Chapter 9 — Youth Returns to You

Luc Tri was blocked outside the crowd, the paper bag in his hand fell to the ground. The dolphin bracelet rolled out, stopping next to his shoe. Before the winter break, news of Hua Niem Niem's incident reached me. While working at a milk tea shop, she lost a customer's phone. The camera captured the scene where she arbitrarily put the phone in her pocket, saying she intended to wait until her shift ended and then hand it over to the manager. As a result, the customer reported her to the police. The amount of money was not high, and in the end, she was compensated and apologized, but the milk tea shop fired her, and the exam preparation school completely stopped accepting her. This news spread among high school friends. Some people sobbed, some said she was pitiful, and some people looked back at her previous friends' posts. "Pitiful is pitiful, but remembering other people's things is not right." "Before, I still felt that Nam Chi was petty, but now looking back, Nam Chi's personality is really too good." "At first, Luc Tri was so close to her, she deserved to overturn the car." In the group, someone tagged Luc Tri. He did not appear. That night, a strange number called me. After answering the phone, it was Hua Niem Niem's hoarse voice. "On Nam Chi, are you satisfied?" In the dormitory it was very quiet, the heating pipe occasionally made a sound. I said: “You called wrongly.” She squeaked: "If you hadn't passed the recording out, why would everyone look at me like that?" "I didn't." The recording was only for Luc Tri's parents to listen to. Who knows after that, it doesn't matter. Hua Niem Niem cried: "Now I have nothing left. Luc Tri doesn't answer my phone calls, and my classmates don't pay attention to me. I just want to live a little better, why do you all force me?" Outside the window there was a little snow blowing. I remember the look of her sitting in the passenger seat, her eyes red, asking me if she was making me upset. At that time, she had all of Luc Tri's favoritism, and wanted me to bow my head and comfort her. "Hua Niem Niem, no one forced you to steal the phone." The breathing on the other end of the line was rapid. "What do you rely on to stand so high? You passed the university entrance exam well, you have someone you love, of course you can say good things!" I calmly said: "I was also abandoned at a rest stop." She no longer spoke. "But I don't rob other people." The phone was hung up. The next day, Luc Tri sent a very long message. He said Hua Niem Niem came to his house to cause trouble and was chased away by his parents. He said he had quit his car washing job in Bac Thanh and was preparing to return to the city to study for the exam again. He said he finally understood that what you should really be responsible for is your own life, not other people's tears. The last line is: "Nam Chi, I won't bother you anymore. You have to move on well." This time, I replied with one word. "Okay." The message was sent, and Luc Tri's chat box was currently being entered. Appears for a long time, then disappears again. There are no more new messages. Complete.