Chapter 2 — They Teach Me To Grow Up By Abandoning Me

The hotel manager is a woman in her forties, curly hair, and an extremely professional smile. But underneath that smile were clearly written these words:

“Another strange case.”

"Girl, the situation is like this. Your parents literally only paid for one night's room. According to hotel regulations, you need to check out before noon today or pay an additional stay fee."

"I know, but... I can't contact them now. My documents and money are all with my mother. Can you give me a little more time..."

“Don't you have any identification with you?”

"Do not have."

The manager and Tieu Luu looked at each other. I can roughly guess the content of that look.

— Isn't this person planning to stay at the temple?

“Girl, are you sure you are related to the two guests who just checked out?”

This question sounds harsh.

“Those are my biological parents.”

“But…” the manager hesitated for a moment, “according to the registration information, the people renting the room are two guests named To, and you…”

"My last name is also To! I'm To Van! My father's name is To Kien Quan, my mother's name is Trieu Tue Phuong! You can check the registration information!"

The manager typed a few times on the keyboard, looked at the screen and then looked back at me.

"Okay, it's true that your name is in the housekeeping section. But girl, that doesn't solve the room problem."

I know. Damn it, I know it too well. But now I only have 47.3 yuan left in my pocket. In a strange city more than 1,200 km from home. No ID. No bank card. The phone's battery — I lowered my head to look — was at 11%. At that moment, the elevator made a "ding" sound and opened. A woman in her fifties walked out, wearing a floral dress and her hair dyed reddish brown. She looked at me then looked at the front desk, curiously took two steps closer.

“Girl, are you in room 312?”

I paused:

“Yes… are you?”

“I'm at 314.” She carried her bag, her face full of curiosity. "This morning I heard noise in the next room very early, it wasn't quite dawn yet. The sound of suitcases being pulled loudly."

“After that, it was quiet, I thought you guys had already checked out.”

She assessed me from top to bottom, her eyes rolling around.

“Your parents… left you here alone?”

Being told so bluntly by her, several people passing by the hall turned their heads to look. My face was hot.

“It's not… you…”

“Just call me Ms. Vuong.”

“Miss Vuong, my parents must have had an emergency…”

"If you have something to do, why don't you leave a piece of paper? Bring your daughter's papers, too?" Ms. Vuong crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes shining brightly, like the eyes of a burning fire. “Girl, tell me the truth…”

“Have you been abandoned?”

“I don't…”

“Is it true that your parents found it so embarrassing that you were fired, so…”

“Wait wait wait.”

I quickly interrupted.

“How did you know I was fired?”

Ms. Vuong pouted:

"Your mother was standing in the hallway yesterday, calling on the phone, her voice was so loud that she was about to die. Why did she say 'she's been fired from her job, it's good to take her out to entertain herself, but staying at home all day long is boring'."

My mother's loud voice. The whole floor knows I'm unemployed, right?

“That's why!” Ms. Vuong slapped her thigh with a pop. “Let me analyze it for you - your parents left in the middle of the night, still taking money and papers with them, eight points is…”

She lowered her voice and leaned close to her ear I.

"— seeing that you've grown up and still being a freeloader, I want you to be independent! This is just training you!"

I looked at her serious face. Want to refute. But thinking carefully... I can't find a reason to refute it. Seems like the right type of person to do this. But it's not that bad, is it? It's not enough to throw your biological daughter in a strange city more than a thousand kilometers from home, right? The manager's voice pulled me back to reality.

“So about the room…”

“I… I will think of a way to contact them first.”

I raised my phone.

"Is there a place to charge the battery here? My phone is about to run out of battery."

The manager pointed to the corner of the hall. I thanked him and then ran over to plug in the charger. There were twenty-three missed calls on the screen. I called them all. Not a single call back. In WeChat, I sent my mother more than a dozen messages. They all show a gray exclamation mark. Did she block me? Incorrect. The phone is probably still turned off so the message hasn't been sent yet. I tried calling again.

“The subscriber you just called is currently switched off.”

Twenty-fourth time already. My fingers pressed until they were numb. At my last resort, I opened my contacts and found my best friend's number. The two of them grew up together since childhood, so close that they could even wear the same pants. After graduating from college, he opened a small store in his hometown and lived much more comfortably than I did. The phone rang three times and was picked up. Luc Vien's voice was still sleepy, sounding dreamy.

"Mr. Vien! Save my life!"

"…What time is it?"

“It's half past seven. But…”

"To Van, are you crazy? This weekend, you called me and woke me up..."

“I was abandoned by my parents!”

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds. Then Luc Vien's voice became calmer:

“What did you say?”

"My parents took me on a trip. When I woke up this morning, they had run away. They took all my luggage away, my documents and money were also in my mother's pocket, and both of our phones were turned off. Now I'm sitting in the hotel lobby, with only 47.3 yuan left in my pocket."

There was a silence that lasted about five seconds. Then Luc Vien laughed. He really smiles all the time.

“Hahahahahaha—”

“What are you laughing at?!”

“No no no, hahahaha I can't help it… your parents are too cruel, aren't they?”

“Did you finally help me?”

"Help, help. What kind of help? Transfer money to you?"

My eyes immediately lit up.

“You give me 500 yuan first, I'll buy a train ticket back…”

“Okay okay. WeChat or Alipay?”

“Yeah, wait for me… oh wait.”

Luc Vien suddenly stopped.

“What else?!”

“Suddenly I remembered, last time you borrowed 300 yuan from me and still haven't paid it back.”

“You forgot about that, right?”

“Luc Vien.”

I gritted my teeth.

“Now I'm penniless, stuck in a city more than 1,200 km from home, and you still mentioned 300 yuan to me?”

“I just said it casually.”

“Did you finally transfer?”

"Transfer transfer. 500 yuan, right? Including the 300 yuan you owe me, it's 800 yuan. Remember that carefully."

"I remember! Quickly move!"

The next second, my phone screen went black. I lowered my head to look at the charging cable. The plug is loose. It hasn't been charging at all for a while now. I squatted in the charging area, shaking my hands and reconnecting the cord. The screen lights up and the apple logo appears. Restarting takes at least two minutes. After turning on the device, I still have to wait for the network connection. I sat there, my forehead starting to sweat foul. Ms. Vuong didn't know when she had been standing next to me.

“Can't transfer money?”

“The phone is out of battery.”

“Can I use your phone?”

I raised my head to look at her, almost kneeling on the spot.

"Thank you, Ms. Vuong! But... my friend doesn't have your WeChat, he..."

"Here's the number, I'll call for you."

I read Luc Vien's number. Ms. Vuong pressed call.

“Your subscription is busy.”

Call again.

“The subscriber you just called is currently switched off.”

That bastard must have gone back to sleep. Conveniently turn off the power. I squatted on the ground, my whole body felt like it had been stripped of all its bones. Ms. Vuong looked at me and sighed:

“Girl, you really…”

She just wanted to say it again. But I read the other half of the sentence in those eyes— Your fate is also really black. Three days ago, I was fired from the company. Now left behind by my parents. Just as my best friend said he was about to transfer money, his phone died. Can't call back. Me, twenty-six years old, useless, huddled in the corner of the lobby of a three-star hotel, disposable slippers on my feet. Outside the window, the sun is gradually rising. The sea breeze blew in from the main door, bringing with it the salty taste of sea water. Didn't you say you were going to see the sea? Look at the monkey.