Chapter 25

WARNING:

This chapter contains suicide, violence, and oppression.

Thanh decided to 'come in through the back door' with one of the leaders of the Orchestra. He would never thought that the more considerate he was, the more that man talked him out of his position in the choir. Thanh lost his temper. He argued with that man but got nowhere. Anyway, the way that he chose wasn't clean. So, even if he wanted to say anything, he was putting his foot in his mouth. While falling in despair, he heard that Minh had been recruited again. That was the reason Thanh tried to return to flatter him.

"Minh, how have you been these past few days?" Thanh pretended to be concerned and approached him.

Minh looked at Thanh, and his face turned cold. It turned out that the person he loved with all his heart was such a brazen one. He didn't want to talk to Thanh, so he quickly left.

"Minh!" Thanh chased after him and grabbed his arm.

"You weren't accepted? The Orchestra doesn't have only one leader, or you can wait for another orchestra. It's easy!"

Minh yanked Thanh's hand away, turned around and walked straight.

Unable to accept being humiliated like that, Thanh shouted behind him.

"Do you think you are more noble than me? If that kid, Ngoc Lam, didn't withdraw from that position, how could it be your turn then? She's better than you, more famous than you, more enthusiastic than you. Do you think she suddenly withdrew for nothing?

Minh stopped when he heard those words. Seeing that his words had an impact on him, Thanh was on a high.

"She was afraid of your parents! In the morning she returned to the airport, Mr Woods was not at school. In the afternoon, her parents came to the Conservatory and asked for her withdrawal. Do you think that was a coincidence?"

"What are you talking about?" Minh turned to argue with Thanh. "I was recruited from the beginning. If it weren't for the Rector, why would there be a replacement?"

"Is that so? So that means if there's someone a little bit better than you, you can be replaced, right? You thought your mother didn't have her hand in the rehearsal list?" Thanh looked at Minh's sceptical expression and continued, "If you don't believe me, ask all students in the Conservatory how many students have been informed about the rehearsal. Your mother has hidden most of the information. If all piano students and junior students participate, do you think the audition time will be that fast?"

Minh turned pale and couldn't say a word.

"Do you think you are worth that much?" Thanh gained momentum and said more forcefully, "Everything you have ever had comes from your parents. Your whole life is just a worthless thing that your parents built up for you! Do you know that to help you be on the list of participants in major competitions, your parents secretly oppressed students from poorer families?"

Thanh enjoyed looking at Minh's increasingly shocked, a feeling of pride rose in his heart. He took a breath and gave him the final blow.

"Ngoc Lam, too. That child is the one with self-worth. She doesn't thirst for performing with that Czechoslovakian group. People with real talent always have many opportunities, if they don't have this one, they will have another. She's not like you ... Well if it wasn't you discovering her talent on that day but someone else on some other days, Mr Woods, for example, why would she have conceded her opportunities like that? Did you not pay attention, or did you purposely ignore it? Never once have she and you competed in the same tournament! Thanks to your parents, otherwise you wouldn't even have a belt! You thought you were the god who blessed that girl, but in reality, you were the one who interrupted her career! Why did Ngoc Lam, who had become famous in foreign countries for two years, come back to this village pond? It's all because of you! It's your fault!"

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Ngoc Lam had been obediently studying at home with her tutor these past few days. Even a one-of-a-kind music legend must participate in all semester exams under the Ministry of Education's program framework. Ngoc Lam would have to go to the building for elementary school students to take the exams four times for each school year. Her parents saw their daughter's situation and were even more determined to find a way to withdraw her academic transcript after she finished elementary school. The so-called 'special privilege' with no limit on days off is just a way to exploit a child's talent to the maximum. Ngoc Lam hardly had much contact with other people her age, and her personality was somewhat more mature and understanding. No wonder every time she went abroad, she was always happy because she met many old friends. Two years abroad were truly two years for Ngoc Lam to develop her talent and personality according to her age.

Ngoc Lam's father talked to M on the phone, discussing how to let Ngoc Lam enjoy all her childhood until 9th grade. When she went to high school, she would go abroad again.

As usual, Mr Woods often spent his free time inviting a few artists he knew to visit Ngoc Lam's house and play music together. No longer burdened with the pressure of performing perfectly in front of an audience, Ngoc Lam's music was much more freedom. Every time the music stopped, her parents and brother watching would applaud. The little girl confidently received the applause of hundreds, thousands of spectators. Now she was embarrassed and told the whole family to stop clapping with a happy smile on her face.

While everyone was enjoying the amusing atmosphere, a call came to Mr Woods. The teacher turned pale, immediately greeted the whole family and left with his friends.

Minh committed suicide.

No one knew why a man with a hopeful career like Minh did that.

But it was unexpectable that when Ngoc Lam and her family came to visit Minh, Mrs Phuong pointed straight at her and shouted "Murderer!"

It turns out that after Minh's death, Thanh was afraid that people would know he was involved, but also afraid that he would have no one to cling to. He remembered the last time he talked to Minh he briefly saw the phone screen on Minh's hand texting Ngoc Lam. Just out of luck when Minh was distraught, he deleted all his phone and computer data. Mrs Phuong did not know what happened. She only knew that Minh had been treating depression through the prescription he left behind after his death. She called Thanh to talk. He took advantage of the situation and made up a story about Minh committing suicide after texting with Ngoc Lam. Before that, he had been depressed when Ngoc Lam stole his performance. Based on those words, Mrs Phuong pieced together the events she knew, including the day Minh said he did not want to go abroad because of her. The anger in her heart billowed like a column of volcanic smoke. She believed that Ngoc Lam killed her son.

Through Mrs Phuong's attitude at Minh's funeral, one word is ten, ten is a hundred. People talked about Ngoc Lam indirectly causing Minh's death. The whispering became louder and louder, just like it had happened with Minh. The prying eyes glued behind Ngoc Lam's back made her scared. The people around her began to change their attitude towards her - some hated her, and some feared her. No one cares who participated in the conversations that made Minh collapse, but they just needed to know that the 'culprit' - Ngoc Lam must receive exactly what Minh had suffered, even double.

Ms. Phuong was successfully appointed head of the subject shortly after Minh passed away. Having little power, she openly oppressed and made things difficult for Ngoc Lam. Sometimes, she picked on Ngoc Lam's smallest mistakes, sometimes claimed her to play too emotionally, and sometimes said she played too technical and flat. Ngoc Lam didn't understand what was going on at first. She just tried to please her teacher, but a few months later, she became more and more confused and didn't know what to do. The initial confidence was gradually replaced by timidity and fear.

The teachers and teaching assistants on the same side as Mrs Phuong and other students did not hesitate to participate in the bullying. They followed Ngoc Lam and backbit behind her back by saying loudly Mrs. Phuong's criticisms of her, repeating statements like "The kind of person with a little talent who thinks she's a real legend. "Her skills are so terrible that she will humiliate the Conservatory if she attends any contests!" "You monster!" "Murderer!". The teachers joined together to bring charges against her and criticize her in front of other students.

As for Thanh, after confessing to Minh's parents about their relationship, he voluntarily had plastic surgery to make his face look as similar to Minh's as possible. He was also the most active person participating in the brutal violence against Ngoc Lam.

After a period of cold violence, mental violence, criticism and hate for no reason: musical instruments being destroyed, and occasionally having the words "Murderer" stuck on her backpack, Ngoc Lam's spirit deteriorated day by day. It gradually turned into mental illness. Her parents felt furious when they found out and went to meet the Rector to question him. No one would have expected that the bald man would cover up that Ngoc Lam was having badly due to megalomania that she got insulted easily by some gentle comments from her teachers. He constantly told how much he had invested in Ngoc Lam, and he also assigned Mrs Phuong, the head of the subject, to carefully tutor her. Then he blamed Ngoc Lam's parents for not knowing how to raise their child, allowing her to cause more and more trouble for the Conservatory of Music. The Rector also conveniently followed Mrs Phuong's words and took away the 'privilege' of unlimited days off so that Ngoc Lam had to go to school or she would not be able to graduate from elementary school.

Mr Woods and other teachers who were dissatisfied with the work of Mrs Phuong and the dean were transferred, sent on business trips, or assigned to work from beginning to end. Many people could not stand it and, under the pressure at work and in their lives, have to turn a blind eye. The director wanted to please Mrs Phuong and her husband because shortly, their reputation would soar like a rocket, and she was also being considered for Elite Artist status by the Arts Council.

Ngoc Lam's parents were helpless to ask for Mr Woods' help because he himself was being oppressed. They could not even complain to the authorities because there was no evidence. The Rector used the excuse of upgrading the security system to turn off all surveillance cameras, partly afraid that the incident would affect the chair he was sitting on. 

The bullying reached its peak when Ngoc Lam did not come home one day. Her parents made a big deal out of it and then asked an acquaintance to lead the police to the Conservatory. They discovered that the girl was locked in the bathroom and fell ill a week later. At this time, the Rector got panicked, and he had to discipline the students who locked Ngoc Lam in the bathroom. Ngoc Lam's older brother said nothing. Thanks to his acquaintance through the students of his father's dojo, he identified a few other people who had also bullied his sister, so he waited for the opportunity to beat those people up. Only then did the violence decrease.

But it turned out those people were just temporarily hibernating, waiting for an opportunity to destroy her spirit.

Since becoming mentally ill, Ngoc Lam began having nightmares and hallucinations. She always felt fear for no reason behind her. Since Thanh's face turned into Minh's, the slimy monster with Minh's face often appeared in her dreams.

Ngoc Lam had the opportunity to perform abroad again. K and M also know how horribly the girl was bullied and abused, but water which is distant is no good for a fire which is near. They had to stay abroad to find ways to make a chance to take Ngoc Lam away. The problem is that Mrs. Phuong refused, she found all kinds of reasons, found all kinds of mistakes, and used the excuse that the girl had been negligent recently and needed time to rest and rebalance. Finally, another chance had come. There was an international music exchange festival. K created a cake for the Conservatory to be recognized as an Asian-class music training school to convince the Rector, and with the advice of Mr Woods, Ngoc Lam finally had a chance to escape this place.

Mrs Phuong, of course, felt that her last chance to 'kill' Ngoc Lam's spirit had come.

As Ngoc Lam's supervising teacher, she called her into a hall, under the pretext of rehearsing for the festival event. Ngoc Lam was now so depressed that she didn't dare touch the piano anymore. Mrs Phuong showed 'understanding' and gave the girl a violin, but she forced her to face the stage, her back to the audience.

With each tune Ngoc Lam played, the sound of people entering the hall became louder. They didn't seem to care about what she was playing. They whispered to each other, sometimes laughing carelessly. Gradually, among those mixed sounds, the words 'Murderer!' emerged, over and over again, increasing in frequency. Finally, when she finished the song, everyone fell silent. That terrifying silence was like a black monster slowly approaching the poor girl from behind.

Suddenly, everyone in the audience burst into laughter. Laughter was like a drill going straight into Ngoc Lam's head. The girl couldn't bear it anymore. She fell and passed out.

Ngoc Lam was no longer able to perform confidently under the spotlight. Her last performance turns out to be a disaster. A child with a bloody head and body was taken to the hospital by her parents.

After this incident, the Rector of the Cónevatory deflected his responsibility, Mrs Phuong's husband used his power to block the media, Thanh colluded with bullies to fake the story about Ngoc Lam, and Mrs Phuong used Minh's death to threaten Ngoc Lam family. They choose a low-key teacher to push all the responsibility, manipulate and threaten that person, then fire him and get it over with. The Rector, who was afraid of trouble from the consequences, quickly agreed to let Ngoc Lam's family withdraw her transcripts and no longer have anything to do with the Conservatory of Music.

What happened in the conference room was known by Ngoc Lam's brother. He used the old way of calling people he had beaten up to ask about it.

Mr Woods came to her house to apologize for not being able to protect her. Ngoc Lam's mother looked at her daughter with tears in her eyes. Her father calmed down and asked Mr Lam if there was any way to get justice for his daughter. Teacher Lam honestly replied that chance would be a fine thing because those people on Mrs Phuong's side had already prepared for that situation. At first, the teacher did not expect Mrs Phuong to act so cruel and cold-blooded. When he discovered the trick, it was too late. But he promised, as long as he was still there in the Conservatory, he would collect all the pieces of evidence, and wait for the opportunity to expose all the truth. If the family had any clues, they could contact him.

Only poor Ngoc Lam could no longer play music.