Chapter 4 — After Rebirth, I Won't Marry You Anymore

In the past, he would have frowned first, asked me if I was tired, if there was any risk, why I had to make myself work so hard. This time, he seemed to chew the sentence over and over in his mouth before replying: "If you want to do it, I can help you look at the safety issues and delivery routes." I was a bit surprised. Ta Nghien Thanh picked up the cup of tea and slowly added a sentence:

“Not bad, Captain Chu didn't mention the phrase 'just settle down a bit' today, it's worth writing down.”

Chu Chieu Da glanced at him, his eyes very cold. I almost burst out laughing. It turns out that when men are jealous, they also know how to make progress. The restaurant's first batch of test orders were twenty dinners for a design company in a nearby office building. My dad and I started preparing ingredients at four o'clock in the afternoon. My mother, Khuong Hoa, was in charge of packing the boxes, while Tong Chi pasted a handwritten note on each lunch box:

"You also have to eat well today, don't let your boss think you live on coffee."

I said she was so cheesy. She replied: "Office people need some spiritual sugar, don't be gluey." At six thirty in the evening, Ta Nghien Thanh drove to get food. He had just carried the lunch box to the trunk of the car when my phone rang. It's Lam Tri Dao. I looked at the screen for two seconds then picked up the phone. Her voice was very quiet:

“Trung Uong, I'm in front of your shop.”

I raised my head. She stood across the street, next to a suitcase, her whole body seemed to be blown away by the wind. I walked out:

“What's the matter?”

Lam Tri Dao's eyes were red and swollen:

"I argued with my mother, I can't stay home anymore. Chieu Da doesn't answer my phone calls, I don't know who else I can find."

After speaking, she looked at Ta Nghien Thanh, then looked at me, a familiar look of self-pity in her eyes. I suddenly understood. It's not that she doesn't know who to look for. It's that she knew Chu Chieu Da started not answering the phone, so she came to me, the "source of all problems".

“There is a hotel nearby.” I said. "There are also friends, colleagues, relatives. You have many choices."

“But I'm really scared.” She clenched her fist and pulled the suitcase. “Before, it was Chieu Da who helped me.”

I looked at her, no longer uncomfortable, just tired. There are people who hold the umbrella someone else gave them for so long that they forget they can buy one themselves. What's scarier is that she thought that umbrella should have been placed in front of her house. Ta Nghien Thanh leaned against the car and did not interfere. Lam Tri Dao shed tears:

“Trung Uong, did you tell Chieu Da to stop paying attention to me?”

“I don't have that right.” I replied. “I just don't pay the price for him taking care of you anymore.”

She was stunned. At that moment, Chu Chieu Da's car stopped on the side of the road. He got out of the car very quickly, obviously as soon as he received the news he immediately ran over. As soon as he saw the suitcase, he immediately frowned:

“Tri Dao, why did you run here?”

Lam Tri Dao seemed to have just seen the straw that saved his life:

"Chieu Da, my mother said I always bother you, and said I have no shame. I really don't, I just..."

Before she finished speaking, tears fell from her eyes again. Chu Chieu Da stood in front of Lam Tri Dao, his shoulders slightly tense. I'm so familiar with that move. In his previous life, every time Lam Tri Dao cried, he did so. Responsibility, old friendships, protective instincts all came rushing in, forcing my existence to a halt one side. I turned around to go back into the shop. Chu Chieu Da spoke again: "Tri Dao, I will ask Dieu Truong An to take you to my cousin's house." Lam Tri Dao was stunned: "Aren't you going to take me away?"

“I'm inconvenient now.” Chu Chieu Da glanced at me and then withdrew his gaze. "Besides, I'm an adult, leaving home is not the way to solve the problem. I need to talk to my mother, and I also need to build my own support."

Lam Tri Dao's tears still lingered on her eyelashes, as if she had not yet understood why this umbrella suddenly no longer opened automatically. Chu Chieu Da made a phone call and said a few short sentences. A few minutes later, his colleague drove to pick up Lam Tri Dao. Before getting in the car, she looked at me with both resentment and confusion in her eyes. The car left, the street was quiet again. Chu Chieu Da stepped in front of me: "What just happened, you can explain." I looked at him: "Look, every time you explain, the subject is always her." He opened his mouth, but the words reached his lips and stopped.