Chapter 1 — After Betrayal Comes Peace

The fourth year after the breakup, Co Yen So appeared at the rice noodle shop I opened. When it was his turn, I habitually wiped my hands on my apron and smiled faintly and asked:

“What do you eat?”

“Kieu Kieu, it's really you!”

As soon as she opened her mouth, Co Yen So's eyes turned red.

"Our restaurant's pickled chili rice vermicelli dish is the most ordered. Can you eat it spicy?"

My voice is still calm.

“Did you forget that I can't eat spicy food?”

Before I could answer, a regular customer standing behind him interrupted uncomfortably:

“Dude, do you want to order? If you don't, then get out of the way!”

Co Yen So blushed and took a step aside. More than an hour later, I was so busy that I didn't even look at him once. After rush hour, Co Yen So walked up to me again:

“Kieu Kieu, after we broke up, did you live days like this?”

I felt annoyed and secretly sighed:

"Do you want to eat noodles? If you don't, then please go out. Our restaurant is small, we don't welcome people who intentionally come to cause trouble."

Finally, Co Yen So ordered a portion of the restaurant's signature dish. When I placed the finished bowl of vermicelli in front of him, Co Yen So asked softly:

“Do you really hate me?”

When I first found out he was dating my best friend, I really hated him. But many years have passed like this. How can I continue to waste time on people and things that are not worth it?

1

“If you hadn't appeared, I probably would have forgotten who you were a long time ago.”

I told the truth, but Co Yen So didn't believe it. During the time it took him to finish a bowl of vermicelli, his eyes turned red over and over again. I don't know if it was because of the red heat or because of some other reason. Every Monday is the fixed day I'm at the noodle shop. At four o'clock in the afternoon, after finishing cleaning, I closed on time. Co Yen So is still standing outside. I didn't pay attention to him. After locking the door, I headed back to where I was staying tonight. Along the way, many stall and shop owners greeted me. The road is just over a hundred meters long. Even though each family only said two sentences to each other, it still took me a lot of time to get through.

“Who are Kieu Kieu, Tieu Luc and Mr. Tran that they just mentioned?”

Actually, those two names refer to the same person. Luc Ung Tham, my husband. But I was too lazy to explain to Co Yen So, so I just impatiently replied:

“Does it have anything to do with you?”

I thought Co Yen So would find it difficult to retreat. Unexpectedly, he still persisted and did not let go:

"Why do they have to ask you if they want to know that person's whereabouts? Is he your current boyfriend?"

We went downstairs. Seeing that Co Yen So showed the appearance that she could not achieve her goal, she would not give up, my voice became even more impatient:

“Not my boyfriend, but my husband.”

"Are you done asking? I'm home, can you go now?"

Co Yen So did not answer immediately. He widened his eyes and was stunned for a few seconds.

"Are you married? Since when? What does that man do?"

After a series of consecutive questions, Co Yen So looked at the quite old residential building next to her.

“He let you live in a place like this?”

Just as I was about to get angry, Co Yen So turned to look at me with a serious expression:

"Kieu Kieu, I have a house on Hoa Binh street. As long as you agree, tomorrow I will transfer the name of the house." That's for you.”

Hoa Binh Street is not far from this place. That area is a famous rich area. The house there, if not a villa, is also a large luxury apartment. I was silently admiring that Co Yen So was different now, when a few meters away suddenly a shrill female voice rang out:

“Co Yen So! You said you were going to meet a client today? Is she your customer?”

Ha Duu pointed at me with a fierce expression. But as soon as she met my eyes, she immediately froze.

“Kieu… Kieu Kieu? Why you?”

After a moment of surprise, Ha Duu quickly walked to Co Yen So's side. Ignoring his movements to pull away, she forcibly interlocked their ten fingers together.

“I was just joking with Yen So!”

As he spoke, Ha Duu shook his tightly clenched hands:

“I'm serious, why didn't you tell me right away when you saw Kieu Kieu? Don't you know how much I miss her?"

No one answered her. A look of confusion flashed across Ha Duu's face. She looked at my hair, which was wet with sweat and stuck to my scalp from being busy all afternoon, then looked at the residential building next door. Then, she suddenly puffed her chest up.

“Kieu Kieu, do you live here? Is this house still livable? Are you still renting a house now?”

Co Yen So called Ha Duu's name as a warning. Ha Du paid no attention to him. She said to me in a tone carrying some alms:

“Do you remember the house we rented before? Yen So said it had a lot of our memories in it, so she bought it three years ago."

“Anyway, if that house is empty, it's a waste. I decided to let you live here without paying rent!

Ha Duu raised his chin, waiting for me to be grateful to the point of tears. As for Co Yen So, who originally intended to stop her, after hearing her words, she also unconsciously observed my face. I was almost provoked to laughter:

“Anniversary?”

“Is it the memory of the two of you secretly sleeping in the same bed behind my back?”

“Or is it the memory of two people working together to kick me out of the house?”

2

Because of my words, Ha Duu's face immediately darkened. Co Yen So also withdrew her eyes, not daring to look at me anymore. A neighbor passing by noticed the unusual atmosphere between the three of us so he asked me if I needed help. I shook my head, tilted my chin towards the two people opposite:

“They are tourists from somewhere else who came to ask for directions.”

After saying that, I ignored their expressions and walked into the building myself. As soon as I entered the house, the phone rang. The video call just connected, a big face and a small face leaned close to the screen:

“Five minutes later than the normal time to get home.”

“Mom! I miss you mom!”

I stopped the screen from touching my daughter's chubby face and angrily said to Luc Ung Tham:

“No need to beat around the bush, I know what you want to ask.”

As the landlord behind both the night market and these residential buildings, Luc Ung Tham has many eyes and ears. Surely you already knew there was a man coming to look for me.

“It's Co Yen So. Maybe he saw that video and came looking for it. Then Ha Duu also appeared. Before she recognized me, her voice when talking to Co Yen So sounded like she was trying to catch a cheat."

The more I talk, the more funny I feel. But Luc Ung Tham frowned.

“When a blogger comes into the shop to record a video, you shouldn't Agree. Let me think of a way to tell that person to take down the video.”

Half a month ago, a young girl took equipment into the shop to film. When the lens was pointed at me, I asked her how many followers her account had. She said not many, just a few hundred people. I didn't pay attention and let her spin. After she finished eating and left, I looked up her account on my phone. At that time, I was really startled. If it weren't for the "swastika" on the back, her follower count would really only be a few hundred. A food blogger with several million followers ran to film a small rice noodle shop like mine.