As night deepened, the desolate wind swept away the leaves and blades of grass along the roadside in gusts, as if wanting to devour the last vestiges of autumn’s warmth.
Around midnight, a persistent drizzle fell, bringing with it the biting cold typical of winter. The streets were almost deserted by now, save for a few groups of late-night revelers or a scattering of Grab drivers trying to get in their last rides.
At one of the busiest beef pho restaurants in City X.
“Cẩm Ngọc, clear all the tables.”
Trương Cẩm Ngọc had just taken off her apron and put it in the locker, preparing to leave for the night, when her boss’s voice rang out.
She protested, “Boss, my shift is over.”
“Clear them, and I’ll give you a raise. It’s late anyway.”
Hearing the words “raise,” Trương Cẩm Ngọc put her apron back on and continued working.
The customers had finished eating a while ago; only a few scattered young people, returning from partying, had stopped by for a bowl of pho to warm their stomachs.
The restaurant was quite spacious, with nearly fifty tables across both floors. By the time Trương Cẩm Ngọc finished clearing this pile of bowls, it was almost one in the morning.
Before leaving the restaurant, she didn’t forget to remind him,
“You said you’d give me a raise, remember? You have to keep your word.”
“I know, I won’t shortchange you.”
By now, the streets were truly sparse, a stark contrast to their bustling daytime appearance.
It seemed that people walking at night carried a strange sense of loneliness, and Trương Cẩm Ngọc was no exception.
She still remembered a time, when she was little, back in her hometown, she had to work in the fields with her mother to pay off her father’s gambling debts.
Her father had gambled on tài xỉu and lost. The creditors demanded money, threatening to cut off his hands if he didn’t pay.
Her mother cried a lot; she even knelt down, begging her addicted husband, but her father wouldn’t listen.
After paying off one-third of the debt, her father fell into drug addiction. She still remembered clearly the day her father was lost in a drug-induced haze; he seemed to lose his mind, lashing out and hitting her mother. He rummaged through all the money her mother had saved for her three siblings’ education to buy that wretched substance.
And then her father was arrested by the police and sent to prison. A year later, he was sent home because he had terminal cancer.
The day her father passed away, he didn’t forget to leave her mother a terrible “gift.”
It was a debt that would make anyone shudder just hearing about it.
It was five billion, a sum Trương Cẩm Ngọc had never even dreamed of in her entire life.
Her mother’s life was truly bitter for being entangled with that man.
She hadn’t known a moment of happiness in her entire life; the burden of money had made her miserable.
And now, that same burden of money tormented her, just as it had tormented her mother.
Trương Cẩm Ngọc wanted to go to university to change her future, but she had no money.
Trương Cẩm Ngọc also wanted pretty clothes, nice lipstick, and new shoes like her friends, but again, she had no money.
So she had to work, doing everything she could to earn money: to pay off debts, to make her mother happy, and to give her younger siblings a full life.
For the past two years, she had done every kind of job, even the most menial.
No matter who looked down on her, she didn’t care. She was extremely proud that the money she earned was completely honest.
Quickening her pace to escape the biting gusts of the north wind, Trương Cẩm Ngọc rubbed her palms together to ward off the cold. She even shivered uncontrollably, but her body temperature didn’t rise even a little.
Fortunately, her familiar boarding house was now in front of her.
The room she rented wasn’t much better than the outside, but at least it was still a place where she could hold on in this bustling, chaotic city.
She opened her bag, took out her old clothes, and went into the bathroom.
Exhausted from the long day, only water could wash away the weariness and sorrow within her.
She turned on the tap to fill the basin…! That’s right, she still hadn’t gotten paid, her rent was overdue, and the water had been cut off for days.
Oh, forget it. Not showering for one day wouldn’t kill her.
Trương Cẩm Ngọc picked up the last remaining packet of cheap instant noodles and ate them raw.
She wondered what would become of her after today…
The next morning, she woke up earlier than usual, grabbed her long-faded school bag, and headed to school, whistling cheerfully.
No sooner had she sat down than Trương Cẩm Ngọc was confronted by a group of rich young ladies.
“Ugh, what’s that awful smell coming from her today?”
“Exactly, it’s like a dead rat, absolutely revolting.”
“Could it be her personality radiating? The stench of a rotten personality is hard to hide.”
She ignored them, taking out the pile of books on her desk and opening them to reread.
Seeing this, Mạt Nhi grew furious and was about to raise her hand to slap Trương Cẩm Ngọc to vent her anger.
“Go ahead and slap me, but if you touch me, your personality might get infected.”
“You…”
Trương Cẩm Ngọc stood up, looked at the three girls in front of her, then suddenly hugged them tightly.
“You must not have smelled it clearly just now, so now I give you permission. Go ahead and smell! I haven’t showered in a month, so smell to your heart’s content! I just slept with a guy who tested positive for AIDS, want to try a little blood too?”
Mạt Nhi and her group struggled in terror, pushing her away to escape, horror still clearly visible on their faces.
“Trương Cẩm Ngọc, you’re a bitch.”
“So, should I cut my wrist for you to get some blood then? I’m already a wretch anyway.”
She took a pair of scissors from her bag and held them up. Mạt Nhi, believing her, desperately tried to stop her.
“I… I’m sorry, I won’t dare to again, please forgive us, don’t do it, I don’t want to die yet.”
With that, they backed away, then turned and ran back to their seats.
Trương Cẩm Ngọc sneered and called after them,
“Come visit again tomorrow!”