Chapter 19 — Don't Run Anymore, Hua Tri Hoa

"I know."

His voice came a little closer, then stopped again.

“I'm afraid that people will say that I rely on me, that my family will think that I'm a burden and dragging my feet, that my parents will worry, that that I've worked so hard to get here, but will be dragged down into the mud by a relationship.”

My shoulders were shaking. He took all the hidden words I had never uttered and said them word by word. I clenched my teeth, not letting myself cry out loud. Luong Nghien Chu said: "Hua Tri Hoa, I can't guarantee that no one will say harsh words in the future, nor can I guarantee that everyone in the Luong family will like you. But I can guarantee that those harsh words will hit me first, and those rules will be punctured by me first." I turned around to look at him. The corners of his eyes were also red, but his figure stood very firmly.

“You don't need to stop for me, just go forward, I will follow you.”

My voice was hoarse: "What about you? What about your project, your family?"

“I will take it back.”

He said.

“In my own way.”

I shook my head: "What if I can't get it back?" He looked at me and suddenly burst into laughter.

“Then I start from the beginning.”

His words hit my heart and left me speechless. He took something out of his pocket and placed it on the desk. That's a fountain pen with my name engraved on it. I was stunned: "Why is it at your place?"

“Tran Mat sent it to me.”

I laughed through my tears, the tears still kept falling: "He betrayed really quickly." Luong Nghien Chu said: "He said, if I only know how to say good things, then stop bothering you. And if I can handle everything cleanly and neatly, then return this pen to you." He pushed the pen towards me.

“I haven't got it perfect yet, but I'm still working on it.”

I reached out and touched the pen, the cold metal pressed against my fingers. Those three words are still there. Hua Tri Hoa. Not On Le. I bowed my head, tears falling onto the pen cap. Luong Nghien Chu finally couldn't bear it anymore, reached out to wipe my tears, but stopped midway. I looked at his hand stopping in mid-air, my chest ached and tightened. I wanted to get away, but my legs wouldn't move. I wanted to open my mouth, but my throat was choked. Finally, I took a step forward, gently resting my forehead against his chest. His whole body immediately stiffened. I clutched his vest tightly, my voice buried in the fabric.

“Luong Nghien Chu, I will still be afraid.”

His hand slowly lowered to my back, the pressure was very gentle.

“It's okay to be afraid.”

I closed my eyes, listening to the heartbeat coming from his chest, beat by beat, beat by beat, extremely steady. He said: "This time you are afraid, I will stand with you." * 【Chapter 12】 Luong Nghien Chu and I didn't start dating right away. This is my suggestion. He said “okay”. I said, I have to go to school, have to work part-time, have to win a scholarship, and have to slowly get used to Shanghai. He said, “okay”. I said, you also have to handle your own matters, and you can't do anything messy because of me anymore. He looked at me for a moment, then said: “I will try.” I glared at him. He changed his tone: "I promise." So Luong Nghien Chu began to appear in my life in a way that was not unlike Luong Nghien Chu Chu at all. He no longer came to block the door, nor did he suddenly pay for me. He will text me first to ask if we can eat together today. If I say no, he will reply, remember to eat and drink properly. At night, I finished my shift at the convenience store, his car was parked in the allowed parking area outside the school, and the person leaned against the car door waiting for me. I told him I didn't need to take him home, so he immediately stuffed a glass of hot soy milk into my hand.

“Then let me watch you enter the school gate.”