me. Half a year later, it transformed from a skinny donkey into a large, sturdy gray donkey. Because I ride it up the mountain every day to patrol the geese, herd chickens, and collect eggs, its physical strength is absurdly good. As soon as my four legs ran, I was behind and couldn't catch up at all. I decided not to chase anymore and climbed straight up to ride. Even though my mother strictly forbade it, when she was painting, she basically didn't have time to pay attention to me. So, every day I secretly ride Gray Gray. Back to that day. Dad called my phone and told me to go down the mountain and said we had guests. I chewed wild fruits picked from the mountains and patted Gray Gray's neck. “Go, go home.” As soon as Gray Gray heard the words "home", he jumped up and rushed away. Eighteen white geese reflexively lined up and ran behind. So there's that opening scene. One person, one donkey, eighteen geese, plus a group of chickens and ducks like scattered soldiers, majestically rushed into the yard. The two strangers slapped their thighs and clapped their hands. My parents' expressions can be summed up in four words — I hope they don't get used to it. “To Niem Niem, get off the donkey immediately!” I

Trembling, he quickly slid off the donkey's back, removed the tree branch from his head, and stood straight. Then, two strangers rushed in. The woman squatted, lifted my face, looked left and right. “Oh my god, this nose, this chin, looks exactly like me!” The man next to him kept nodding. “Eyebrows and eyes like mine, face like yours, perfect combination.” I took two steps back. “Dad, Mom, are these two people kidnapping children?” Dad rubbed his temples, said "sorry" to the two strangers and then pulled me aside. “Nien Niem, dad told you something, don't be afraid.” “These two people are Uncle Luc and Miss Luc.” “So what?” “Then… they might also be your parents.” A bee sounded in my head. Immediately after that, I opened my mouth and burst into tears. "I knew right away! I knew my parents criticized me for not being a good student, so they wanted to let me go! I told them I would definitely pass the exam next time!" “No one will let me go!” “So why did two more parents suddenly appear?” “Because when I was a child, I was carried by mistake at the hospital.” I cried until I hiccuped. “I don't need to know, I don't want new parents, I just need parents!” Ms. Luc squatted next to her and also wiped her tears. Uncle Luc's eyes were red. Mom walked over and hugged me, wiping my face. "Idiot, no one threw you away. You were originally Uncle Luc and Miss Luc's child. It was only because you were mistakenly carried at the hospital that you came to our house." “So will my parents leave me?” “Not forever.” I whimpered and stopped crying. Ms. Luc took the opportunity to bring a little girl over. The girl was white and clean, tied with two bows, wearing a light pink dress, with a pair of shiny leather shoes on her feet. Compared to me, who just rolled down from the mountain, we are like two different creatures. “Nien Niem, this is your sister, Uyen Dinh.” Luc Uyen Dinh smiled at me. I don't laugh. Because I only have one question in my mind. She has lived in my place for eleven years, so aren't my rooms, my toys, my snacks, all used up by her? I still don't know how to calculate this debt. But I feel like I'm at a big loss. I thought that getting back my biological parents just meant that every Tet holiday there would be two more people giving me lucky money. Unexpectedly, I had to change schools. The Luc family is in the provincial capital. Luc Uyen Dinh studies at a private school, the tuition per semester is sixty thousand yuan. The elementary school I attended in town only had a total of three classes. My class's slogan is "Every day we improve", because we really can't "study hard". The first time my mother went to a parent-teacher meeting at school, after returning home, she was silent for a long time. Dad asked Mom what was wrong. Mom said: "The teacher said Niem Niem is the most active child in the class." “Isn't that great?” “The positive thing the teacher said is to actively raise your hand to ask to go to the bathroom.” I don't feel like this is a problem. But clearly the Luc family's parents felt it. They discussed for a long time, and finally decided to let me go to the provincial capital to study and transfer to Luc Uyen Dinh's school. As for Luc Uyen Dinh, because she was determined not to be her biological child but had not yet found her biological parents, she temporarily continued to stay at the Luc family. That means she and I will become classmates. On the first day of changing schools, Ms. Luc bought me a new school bag, new uniform, new pencil case, and especially took me to the barbershop to have my hair trimmed neatly. I looked at myself in the mirror and felt no different from when I was in the mountain, just a little cleaner. Arriving at the school gate, Luc Uyen Dinh was standing there waiting. Next to her were four or five little girls, all as clean and beautiful as dolls in a glass cabinet. Seeing me step out of the car, their eyes simultaneously swept over. Luc Uyen Dinh smiled and walked up to greet him. “Nien Niem, I'll take you to class.” Her voice was gentle, like that of a particularly obedient little girl on TV. A little girl with a ponytail next to her stopped by and asked in a low voice: "Uyen Dinh, is this the person you said... grew up in the countryside?" Luc Uyen Dinh did not answer, just smiled. But I understand that smile. Entering class, homeroom teacher Phuong asked me to introduce myself. I stood on the podium, more than thirty pairs of eyes below were looking at me. “Hello everyone, my name is To Niem Niem.” “Where did you move from?” Ms. Phuong asked. "School

Thanh Son Primary School.” Below, there were people whispering. “How was your previous performance?” This question made me hesitate a bit. “Around above average.” It also doesn't count as lying. My old class had a total of eleven people, and I ranked sixth, which was certainly above average. Ms. Phuong nodded and told me to return to my seat. I was seated in the last row next to the window. Luc Uyen Dinh sat in the middle of the second row, the class president's position. The first lesson is math, learning mixed calculations with fractions. The teacher wrote an article on the board, I stared at it for a long time. I know how to do it, but the way I present it is different from what I've learned before. The math teacher in town teaches us to convert fractions first and then calculate, but the teacher here jumps straight through three steps. When the first class test was handed out, I got thirty-two points. Luc Uyen Dinh, one hundred points. Ms. Phuong held my test and stood on the podium. Even though she didn't name names, the whole class knew who she was talking about. "There are some students who have a very poor foundation. They must quickly keep up with the progress and not drag the whole class down." Luc Uyen Dinh turned his head to look at me. That look was not mocking, but it made people more uncomfortable than mocking. That's pity. After school, Luc's father and Luc's mother came to pick us up. In the car, Luc's mother asked me how I was today. “Pretty good.” “Can you keep up with the teacher's lecture?” "Yes." Luc Uyen Dinh sat in the back seat and spoke softly. “Mom, Niem Niem's test got thirty-two points today.” The car was silent for a while. Luc's mother looked at me through the rearview mirror. “It's okay, I just transferred schools, just take it slow.” Luc's father also said: "Yes, no need to rush." But I saw them exchange a look. The meaning of that look was: It's over, this child is afraid he won't inherit our brain. The Luc family's house is a three-story villa with a garden. My room is on the third floor, Luc Uyen Dinh's room is on the second floor. In her room there is a whole wall of certificates and trophies displayed. Good third grade student, first prize in math competition, gold medal in English speech competition, eighth grade piano. In my room there is only a new strawberry-patterned briefcase bought by Luc's mother. At dinner, the Luc family's grandmother arrived. Her hair was tied in a bun without a single strand of tangle, her wrist wore a jade bracelet, and she walked with full spirit. As soon as she entered the door, she hugged Luc Uyen Dinh first, patting her head and praising her for being good. Then, she turned to look at me. She evaluated me from top to bottom and then only said one sentence. “Much darker than Uyen Dinh.” Luc's mother quickly reconciled: "The baby is in the countryside so she will be exposed to the sun. After raising her for a while, she will become white again." Grandma snorted and said no more. But during the meal, she picked up food for Luc Uyen Dinh five times. Pick me up not once. I don't know what this counts, but I feel like my wild berries and roasted sweet potatoes are much tastier than this whole table of food.