* Note *
- Lu Han Jue: Chinese name
- Nguyen Ngoc Doan Nhi : Vietnamese name
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- Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, Manchuria, China -
Lu Han Jue was born into a poverty-stricken family. His parents, both factory workers, passed away when he was very young. He lived with his grandmother, but she constantly blamed him for their deaths, calling him a "jinx." She never hesitated to swing a rattan cane at his back.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
The cane struck hard against his pale back, which was already mapped with old scars.
"You're a curse! The one who should have died was you!"
"You took away the son I loved most!"
Cruel curses poured from the mouth of the white-haired old woman, her face wrinkled and twisted with rage.
Lu Han Jue remained motionless, his face a mask of silent endurance. In his heart, he did not resent his grandmother for her cruelty. Instead, he harbored a deep fear—a fear that the only relative he had left, the woman who punished him daily, would also leave this world, abandoning him in this cold and unforgiving reality.
He was a senior at Harbin No. 3 High School, an elite institution where only the top 1% of students could hope to gain admission. Naturally brilliant, Lu Han Jue possessed an intellect far beyond his peers, especially in data analysis and mathematics. Throughout the 10th and 11th grades, he consistently ranked at the top of his class, earning perfect scores in Math, Physics, and Chemistry.
His days began at school at 6:30 AM and ended at 11:00 PM. At night, he worked as a host at luxury KTVs. On Sunday mornings, he took on grueling manual labor as a hired porter.
At 4:00 AM, after serving an elderly socialite, he stepped out into the night. He wore a black silk shirt, tailored trousers, and Oxford shoes. On his lean, 1.92-meter frame, the outfit—combined with the scent of sandalwood and a hint of cigarette smoke—made him irresistibly alluring. This was why wealthy women sought him out; he was like a fine wine that grew more intoxicating with every sip.
Standing outside the KTV, he opened a pack of cigarettes, placed one between his lips, and flicked a lighter. A cloud of smoke drifted into the air. Exhaustion finally touched his face, but his deep black eyes remained as icy and distant as ever.
The sky was a vast expanse of white. Snow fell endlessly, piling into drifts beneath his feet.
Lu Han Jue looked up at the sky, a thought drifting through his mind.
(Hmph. No matter how bone-chilling the snow is, how could it ever be as cold as the human heart?)
Suddenly, his phone let out a sharp ping.
He pulled a battered, old phone from his pocket. A few messages appeared on the screen, and Lu Han Jue's lips curved into a faint, involuntary smile.
Xiu Xiao Ming:
[Hey, Jue Jue, how are you doing?]
[I stayed up until dawn to grind through those assignments, huhu. T ^ T]
[What is your brain made of to load all this data so fast? Remember to teach me in class tomorrow!]
[Oh, I forgot—if it's cold, remember to wear the wool scarf I knitted for you.]
[I'm exhausted! I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, Jue Jue. <3]
With numb fingertips, Lu Han Jue typed a brief reply.
[Mn. Goodnight.]
Snowflakes clung to his knuckles. Stepping out from the warmth of the KTV, the lingering heat from his client's skin still ghosted over his body—it was a bitter irony. He pulled out the scarf Tu Xiao Ming had knitted and wrapped it gently around his neck.
Xiu Xiao Ming was his only light. He loved Xiao Ming deeply, and that was one of the two reasons he worked himself to the bone—to earn enough money and study hard enough to get into Tsinghua University. The second reason was simple: ambition. He wanted to be the master of his own fate, to never be trampled upon again, and to never live the hopeless life his parents and grandmother had endured.
- Dong Thap Province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam -
Under the warm sunlight, a little girl named Nhi was excitedly climbing a tree to pick mangoes.
"Nhi! Nhi! Be careful, don't fall, my child!"
A man stood beneath the tree, his arms outstretched anxiously, ready to catch her.
"I'm almost there, Ba! Wait a second!"
A moment later, the little girl climbed down with a mango in each hand. She sat triumphantly on her father's sturdy shoulders, her face beaming like a little warrior who had just won a great battle.
"Sigh, look at you. With a tomboy personality like this, how will you ever find a husband later?"
The little girl puffed out her cheeks in a playful pout.
"Who wants a husband anyway? I just want to stay with Ba and Ma."
The father and daughter walked along a path where the damp earth met the shade of towering coconut trees. Two rows of palms stretched high, shielding them from the scorching sun as a gentle breeze carried the familiar scents of the Mekong Delta.
That evening, Nhi's family held a small party, as they did almost every day. They sat in a large circle on the floor. In the center was a feast: hotpot, lotus leaf-steamed rice, lotus root salad with shrimp and pork, and fresh lotus seeds.
Nhi's relatives—aunts, uncles, parents—all held glasses of beer. Together, they raised them high and cheered:
"1! 2! 3! Dzoooooo!"
As soon as little Nhi finished eating, she scurried outside to play with her friends—Ti, Teo, and Tham—leaving the adults to their drinking.
They wandered into the fragrant lotus fields to "steal" a few lotus flowers to throw at each other before playing hide-and-seek. Finally, exhausted, they sat down under a small coconut tree.
Tham decided to tell a ghost story she had heard from the adults. Little Ti, Teo, and Nhi, despite their young age, were instantly hooked, listening intently to every word.
"I heard that a long time ago, right at this lotus pond, someone was dragged down into the mud by a ghost and drowned!"
Tham told the story with perfect dramatic flair, making the others shiver. She was a natural storyteller.
"They say it was a man who used to harvest lotus flowers at night, just like we are out here now."
"He started hearing whispers in his ear, but every time he turned around, no one was there."
"He thought he was just dizzy from working too hard, so he ignored it."
"But while he wasn't paying attention, he felt something grab his legs and pull him under."
"The strange part is, the mud wasn't even that deep. But when the villagers pulled his body out, his throat was packed tight with silt and sand..."
By the time she finished, the three kids were traumatized, their faces turning pale.
Ti tried to act tough. "Psh, just a made-up story. I'm not scared!"
Teo, usually loud and energetic, was suddenly stuttering.
Nhi, who had a vivid imagination, was so terrified she couldn't speak a word.
When late night came, everyone headed home. Only Tham looked cheerful; the other three looked like they had seen a spirit themselves.
Nhi was pampered by her parents and had her own bedroom, but tonight, she couldn't sleep. Her eyes darted from the corners of the room to the window, imagining a long-haired female ghost with a ghastly face lurking outside.
Unable to take it anymore, she ran to her parents' room and demanded to sleep with them.
They looked at each other and laughed. Her father teased her:
"Did someone tell you a ghost story? Are you obsessed now?"
Too embarrassed to admit it, little Nhi pouted and made an excuse.
"No way! I just felt like sleeping with Ba and Ma tonight."
That night, Nhi slept tucked safely between her father and mother. Wrapped in the security they provided, she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep until morning.