Chapter 3 — Emotions That Never End

On the table there was a plate of oranges that had just been cut. Tham Bang seemed to avoid his eyes. She bowed her head, took a piece, took a bite, then raised her head again, her face quickly returning to its original bright look. "Actually, I don't like to eat oranges, I like to eat grapes. But if I don't have grapes, how can I know? It's just a temporary thing, right, Tong Nguyen?" Tham Bang raised her chin, looked at Tong Nguyen, smiled brightly, her words were full of meaning but seemed indifferent. "People's tastes can change. She has never been 'temporary' before."Tong Nguyen slowly took my hand, his voice was as gentle as the wind blowing clouds, but full of solemnity. Hearing this, I paused a bit and did not withdraw my hand. Tham Bang couldn't bear it anymore. She was originally not the type of person who was good at hiding her emotions, her face was now extremely bad. "Tong Nguyen, I ask you one last time. Between me and her, who do you choose?"Tong Nguyen was silent for a moment, lowered his eyes, then gently looked at me. Needless to say, it's clear. My heart suddenly trembled slightly. Tham Bang's eyes were now blazing with anger and stubbornness that was almost impossible to hide. She turned around, used her hand to wipe away her tears, almost saying every word to Tong Nguyen: "Tong Nguyen, remember clearly. I don't only love you." Having said that, right in front of us, she turned and kissed the cheek of the man standing next to her. Called a kiss, it's actually just a light touch on the corner of the lips, then quickly pulling back. But even so, when he saw that Tong Nguyen still did not change his face, coldly, completely indifferently looking at her, Tham Bang's tears began to fall big drops, then turned and ran out. I stood there stunned. At that moment, the place where Tong Nguyen's finger was grabbed suddenly felt a sharp pain. As if someone was squeezing too tightly — perhaps he didn't even realize he was losing control. When I regained my composure, Tong Nguyen had disappeared from sight. The cold gradually spread throughout my chest. I don't know what mood I walked out in, nor how I got to the top of the stairs. Then I saw Tong Nguyen pressing Tham Bang against the wall, holding her neck with one hand, kissing her fiercely and desperately. I've never seen him like that. As if afraid of her running away, he used his whole body to hold her tightly, completely losing his usual coolness and restraint. Perhaps sensing something, when Tong Nguyen's kiss gradually slid downwards, Tham Bang, whose eyes were closed, suddenly opened them - looking straight at me. Then she slightly curled her lips, showing a provocative, triumphant smile. 8I could only stand and watch that scene, my throat seemed to be blocked by something, the wind in my ears seemed to disappear completely. Scary silence. She truly won. Or maybe... from beginning to end, she never lost. Right from that day — when Tham Bang first appeared at the gate of our company, blocking Tong Nguyen's path. At that time, I thought she was a strange girl coming to talk to me, so I squeezed Tong Nguyen's arm to assert sovereignty: "Sorry, he has a girlfriend." Tham Bang then looked at me strangely. Like now. Arrogant, provocative eyes, mixed with contempt. That day, no matter how much she meddled, Tong Nguyen still wrapped his arms around me and walked straight out of the company and drove me home. On the way, they calmly talked about the meeting tomorrow morning. So calm that it makes people think that Tham Bang's appearance has no effect on him. But he forgot, we were supposed to go to the movies that day. We've finished talking — after watching the movie, we'll stop by my house to meet my parents. It turns out, from the beginning... the outcome was predetermined. The sound of footsteps rang softly in my ears, accompanied by a mocking "tsk" sound that pulled me out

from memories. Without turning around, I knew it was Ha Tuc - Tham Bang's "new boyfriend". "Standing here alone is boring. Why don't you invite me to watch with you?" The tone was leisurely, full of teasing. I clearly saw Tong Nguyen's spine suddenly tense, almost immediately letting go of Tham Bang, the whole person froze on the spot. After a long time, his fingers moved slightly, then slowly and stiffly turned his head. The two people's eyes met. I calmly watched as his face gradually turned white, watching his eyes gradually fill with confusion and confusion. Very calm. Strangely calm, as if all my emotions were gone. Human hearts are strange. Before that, I really liked him. But now when I look at this man, I don't even want to remember any of the moments I had with him. Even the feelings I once had for him now only make me feel disgusted. Tong Nguyen seemed to have just woken up and took a few steps towards me, as if he wanted to hold my hand. "It's best to wipe the lipstick off your mouth first." I coldly moved aside. Tong Nguyen stood still. His face was pale, his lips trembled. Suddenly a long, slender hand reached out in front of him, in it was a crumpled tissue with a bit of red lipstick on it. "If you don't mind that this is the towel I just used to wipe my mouth, then just take it." I raised my head, it was Ha Tuc. Of course, Tong Nguyen did not recognize it. Ha Tuc shrugged, curled his lips and smiled faintly: "It's funny. I don't mind kissing the woman I just kissed, but a piece of tissue is disgusting?" The faces of Tong Nguyen and Tham Bang both immediately changed. Actually, in Ha Tuc's tone I heard a little something - a little anger, very vague but clear. Probably because of Tham Bang. After all… we are both “victims”. The only difference is that Tong Nguyen and I broke up last night, and he just witnessed his girlfriend cheating on him. I tilted my head slightly, looking at him with sympathetic eyes. Perhaps feeling that gaze, Ha Tuc momentarily froze. At that moment, a text message from her best friend had just arrived: "In about ten minutes." I texted back: "Okay, I'll go downstairs and wait." Just as he was about to turn around, Tong Nguyen's hoarse voice rang out in his ear: "Man Man..." The voice was very small, very light, as if trying to suppress his emotions, almost like a plea. But what do you want to ask for? “Why are you speaking to her like that?!” Tham Bang grabbed his shoulder, looking uncomfortable. Tong Nguyen almost reflexively shook her hand away, instinctively, and carefully glanced at me. Tham Bang was stunned. When she realized that, her eyes turned red and her voice began to rise... "Tong Nguyen! It was you who took the initiative to chase me! It was you who kissed me first! Now you act like this for anyone to see!"Tong Nguyen's face was extremely pale, just looking at me in bewilderment. I didn't look at him again, without hesitation I turned and walked towards the elevator. Just as the elevator door was about to close, I saw Ha Tuc's silhouette through the gap. He gestured with his mouth: "Wait a minute." 9 Thinking for a moment, I pressed the button to open the door. After Ha Tuc entered, the atmosphere immediately became quiet. I saw through the reflective glass in the elevator — he was frowning, looking like he was thinking about how to say something. “What's wrong with you?” I asked. After a while, Ha Tuc spoke up: "Actually, it's nothing... just wanted to apologize." "Sorry?" "A brother asked me for help. Said his friend had an ex-girlfriend who kept harassing him, and was also sent threatening messages by his current lover, wanting to find a handsome guy to pretend to be her boyfriend for a day."I understand. That friend... is Tham Bang. "I also intend to

I refused, but he kept praising me for being handsome." I paused for a moment. From my perspective, at this moment Ha Tuc's eyelashes were lowered, his redder lips were slightly pursed, his jawline was sharp and clear on both sides. It was... quite handsome. "But looking at the situation, it's clear - Tham Bang is the one who's bothering you two." "Sorry. If it weren't for me, maybe your boyfriend..." I interrupted him: "Even without you, he and I would still break up." He was stunned, looked at me for a moment then suddenly smiled, his tone was lazy: "I didn't expect that just helping out with a small thing would cost me my reputation, what a bad luck." Getting out of the elevator, I went to the bench opposite the building. My best friend's car hadn't arrived yet, so I sat down to rest, gently stretching out my legs. "You're really stubborn. My knees were swollen and I walked a long way without complaining." I stopped, turned my head to look at the road to see if my friend's car had arrived. The sunlight shone straight into my eyes, causing me to close my eyes and raise my hand to rub them. A shadow fell, then someone sat down next to me. It was Ha Tuc. Sitting at a moderate distance from me, not far, not close. "Hey... don't be too sad. I feel like her boyfriend — no, her ex — really still cares about her. Just now it looked like he almost knelt down before me." I was a bit stunned. Perhaps the act of rubbing his eyes just now made him misunderstand. I didn't explain, just calmly said: "He doesn't love me. I just think I'm 'suitable'." "Compatible?" Ha Tuc's face clearly showed confusion. I didn't want to say much, so I nodded casually, lowered my head and continued to play with my phone, intending to stop the conversation here. But thinking back, he was kind-hearted after all, so I raised my head and added: "I mean - he wants to love Tham Bang, but wants to marry me." Ha Tuc opened his eyes wide and softly blurted out: "Whoa..." His reaction surprised me a bit. Seeing him lower his eyes, as if thinking about something, I was just about to speak when I heard his low voice: "A true love will not give up because of 'incompatibility'. If it's not compatible, you still want to try to adjust and become compatible together." "People who give up halfway... it's just because they don't love enough."