Chapter 8 — Fascinated by the Rooster Farmer Raising His Children

Three weeks had passed since Khanh Vy moved to Binh Xuyen farm, the relationship between her and Tieu Yen had clearly changed. The little girl no longer avoided whenever Khanh Vy approaches, and sometimes even proactively looked for her to ask about homework or tell stories at school.

One afternoon, when Vinh Khang was still busy in the fields harvesting tomatoes, Tieu Yen ran into the kitchen to find Khanh Vy, her face sad.

"Auntie, my school has a parent's day tomorrow. All of my friends have their mothers to attend. I..." The child hesitated, his eyes red. "I don't know what to tell the teacher when she asks where my mother is."

Khanh Vy sat down, reached out and gently rubbed the little girl's back, her heart tightening with sympathy. She remembered her own feelings when she was young, the times she had to pretend to be strong in front of her friends even though her heart was full of hurt because of the lack of love from her biological mother who passed away early.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Khanh Vy asked gently, not wanting to force anything. "I can't replace your mother, but if you want, I can go with you and stand there supporting you like a great friend."

Tieu Yen raised her head, her teary eyes looked at Khanh Vy with hesitation mixed with hope. "Do you really want to go with me? Don't you mind?"

"Why bother?" Khanh Vy smiled, pulled the little girl into her arms and hugged her gently, feeling Tieu Yen's small body tremble with emotion in her arms. "I'd be happy to do that for you."

Tieu Yen leaned close to Khanh Vy for a while longer, as if wanting to make sure this was not a dream that would disappear when she let go. That was the first time since Khanh Vy moved in that the little girl proactively hugged her naturally, without any hesitation or caution like in the first days.

That night, Khanh Vy stayed up late preparing a small cake according to the recipe she found, even though she had never been in the kitchen to make a cake in her life. She ruined three batches of dough before getting a so-called okay cake. Her hands were covered in dough but her heart felt strangely happy.

Vinh Khang returned from the field, saw that scene in the kitchen, and couldn't help but laugh lightly. "What are you doing?"

"Making a cake for Tieu Yen's parents' day tomorrow." Khanh Vy replied, brushing her hair from her forehead, revealing a streak of white powder on her cheek. "She said all of her friends had their mothers bring cakes. I wanted her not to feel sorry for herself."

Vinh Khang looked at her silently for a moment, his eyes containing a complex emotion he had never shown before — perhaps gratitude, perhaps something deeper than that. "Thank you." He said softly. "I didn't think you would do that much for her."

"She deserves to be loved." Khanh Vy replied simply. "And honestly, I'm also learning to love her, not out of obligation, but because I really want to."

The next morning, when Khanh Vy was packing the cake into the box, Tieu Yen ran over and looked up at her with curious eyes. "Miss, what's the name of this cake? I want to show it off to my friends."

"This is salted egg sponge cake." Khanh Vy replied, carefully tying the ribbon around the cake box. "It's my first time making it so it might not be as good as what they sell in the store, but I tried my best."

"I'm sure it's the best!" Tieu Yen exclaimed, hugging the cake box like a treasure. "For mom... because you do it with all your heart."

The word "mother" almost slipped out of the little girl's mouth, causing both adults in the room to pause for a moment, but no one spoke up to correct it, only quietly exchanging a look full of emotions that were hard to name.

*

Parents' Day took place at the small primary school of Tan Hoa commune, where parents gathered with their children in the tree-lined schoolyard. When Khanh Vy appeared with Tieu Yen, carrying a box of homemade cakes, many other parents looked at her with curious eyes mixed with sympathy - the news about Mr. Vinh Khang's city daughter-in-law had long spread throughout the village.

"This is my aunt." Tieu Yen introduced herself to her homeroom teacher, her voice clearly proud. "I made cakes for the whole class."

The teacher smiled friendly and accepted the box of cakes Khanh Vy gave her. "Thank you. Tieu Yen is happier these days and often tells stories about you in class."

Khanh Vy felt a warmth spreading in her heart when she heard that. During the festival, she stayed by Tieu Yen's side, participating in small games with her, taking souvenir photos, and helping her complete the family drawing contest. When Tieu Yen drew a picture of three people — father, aunt, and baby — standing together in front of a small house in the middle of a field, Khanh Vy had to try to suppress her emotions so as not to burst into tears in the crowded schoolyard.

"You draw very well." She said, her voice a little choked. "Thank you for drawing me in my picture."

"Because you are part of my family." Tieu Yen replied, her expression innocent and without any calculation. "The teacher said family is people who love and care for you, even though you're not related by blood."

The innocent words of the six-year-old child made Khanh Vy realize that the relationship between her and this small family was far beyond what she had imagined when entering this forced marriage. She no longer felt like an outsider, but had become an indispensable part of their lives.

While cleaning up the booth displaying the children's paintings, another parent - the mother of classmate Tieu Yen - approached to talk to Khanh Vy, her eyes full of sympathy. "You just came to be a bride in Binh Xuyen, right? I heard that you used to work in the city, so you must be very unfamiliar with life here."

"Yes, I'm still learning every day." Khanh Vy replied, smiling friendly.

"Looking at the way you take care of baby Yen, everyone has to praise you." The woman continued, her voice sincere without any politeness. "She used to be very timid and rarely smiled at anyone. Now she feels happier. The whole neighborhood is happy for Mr. Khang."

That sincere compliment, coming from a complete stranger, made Khanh Vy feel warmer than any social compliments she had ever received in the city's upper class. She realized that, in a simple place like this Binh Xuyen village, human emotions were expressed honestly, without needing to be calculated or hidden.

*

The evening after the festival, when Tieu Yen fell asleep with a satisfied smile on her lips, Khanh Vy sat on the porch, recalling the day's events. Vinh Khang brought out two cups of tea and sat down next to her.

"Thank you very much today." he said. "I know I cannot replace the role of a mother in occasions like this. Since Thuy Trang passed away, I have always worried that Tieu Yen will be disadvantaged in such moments."

"The child is not disadvantaged." Khanh Vy replied, looking out at the starry sky. "She has a father who loves her wholeheartedly. That's more important than anything else."

"But with you here, things are a lot different." Vinh Khang said, his voice sincere. "I began to think that perhaps fate had worked out better than I ever thought, even though the way it happened wasn't fair to you."

Khanh Vy turned to look at him, their eyes met in a quiet moment under the starry night sky. She felt a gentle but clear vibration in her heart, an emotion she had never allowed herself to have with anyone during her previous superficial relationships in the city.

"Maybe you're right." She whispered, not sure if she was talking about Tieu Yen, or about something deeper that was slowly blooming between her and the man sitting next to her.

They didn't say anything more, just sat quietly together, letting the warm silence fill the gap that existed between two strangers just a few weeks ago, now gradually becoming an important part of each other's lives.

The night wind gently blew through the eaves, carrying the gentle scent of jasmine flowers planted next to the well. Khanh Vy gently closed her eyes, letting that rare feeling of peace penetrate deep into her heart. She thought about the lonely evenings in her luxury apartment in the middle of the city, a place she had never felt like she belonged despite living there for many years, and realized that in just a few short weeks in such a strange place, she had found something closer to "home" than anywhere she had lived before.

Before entering the bedroom, Vinh Khang stopped at the door and turned to look at her again. "Thank you." He said, for the first time using more informal pronouns instead of the formal address he had maintained over the past weeks. Khanh Vy looked up, the corners of her lips curled up into a smile. She did not respond verbally, but her eyes said everything that needed to be said.