Chapter 8 — I Raised a General in the Central Highlands

50 I struggled a bit, but Luc Tram tightened my grip. “It was you who was wrong.” He placed his chin on the top of my head, his voice a bit hoarse, as if choked in his chest: "I should have told the truth sooner. But you always said we don't belong to the same world, so I hesitated. I'm afraid the difference is too big and will make you feel pressured and push me away." “So you chose to trick me?” “It's not…” He sighed. "In the steppe, every time we quarrel, it always ends in... that way. I can't think rationally, I just want to keep you by my side first." "Then when we returned to Nam Thanh, I drove a Maybach, wearing a Tom Ford outfit. As soon as I saw it, I asked if I was the driver..." Speaking of this, Luc Tram pursed his lips and smiled helplessly: "You're really... so interesting that it makes people crazy. I just want to see, when will your eyes 'brighten' a little." His voice softened, so soft that it made my heart soften: "But then, I realized, the feelings you have for me... are the purest. It's the admiration and desire of a woman for a man - not related to status or status at all. That, to me, is truly priceless." “Isn't this one of those cheesy 'presidents pretending to be poor' scenes in TV shows…” “I don't think it's the same.” Luc Tram's voice rang above my head, low but steadfast: "I always ask myself, what world do I belong to? I don't like the competition of Wall Street, but I can't live like my grandfather wanted - staying in the steppe. I returned to the country to start a business, but I'm not sure when I'll ever return to the other side..." "Before, I thought I needed someone who could integrate into every world I came across." The deep, gentle voice fell into my ears: "But then you made me understand that we can create a new world together, belonging only to the two of us." Luc Tram lifted my face and gently said: "Tri Dieu, for deceiving you, I'm sorry." “But if I didn't start in that wrong way, maybe I wouldn't be able to see the real you in this life... and myself.” “So, I don't regret it.” 51 “Even if everything you say is true… you can't… convince me.” He looked at me, his eyes slightly frozen. "See! I'm thinking about that again!" I was so embarrassed that I got angry and pushed him away. “I was thinking it myself.” "No! I don't think anymore! I want to go home!" “Okay, I'll take you home.” I stood up and looked around the living room, which looked like a model home. “Why is your house so empty?” Luc Tram paused for a moment, a lonely look flashed in his eyes: "Because I always have the feeling... I could leave at any time." He had a nostalgic look on his face: "Actually, I really like your house. Even though it's a bit messy, it's full of life, making me feel secure. It's just... the bed is a bit small." Knowing clearly that he is playing a pitiful role. Yet my heart still couldn't control itself and trembled slightly. “Where is the bedroom?” Luc Tram froze, looked at me without understanding. “I want to see the bed… enough for horseback riding like you said.” “If I go up now, I'm afraid I won't be able to get down.” “Dream on, I haven't forgiven you yet!” “Yes, I know.” He pulled me into his arms: "I still haven't... convinced you." Female The word "persuade", he deliberately emphasized that place in a sinister way. “Luc Tram!” Luc Tram laughed, grabbed my hand, and lifted me off the ground. … 52 “Boss” Luc Tram is even more difficult to deal with than “driver” Luc Tram. After that night, he kept me at his house, nominally: “I need to be monitored and surveyed 7×24 hours continuously.” He worked as a buffalo and a horse for more than a month. Every day, delicious dishes and... special services serve me to the point where I no longer have the strength to resist. Finally, I moved in with him. Carrying a ton of bulky luggage: Mismatched cups, a whole wall full of models, miscellaneous books scattered everywhere... Using traces of his life, turning that huge villa into a place that is truly "home". After three months of non-stop overtime, I finally signed a yearly contract for that premium mineral water brand. On the occasion of a compensatory break, Luc Tram and I returned to the steppe for a trip. Meeting Luc Tram's grandfather again, the old man was still as serious as before. Only this time, he kept picking meat into my bowl with public chopsticks: "Eat too much, you're too skinny. If you eat enough then—" I thought he was about to say: "then I'll have the strength to give birth to our Luc family." No doubt, he said: "Only will I have the strength to ride a horse with Tram." "Huh?" I was dumbfounded: "I... still have to learn to ride a horse—" As soon as I met his sharp eyes, I quickly changed my tone: "Oh yes! I have to learn! I have to go herding cows with Luc Tram too!" 53 Luc Tram laughed so much that his shoulders shook because of me. In the afternoon, he carried me onto Tieu Phong Tu's back. The outcome, of course, is... tragic. I can't bear to look at it. I was so tense that my whole body stiffened, almost pulling the reins off. Finally exhausted like a dead dog. Luc Tram carried me down from the horse's back, and I lay with my arms and legs spread out on the grass, unable to move. He lay down next to me, wrapping his arms around me. I looked at the blue sky above my head and finally asked what had been bothering me for a long time: "I have two uncles, two uncles, and then Uncle Ba Tho or something else... how many cows does your grandfather raise?" "I don't know specifically, but the money that I and my parents sent home to my grandfather must have gone into it, probably... tens of thousands?" He pointed to the hill in the distance: "My family plans to crawl not after the child... but after the mountain." 54. My brain felt like it was exploding with a "BAM". "So, when you said that because you came to Nam Thanh to find me, you had to sell two cows..." "That's really two cows, not... one hill." Luc Tram began to seriously calculate: "Airplane tickets, vest, inviting Chris to dinner... should be enough." Me: ... He looked at my wide-eyed and open-mouthed expression and suddenly burst out laughing. Then he took out a small square velvet box from his pocket. “But, this… it really depends on the hill.” My heart started beating uncontrollably. In the box is a sparkling diamond ring. Under the steppe sunlight, dazzling rays of light are reflected. Haven't had time to say "I agree." An even more terrifying thought filled my brain. "Luc Tram! Calculate according to the hill? If Grandpa knew, he would be angry to death!!"