Chapter 7 — The Real Female Lead Returns

07

The brilliant success at the art festival helped me become a famous member of the military region's academy. From then on, no one called me "country girl" anymore. Instead, they called me:

“General Khuong's daughter – a wonderful singer.”

My parents' attitudes also changed 180 degrees. My father no longer frowned at me, and even took the initiative to bring me food during meals. As for my mother, she always held my hand and said over and over again:

“It was my fault, it was my mother who neglected me…”

The balance in the family began to tilt in my favor. The most obvious expression is from Tham Lan. She no longer pretended to be the gentle and thoughtful sister like before. She began to become quieter. Her eyes when looking at me always contained sadness and jealousy. I know — she was scared. One weekend, Ha Tieu came to my house for dinner. At the dinner table, my mother excitedly suggested:

"Tieu Nguyet sings so well, why doesn't she take the exam to join the troupe? Ha Tieu, what do you think?"

Before Ha Tieu could speak, Tham Lan suddenly interrupted with a high-pitched voice:

"Mom! She doesn't even know how to read musical notes, so why take the exam for the troupe?"

The whole dining table suddenly fell silent. My mother smiled wryly: "If you don't know, then learn it..."

“Study?” Tham Lan laughed coldly, as if she had been holding it in for a long time:

"In the troupe, who hasn't practiced since childhood? She's eighteen years old now, is it time to start studying? If she fails the exam, won't it make her father lose face?"

These words, sharp and full of venom, had no trace of gentleness or politeness left. My father immediately frowned:

"Tham Lan! What do you mean by talking to me like that?"

Being shouted at by her father, Tham Lan's eyes immediately turned red and she bowed her head in anger:

“I… I just want the best for you… I'm afraid you'll hope too much and then be disappointed…”

I coldly chuckled. “Want good for me”? She was clearly just afraid that I would actually pass the exam and then crush her in my career. At that time, what could I compare her to? I put down my chopsticks, slowly wiped my mouth, and slowly said:

"You're right. The troupe competition is really difficult. My talent is just for singing random things, I won't be able to get on stage."

I took a step back, intentionally showing weakness. Sure enough, as soon as I finished speaking, my mother immediately said in pain:

"Who said you weren't good enough? That day at the festival, you sang so well that even group leader Vuong praised you!"

“Maybe the group leader respects his father so he praised him like that.” I smiled modestly. “Actually, my dream… is not about singing and dancing.”

Ha Tieu suddenly spoke, his voice carrying special attention:

“So what is your dream?”

I looked straight into his eyes, clearly understanding each word:

"I want to become a military doctor. Just like my mother."

As soon as the sentence ended, the whole table was stunned. Even my mother — Tran Thuc Van. She looked at me, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

“Tieu Nguyet, you…”

“I have seen too many people in the countryside who were sick and could not receive timely treatment.”

I spoke calmly, but every word was nailed, "I don't want to see tragedies like that anymore. I want to study medicine. I want to save people." This is not impulsive, but a choice I have thought about for a long time. Where I live, a barefoot doctor is a village's sky of hope. From there, a seed sprouted in my heart. Read full on Van Ha Tuong page I want to take charge of my own destiny - And medicine, is the path that helps me stand firm, the battlefield that I choose for myself. My mother's tears fell again. But this time, not because of guilt, but because of emotion and pride. She walked over and hugged me tightly.

"Good child, very good child... I support you! I will teach you myself!"

My father also nodded with satisfaction:

"Good! With courage! As expected of my Khuong Chan Quoc's daughter!"

Only Tham Lan sat quietly, her face as white as paper, like an outsider who had been excluded from the banquet table. Everything she built - pleasing her parents, creating an image, dreaming of marrying Ha Tieu - is being destroyed little by little by me. She was not willing. I know — She definitely won't let it go easily.

08

Tham Lan acted faster than I thought, and also much more malicious. I started learning basic medical knowledge with my mother. My mother devoted herself to it, even taking out her precious notebook to show me. I spent almost all my time studying to quickly catch up. One night, while I was reading the thick book "Human Anatomy" in my room, Tham Lan brought in a glass of milk. Read full at Van Ha Tuong Tu page

“Sister, studying is hard, drink milk.”

She placed a glass of milk on my table, smiling like an angel. I glanced at her, then looked at the glass of milk - I immediately became suspicious. There is no such thing as being naturally kind. There is a plot.

"Thank you, leave it there. I'll finish studying and then drink." I don't touch it.

“You drink it while it's still hot, it's delicious.” She urged.

The more I pushed, the more certain I was that there was a problem. I picked up the cup, raised it to my nose and smelled it - a very light bitter almond smell passed through. My heart sank. Sleeping pills. With this dose, it's enough to make me sleep all day. What is she going to do? I pretended to take a sip, then put it down and smiled softly:

"It's delicious. Thank you, Tieu Lan."

A proud look flashed in Tham Lan's eyes, but she quickly hid it:

"It's good that you like it. Rest early."

She turned and left the room. Immediately, I rushed to the bathroom, took out all the milk, and then rinsed my mouth with cold water several times. The next morning, it was the annual examination of the military hospital. My mother asked me for an audition to motivate me. I know - Tham Lan wanted me to fall asleep, so that the whole hospital would see my face and not show up, and then laugh. Really poisonous. I took the excess milk and put it in a bottle and hid it. Then the acting started. The next morning, my mother came into my room and called me - I was "in a coma" and couldn't wake up after calling. My mother panicked, touched her wrist to check her pulse - her face immediately changed. Soon, the whole house was in chaos. My father ran over, saw me "unconscious", and was so worried that he walked around the room.

"Why is this? You were fine yesterday?!"

My mother walked around the room, her eyes suddenly stopped at the empty milk cup on the table. She picked it up and smelled it - her face darkened.

"Old Khuong! Tieu Nguyet was drugged!"

"What?!"