Chapter 3 — Change players in the final match

He looked at me, with countless mixed emotions in his eyes - anger, resentment, panic, and even a bit of fear that I couldn't understand. After a long while, he said hoarsely:

“I just... want you to care.”

I burst out laughing, laughing until tears welled up in my eyes.

"Jiang Nghien Tu," I said, "The person I care about the most in this life is you. But my care is not endless. It will be consumed every time you block it, eroded by every time you ignore it. And today... it's exhausted."

After speaking, I walked around him, intending to leave.

“Thu Nguyet!” He grabbed my wrist tightly, with such force that it hurt.

"I'll fix it. I won't block you anymore, okay? The ticket thing is my fault, To Van Tinh kept begging, I... don't know how to refuse..."

“Let go.” I interrupted.

“I won't let go!” He almost screamed,

"You can't go like that! Twenty-two years between us! Lam Thu Nguyet, just because of one mistake, are you going to end it all?!"

The stream of comments exploded: 【Oh my, the first half was a total failure】 【Why didn't you know how to appreciate it before, bro? Is there still time in a hurry?】 【Female protagonist, don't be soft-hearted! If you're soft-hearted, you'll waste another twenty years!】 I looked at Jiang Nghien Tu's red eyes and gently removed his fingers one by one. One finger, two fingers, slowly but decisively.

“Jiang Nghien Tu,” I said, “we all need to calm down a bit.”

"Calm down for how long? A day? A week?" His voice trembled. “Lam Thu Nguyet, tell me clearly, how long does ‘calm down’ mean?”

I didn't answer, turned around and left the hallway. The night wind blew, drying the dampness in the corner of my eyes. Behind me, there was the dull sound of a fist hitting the wall, accompanied by a muffled roar like a wounded animal from Giang Nghien Tu. Read full at Van Ha Tuong Tu's page But I didn't look back. The phone vibrates. This is a message from Tham Tinh Ha:

"Are you okay? Do you need me to take you home?"

I replied:

"It's okay, thank you for your concern."

Just after sending, a new message popped up — from an unknown number:

"Miss Thu Nguyet, my name is To Van Tinh. About the ticket, I want to explain to you, can we meet to talk?"

2

To Van Tinh asked me to meet him at the school cafe. When I arrived, she was already sitting at the table by the window, with an almost untouched latte in front of her. Seeing me enter, she immediately stood up, looking like a startled little deer.

“Ms. Thu Nguyet.” Her voice was gentle and soft, "Thank you for agreeing to meet me."

“Sit down.” I pulled out my chair, "What do you want to explain?"

To Van Tinh twisted her fingers, her eyelashes trembling slightly:

"The ticket thing... I proactively asked Mr. Nghien Tu. I said I had never seen the finals live, so I asked him to take me. At first he refused, saying the tickets were for me."

My hand that was stirring the coffee stopped for a moment.

"But I didn't give up, I went to the soccer field every day to wait for him to finish practicing, begging for three days in a row."

Her voice got quieter, "Finally he said... 'Thu Nguyet is busy these days, she probably won't have time to go.'"

“Just saying that?”

“Yes.” She nodded, then hastily added:

“But I felt that when Mr. Nghien Tu said that sentence, it was very strange, like he was convincing himself.

Miss Thu Nguyet, don't be angry with him, he really didn't actively want to give me the ticket. I looked at the young face her sincere loyalty, suddenly felt tired. The gap between twenty-two and eighteen years old is not just four years, but a whole world of innocence.

"Van Tinh," I said, "I'm not angry with you. The ticket is his, he has the right to decide who to give it to."

“But… you two had an argument, right?” Her eyes were a little red, "At the end of the match that day, Mr. Nghien Tu broke things in the locker room, and the coach couldn't help it either. I've never seen him like that..."

In front of my eyes suddenly appeared a line of comments: 【What a simple little sister, she was turned into a pawn without even knowing it.】 【Jiang Nghien Tu's wild dog-like temperament, only the female lead has been able to endure it for so many years.】 【But she's right, Jiang Nghien Tu really has an internal struggle.】 I closed my eyes, the text disappeared. This thing appeared for two days, and I gradually understood the pattern: It only appeared when I was related to Giang Nghien Tu, like a live comment in real time, sometimes even predicting the future. For example, before going to sleep last night, I saw a sentence: 【Weekend party forecast: Giang Nghien Tu brought his little sister to appear, his best friend Chu Mac Bach is about to take action to win back the female lead.】

“Miss Thu Nguyet?” To Van Tinh timidly asked, "Are you and Nghien Tu... going to break up?"

“We have never been together.” I replied.

She was bewildered. The moment I uttered that sentence, there was a cracking sound in my heart, like the first crack in an ice lake surface. That's right, in twenty-two years, Giang Nghien Tu has never said "like" or given a title. We just assumed that we would always be together, like two trees growing together with their roots intertwined. But the plant will also wither because of competition for nutrients. The phone rang again, it was news from Tran Mac:

"It's my birthday weekend, we'll gather at the same place, will you come? Giang Nghien Tu... I'll send a private message."

I replied:

“Coming.”

What needs to be faced, must eventually be faced. In the karaoke room on the weekend, the atmosphere was so strange that it squeezed the juice out of it. As soon as I pushed the door open and walked in, the first thing my eyes met was Giang Nghien Tu. He sat in the middle of the sofa, his arms draped over the back of the chair behind To Van Tinh. Not touching people, but the sense of possession is clear and unmistakable. Seeing me, his eyes darkened, then quickly turned to talk to the person next to him. To Van Tinh wore a white dress, sitting obediently next to him, just like a canary in a glass cage.

"Thu Nguyet! This side!" Chu Mac Bach waved in the corner of the room.

He is Giang Nghien Tu's best friend since childhood, grew up together, but is a little closer to me, because his sister is my best friend.