Chapter 1 — Wish to Keep Summer

When I was in high school, there was a guy in my class who was rich. Let's invite the whole class to eat and drink. Every three days KFC, every five days McDonald's. The most generous was that year, when he lost the bet, he conveniently gave me - the person standing on the roadside - one hundred thousand yuan. Thanks to that money, I survived all my high school years, then passed the university entrance exam. Only later did I learn that the so-called generosity was just a cover, losing the bet was also a made-up excuse. These are all just the silly, clumsy and difficult thoughts of a growing teenager. Four years later, his family went bankrupt and was lost on the streets. I squatted down in front of him, held out my hand: "Hey, come with me?" 1. I have a notebook hidden in the deepest part of my desk drawer. It's full of my big and small dreams. The earliest dream was: “I don't want to be beaten with a stick anymore.” So when I was ten years old, my mother fiercely divorced me, taking me away from my violent father and the small village where fifteen-year-old girls had to get married in exchange for bride price. Mom helped me make that wish come true. Second wish: “I want to go to school.” From then on, my mother worked three jobs a day, washing dishes during the day and setting up stalls at night. Begged everywhere to complete my admission documents, then take me to school. In the eyes of a child like me at that time, my mother was someone who could do everything. “I want a scarf that doesn't fluff.” “A pair of duck-shaped hairpins for two yuan.” “Gloves don't freeze your hands.” I use my immature handwriting to continue writing small dreams. Until the twenty-eighth thing: “I want to eat a delicious birthday cake with my mother.” This time, my always omnipotent mother couldn't do it. On the way to buy cakes, my mother had a stroke due to a brain hemorrhage and had to be taken to the emergency room. I borrowed from everywhere, prayed to God, cried until the sky shook... but it was still in vain. When I was fifteen years old, I lost my last relative. 2. I kept that book sealed for a year. By the time it reopened, I was an 11th grader. The wishes in the notebook gradually became more trivial and more dense: "Finish writing all the questions before ten o'clock at night." “The upcoming mock exam will be in the top 5 of the block.” “In the evening, I can find another part-time job to pay tuition next semester.” Since I was alone, I started making wishes on my own. But sometimes, between the pages of the notebook, there are still a few lines of soft lamentations: "My tablemate ate KFC again... It smells so good, I don't know how it tastes, is it delicious?" “You invited me to see a movie at night. I heard it's my favorite genre, but the tickets are too expensive.” “I want to raise a small cat… well, I can't afford it.” A miserable life makes even eating and drinking count every penny. Those wishes, for me... are painfully luxurious. Until a young master from the next class transferred in - named Ta Tuan. The first time he appeared, he invited the whole class to eat KFC. A week later, he grabbed the entire movie theater for the class to watch. In class, everyone cheered him on, calling him "the richest big brother in school." But behind his back he laughed, saying he was stupid, throwing money away to appear generous. As for the small complaints that people ignore... they are quietly responded to. I silently gave Ta Tuan a name: "Genie of the Lamp" - Genie of the Lamp Ta. As for me, main is the poor, dirty Aladdin in that story. It's just... my genie, so strangely generous, so generous that others can't refuse. The high-class pizzeria that I had passed by several times but never dared to enter, for him, every few days he invited the whole class to a sumptuous meal. My genie doesn't seem to have a three-wish limit at all. The things I wrote in the notebook - no matter how small or silly - were done silently and meticulously by him. In the summer, he treats everyone to a class of cool ice cream, and in the winter, he gives each of you a cup of hot milk tea. Thanks to him, I learned the real taste of fast food chains often seen on advertising leaflets. Thanks to him, I can join in the conversation about famous movies with my friends without feeling out of place. Even the winter cold that scared me the most, he chased away for me - everyone was given a down jacket. It was the kindest winter of my life. For the first time, my ears were not chapped from the cold wind, nor were my fingers numb or sore. At the end of 11th grade, I finished writing my school leave application. The thirty thousand yuan I borrowed to treat my mother's illness was brought to my door every day, making me tired and exhausted. I finished packing my luggage and prepared to go south to work in a factory. The day before leaving, I happened to meet Ta Tuan again. He just lost a bet — the rules were to give 100,000 yuan to the first girl who passed by. And I am that girl. Not giving me time to refuse, he stuffed money into my hand, saying: "Hey, don't let me break my promise. This little bit of money isn't enough for me to buy a set of clothes."{Read full on Van Ha's love page} The remnants that fall from the fingers of the rich are sometimes enough for a poor person to work hard for a lifetime. Thanks to that money, I paid off all my debt, continued to finish high school, and even passed the university entrance exam. In my simple and rustic value system, Aladdin's Genie is omnipotent. So does Ta Tuan. 3. So when I heard that Ta Tuan was kicked out of his family by his family and had to live on the streets, I was really dumbfounded for a long time. At this time, I had graduated from university and opened a small restaurant with money saved from work. The class was bustling with news: "I heard that his family went bankrupt, his father took all the money and ran after his third child, leaving him alone." "I was studying abroad and was called back. It seemed like I couldn't even get my diploma." “Tsk tsk, I was so rich back in high school, now I don't even have a place to sleep, it's really feng shui reincarnation.” I found Ta Tuan in a park, he was sitting on a bench, his eyes looking blankly into the distance. The person in front of me right now is no longer the same as my old memories. His eyes, once arrogant and sharp, were now lowered, his gaze as quiet as a lake without ripples. I stopped, my steps slowed down, hesitating, not knowing whether I should step forward. But he quickly raised his head. Having not seen each other for four years, we faced each other under the sunset in a quiet, deserted park. I'm not sure if Ta Tuan still recognizes me or not. Probably not — after all, we rarely talked in high school. Not friends, not even close like classmates. Ta Tuan's life is so brilliant, he probably doesn't care about one person normal, dull like me. Sure enough, he looked at me, his face expressionless: "Is something wrong?" I pointed to the flyer in his hand: "Sorry, that's my shop's recruitment flyer." “I see you looking at it… Are you going to apply?” 4. Until I brought Ta Tuan back to the shop, I still felt like I was dreaming. He stood not far from me, his eyes glanced around the store, his voice faintly asked: "Where am I?" Before that, when I asked him to follow me, Ta Tuan's eyes looked at me very strangely. I set the conditions: "Four thousand yuan a month, full insurance, eight hours a day, two days off a week." It wasn't until I added "food and lodging included", that his expression changed a bit, then nodded in agreement. The amount of money that was once not enough for him to eat a meal can now buy him a month of life. Perhaps it's true what the class said: Ta Tuan now has nowhere to go. I inherited this store from a friend, specializing in selling fried chicken and skewers. Nice location, business is also good. The first floor is for sales, the second floor is for living space - I use one room, the other is a storage room. I was cleaning up a pile of junk, thinking to myself that I would have to go buy another bed later. You also have to buy blankets, pillows, toothbrushes, towels...