Chapter 11 — Listening to the Rain to Read Hearts

While I finished packing up the stall and gathered my belongings, he had already finished eating and was leaning against the exterior wall of the noodle shop, waiting patiently.

Let us go, I will walk you home.

Did you really drive all the way back from the city just to escort me on a five-minute walk?

It was on the way.

I said nothing more, falling into step beside him. The streets of the county town were quiet at this late hour, with very few pedestrians. Occasionally, a bicycle would glide past, its bell ringing out a single, clear note. The streetlamps had just flickered to life—old, amber-hued bulbs casting a dim, nostalgic glow. When we reached the entrance of my apartment building, I came to a halt.

We are here.

Yes.

He stopped as well, standing directly opposite me. Silence stretched between us for a moment.

Chu Thinh Vu.

Yes.

There is something I have kept bottled up in my heart for a very long time.

How long?

Ever since the day I saw you squatting by the stall, eating a plain steamed bun. The very first day I went there on surveillance.

That was nearly two years ago.

Yes.

If you are not going to speak, I am heading upstairs.

He drew in a deep breath. Not the theatrical kind of sigh, but a genuine inhalation to summon his courage.

I want to be in a relationship with you.

I looked at him. The amber streetlamp illuminated one half of his face, while the other half remained cast in shadow. Yet, his eyes were remarkably bright.

You do not believe in divination or fortune-telling; do you not feel uneasy about being with me?

Whether your gift for reading people is accurate or not has nothing to do with me. The person I am looking at is you, and you alone.

I do not have a proper education, I do not have a respectable job, and my background is hardly stellar...

I know.

What do you know?

I know that when you were five or six years old, you were sold and later taken in by a blind old woman. I know you have been supporting yourself entirely on your own since you were eighteen. I know you have helped us countless times without ever claiming credit. I know that whenever you see someone in genuine hardship, you return their money or find ways to help them...

Have you been investigating me?

Your name is Chu Thinh Vu, given to you by the old woman. Your national identification card was registered much later in life. You finished middle school and never attended high school. You currently live alone in single room number fourteen on East Gate Street in South River County. No criminal record.

He paused for a beat.

All of those official details I uncovered during background checks. Everything else, I discovered with my own eyes.

I lowered my gaze. After finishing his confession, he simply stood there in quiet anticipation, never rushing me. A few moths fluttered in erratic circles beneath the streetlamp. From somewhere in the distance, the tinny speakers of a cassette tape shop drifted over, playing a faint, indistinct melody—it sounded like one of Qi Qin’s old ballads. Finally, I raised my head.

Alright.

Just a single word. His expression shifted instantly. It was not an overwhelming display of ecstatic joy, but rather the sudden relaxation of his entire being. His shoulders dropped an inch, and the tight lines around the corners of his eyes softened completely.

Then I will come again tomorrow.

What for?

To pick you up after work.

When I turned and walked up the stairs, my heart fluttered wildly against my ribs. Reaching the second-floor landing, I could not resist glancing back down. He was still standing there, his head tilted back, gazing up toward my window. Seeing me turn around, he said nothing. He simply raised his hand in a brief, gentle gesture, then turned and walked away into the night. That evening, I lay awake once more. But this time, it was an insomnia born of quiet smiles. I padded over to the window, looking down at the amber streetlamp glowing softly in the dark. The old woman had once told me that my destiny held a trial. Once that tribulation passed, the road ahead would finally be bright. Standing there, I felt as though I could finally see the light.