Chapter 3 — The Room You Don't Need

It runs around the sofa. The toy fell and the jade bracelet rolled into the sofa slot. From beginning to end, without me. There were also no suspicious actions. The aunt's face was sometimes blue, sometimes white. She still wanted to tell the whole story. “Children don't understand things, I'm just impatient.” Trinh Y Chu smiled coldly. "You're impatient, so you slander her?" The aunt opened her mouth. Trinh Lan asked the maid to remove the sofa. Sure enough, the jade bracelet got stuck in the slot. Trinh Lan wiped the bracelet clean and put it back in the box. Then, she looked towards her aunt. “Sorry Thinh Van.” Their aunt's smile stiffened. "They're all relatives, it's just a misunderstanding." “It's not a misunderstanding.” Trinh Lan interrupted her, "Just now you said she was not disciplined, said she came from somewhere else, and wanted to check her bag." Her voice was not heavy, but every word was clear. "My daughter was slandered in front of everyone. You can't let it go with just one misunderstanding." I stood there, tears suddenly falling. Lam Giao Giao also heard it. Her expression turned from fear, to jealousy, then to awkwardness. In the end, their aunt still bowed her head. “Thin Van, sorry, I said something wrong.” Trinh Y Chu walked up to me and directly held my hand. Her palm was very warm. “Listen carefully.” She looked around the relatives' room, also looking at my mother and Lam Giao Giao. “Lam Thinh Van is my sister.” "In the future, if anyone uses the word outsider to refer to her, don't enter this door again." I cried even harder. Before, Lam Giao Giao also called me sister. But when she calls me sister, it's always when she wants me to give in. Trinh Y Chu called me sister, to protect me in front of everyone. Lam Giao Giao suddenly opened his mouth: "What about me?" No one answered immediately. She stared at Trinh Y Chu. “If I move in too, will you protect me the same?” Trinh Y Chu looked at her with a cold expression. "When I protect others, I must first see if that person is worthy or not." This sentence is too cruel. Lam Giao Giao's face immediately turned pale. My mother was so angry that she was shaking and pulled her out. Before leaving, she glared at me fiercely. "Lam Thinh Van, don't be complacent. If your sister really wants to return, you have to give in." The door was slammed shut. I stood in the living room, my palms were sweaty. Trinh Lan gently hugged me. “Don't be afraid.” Trinh Y Chu said next to her: "Next time she comes to rob you again, please change your access card." I was still crying. Hearing this sentence, I suddenly burst out laughing. After the bracelet incident, the Trinh family was much quieter. Coming home again, no one dares to hang the word "outsider" on their lips. Trinh Lan did not distance himself from me because of the hardship that day. On the contrary, she took even more meticulous care of me. She knows I wake up easily at night, so she placed a touch-sensitive light at the head of my bed. She knew I wasn't used to bothering others, so she prepared a lot of things, but never mentioned the credit. My dad also started to regularly go for a walk with me every week. Sometimes when we walked around the block, he would tell stories about when I was a child. Said he missed too much. In the past, he was always stopped by my mother who used the phrase "I'm fine, stop bothering me". I felt bitter when I heard it, but I didn't blame him for too long. Trinh Y Chu still had a cold face. But every night I will leave the light on. When I came home late, she sat in the living room reading a book, her eyelids not even raised. “The access card is limited to eleven hours.” “I'll be back at ten thirty.” “Yes, I can still read the time.” The mouth does not forgive people, but hot milk is placed on the table. Lam Giao Giao still doesn't believe that I live well. A few days ago, she texted me sarcastically. “My stepmom is very good at pretending now. Later on, sometimes I cry.” "My step-sister is protecting you? Don't make me laugh so hard, she's just using you to stimulate me." "I'm just the person who replaces you there, don't take yourself too seriously." Before, seeing these words, I would be upset for a long time. Now I just turn the phone face down. Because I finally understand, you don't have to worry about me suffering. You are the hope I endure. Not long after, it was my nineteenth birthday. From small to large, s

My birthday is all celebrated with Lam Giao Giao. Her birthday is three days earlier than mine. My mother complains that she always combines two birthdays into one. Bought the strawberry flavor cake that I like. Candles for her age. The gift was also chosen for her first. I was in charge of standing next to her, clapping and saying happy birthday to her. After Trinh Lan knew, she was silent for a long time. Then she said: "This year it will be held separately." I was stunned. “Do you mind too much?” She laughed. “You come to this world, inherently worthy of congratulations.” On his birthday, Trinh Lan did not invite many people. Only my father, grandmother, Trinh Y Chu, and a few really close friends. In the living room hang pictures. It's a photo of us eating together, going for walks, and watching movies over the past few months. The plate in the middle is the four of us. I stood between Trinh Lan and Trinh Y Chu, smiling a bit foolishly. My father stood behind me and supported my shoulder. I looked at that photo and suddenly didn't dare to look at it for too long.