Chapter 1 — Kitten And Love Under The Bush

On the third day of Tet, I went to wish relatives New Year, went to the wrong house, and as soon as I entered the door, I grabbed a handsome man in the lobby and beat him several times. "I say, auntie, this cousin is growing up so fast, isn't he? He's only fifteen or sixteen, but he's already nine feet tall." Aunt: "Fifteen or sixteen? What did you say?" The handsome man lowered his eyes and looked at me coldly: "Who are you?" 1. This is really weird. My mother sent me to wish my distant aunt a Happy New Year. To be honest, after ten years of not seeing each other, no one recognized each other. I carried two large boxes of cherries and walked over. As soon as I opened the door, I cheerfully wished: "Auntie, have a happy new year!" Auntie smiled widely: "Oh my goodness, happy new year, come home and eat!" I heard the delicious smell of food and happily walked inside. The door to the room on the right opened and a handsome guy stepped out. There was still a sleepy look on his face, his hands lazily stuffed in his pockets. I immediately rushed forward, swung my elbow around his shoulder, smiled widely and punched him on the back a few times: "Auntie, my cousin is growing up so fast, he's only fifteen or sixteen and already nine feet tall!" The guy stood still. Aunt stood still. But my reflexes were slow, as if I had circled the Earth twice and still didn't understand anything. I continued to laugh and say: "So where is my cousin? Why hasn't he come out yet? We were very close when we were kids!" Her beautiful face gradually cracked: "I only have one child, Chu Chu..." 2. Everyone, the case has broken down. I... went to the wrong house. I rubbed my hands, embarrassedly opened my mouth: "I'm so embarrassed, I saw the wrong house number..." When people are embarrassed, they often tell the truth, I blurted out: "I also doubted it, how could my relatives give birth to a beauty like you!" Auntie... no, "beautiful aunt" smiled even brighter: "Oh my, this girl... has such a sweet mouth! What's your name?" A male voice interrupted before me: "Du Van." I: ??? Beautiful aunt: ??? 3. His handsome voice is still a bit sleepy, sounds both lazy and sexy. “You study under me.” He lowered his eyes to look at me, his face was so beautiful that it made people wonder. “I am Tong Khuynh Chu, Department of Finance.” Everyone, if a "rumored boyfriend you've never met" suddenly traveled more than two thousand kilometers to meet you right in your hometown - Would you be surprised? Or panic? Or... extreme surprise and panic? To be honest, praying to heaven and earth is not as good as praying to your mother. Never before have I felt that a call from my mother was so sacred: "Ca Vien! Mom told me to go to my aunt's house first, where are you going crazy?" "You're nowhere to be seen, so what's the point of taking your mother's cherry?" It's true... really "blooming"! I looked at Tong Khuynh Chu's half-smiling face, stiffened, and lowered my voice: "Mom! I went in by mistake! I went to Court 28 next door!" The call was cut off mercilessly. I used the excuse of being urged by my mother to rush out of the yard, my beautiful aunt even seeing me off to the gate. And my mother, the rare awakening of motherly love for the first time, was standing a few steps away. She was visibly happy, as she walked over she opened her arms to hug me. I was so touched that I opened my arms and waited to hug back. Yet, right before my eyes, she walked straight past, tightly hugging the beautiful aunt behind her. "This damn girl! Even when she returned to city B, she didn't say a word! We haven't seen each other in so many years!" The two women linked arms and happily returned home. The north wind blew softly, I stood still like a statue. A scarf was placed around my neck, the top of my head was covered someone rubs. Tong Khuynh Chu leaned slightly, his thin lips curled slightly: "Girlfriend, let's go home." 4. A plate of red cherries was placed right in front of me, so red that it blinded my eyes. "It's fate! You two are friends from the same university!" After a long greeting like "see you after a long time", the beautiful aunt turned her head to look at me. It couldn't be called a "coincidence" anymore—your son had been staring at me for half an hour. Now there were two "two swords meeting each other" eyes shining on my face, cooling me off the table. But "looking for your mother" is correct. My mother seemed to have just discovered a new continent, just like Columbus: "Is this... Tieu Chu? Do you have a girlfriend?" Tong Khuynh Chu's eyes scanned my face meaningfully, making my heart, liver, lungs, and spleen jump. Then he slowly opened his mouth: "Not yet, Aunt Ha." My mother's eyes sparkled like gold, making me feel bad at all. Since my cousin fell in love with a talented young man and flew to Stanford together last year, I - a real 21-year-old aunt - have been fried by my mother every day. Yesterday morning the fish balls were burned black because I didn't have a lover! My mother indeed pulled Tong Khuynh Chu aside: "You guys have just moved to City B and aren't familiar with the place yet, right? This is Auntie Ha's daughter, let her take you out to play around."{Read full page on Nguyet Hoa Cac page} I tried to use emotional persuasion: "Mom... but aunt... my eldest aunt..." "I haven't seen you for ten years, less than a year! Go away!" My mother used arguments to pressure people, I lost this game. 5. On the third day of Tet, on a deserted street with the north wind, only me and Tong Khuynh Chu - two crazy kids - walked side by side. Actually, I didn't want to walk next to him, but no matter how fast I walked, I couldn't escape him. He took three steps before gently catching up, and I was as tired as an ox pulling a cart. I panted: "Let's find a place to sit and rest a bit?" Tong Khuynh Chu nodded with spirit. Three minutes later, the two of us sat face to face in KFC. There is no other way, other shops in city B are all celebrating Tet, no one wants to do business. I unconsciously used my ring finger to draw a circle on the table, deciding to face the "tragic breakup" rumor: "The person who posted a love letter to you on the 'confession wall' is really not me, it's someone else using my name." Tong Khuynh Chu nodded slightly: "I know." "I didn't even spread the rumor that you confessed to me first." "I know. I threw it." “It's good to know…” — my voice suddenly jumped up eight notes — “What did you say?!” Tong Khuynh Chu leisurely stirred the glass of... hot chocolate in front of him: "I said... the rumor that I pursued you was spread by myself." "Anyway, I can't clarify the matter on the 'love confession wall', so it's better... let me take the initiative." “For a girl, her face is very important.” Seeing me glaring at him, he added another sentence: "And I... have a thicker skin." After the "love confession wall" incident broke out, I actually denied it. But not a few days later, someone found out that the posting account ID was from our dormitory. At that time, even with ten thousand mouths, we couldn't argue. Public opinion immediately turned towards criticizing me for "wanting to pretend to be a fool and also want to enjoy the limelight". Tong Khuynh Chu was already a male god in the hearts of all the female students in the school. I became a living punching bag - just the kind of party for netizens to type on their keyboards to vent their anger. But just one day later, I don't know where the rumor came from that Tong Khuynh Chu was the one who pursued me first, and then added that he admitted it himself... 6. In an instant, he and I were labeled as "a talented boy and a beautiful girl, a match made in heaven", the joke at that time suddenly turned into a "sweet love trick" of the young couple. I woke up from the stream of memories, my face also started to burn: "So do you know that the whole T school now says we are... are..." "Lovers?" — Tong Khuynh Chu interrupted, extremely calm. “Does it bother you?” I shook my head: "No. You really saved me from the pot of oil and the sea of fire of speech." Tong Khuynh Chu raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly. His eyes are pale, and when he's not smiling, he's extremely cold. But just smiling, it's so gentle that it makes people fall in love, like a pool of warm amber. “So you are my benefactor?” The tone is lazy but full of intimacy, the last rhyme still has a curvy tone. I also laughed: "Yes, I will take gratitude from the spring water and repay it." Tong Khuynh Chu prolonged his voice, carrying a hint of teasing: "There's no need to repay me. Just don't make me walk in the cold again." Sounds like you're beautiful... no, Aunt La said, before they lived in city F, all year round like spring. As for the weather in city B, it's so cold that he's definitely not used to it. I laughed: "Okay, comrade... friend, I've made friends with you!" Tong Khuynh Chu also laughed. The long, narrow eyes were slightly lowered, and the smile on his face carried something very difficult to describe. It's just that, how stupid I was at that time, I could only see one word: "gentle". I couldn't have imagined that, while Tong Khuynh Chu and I were building a "great friendship", my mother and Aunt La were also reaching perfect agreement. During the following vacation, my father and Tong Khuynh Chu's father became two... bushes of grass that no one cared about.