Chapter 3 — Three Thousand Miles Away From Family

Five seconds later, the phone called again, I pressed decline. Another five seconds later, in the chat group "Dear Family" a message from An An appeared. "Mom, Dad, it seems like she's not at home. The sound behind her call is very strange." Three minutes later, mother answered. "Maybe he's gone to a classmate's house, leave him alone. What time is it now? Go to bed early." Dad didn't say anything. I looked at the sentence "let it go" for a long time. The corner of the mouth slightly raised without a sound, but it couldn't be considered a smile. Leave me alone. They have been doing this for eighteen years. The rallying whistle sounded a second time. I turned off the phone, turned and ran towards the stairs. Army boots stepped on the cement steps, each step making an echo. The phone screen behind me went dark, the messages in the "Dear Family" group fell into darkness. Three thousand miles away, they raised their glasses in the darkness of Rome. During those same three thousand miles, I stood on the training ground of the military academy, starting to do my fiftieth push-up. Their trip has eight days left. Eight days later, when they returned home, they would find out. In that house, Giang Tich Nguyet's household registration no longer exists. On the tenth day of their European trip, they finally returned home. I know this because the "Dear Family" chat group suddenly exploded. Mom sent more than ten voice messages in a row, each sixty seconds long. I didn't listen, but just looking at the words she typed was enough. "Jiang Tich Nguyet, have you changed your household registration? Are you crazy?" Immediately after that, An An sent a sentence: "Sister, where did you go? Your parents are about to die." To Vien also appeared, her tone still as high and noble as before: "What are you doing again? What an act." "Don't be in a hurry, she can do it alone. Where are you going? I'll probably return in a few days when I run out of money." Dad didn't say anything in the group. But ten minutes later, my phone rang. Caller: Dad. After I received the phone, there was silence on the other end for a few seconds, followed by a sigh of trying to suppress my anger. "Tich Nguyet, where did you change your household registration?" "Van Thanh." "Van Thanh? Why did you come to Van Thanh? Didn't you pass the entrance exam to any good school?" I held the phone, leaned on the iron railing outside the dormitory balcony, bowed my head and looked at my classmates lining up for evening training downstairs. "Dad, the school I passed the entrance exam to is University." National Defense Science and Technology." The other end was silent again, this time longer than before. "What?" "National Defense Science and Technology University, early admission, I ranked twelfth in the province." I heard him take a breath, but only half of it he choked. After ten seconds of silence, he did not say congratulations. The first sentence was an interrogation: "So why didn't you tell us?" The second sentence was a complaint: "You left on your own, who takes care of the family matters?" I laughed silently. "Dad, you missed my visa at the airport." "...That was just an accident." "When applying for the visa, you brought four passports to the embassy. Dad's, Mom's, An An's and To Vien's." I paused for a moment. "From the beginning, there was no part of "On the phone came the harsh sound of the chair leg rubbing against the floor, as if he suddenly stood up. "Tich Nguyet, what do you mean? Do you doubt that I did it on purpose?" I didn't answer. "I'm your father, how could you deliberately not take me with you? It's just that I forgot so many visa documents, it's normal to make mistakes." His voice trembled, I don't know if it was because of anger or guilt. "Okay, let's see. like you forgot." My voice was very calm. "What about the day the admission notice was sent home? Did you forget too?" "During An An's congratulatory party, I knew there was a package sent but it wasn't there yet

asked me a question about which school I passed." "I brought the political examination form in front of dad. Dad signed it but couldn't even see the words 'National Defense Science and Technology University' in the title." "Two thousand eight hundred yuan for the physics exam, dad refused to spend it. But for the twelve thousand yuan of An An's art exam preparation fee, dad never blinked." "Every time the whole family goes out to eat, mom and dad always only book a table for four people. The fifth chair is always brought by me when I call the waiter myself." "Dad, it's not like you forgot my visa." "You forgot that you have two daughters." The other end was completely silent. A long time later, so long that I thought he had hung up, a hoarse voice came out of the phone with difficulty. "Tich Nguyet..." "Dad, I don't blame you." I said that very lightly. "But I won't come back either." When hanging up the phone, My hands didn't shake. Downstairs came the coach's loud voice, the sound of neat footsteps stepping on the sunset. The sound was both very far and very close. Farther than the house that had never left me a chair. The third day after the call ended, I was at the training ground when the coach called me out. "Giang Tich Nguyet, someone from my family was looking for you at the school gate."