Chapter 16 — After Rebirth, I Won't Marry You Anymore

On the way back, it was dark. Chu Chieu Da drove. I sat in the passenger seat, with the remaining stickers on my knees. The car smelled faintly of food and the scent of laundry detergent on his clothes. The red light turns on. He suddenly said:

“I don't see that as suffering.”

I turned to look at him. He held the steering wheel, eyes still looking ahead:

"You made me suffer too much before. Doing these things now is not about suffering, but about making up for it."

I clutched the stack of stickers. No response. Outside the window, each streetlight lit up one after another. It's like someone is slowly lighting up a long street. There is also a place in my heart that brightens up a bit. But I'm not in a hurry to say it. There are rays of light... It is not necessary to immediately name them. 18 Evening dresses on stage The day the wedding dress was transformed into an evening dress, Nam Phong restaurant received an invitation to participate in the residential area's culinary festival. The scale of operation is not large. Only held in the old neighborhood square. A few long-standing restaurants set up stalls, selling typical dishes. Ta Nghien Thanh asked me to wear a repaired evening gown on stage to say a few words. He said it's called telling a brand story.

“It's okay to tell a brand story, but wearing an evening gown to sell beef stew with tomatoes, isn't it a bit like a princess going down to earth to stir-fry vegetables?”

Ta Nghien Thanh pushed his glasses:

“You have to believe in the contrast effect.”

Tong Chi stood next to him and nodded:

"I agree. People go on stage wearing suits, and you wear a modified wedding dress. I already thought of the title: 'The woman who canceled her engagement cut her wedding dress short, used tomato beef noodles to return to dominate the old street.'"

I looked at her:

“Lately, you've been secretly researching clickbait headlines, right?”

She seriously replied:

"For my sister's career, I will learn every black magic."

On the day of the festival, the sky was very blue. When I put on that evening dress, I stood in front of the mirror stunned for a few seconds. The white wedding dress was cut short to the calves. The skirt part is gone. The waist line is simple and neat. The sleeves are modified into a thin layer of chiffon. Every time I raised my hand, it was like a breeze passing by. It is no longer like the bond of marriage. It's more like a dress that can be worn to run far away. My mother stood behind me and adjusted my collar for me: My father stuck his head out from the kitchen, took a look and then retreated again:

“That's okay.”

My mother laughed:

“Your father's 'just fine' is equivalent to a fairy descending to earth.”

In the kitchen, my father coughed until the sky shook. Food festivals are very crowded. In front of the booth of Nam Phong restaurant, there was a long line. Tieu Man is in charge of collecting money. A Loc ladles soup. My father guarded the pot of soup, with the air of a general guarding a city. Tong Chi held a mini speaker and shouted loudly:

"Nam Phong beef stew noodles! So soft that even old people can eat them! After eating, I don't remember my ex-lover, I just want to ask for more rice!"

I laughed so hard I almost fell off my apron. Chu Chieu Da arrived earlier than scheduled. He was wearing civilian clothes, carrying a box of mineral water in his hand. As soon as he saw me, his steps clearly stopped. I bowed my head to look at the evening dress:

“Is it weird?”

He shook his head: He said those three words very slowly. As if afraid of alarming something.

"Thank you. Once a wedding dress, now a combat gown."

His eyes sparkled with laughter:

"Boss Hua is victorious."

Before going on stage, the MC suddenly spoke I have to tell three minutes about the shop's story. I had originally prepared my speech. But when I stood on stage, looking at the familiar faces below, I suddenly didn't want to read the script anymore. I saw my mother standing next to the stall, still holding a cleaning cloth in her hand. Seeing my father standing next to the pot of soup, his mouth was complaining about the heat but his eyes were always directed towards the stage. I saw Tong Chi holding a mini speaker and raising his hand to make a heart shape at me. Seeing Ta Nghien Thanh holding a camera, it was as professional as filming a Michelin documentary. Also saw Chu Chieu Da standing behind the crowd. He didn't push his way to the front. Nor did he wave his hands exaggeratedly. Just quietly looked at me. Sunlight fell on his shoulders. This time it's not cold anymore. Which is as warm as an old piece of copper. I held the microphone and suddenly smiled.

"Hello everyone, I am Hua Trung Uong, the owner of Nam Phong rice restaurant. Our soup pot has been on fire for more than twenty years. There was a time when the restaurant stopped selling at night, because the owner at that time was a bit... not very alert."

Below burst into laughter. I continued:

"In the past, I always thought that in life you have to choose the most stable answer. Later I realized that being stable or not is not up to others to give you, but every day you keep the fire burning, stewing, little by little living the life you want."

I stopped for a moment.

"In the future, Nam Phong restaurant will continue to sell at night, and will also make meals for the elderly, night shift meals and overtime meals. We cannot promise that life will not be bitter, but we can promise that the stewed beef will not be tough."