As evening fell, the golden sunlight gathered its last rays and draped them across the old, weathered eaves. A gentle breeze began to blow, carrying a refreshing chill and the earthy scent of the world at sunset. Lam Tuc quietly opened the door.
"I'm back."
"Bro Tuc, did you go to your part-time job?"
"Not exactly. Today I went to collect last month's pay and quit. It's too far from school, so getting there is pretty inconvenient. So I'll probably have quite a bit of free time for now, at least until I find a new job. Besides, the school is covering tuition, food, and lodging, so I don't need to get another part-time job right away."
"Why don't you work as a cashier at my family's supermarket? You can take whatever pay you want. You'd only need to work two shifts a week."
"Are you trying to send me overseas for labor?"
"Uh... That's not what I meant. It's just that my family has recently started replacing regular cashiers with self-checkout machines, so the job is pretty easy now."
"All right. As for the salary, you can decide that yourself."
"Then I'll let my family know. If you want to see the workplace first, you can come take a look tomorrow afternoon. Once you leave school, look to the right. There's a newly built supermarket there. When you start working, just text me first, okay?"
Today, the two of them once again decided to go to bed early. The room gradually sank into silence. Suddenly, Lam Tuc called out to Minh Triet.
"Minh Triet, I think we forgot to prepare for tomorrow's class. What are we studying tomorrow, anyway?"
"Tomorrow's Wednesday... Wednesday? I think it's Calculus I."
"It sounds awful just from the name."
"What's so awful about it? The first few lessons just review some high school material, like sets and sequences. As long as you're willing to listen, you'll understand it right away."
Lam Tuc said nothing, only smiling faintly. Before long, they both drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, just as the sun began to rise, Lam Tuc sprang out of bed as usual. After freshening up, he prepared to make breakfast. He opened the refrigerator and stared inside for a moment before sighing.
"It's all fast food."
After fumbling around for a while, Lam Tuc took out two eggs, gave them a quick rinse, and put a pot of water on to boil. Once the water was hot enough, he dropped in the two eggs and set the timer for six minutes. Minh Triet, who had still been fast asleep, suddenly woke up. In a groggy voice, he called out to Lam Tuc.
"(Yawn) Bro Tuc, are you making breakfast? Make me a serving too."
"The fridge is full of fast food. What am I supposed to make?"
"Then never mind. I can just eat at lunch."
"You're being way too careless."
Lam Tuc sighed helplessly and went into the kitchen to fry one more egg.
Ten minutes later.
"Minh Triet, wake up and eat breakfast. I made you a plate of fried eggs and left it on the table. Remember to eat it when you're done."
"Thanks."
"I just couldn't bear to let you starve to death before getting to school."
Minh Triet burst out laughing. He felt like Lam Tuc was becoming a bit of a "tsundere" too. Lam Tuc's forehead twitched, and he decided to ignore him. Going to college didn't seem as bad as he'd thought after all.