Chapter 33 — I'm Busy All My Life, And You're Lonely

Luc Hanh Tong Tuyet muttered "yes", then wandered back to the bedroom. The lights went out, leaving the room with only a dim light coming in from outside the window. He lies in bed, but his ears are extremely sensitive. I could clearly hear Tong Tuyet turning on the faucet and splashing water in the bathroom, and the sound of the hair dryer humming. Time moves little by little. I don't know how long later, the bedroom door quietly opened. The footsteps were very quiet, gliding across the floor almost without making a sound. The bedside lamp turned on, radiating a warm halo of light covering the room. Luc Kien Quan turned his head. Tong Tuyet stood at the door, holding a thin blanket. Her hair was still slightly damp, and she was wearing her home pajamas.

“Why are you lying down without turning on the light?” She blamed her lover, "My eyes are ruined now."

“I was just lying down.” Luc Kien Quan clarified, "I'm afraid the light will be too bright and I won't be able to sleep."

Tong Tuyet walked over and dropped the thin blanket at the end of the bed.

“I often get cold at night.” She said, "If it's too cold in the middle of the night, put this on."

Luc Kien Quan stared at the thin blanket.

“Are you going to…” He asked cautiously, “Are you going to sleep here?”

Tong Tuyet didn't hum directly, just went around to the other side and flipped up the corner of the blanket.

“I have thought carefully.” She said, "I just finished the surgery. In case something happened that night, I was lying all the way outside the office and couldn't hear it."

Luc Kien Quan's heart skipped a beat.

“So I temporarily moved here to sleep.” Tong Tuyet added a welcoming sentence, "Wait until your body recovers stably, then move on."

Luc Kien Quan's throat choked.

"Okay." He whispered.

The moment the light bulb went out, the room was plunged into darkness again. There was a light rustling sound from the other side of the bed, the sound of Tong Tuyet leaning back on the mattress. Next was the sound of the blanket rubbing, and the sound of her regular breathing. Luc Kien Quan's eyes widened. Ten long years. For the first time, they slept together in the same bed. Between the two people is separated by a space that is neither tight nor wide. He wanted to move a little closer, but was afraid of alarming her. Finally, he only dared to gingerly stick his hand out from under the blanket and place it on the empty bed sheet between the two of them. Your fingertips accidentally touched a warm feeling. It's the back of Tong Tuyet's hand, lying there obediently. She did not withdraw her hand. Just very naturally, slightly curled his fingers, as if he was just trying to hold on to something. Luc Kien Quan held his breath. At that moment, he thought he had traveled back in time countless years ago, to a distant night. It was the same pitch black night, also on the same bed, in the same room. At that time, the couple had just finished arguing. Because of a trivial matter. He doesn't remember clearly what happened, he only remembers that Tong Tuyet was very angry at that time, turned her back to him and lay down. He reached out and gingerly touched her hand. She didn't pull back, just gently intertwined her fingers with his fingertips. That was the couple's own sign of reconciliation. After that, they stopped using that signal for a long, long time. Until tonight.

“Tong Tuyet.” He called her name in a muffled voice in the darkness.

“Thank you.” He hesitated.

Tong Tuyet did not ask him why he was thanking her. Just a soft "yeah" sound.

“Go to sleep.” She comforted, "Don't have any random thoughts."

Luc Kien Quan closed his eyelids. The dull pain in my chest is still there Still there, but not as scary as before. He closed his eyes and listened to the familiar breathing next to him, it sounded like soothing music. A long while later, he fell asleep to that peaceful melody. The following days, everything happened slowly and honestly. At six in the morning, the alarm rang. Tong Tuyet got up and prepared breakfast for Luc Kien Quan. Thin porridge, side dishes, sometimes boiled eggs.