Chapter 8 — Don't be afraid, I'm here

I went crazy, struggling on the ground. But to no avail. Co Son Hanh tied me to a rock. Just like how people tie mules and horses. "Co Son Hanh! I didn't lie to you! I'm really not dead! Please... let me go! There's still time! I want you to go to school, so that when I return to the other world, I can rest assured..." "Lie me." His voice was gentle and calm. "I never really wanted to study anything. I just needed you to live... that's enough." “But I could have lived!!” "It's not the same..." His voice was choked, as if he was curled up and hugging something, "Que Hoa, I can't bear to let you suffer. Even if you can live on... I don't want you to carry with you the terrible memory of death." "Co Son Hanh!!! I will never forgive you! Never!!!" I screamed frantically, in anger, in despair. My response was just a quiet goodbye. “It'll be a little noisy later, don't be afraid.” "Que Hoa, I love you. Goodbye." WHAM!!!!!! Hot air rushed in, as if it wanted to burn everything. 【Congratulations to the host for completing the main quest, avoiding the fate of tragic death。】 【The quest reward is being calculated……】 【Cash reward: eighty million yuan。】 【The host is leaving the world……】 【Countdown 3s、2s、1s……】 【Leaving the city public。Welcome back to the real world, wish you a happy life。Goodbye。】 (The main text ends) External session When I woke up from the dream, my best friend – Hua Mong So – was frantically banging on the door. I dragged myself up, my hair disheveled, past a pile of trash on the floor, and pushed open the rusty iron door of the small motel room. Hua Mong So immediately jumped in: "Mieu Que Hoa, what's wrong with you? If you're depressed, go to the mental hospital with me. If your body isn't okay, go to the hospital for treatment. Look at your appearance, okay?!" I quietly listened to her scolding, eyes still like a wooden statue, not reacting at all. It's been over a month since I returned from that world. Every day I wake up - sleep again - then wake up again - sleep again. It's like the soul has been drained, there's nothing left to hold on to. Hua Mong So was so angry that her face turned red: "I don't know where you got the eighty million yuan, but I know that money is enough to cure your half-dead disease! Go! Come to the hospital with me now!" She pulled my hand away, almost tripping over a pile of trash in the middle of the road. I pulled my hand away, fell onto the chair like an empty corpse, and said tiredly: "Mong So, don't worry about yourself anymore. Go ahead. I just want to sleep a little longer." Hua Mong So was so angry that her eyes turned red: "Mieu Que Hoa, I'm begging you, can you please live properly? You only have eighty million, is there anything you can't overcome? Are you depressed? Go spend money! Go shopping!" I was like ashes and replied softly: "I won't spend a penny." “Why?!” I lowered my head. Tears fell onto the back of my hand. “Because… that was the price I paid for the life of the person I loved.” I raised my head, my eyes were dull and empty like a soulless person: "He was blown to pieces by a bomb... That's why I only have these eighty million, Mong So... I... am so heartbroken." Hua Mong So doesn't know what I've been through. She also didn't understand why a mother who had never had a boyfriend and only stayed home for the weekend could say such strange things. But she still hugged me and patted me on the back: "Okay, okay, I was wrong, sorry..." I suddenly burst into tears. All the pain, sadness, emptiness, helplessness... suppressed for a month, were like a stream of water breaking through a dike, flowing out with each choked tear. Hua Mong So helped me lie on the sofa, then called the cleaner. That messy motel room was swept clean and bright again. After that, she took a week off and stayed in her room, not leaving a single step. When the vacation ended, she gave me the phone and said: "I deposited those eighty million on a fixed term, within 5 years." "Even though I don't know if it's appropriate to say this... But you should consider that... That person... has turned into a series of numbers, to continue to be with you." I looked at the endless series of zeros on the phone screen. If it were the old me, I would definitely go crazy with joy. But at this moment... I really feel - Co Son Hanh is still with me. “Thank you, Mong So…” I burst into tears, saying without a sound: “Thank you…” Five years passed in a flash. I returned to the life of a normal person again. Amidst the bustling traffic in the bustling metropolis, every time I see an advertisement for a high-end Michelin restaurant, I suddenly remember Co Son Hanh. There was a time when, thanks to someone, I also experienced that luxurious taste. “Que Hoa, what are you thinking?” “Ah… nothing.” Hua Mong So rubbed her hands and shrunk her neck because of the cold: "Let's get in the car quickly, it'll be cold to death!" At the beginning of winter, snow begins to fall. The shared bus ride included a couple. The two of them chirped about travel. Hua Mong So was curious: "Where are you two going?" “Norway.” I sat in the passenger seat, my heart felt like someone was squeezing me, trying to look calm and look out the window. Luckily... I'm just a lowly employee, I probably won't have the chance to return to Norway in this life. “What about you two?” “Ah, we, let's go to the airport to pick up customers.” “What a pity, today is the weekend, tomorrow is already Christmas.” Hua Mong So smiled bitterly, her expression as if she were lamenting her fate: "Yes, that's how we are..." The car quickly arrived at the airport. The couple quickly turned into the international departure area, their eyes full of anticipation for the long trip. As for me and Hua Mong So, we went towards the "international arrival area." "Aizz, I wish I could take a break..." I lamented in a long voice: "It's fine to stay home and play games, 'It Takes Two' hasn't cleared the island yet."" Hua Mong So glared at me clearly: "It's not because of you, Mieu Que Hoa, I can't progress, don't blame me for accidentally abandoning you!" Saying that, she pulled out a welcome sign with a name printed on it: “Mr. GU” I frowned in suspicion: “Professor Co… ‘Co’?” “I don't know, it could also be... the Co family.” “Yeah.” The two of us held a sign and waited at the airport. Not long after, with several flights landing, the exit gate began to welcome a massive influx of passengers. Hua Mong So and I struggled to hold up the sign, straining our eyes to search for people, praying to God that this foreign guest would recognize us in the sea of people. {Read full at Van Ha Tuong page} At that moment... A tall figure suddenly appeared in the crowd. At that moment, my heart ached and my mind went blank as if someone had taken all the oxygen away. “Co Son Hanh…” I muttered, eyes wide Confused, unable to leave the figure, then suddenly threw away the sign and rushed straight inside. The airport security gate was immediately disturbed. “Miss, this area is forbidden to cross the fence!” "Inside is... my friend! That's my friend! Please, just let me look at him for a moment..." I screamed and pushed, jostling one class of people after another. In the end, the staff pressed him to the ground and tied him up. “Escort!” Hua Mong So ran over in panic: "Hey hey hey! What's wrong with you?!" So... she was caught along with me, like two silly fish caught in a net. All that morning, we were taken into the interrogation room and continuously questioned like criminals. When I was released, the phone rang — it was my boss's voice, screaming like my head was about to explode. "You two are useless! You said you would welcome guests, but how do you welcome them?! Professor Co is sitting in my office now!!! Get back here now!!!" I sat down dejectedly on the passenger seat, my voice as small as a mosquito: "Sorry, Mong So..." She glanced at me as she drove: "Hey Que Hoa... did you... see someone just now?" I shook my head, looking far away: "Maybe... I got the wrong person." A dead person… How could he enter my world? I opened the phone, looked at that long cold number, my finger gently touched the screen - cold to the heart. Very quickly after that, Hua Mong So and I hurried back to the boss's office. As soon as he entered the door, his boss turned black and shouted: "Don't apologize to Professor Co yet!" The guest was sitting in a leather chair with his back to us, revealing only a painfully familiar nape of hair. The light reflecting on that back made my heart pound and feel like it was stuck in my throat. I didn't dare step forward... I was afraid... afraid that I was dreaming, another dream in a series of countless sleepless nights. I staggered forward a few steps, then punched my thigh hard. The pain made me confirm—I was truly awake. I trembled and softly called a name: "Co... Son Hanh?" The other person suddenly turned around. That face - still the familiar eyebrows, those gentle eyes, that smile - Everything remains unchanged. At that moment, tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't hold them back. I rushed forward and hugged him as if afraid he would disappear again: "Is it you? Do you... still remember me?" My boss's face was bloodless, he was so angry that he was shaking: "Mieu Que Hoa! Are you crazy! Professor Co, I'm sorry... she..." A low, gentle voice rang out right above my head, there was a soft laugh, like the warm wind in March: "It's okay." And then… finally… I heard the thing I was most looking forward to in this world. "She's my wife. Don't mind." (Full text complete.)