Chapter 16 — I Bring My Grandparents to Celebrate Tet

He is a man in his forties, dressed very neatly, holding a business card in his hand.

“I am Luu Hoanh, design director of Cam Thanh Group.”

“Having seen her work before on the judging panel, I was very impressed.”

“I heard that you took on the overall renovation project of Hang Duyet Hotel?”

“Just getting started.”

“That project is not small in scale.”

He looked at me and smiled slightly.

“Can a small studio like you… handle it?”

The tone is not difficult to hear. But there is still the familiar arrogance of large companies when looking at small teams.

“Can bear the burden.”

I answered very calmly. He smiled and handed over his business card.

“If you need to outsource a part, you can find us.”

I took it and put it in my pocket. At two o'clock in the afternoon, I went on stage. Twenty minutes. I'm not talking about grand theories. Only three projects are presented. Old factory renovated. Community library. And the residents' activity center in the old neighborhood. For each project, I only talk about one thing: How to use a limited budget to create a space without compromise. At the end of the sharing session, there was a round of applause from the audience. When stepping down, Luu Hoanh standing in the second row was also clapping. The expression on his face… was completely different from before. After the sharing, three people proactively came to ask for my WeChat. The two are design magazine editors. The other person is the marketing director of another hotel brand. Trinh Minh came over and patted my shoulder.

“Miss To, you spoke very well today.”

“Next week I will make an appointment with you to survey the branch in Shanghai.”

On the way back to the hotel, Lam Kha sat in the car and laughed.

“To Niem, do you know who is sitting in the stands today?”

“Big boss of Cam Thanh Group.”

“He sat in the front row.”

“After you finished speaking, he turned to the person next to him and said something.”

Lam Kha looked at me, the corners of his lips curled up.

“He said…”

“‘This person is not bad, pay more attention.’”

I leaned back in the chair, watching the lights outside the car window gradually recede backward. That assessment... is so polite. But that's enough. Because in my hand… There are still bigger cards left unturned. After returning to Hangzhou, I received an unexpected phone call. It's Trieu Uyen Tinh. Her voice was gentler than ever before.

“Tieu Niem, I heard you went to Shanghai to attend an industry conference?”

“Someone posted a photo of me giving a speech to my friends circle, you saw it.”

“I'm getting better and better now.”

“I'm really happy for you.”

“Ah yes, there is something I want to talk about.”

“The forum post the other day… I didn't do it.”

“Don't misunderstand.”

I didn't speak up.

“It's really not you.”

She emphasized again.

“I didn't say it was you.”

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds then burst out laughing.

“That's good.”

“By the way, next week my mother is having a birthday party, will you come?”

Celebrating Trieu My Phan's life.

“Next Saturday.”

“Let's book a small restaurant, mainly for family gatherings.”

“I'll think about it.”

“Okay, remember to let me know.”

After hanging up the phone, I sat in front of my desk thinking for a long time. Trieu Uyen Tinh suddenly changed her attitude towards me... There are only two possibilities. One is that she knew the size of my studio and wanted to find an opportunity to take advantage of it. She is preparing a new move. No matter which one... I won't lose anything. Celebration of life party. The more people… the more interesting. Trieu My Phan's birthday party was held at a Chinese restaurant in the inner city of Suzhou. Private room on third floor. Two large tables. Many people came. In addition to my father's relatives, many people from Trieu My Phan's side also came. The two tables were full, alcohol, cigarettes, tea, and drinks were spread out. When I arrived, Trieu Uyen Tinh was waiting at the door.

“Tieu Niem!”

“I'm here!”

Today she wore a wine red dress, full face makeup, and lightly curled hair. Sophisticated like someone stepping out of a magazine cover. Tran Dong stood next to me, holding a cup of tea, nodding at me.

“Miss To, long time no see.”

Entering the private room, Trieu My Phan sat at the table host position. She was wearing a dark purple cheongsam, and the necklace and ring were clearly newly purchased. Seeing me enter, she smiled brightly.

"Tieu Niem is here? Quickly sit down, I'll just wait for you."

I sat down in a hidden place near the corner of the room. The eldest lady sat next to me and quietly gave me a cup of tea.

“There are many people today.”

“Don't say embarrassing things.”

“I know.”

The dishes were brought out one by one. Trieu Uyen Tinh held a glass of wine and stood up to speak for a long time. The main idea is to thank my mother for many years of raising the family, thank my father for always supporting, and thank everyone for being reunited. At the end, she suddenly smiled and added:

“The happiest thing today is that Tieu Niem also came.”

“Now she is very good, opened her own design company, and even received big projects.”

“The whole family is proud of her.”

“Come on, everyone, let's raise a glass to Tieu Niem.”

She raised her glass and looked at me, her eyes were so sincere that she could barely find any flaws. The whole table turned to look at me. Some people are curious. Someone started re-evaluating me from the beginning. I stood up and raised my teacup.

“Thank you, Ms. Uyen Tinh.”

The two glasses touched each other lightly. After sitting down, a relative of Trieu My Phan leaned closer and asked me:

“Tieu Niem, is your design company large-scale?”

“It's small.”

“Three people in total.”

“Three people still get big projects?”

"Okay."

“So how much do you earn a year?”

The eldest girl next to her coughed loudly. The other person immediately laughed and stopped asking questions. Halfway through the meal, Trieu Uyen Tinh stood up again. This time she held a red box in her hand.

“This is a birthday gift for mom from me and Mr. Dong.”

“A set of gold jewelry.”

“Mom, see if you like it.”

The box opened. Inside are gold necklaces and bracelets, under the sparkling light. Trieu My Phan received it and laughed so much that his eyes narrowed.

“Oh my god, these two…”

“Why is it so expensive to spend money?”

Mouth speaks politely. But the hand has already worn the bracelet on the wrist. All kinds of compliments were immediately heard around.

“Uyen Tinh is truly filial.”

“Mr. Dong is truly generous.”

Trieu Hao sat next to him, biting a melon seed, glanced at him, then lowered his head to continue playing on his phone. I sat in the corner of the room, sipping a sip of tea. After giving the gift, Trieu Uyen Tinh turned to look at me. The smile remains the same. But in those eyes... there was something else. After making sure I saw the jewelry, she turned away and continued talking to everyone. She's reminding me. That in this house... Who is the real main character?