Chapter 26 — Leaving You, I Shine

The day the article aired, more than 200 people became WeChat friends with me. Among them, there are dozens of brand representatives who want to cooperate, and several investment funds want to invest capital. And there was a message from someone I didn't expect - Tran Nhuoc. It was the person who replaced me as Assistant General Director Co Thi, then was demoted after 4 months.

"Ms. Lam, congratulations. I saw your interview and I really admire it. When I was at Co Thi, I didn't understand things and said some harsh things. I apologize to you."

I read the message, trying to remember what she had said - it seemed like she was in the pantry telling someone else that "Lam Chieu just relied on his relationship with the boss to sit firmly in that chair". The me of 1 year ago would have been angry. But not now. I texted back: "It's okay. I wish you all the best." There's no need to worry about trivial things from the past anymore. That same month, another thing also happened - The first quarterly report after Co Hanh returned to Co Thi was announced. Net profit increased by 23% compared to the previous quarter, the mess that Trieu Bang left behind has been cleaned up. The news headline is very loud - "Co Hanh reappears, the king returns to the throne". When I saw this news, I was eating a boxed lunch in the office. Phuong Du peered in to take a look.

“He's pretty cool too.”

"Yes. The ability has not been bad so far. The bad thing is something else."

“Can we make up for it now?”

"Not sure. But it's not something I need to worry about."

Phuong Du pouted and said nothing more. In early June, on a weekend evening, Luc Dich and I had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. After eating half, he put down his chopsticks and looked at me.

“Lam Chieu.”

“Yes?”

"I've been thinking about it for 2 months. Do you have an answer yet?"

The chopsticks that were picking up my piece of salmon stopped in mid-air. 2 months. He said he wanted to officially pursue me 2 months ago. During those 2 months, he invited me 5 meals, gave me 2 books, helped me clean the office once, and on days when I worked late at night, he ordered food to be delivered. Never pushed a word, never asked once.

“Luc Dich.”

“I heard.”

“I've thought about it carefully.”

“What is the answer?”

“Try it.”

He paused for two seconds, then smiled. Not an exaggerated laugh, but the corners of the mouth slowly curled up, the eyes narrowed.

“Okay. So you—”

“But I have conditions.”

“You say it.”

“First, do not interfere in my work and decisions.”

“Of course.”

"Second, you won't easily enter the state of love right away. There will be times when you will be very cold. It's not that you have any opinion towards me, it's your inertia."

“It's okay. Your adaptability is very strong.”

“Tuesday…”

“Is there a third condition?”

"Third, you can't act cautiously because I'm a divorced person. You don't need to be considered a fragile item."

He thought for a moment.

"Lam Chieu, you are the most fragile person I have ever met. Don't worry."

I put down my chopsticks.

“Okay. So... let's begin.”

“It's begun.” He raised his glass of sake, "Here's a glass for a new beginning."

I clink my glass with you. Sake is clear and has a gentle sweetness that lingers on the tip of the tongue.

—

Summer passed very quickly. In July, Chieu Bach signed a 3-year strategic framework contract with Tinh Than Group. In August, I was on the cover of the local trade weekly – “TOP 10 Emerging Brand Service Providers”, ranked 3rd. In September, the Chieu Bach team expanded to 42 people, I started looking for a second office location. The relationship with Luc Dich is stable and extremely comfortable. He's not clingy, and I'm not bored either. They both have their own careers, when they meet they talk about all sorts of things, and when they're apart they don't worry at all. Phuong Du told us that we are like "two trees growing next to each other, the roots are independent but the branches and leaves are intertwined".