Chapter 14 — Contract of the Heart

On Thursday afternoon, the school newspaper received the task of reporting on the final rehearsal before the Robotics club left to attend the national finals - the proudest achievement that Tan Viet school had achieved in many years. Thảo Nguyên came to the club room early to record, bringing along Bích Vân's camera borrowed from the equipment room.

The atmosphere in the club room was more tense than usual, the members were busy checking every small detail on the robot preparing to take it to the competition. Việt Anh stood in the middle of the room, directing each step of the examination with a look of intense concentration, completely different from the gentle image she was familiar with in recent private lessons.

Thảo Nguyên stood back in a corner, observing and taking notes, trying not to disturb the important preparation process of the team. At that moment, she noticed Diệu Anh standing in the corner of the room, holding a small component but her eyes were not focused on her work, but watching Việt Anh with an indescribably complicated expression.

"The left arm reacted half a second slower than the simulation," Việt Anh said, his voice serious, his eyes not leaving the laptop screen displaying sensor data. "Recheck all connections before final test run."

"Yes, captain," Quang Huy replied, bending down to check immediately, without any hesitation. The whole team moved smoothly according to Việt Anh's instructions, everyone was highly concentrated, the atmosphere was as tense as a string.

Thảo Nguyên stood in the corner of the room, camera in hand recording every moment - the faces attentively bent over the circuit board, the fingers quickly connecting the wires, and Việt Anh's steady eyes as he watched the robot perform the final test. She realized that this was a completely different Việt Anh than the one who sat next to her in the library every week, meticulously editing every word in her essay - a decisive leader, absolutely trusted by the whole team.

After the rehearsal ended, the whole team took a break and spread out to the corners of the room to drink water and relax. Thảo Nguyên took the opportunity to approach Diệu Anh, intending to ask a few more questions for the article, but the story turned in a completely different direction.

"You and Việt Anh seem to be getting closer and closer," Diệu Anh said first, her voice still maintaining the familiar friendliness, but something more awkward than usual. "I noticed the way he looked at you, different from the way he looked at anyone else."

"Ah..." Thảo Nguyên was a bit confused, not knowing how to respond properly.

"It's okay," Diệu Anh smiled, but that smile didn't reach the corners of her eyes as usual. "I'm just telling the truth. Việt Anh is the most difficult person to read I've ever known. Even I, who have known him the longest, don't always fully understand what he's thinking. But with you, it seems like he's much easier to open up."

There was a short silence between the two, enough for Thảo Nguyên to feel something heavy was lurking behind that seemingly normal sentence.

"Hey Diệu Anh," she finally mustered up the courage to speak up, deciding not to avoid the issue anymore. "Can I ask a straight question?"

"You just ask," Diệu Anh replied, her eyes still calm but her hand tightening around the component.

"Do you have feelings for Việt Anh?"

The question made Diệu Anh pause for a moment, the smile on her lips gradually disappeared, replaced by a much more sincere expression - mixed between surprise at being asked directly and a fleeting sadness that she had tried to hide for a long time.

"You realized it?" Diệu Anh asked again, her voice lower, no longer carrying its usual vivacity.

"I'm just guessing," Thảo Nguyên replied, her voice gentle, trying not to sound accusatory. "From a few small details, the way you looked at him, the way you reacted when you heard we were dating."

Diệu Anh sighed, put the components on the table, looked out the window where the afternoon sunlight was gradually fading. "Yes," she admitted, sounding somewhat relieved to finally be told the long-hidden truth. "I've liked Việt Anh since tenth grade, when we joined the Robotics club together. But I never dared to say it out loud, because I was afraid that if he didn't have the same feelings, our friendship of more than ten years would be broken."

"So when you heard that we were dating, you..."

"I was very surprised, and to be honest, a little heartbroken," Diệu Anh replied frankly, without hiding it. "But I also realize, maybe it's time for me to accept that Việt Anh has never looked at me that way. He always sees me as a close friend, a trustworthy teammate, nothing more and nothing less."

"Since we were young, he and I were in the same dance class, then we competed together in the elementary school chess club," Diệu Anh continued, her eyes distant and nostalgic. "Việt Anh was very shy back then, not like now. He always hid behind me every time he had to speak in front of the class. I got so used to protecting him that, perhaps, my feelings just kept growing without even realizing it at first."

"And yet now he is the one commanding an entire robot competition team," Thảo Nguyên said, trying to lighten the atmosphere with a lighter story.

"Yes," Diệu Anh laughed, although her eyes were still slightly sad. "He's changed a lot. Perhaps it's partly due to family shocks when he was young, forcing him to grow up faster than his peers. But that's also why he always builds a very strong defense barrier, rarely letting anyone get through, including me."

Thảo Nguyên felt her heart grow heavy, both guilty and touched by Diệu Anh's straightforwardness. She wanted to tell the truth about the contract, about how the relationship between her and Việt Anh had initially been just a setup, but then she stopped, realizing that it could make the situation more complicated and could even make Diệu Anh feel doubly hurt when she learned that she was heartbroken over something that wasn't completely real.

"I'm sorry," Thảo Nguyên said softly, although she wasn't sure what the apology was for specifically — for accidentally coming between a long-time friendship, or for not being able to tell the whole truth.

"You don't need to apologize," Diệu Anh shook her head, trying to smile more sincerely. "This is not your fault. Love is something no one can force. I just need time to accept it. Besides," she added, her voice somewhat sincere, "looking at the way Việt Anh has changed since meeting you—more open, more able to share emotions—I think you are really good for him. As Việt Anh's best friend, I only want him to be happy, whether the person who brings that happiness is me or not."

Diệu Anh's words made Thảo Nguyên choked up, admiring the rare maturity and nobility of a girl her age. She took Diệu Anh's hand and squeezed it gently as a way to express her respect.

“Thank you for telling me the truth,” she said. "And thank you for being such a good friend, to both me and Việt Anh."

"As long as you promise to treat him well," Diệu Anh replied, her voice regaining some of its usual happiness, although there was still a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Việt Anh looks strong and independent, but in fact he is much more sensitive than he looks, especially after family matters. Don't let him get hurt again."

Thảo Nguyên nodded, her heart heavy with a new sense of responsibility, not only to her grandmother, not only to her own feelings that were gradually becoming clear, but now also to the promise she had just made to a girl who had the courage to step back and make room for the happiness of the person she loved, even when she had to endure the silent pain that no one could see.

On the way home that afternoon, Thảo Nguyên did not text Việt Anh about this conversation as usual. She thought, perhaps this was something that should be kept private for Diệu Anh, a small respect for the courage that her friend had just shown. But the question of whether Việt Anh had ever, even once, realized the feelings of her closest friend by her side, still lingered in her mind all evening, mixed with a new concern: whether she herself, by entering Việt Anh's life with a lie, was unintentionally robbing her of the opportunity for a sincere love that had been silently waiting for many years. That question had no easy answer, and she knew she would have to carry it in her heart for a long time.