Chapter 6 — Three Thousand Miles Away From Family

Her voice sounded tired. "Your father told me... about that school." "I want to ask you a question." "When did you pass the exam? Why... we all don't know?" I leaned against the wall, slowly sitting on the ground. "Mom, the day the admission notice was sent home, I was peeling fruit for An An." "I held the admission notice standing in front of mom, mom told me to put it aside, don't bother her." The other end was silent for a moment. During the National Day holiday, the company had three days off. Most people went home, the dormitory was half empty. Trinh Han invited me to go for a walk in the city, I agreed. While eating at the shopping center, Trinh Han put down his chopsticks. "Jiang Tich Nguyet, your phone was ringing the whole way, did you really not see it?" I lowered my head and looked over. Seventeen missed calls. Dad's three times, mother's five times, An An's eight times. There was also a call from a strange phone number in our hometown. "No rush." I placed the phone face down on the table and continued eating noodles. Trinh Han looked at me and didn't ask any more questions. After eating, while waiting for the elevator, the phone rang again. It's An An's video call. I swiped the screen to receive the phone. On the screen, An An is not alone. Parents sat next to each other on the sofa in the living room, An An sat on a small chair opposite, holding the phone towards the three of them. Mother's eyes were red and swollen, father's sideburns were more gray than before the summer vacation. "Sister, look at your parents." An An's voice was a bit hoarse, like she had just cried. The camera shook and moved towards the tea table. On the table is a stack of printed paper, the top sheet is an introduction page about the University of National Defense Science and Technology, important parts are marked with a marker. Next to it, place a photo frame. This is a photo I took when I received a certificate of merit for my third best student in elementary school. Previously, that photo was in a dusty box on the top floor of the bookcase. Now it is washed out, placed next to family photos. I looked at that photo frame and was momentarily lost. Mother spoke up, her voice trembling slightly. "Tich Nguyet, in the past few days I... have found all your transcripts from childhood to adulthood." She bowed her head and wiped her eyes. "Every year she ranked first, every year she was a good third student, first prize in physics competition, first prize in writing competition..." "These certificates of merit are all piled up under the lowest shelf in your room's cabinet. I have never seen a single one." Dad sat next to him without saying anything, his fingers continuously rubbing the fabric of his pants above his head. pillow. An An turned the camera towards herself, bit her lip and said: "Sister, I looked up your school. The admission score is more than two hundred points higher than mine." "The whole province only recruits twelve people, you are one of them." He sniffed. "I posted this on my personal page, To Vien... he said he didn't believe it." He stopped. "Then I sent him a photo of your admission notice." "He didn't reply to my message." He bit. lips, hesitating, not knowing whether to continue or not. "Then he posted a post, saying: 'There are some people who must use the method of running away from home to attract attention, it's meaningless.' I argued with him in the comment section, he deleted my friend. "I did not give any opinion on this matter. An An waited a few seconds, saw I didn't say anything, her voice became even lower. "Sister, he's not right." I stood on the marble floor on the first floor of the shopping center, surrounded by a noisy stream of people passing by. Trinh Han quietly took a few steps away. On the screen, my mother spoke again. "Tich Nguyet, can you come home for National Day? I'll cook for you. I'll do whatever you want to eat." At the edge of the video call screen, I saw something else appear on the living room wall. The first prize certificate of the physics competition has been framed. It's the paper

certificate that three years ago I worked part-time to earn money to participate in the contest and brought it home. At that time, it lay on the desk for a month without anyone touching it, then its mother treated it like waste paper and put it in the storage room. Now, it hangs in the most prominent position in the living room, next to An An's dance certificate and piano certificate. No, it's higher than those. I looked at that image for a long time. There was something stuck in my throat, I couldn't swallow it, I couldn't spit it out. "Mom, I'm not coming home." I heard my voice very calm, not recognizing any emotions. "The National Day holiday is only three days, the time to go and return has already taken two days." Mother's tears fell. "What about winter break? Will you come home for winter break? I'm waiting for you." I didn't answer this question. "An An, give me the phone." The camera shook a few times, the frame shook. Dad's face filled the screen. He pursed his lips, wanting to say something but couldn't say it. "Dad, I live very well." With just that sentence, his eye sockets turned red. A man over fifty years old turned his face to the side, using the back of his hand to wipe the corner of his eyes vigorously. "I know." "Dad... sorry." When these words came out of his mouth, his voice was hoarse. I lowered my head to look at the reflection on the ground. The lights in the mall shine on everything too brightly. “Yes.”