Chapter 5 — Love Awakens After Leaving

Marriage Agreement Gate Signs Protection For

Monday morning, the phone on Tuyet Nhi's desk rang at exactly five minutes past eight, fifteen minutes earlier than usual. As Mr. Doan Chi Kien's personal secretary, the woman's voice on the other end of the line was neat but there was something strange - a beat slower than the usual habit of reporting the calendar, as if she was considering each word before speaking. She asked Tuyet Nhi to arrange a family meeting at noon, in the private living room of the main house, with Bach Vu present. Tuyet Nhi put down the receiver, sat still for a moment, her fingers unconsciously tapping on the table. During her three years as an assistant, she had learned to read omens from the smallest details — and this small detail, simply the words "family" juxtaposed with "noon", was enough to make the back of her neck chill. Meetings of that nature rarely happened during working hours, and it was even rarer that she herself—as an assistant—was asked to be present to take notes, as if someone wanted an official record of a decision that had already been finalized.

That afternoon, Mr. Chi Kien's private living room was decorated more solemnly than usual, a precious pot of tea was prepared, and on the table was a thick file carefully bound in leather. Mr. Chi Kien sat in the chairman's position, his solemn appearance mixed with something like calculated satisfaction.

"Bach Vu, please sit down." He gestured, his voice calm but firm, leaving no room for any objections. "Today I want to discuss something important with you."

Bach Vu sat down, his eyes slightly wary - he was used to his father always making unexpected decisions related to business strategy, but the way he opened today had a completely different tone.

"Tong Group has a large real estate project in the western area of the city, with an investment scale of up to trillions of dong." Mr. Chi Kien began, his voice changing to that of a seasoned businessman. "If Doan Gia Group can cooperate with them in this project, we will have the opportunity to expand into high-end real estate, something the company has cherished for many years but has not had a reliable partner."

"I understand the importance of that project, dad." Bach Vu replied, his voice still maintaining the calmness of a professional operator. "But I don't understand what that has to do with today's meeting."

Mr. Chi Kien put down his cup of tea and looked straight at his son. "Mr. Tong Ba Nghiem, chairman of the Tong family group, has offered to unite the two families with a marriage, to ensure long-term and sustainable cooperation. His daughter, Van Khanh, is the one I met at the party last week."

The room suddenly became so silent that Tuyet Nhi could clearly hear the sound of the pen she was holding trembling in her hand. She bowed her head, pretending to concentrate on taking notes, but every word in her head was now blurred, all she could did was hear Mr. Chi Kien's words repeating over and over in her mind.

She glanced quickly at Bach Vu, trying to read his reaction, but his face remained calm as usual, only his fingers tightening around the pen on the table was the only sign that he was not quite as calm as he appeared. Tuyet Nhi wondered if, at this moment, he was thinking about refusing, or had he subconsciously accepted that this was inevitable for someone carrying the responsibility of an entire family.

The old housekeeper in charge of making tea stood in the corner of the room, occasionally glancing at Tuyet Nhi with concerned eyes. She had worked in the mansion long enough to know the special relationship between the two children in the past, even though she never dared to say it in front of anyone. That look, even though it was only fleeting, was enough to make Tuyet Nhi feel like there was another person witnessing her silent pain.

"I want you to seriously consider this marriage thing." Mr. Chi Kien continued, his voice not intending to open the door for a real discussion. "Van Khanh comes from a prestigious background, has a good education, and his appearance is nothing to criticize. In terms of subjects, there is no more suitable choice for my current position."

Bach Vu was silent for a long time, his fingers lightly tapping on the wooden table, a habit he only had when he was thinking intensely. "I have never thought about getting married at this time, father. There are still many things I need to focus on at work at the corporation."

"Thirty years old, Bach Vu." Mr. Chi Kien's voice was low, carrying a genuine worry mixed with familiar severity. "Dad is not young anymore, the corporation needs a successor who is stable in both career and family so that the board of directors and partners can feel secure. This is not only my personal matter, but also the matter of the entire Doan family."

Tuyet Nhi sat there, still holding the pen, but her eyes did not dare to look up at Bach Vu, afraid that with just one look, all the chaotic emotions in her heart would be discovered. She clearly heard Bach Vu sigh, a heavy sigh of someone who was put in a position where he did not have many options.

"I need time to think." Bach Vu finally spoke up, his voice no longer as resistant as before.

"Dad, give me until the end of the month." Mr. Chi Kien nodded, seemingly achieving what he wanted from the beginning. "The Song family is also waiting for an official answer to take the next steps for the engagement."

The meeting ended, Bach Vu stood up and left the front room, his gait somewhat heavier than usual. Tuyet Nhi packed up her documents and prepared to follow, but Mr. Chi Kien suddenly called her back.

"Tuyet Nhi."

"Yes, sir." She stopped walking, turned around, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"I am Bach Vu's closest assistant." He looked at her with the sharp eyes of someone who had experienced the business for many years, seemingly trying to read something hidden behind her calm appearance. "I hope you will help her mentally prepare well for the upcoming marriage, and carefully take care of all organizational steps when necessary. This is a big matter for the whole family, I believe you will do it well."

"Yes, I will try my best." Tuyet Nhi bowed her head and replied, her voice still maintaining professionalism even though inside her heart it felt like someone was suffocating her.

Leaving the living room, she walked through the long hallway. The noon sunlight shone through the large glass windows, but she didn't feel any warmth. She found a deserted corner of the balcony and stood there for a long time, trying to suppress the emotions welling up in her heart.

She knew in advance and had mentally prepared for this day for a long time. Ever since she was a little girl standing behind the backyard gate watching Bach Vu leave to study abroad, she understood that the distance between them was never just a geographical distance, but a status gap that could not be bridged. But knowing in advance did not mean it would not hurt. When she heard with her own ears the words "engagement with Miss Song" being uttered with such certainty, she realized that her heart still held a small ray of hope, even though she had never dared to admit it out loud.

She remembered one evening nearly a year ago, when Bach Vu worked late into the night, she brought him a cup of hot tea into his room and saw him sitting back in his chair, his eyes closed due to fatigue. At that moment, there was no one else in the room. He opened his eyes and looked at her, softly saying a sentence without beginning or end: "With you here, I feel much more secure." That sentence, even though it was just a blurt out of exhaustion, was kept by Tuyet Nhi like a treasure for many months, silently nurturing a fragile hope that now, right in this living room, had been completely extinguished by a strategic business decision.

She blamed herself for being foolish in letting an unintentional sentence become her emotional support for so long. Perhaps for Bach Vu, it was simply an exclamation from an exhausted person, without any deeper emotional meaning. But the heart did not know reason, and Tuyet Nhi had learned that, no matter how hard she tries to control her emotions, it always found a way to sneak into the smallest gaps of reason, and now had to pay the price with this dull pain.

The phone in her pocket vibrated. It's a message from Bach Vu.

"Cancel all my work schedules for me this afternoon. I need to be alone."

Tuyet Nhi looked at that short message for a long time, then typed back a neat, professional reply as always.

"Yes, I have arranged it. You can rest."

She looked out the balcony window, where the afternoon clouds were slowly drifting across the city sky, a feeling of both familiarity and strangeness arose in her heart - familiar because this was not the first time she had to suppress her emotions to fulfill a responsibility, strange because never before had that responsibility been this heavy and ironic. She pressed send, then put the phone in her pocket, stood up straight, and took a deep breath. No matter how broken her heart was, she was not allowed to show it, because from today, her role was not only to be an assistant in arranging work schedules, but also to become the person who carefully arranged the wedding of the man she had secretly loved for many years. That was the responsibility Mr. Chi Kien had just assigned, and also a kind of invisible punishment that fate seemed to intentionally place on her shoulders, as if to remind her once again of the uncrossable boundary between her identity and the identity of the person she loved.