Chapter 6 — Icebergs Also Know Red Eyes

“I know, sister-in-law.”

I threw the towel straight at his face. Lying in bed, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Lam Thi Vu wants to pursue To Nghien. So what? To Nghien and I are not real. After being skinny, we broke up. Whoever cut you off has nothing to do with me. I closed my eyes. The scene in the hallway today flashed through his mind - she smiled and talked to him, handed her the notebook, and he took it. I took it. I pulled the blanket over my head. Not okay. Something is wrong but I can't say it out loud, I just feel very wrong. 06 Saturday. I was so hungry that my hands were shaking. It's been seven days, seven days without touching a single piece of fried chicken, grilled meat, milk tea, hot pot, snacks or cakes. Seven days there was only chicken breast, brown rice, green vegetables, fruit, and boiled eggs. I lost 2 kg. But my mental state had reached the brink of collapse. At noon at the cafeteria, To Nghien pushed today's lunch box in front of me. Still made by him, boiled chicken breast served with lettuce and cherry tomatoes. I looked at the lunch box, my hand holding the chopsticks was shaking. In the cafeteria, people pass by, all kinds of scents float in - spicy stir-fried hot pot, sweet and sour ribs, braised beef noodles. My stomach is screaming.

“To Nghien.”

He looked up. I took a deep breath and slammed my chopsticks on the table.

“Let's break up.”

The voice was neither loud nor soft, but amidst the noise of the cafeteria, several tables around could hear it. To Nghien's movements stopped.

"I'm not losing weight anymore," I stood up, pushed my chair out, "Now I have to go eat barbecue."

Silence. The area around us suddenly fell silent. People around them all turned their eyes to look. Some people were in the middle of picking up their food and forgot to put down their chopsticks. To Nghien sat there, motionless. Then I saw the edges of his eyes were red. Just in that moment, on his face that had never had any unnecessary expressions, something I had never seen before appeared— He panicked.

“What did you say?” His voice was hoarse.

“Farewell.” I repeated again, not daring to look him in the eyes, "I only pursued you because I wanted to lose weight, you know that. Now I don't want to lose anymore, so—"

“In the past, the person who actively pursued me was you.”

He interrupted me, his voice very low, but every word was clear. I clenched my hands: "I know, but from the beginning I only wanted to lose weight. You are my weight loss tool." After saying this, my heart suddenly ached. There were whispers in the cafeteria. I vaguely heard someone say "traitor girl". To Nghien lowered his head, both hands propped up on the table, his knuckles stiffened and turned white. I thought he would coldly say "Okay", then stand up and leave. That is exactly the reaction To Nghien should have. But he didn't. He stood up. The chair was pushed back, making a harsh sound. He walked in front of me — the eyes of everyone around were focused on us. Then he grabbed my wrist tightly. The force is not strong, but very tight.

“Go.”

“Where to?”

“Take me out for a barbecue.”

I was stunned.

"You can eat as much pork belly as you want," his voice was still hoarse, his eye sockets were still red, but he was smiling - not a cold, distant smile, but a smile mixed with a bit of self-pity and resignation that I had never seen before, "Let's talk about goodbye after eating."

He pulled me straight out of the cafeteria. People around around my eyes an A, my mouth an O... Being dragged away by him, my mind went blank. Incorrect. The script is not written like this. He shouldn't have cared, he should have said "Okay" and turned around and walked away. Why are you— Why are your eyes red? The phone in my pocket vibrated. I used my hand that wasn't holding the phone to look at it. To Niem: *Tang toan toan*