Chapter 24 — Hockey Stars Can't Overcome My Figure

Story Written With Sincerity

One year later, the White Tiger Ice Palace shined again in the final night of the Platinum Cup, but this time, the atmosphere was completely different from the previous turbulent season. The giant banner hanging from the ceiling now featured not just a single star, but the entire lineup, with the words: "Bach Ho Bang Giang — One Team, One Faith."

Yen Thao stood in the tactical direction area right next to the training bench, no longer the girl standing in the darkness of the analysis room, but the official Head of the Professional Strategy Department, wearing a walkie-talkie, eyes glued to the live tactical screen, making sharp adjustments to coach Dai Trong Nghiep right next to her.

"The opponent is switching to a deep defensive formation," she said over the radio, her voice calm and decisive. "We need to speed up the tempo of the attack on the right wing, exploiting the space in their second line of defense."

On the ice, Ve Chan Phong - now the official captain of Team Bach Ho Bang Giang after Vu Trong Nam retired at the end of last season - received tactical signals through his headphones, nodding to signal his teammates to adjust their formation. He had changed a lot over the past year, not only in terms of his playing skills, but also in his role as a leader of the team, a role that the entire team unanimously agreed to give him after what he showed in the previous tumultuous season.

Tong Bao Duy now played with a completely different mindset — more relaxed, more honest with himself, even though he is no longer the team's only number one star. He had spent the past year rebuilding his image, not with flashy media campaigns, but with concrete actions — including publicly supporting the Dai Yen Thao Foundation, and becoming one of the most active players in speaking to young players about the importance of honesty and responsibility in a professional sports career.

During the past year, the Dai Yen Thao Foundation has sponsored eight young students to study sports data science, two of whom are currently interning at the tactical analysis department of Team Bach Ho Bang Giang, under the direct guidance of Yen Thao. She taught them not only about analytical techniques, but also about the value of speaking up when necessary, about not allowing yourself to be diminished simply because your work takes place in the shadows.

Thuy Dung and baby Bin, now four years old, were also in the stands that day, sitting with Cao Viet Anh, who has kept in regular contact with both mother and daughter since the incident. Baby Bin, now taking his first steps on ice at a children's class partly funded by a scholarship fund, is completely unaware of the storm that surrounded his early years, knowing only a peaceful life with his loving biological mother.

As for Tong Bao Duy, the past season, although no longer a sole star, saw him rediscovering the pure joy of playing that he had long lost under the pressure of image and expectations. He shared in a rare interview: "I used to think my value only lay in how people saw me. Now I understand, my true value lies in how I treat the people around me, especially those who silently help me become better without asking for anything."

The match was tense until the last seconds of extra time, before Chan Phong, with a decisive move in accordance with the tactical instructions that Yen Thao had conveyed via radio, scored the decisive goal, sealing the victory for the Bach Ho Bang Giang Team against the Song Han Thiet Ung Team, successfully defending the Platinum Cup championship.

The final whistle blew, and the entire ice rink erupted in celebration. The players threw sticks, hugged each other, and skated around the field in celebration before the enthusiastic cheers of tens of thousands of spectators. Chan Phong, after celebrating with his teammates, skated closer to the tactical direction area, where Yen Thao was standing, her face beaming with a smile.

He stopped in front of the separation barrier, took off his helmet, and looked at her with eyes full of love and pride. "We did it," he said, his voice still breathless from the fight.

"You did it," she corrected, smiling, repeating the same words he'd said to her a year before. "I'm just standing here."

"No," he shook his head, "we did it, together, the way we've always done everything for the past year."

The surrounding crowd gradually thinned out when the players were called to the podium to receive their trophies, but before leaving, Chan Phong reached over the fence and grabbed Yen Thao's hand. "I have something to ask you, right here, right now, before I lose my courage from the excitement of victory."

Yen Thao looked at him, her heart pounding, sensing what was about to happen.

Chan Phong, right on the ice rink, amidst the audience's unfinished cheers, pulled out a small box from his team's jacket pocket. "Yen Thao, I know this is not the most romantic scene, and perhaps the whole ice rink is looking at us right now. But I think there is no more suitable place to ask you this, because this is where we meet, where we go through storms together, and where we rebuild trust in the truest values together. Do you want to go the rest of the way with me, not as colleagues, not as temporary lovers, but as each other's life partners?"

Cheers from nearby spectators, who realized what was happening, rang out loudly. Yen Thao felt tears welling up in her eyes, not because of pain like the tears she had shed on this very ice surface a year ago, but because of a complete, genuine happiness, unmixed with any insecurity or concealment.

"Yes," she replied, her voice shaking with emotion. "Yes, I want to, Chan Phong."

He climbed over the fence, disregarding all stadium security rules, embracing her amid the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators and the lenses of countless live television cameras. This would be an image that would flood the newspapers overnight, but this time, unlike the suspiciously sensational headlines of a year ago, the articles will tell a completely different story — the story of a woman who has found her own voice, and a love built not on concealment, but on the strongest foundation: sincerity.

Standing in the stands, Dai Trong Nghiep looked down at his daughter, the corners of his eyes stinging. Mai Bao Tram, standing next to him, could not hold back her tears for a long time. Even Bao Duy, standing in the lineup waiting to receive the trophy, smiled, a sincere smile, with no trace of the past left, only genuine blessings for the two people who had found each other amidst his own brokenness.

On the ice surface sparkling with lights, amidst the endless cheers of the whole stadium, Dai Yen Thao and Ve Chan Phong stood there, hand in hand, continuing to write their story - not with flowery promises in front of the camera, but with the sincerity that the two of them had preserved together through every storm, a story that from now on, no longer needs to hide in the dark to survive.

When the official Platinum Cup award ceremony took place a few minutes later, Pho Dinh Khang invited Yen Thao to step on the podium of honor with the whole team, something unprecedented for someone who did not directly compete on the ice. "This victory belongs to everyone who helped build it," he declared to the crowd, "including those behind the scenes, the people this team is now proud to publicly call out."

Yen Thao stood on the podium of honor, holding Chan Phong's hand tightly, the silver trophy sparkled under the stadium lights, the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators echoed throughout Bach Ho Ice Palace. She looked around - her father was smiling proudly, Bao Tram was holding up her phone to record the moment, Bao Duy was clapping his hands in congratulations with a sincerity without any trace of guilt - and she knew that the four-year journey silently in the dark, although full of pain and challenges, had finally led her to the right place where she belonged - no longer standing behind anyone else's shadow, but standing firmly with her own feet and name, next to the man who had always seen her, even if the whole world had not realized it yet.