Chapter 2 — I've Been Waiting For Him For Fourteen Years

"That's right," another person scoffed, "other than the Ha family, where else would she go? She already has no home." I was so tired that I cried until I exhausted my strength, and as soon as I got on the plane, I fell asleep. In my dreams, I always return to the past. I was an orphan and helpless child who had just been brought to the Ha family's house, and Ha Hanh Tri was the young master who was favored by many people. I know I have to put in a lot of effort to keep up with his footsteps. He doesn't like studying, I study hard. You cause trouble everywhere, I quietly clean up the consequences. Whatever food you like to eat, I will learn to cook it. He liked girls who knew how to ride horses. I had to suppress the pain and fear after falling from a horse to force myself to learn to ride, just to hope to receive a compliment from him. All suffering, just seeing the smile in his eyes, disappears in silence. I thought that sooner or later he would recognize me, but when he was in high school, he fell in love with Hua Thanh Vu - who was as bright as him. Their love is so passionate that the whole school knows it. His grandfather, who had a conservative ideology, therefore beat Ha Hanh Tri severely. But he refused to submit and was imprisoned in his room. That night, I secretly brought food to visit him. In the dark, without turning on the light, I couldn't see his face clearly, I could only hear his voice say: "Has Thanh Vu come to visit you yet?" I paused for a moment and asked, "Do you really like her that much?" "That's right." Ha Hanh Tri finished eating the cake, leaned back in his chair, completely forgetting his situation, his voice full of pride and joy: "She's beautiful, I can't count how many people secretly love her. She's also smart, always ranked in the top 10 of the class." "But he only likes me." My heart gradually grew heavier with every word he said. Silent love is like a fruit that exudes a seductive fragrance, making people want to bite into it, but only gets a bitter taste in their mouth. Maybe because it was so bitter, I couldn't hold back my tears. I bit my lip, not daring to make a sound. Luckily, the lights were still off, Ha Hanh Tri could not see my tears, nor knew my small, fragile and helpless feelings. When I opened my eyes, I was in a completely strange place - a coastal city. The night wind gently blew, the night scene was beautiful. I chose a hotel with a sea view and checked in. The first few days, I couldn't control my emotions, tears kept flowing every time I saw or thought of anything related to the past 14 years. Then, when the tears stopped, I began to sit in a daze, not thinking about anything, and also unable to sleep all night. Days like that last for who knows how long. Then another meaningless night, I lay in bed, and heard a vague guitar sound from the next room. Strangely enough, I can feel a bit of tenderness from those soft melodies. That gentle melody seemed to soothe my fragile soul. I gradually suppressed my tears and fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up, the clock showed 2 am. I touched my stomach, it was growling because it was hungry. Feeling inconvenient to order food at this hour, I decided to go out to find food. As soon as I closed the door, I smelled a fragrant scent from the side. Looking in the direction of the scent, I saw a bowl of instant noodles. Looking up, there was a familiar face that stunned me. "Tieu Hoai?" I burst out. Tieu Hoai, who was once Ha Hanh Tri's archrival. Previously, my impression of him was that of an arrogant, unruly young master who always followed Ha Hanh Tri in every confrontation. I could always see the more upset expression on his face

of Tieu Hoai, as if we owed him 8 million yuan. In the past, I always kept a distance from him because I felt he was difficult to approach, but maybe because I was too hungry, or maybe because the aroma of instant noodles was too seductive, I completely forgot the vigilance I once had with him. I swallowed hard and finally couldn't hold back and opened my mouth to ask: "Is that for sale?" Right then, I saw his handsome face showing unbelievable surprise. Oh, maybe I used the wrong word. But Tieu Hoai did not hit me, nor did he get angry. On the contrary, he was very generous, sharing a bowl of instant noodles with me. When I finished eating, Tieu Hoai crossed his arms over his chest, his face cold and said: "I never thought I would fall into this situation. As the young master of the Tieu family, I have to share a bowl of noodles with you." Hearing that, it really seemed very pitiful. I smiled awkwardly, after all, he and I didn't have a close relationship. He shared his food with me, I felt like I should do something in return. "How about I invite you out to eat tomorrow?" Tieu Hoai still coldly replied: "I don't like eating outside food." It's really difficult to please. I sighed, then tried asking: "So can I cook for you?" I guessed that a young master like him wouldn't eat what I cooked, but unexpectedly, Tieu Hoai nodded: "Okay." I choked on my words, but couldn't refuse anymore. Anyway, after this, my mood is no longer as bad as before. When Tieu Hoai left, I turned on my phone and saw a series of messages from Chau Nac, like a news "bombardment": "Oh my god, that fucking couple is here! A few days after you left, Ha Hanh Tri suddenly disappeared. At first I thought he was regretful, but it turned out he and Hua Thanh Vu went to Iceland to see the aurora borealis!"I was stunned for a moment. I like the sea, but Ha Hanh Tri always finds excuses and never watches the sea with me. Hua Thanh Vu wanted to see the aurora, in less than a week, Ha Hanh Tri took her there. It turns out, to love or not to love is so clear. Luckily I broke up with him. My finger continued to slide across the screen, Chau Nac continued to send messages: "After returning, the two of them were shameless and went everywhere together. Someone even joked with him during the gathering: "Cam Ve has been gone for so long, aren't you worried?'" Ha Hanh Tri sneered: "She loves me to death, how can she live without me?" How can you really leave? Just angry.” Tham Hao Kien hesitated: "But you and Thanh Vu like this are too obvious. Not respecting Cam Ve at all, both making her lose face and hurting her heart. Maybe she's serious this time.” Ha Hanh Tri calmly took a sip of wine, with a disdainful tone: "Don't talk about kissing, even if I had a child with someone else, she would still consider that child as her own child. Having loved me for so many years, can she let go?" After reading Chau Nac's message, my seemingly calloused heart ached again, both angry and sad. My sincere feelings in his eyes were so cheap, he trampled on them mercilessly. Chau Nac added: "Cam Ve, you won't regret it, will you? Isn't that right? I was immersed in my emotions when her question made me laugh. I seriously replied: “I will not regret it. I never turned back. He doesn't deserve it." The next day, Tieu Hoai brought back a pile of cooking ingredients, then stood silently looking at me, his lips pursed. What was surprising was that I saw a strange bit of docility in his eyes, like a puppy eagerly waiting to be fed. However, I didn't dare say that sentence. The hotel has a kitchen and is fully equipped.

convenient for cooking, it took me more than an hour to prepare four main dishes and one soup. Previously, to please Ha Hanh Tri, I spent a lot of time practicing my cooking skills. But no matter how hard he tried, he always found something unsatisfactory, like too little salt, too much vinegar, too sweet a dish... When watching Tieu Hoai pick up each dish, I felt a bit nervous, waiting for his evaluation, mentally preparing to receive criticism. However, that didn't happen. There was no blame or dissatisfaction at all, he even looked like a small animal satisfied with his meal. Tieu Hoai narrowed his eyes with satisfaction. I hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Is there anything wrong with the food?" Tieu Hoai shook his head: "No, nothing bad." I breathed a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, Tieu Hoai, who looks difficult, is actually so easy-going. After the meal, I chatted with Chau Nac about the company's work and casually said to Tieu Hoai: "Go wash the dishes." He nodded and obediently went to work.