Chapter 14 — They Teach Me To Grow Up By Abandoning Me

Manager Tran is still smoking, his expression hasn't changed much. After a few seconds, he said:

"My daughter is twenty-two years old, just graduated, and can't find a job. She argues with me every day."

“So you will throw her to another province?”

He thought for a moment.

“Because I'm afraid it will starve to death.”

Having finished speaking, he himself burst into laughter. Then put out the cigarette.

"Let's go home. Be careful on the road. As for your parents... don't be too picky with them. People of that generation, that's the only way to express affection. Don't say it with your mouth, but in your heart—"

“I know.”

"It's okay to know. Go home."

“Manager Tran, thank you for these past few days.”

"Thank you for what? You also work for me."

I walked out of the seafood square. Last look at that intersection. The crab head is still shaking his butt to attract customers. Under the street lights, the stream of people passed by endlessly. Just three days. What have I left behind in this city? Leave nothing behind. The last night, I slept at McDonald's again. This time I bought another ice cream. Consider it a reward for yourself. That sweet coldness drifted from my throat to my stomach. I thought as I ate— Tomorrow, it will all be over. Get confirmation. These three days… Like a dream. A dream that is both wild and difficult. But in that dream— I discovered something. I'm not as useless as they think. No documents. No money. No one has my back. I'm still not dead. I survived. Even saved some money. That is not the merit of that so-called "training". But it's mine. It has nothing to do with them. I took the last bite of ice cream and threw the paper wrapper into the trash. See you soon. My city. My house. My untrustworthy parents. At 8:55 a.m. Monday morning, I stood in front of the police station gate. At exactly 9 o'clock, the civil registration window opened on time. It's still the young police officer from the other day.

"To Van, right? The confirmation has been completed. Please check your ID number again—"

Confirmed not wrong. A temporary identity card, valid for thirty days. The moment I held it in my hand, my hand was shaking. This fragile piece of paper... More precious than any certificate, degree or diploma I have ever received in my life. Because it means— I'm home. Leaving the police station, I rushed straight to the train station. Three kilometers away. I almost ran the whole way. Ticket counter.

“A hard seat ticket to XX.”

“Identity documents.”

I showed the temporary confirmation. The ticket agent took a look and then typed on the keyboard.

"The nearest flight is at 11 a.m., arriving at 6:40 a.m. tomorrow. Hard seat 285 yuan."

I scanned the payment code with my phone. A ticket is printed. I squeezed that ticket tightly, standing in the middle of the train station lobby. The sunlight outside the window shines in. Loudspeakers continuously announce. Ticket buyers lined up in a long line. Everything is so normal. But I stood in the middle of the crowd, my eye sockets burning. Not because of emotion. It's finally over. Those three wild days. It's finally over. 11 am. The hard seat compartment is not too crowded. It's Monday, not peak season. I found my place, next to the window. The moment of sitting down— For the first time in three days, I was sitting in a position that truly belonged to me. No need Buy things to reserve your spot. No need to worry about being kicked out. No need to look at anyone's face. The train started moving. The city outside the window gradually recedes. The beach here— I've been here for three days, but I haven't even seen it once. Let's calculate it later. The phone vibrates. My mother texted.

“Are you on the train yet, girl?”

“What time is it?”

“Six o'clock tomorrow morning.”

"Okay. Mom and dad just got home the day after tomorrow. Dad's legs are still swollen and he's limping all the time."

I looked at that message. Type a sentence—

“Deserve it.”

Look for two seconds. Then delete it.

“Pay attention to safety.”

I placed the phone on the small table in front of me. Lean back in the chair, close your eyes. The ship swayed forward. The sound of "clack, clack" rang out regularly. Three days ago, I also took the train here. At that time, sitting next to me was my mother. She complained that the chair was hard and uncomfortable, and kept saying:

“If you know that, let's take the high-speed train.”

My father sat opposite, cross-legged, watching a short video, and turned on the speaker so loud that half the train car could hear it. At that time I thought— Even though it's noisy, even though it's annoying... But the whole family lives together. That's good too.