Chapter 1 — The Ten-Million-Dollar Patent

When I received the call from my mother, my latest patent had just been approved, carrying a licensing fee of ten million US dollars. Her voice on the other end remained as distant and detached as ever.

"Your sister is getting married this weekend; you must come home."

After the line went dead, I opened the group chat I had previously silenced. The chat was buzzing with activity. My brother rarely mentioned me by name, but he chimed in: "Make sure you buy a decent set of clothes. Don't embarrass your sister." A message from Cong Thong, a friend I had grown up with, followed immediately:

"It has been ten years since the college entrance exams, and you haven't returned home once. If your grades had been a little better back then, and you had gotten into a top-tier university like Tu Tu did, your life wouldn't be this difficult."

I read every message, my gaze lingering on a post from someone who used to be my closest friend.

"Tu Tu is about to marry into the Chu family of Hai Thanh. If life in the capital isn't treating you well, just come back. Let the Chu family arrange a simple, low-effort job for you in the city."

I lowered my eyes. The Chu family of Hai Thanh? Old Man Chu had been pulling every string possible to meet me for the past three months. The messages in the group continued to pop up, but I had lost interest in reading them. I typed a casual reply: "Fine, I will be there on time." My younger sister, Khuong Tu Tu, immediately sent a digital red envelope meant specifically for me.

"Sister, you are finally coming home! Boo-hoo, I missed you so much! I'm sending you a red envelope for your travel expenses."

I accidentally tapped it and opened it. It contained only a single cent. My brother, Khuong Thanh, sent a voice message instantly.

"Tu Tu is in the middle of her wedding preparations and needs money. How could you actually accept her funds? Send it back immediately!"

Cong Thong chimed in with a reprimand:

"Even if Tu Tu has a better career than you, with a yearly salary of one hundred and fifty thousand, that is no excuse for you to use moral coercion to take her money!"

Just as I was about to type a retort, Tong Mien sent a sighing emoji.

"Enough, everyone, stop picking on Duong Duong, please?"

"Among us, she went to the worst university and earns the lowest income. She hasn't been home for ten years just to avoid us! Now that she has finally managed to return, can you not scare her off?"

I cast my eyes downward. At eighteen, I certainly had been avoiding them. After Khuong Tu Tu transferred to our high school, she naturally joined our trio—myself, Cong Thong, and Tong Mien. Before long, just as it was at home, I became nothing more than the background furniture. When we walked together, the three of them would sometimes stop in unison. Cong Thong would tilt his chin, Tong Mien would glance over, and Tu Tu would bow her head and giggle. I stood to the side. At first, I would naively ask what they were laughing at. After asking a few times and being told it was nothing, I began to distance myself from a circle where I didn't belong. But after being scouted directly into the Kinh Do University, my time was entirely consumed by knowledge and research. I had long since run out of time to hide from them. Khuong Tu Tu’s message interrupted my reflections.

"Sister, you don't have to return the red envelope."

Her voice was soft: "Your salary is low, and the cost of living in the capital is so high. After paying your rent, you probably don't have much left, right? That is why I wanted to support you with some travel money." She attached a "heartbroken" emoji. Unsurprisingly, the group was immediately flooded with praise for her thoughtfulness. I took a screenshot of the payment page and then sent back a red envelope of my own.

"It was just a misclick. Also, here is your one cent back."

The group went silent instantly. Before long, Khuong Thanh was the first to lash out.

"Khuong Duong, what is your meaning? You think it is too little? Tu Tu is getting married, and the guests are all high-profile figures. You only have a college degree; Tu Tu isn't even complaining that you might embarrass her, so how dare you complain about the size of her gift?"

Cong Thong added: "Even a cent is a gesture of kindness!" Tong Mien wrote: "Tu Tu genuinely cares about you. You took that screenshot—did you even think about her feelings?" I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of my coffee. The messages continued to pile up. The me of eighteen years ago would have lost sleep over such blatant favoritism, but the me of twenty-eight felt not a single ripple of emotion. Khuong Tu Tu sent a voice message, her tone hesitant: "Sister, I was just so happy to hear you were coming home that I got distracted and clicked the wrong amount. Please don't be mad at me, okay?"

"I really feel for you having to struggle in the capital. I have already talked to Chu Tu, and I asked him to arrange a job for you."

"It's just that their company has very high standards—at least a university degree is required. With your qualifications... you can only work as a receptionist or a desk clerk, so please don't take it to heart."

Khuong Thanh scoffed coldly: "What right does she have to take it to heart? If she wants to blame someone, she should blame herself for being a poor student with those pathetic entrance exam scores. When my friends ask about her, I feel embarrassed!" Ten years ago, when the exam results were released, Khuong Tu Tu got into a top university, while I had only barely passed the threshold. My parents and brother took her to Europe for a vacation. They gave me one hundred yuan to cover my food for the week, stating with cold logic:

"If you didn't do well on the exam, you don't deserve a vacation. It wouldn't be fair to those who studied hard!"

I wanted to say that familial love should not be measured by test scores, but a porcelain bowl was thrown directly at my forehead, forcing me to swallow those words. That, along with the fact that I had won an Olympic gold medal and been admitted to the Kinh Do University, were all swallowed back into the depths of my heart. There was a knock at the door. My assistant, Xiao Chen, said respectfully: "Dr. Khuong, the Chu family is asking again. This time, they went through Academician Li, hoping to know if you could spare half an hour to meet them." The Chu Corporation’s brain-computer interface project had invested hundreds of millions, yet they had been stuck on a core algorithm for decoding neural signals for two years—a problem my patent happened to solve. My assistant paused slightly: "Are you going to refuse them again?" I gave a faint smile.

"No. Tell Old Man Chu that I will be in Hai Thanh this weekend."

On Friday, I landed in Hai Thanh. No one was there to pick me up. I took a taxi to the door of my family’s new home. The person who opened the door was Tong Mien. She froze, her expression shifting in a strange way.

"Duong Duong? I almost didn't recognize you. The big city really knows how to change a person; the way you carry yourself and the clothes you are wearing don't look like someone making four or five thousand a month."

I didn't reply and walked straight inside. Khuong Tu Tu’s gaze swept over the watch on my wrist and then back to the coat on my shoulders. Her lips pursed tightly.

"Sister, we are family; you don't need to spend so much money just to keep up appearances. After buying these things, are you going to have to eat instant noodles for the next few months?"

Khuong Thanh glanced at me: "After being away for ten years, you haven't improved your skills, but your vanity has certainly grown." Cong Thong laughed: "Not bad, Khuong Duong. You were so plain back in school; now you are even wearing high-end knockoffs." I looked at the people in front of me. Ten years hadn't changed them much. Khuong Thanh had gained weight, small wrinkles had appeared around the corners of Tong Mien's eyes, and Cong Thong’s hairline had receded significantly. Only Khuong Tu Tu remained perfectly groomed, like a meticulously packaged porcelain doll. The one thing they shared was a sense of contempt hidden in their eyes, along with a lingering air of superiority. I raised an eyebrow: "After graduation, I never once told any of you about my income, nor did I ever complain about being poor in private. So, on what basis did you all determine my salary level?" Khuong Tu Tu and the others were left speechless. My mother walked out of the kitchen, placed the food on the table, and looked at me.

"With only a college diploma, what kind of good job could you find in the capital? Six thousand at most!"

My father patted my shoulder: "Alright, there are no outsiders here. Even if you aren't doing well, no one is going to laugh at you. Don't argue, just come and eat!" Eight dishes and one soup. Cong Thong and Tong Mien both gasped in delight.

"Auntie, you still remember that I love sweet and sour spare ribs! You are too kind!"

"Last time I mentioned the stir-fried vermicelli with garlic was delicious, and you made it again this time!"

I looked over; everyone had their favorite dish. Even the Bichon dog crouching by the sofa had a portion of boiled beef specifically prepared for it by my mother. Everyone, that is, except me. At the dinner table, my mother peeled a shrimp for Khuong Tu Tu: "When our old neighborhood was slated for redevelopment, we were allocated four apartments. One for Khuong Thanh, one for Tu Tu, one where we live, and a smaller one to rent out to supplement our living expenses." She looked up at me: "Khuong Duong, Khuong Thanh and Tu Tu both graduated from top universities, so it is only natural that they received apartments. If someone like you, who only finished college, were also given a house, it wouldn't be fair to them." I set my chopsticks down and burst into laughter.

"So, the redevelopment office decided who gets an apartment based on college entrance exam scores rather than the number of family members?"

The dinner table went silent immediately. My mother’s face turned bright red, and she slammed her hand down on the table.

"Khuong Duong! You haven't been home for ten years, and the first thing you do when you return is try to infuriate me?"

"If I had known you were such an ungrateful child, I should have just abandoned you the day you were born!"

It was exactly the same as ten years ago. When my mother saw my exam results, a porcelain bowl had flown straight at my forehead. Hot blood had dripped onto the floor, drip by drip. Back then, she had worn that same cold expression: "I should have just abandoned you! It would have saved me from the embarrassment!" Over the past ten years, it wasn't just my wings that had matured; it was also my heart, which no longer craved the meager scraps of affection my mother might offer. At this moment, I felt no pain at all. My father tried to mediate: "Your mother just has a sharp tongue but a kind heart; don't take it to heart." He happily changed the subject.

"Tu Tu, I used many connections to get a box of Da Hong Pao tea from the mother trees on Wuyi Mountain. Tomorrow, bring it as a gift for Old Man Chu; he will surely love it."

Khuong Tu Tu smiled, but her eyes darted away with a flicker of avoidance.

"Dad, as for Old Man Chu... I don't think he will be able to make it."

My father was stunned.

"What? Old Man Chu isn't coming? A wedding is a major event between two families—how can he not show up?"

Khuong Tu Tu sighed.

"Chu Tu said that an incredibly important person to the Chu family has arrived in Hai Thanh recently. Old Man Chu has to attend to them personally, so he really couldn't clear his schedule."

Khuong Thanh frowned: "What kind of person is more important than his own grandson's wedding?"

"I don't know," Khuong Tu Tu shook her head. "Chu Tu only said that the person is from the capital. To meet this individual, Old Man Chu has been pulling strings and waiting for nearly three months."

Tong Mien asked skeptically: "Who could be so arrogant? With the Chu family's status in Hai Thanh, they still have to wait three months for someone?" Cong Thong scoffed coldly: "Exactly. So what if they are from the capital? Are they really more important than Tu Tu’s wedding?"