Chapter 2 — Sassy Boy: Heir to the Underground Family

The next morning, Dieu Linh went to school earlier than usual, partly because she didn't sleep well last night, partly because she wanted to avoid curious eyes that might still linger from yesterday's events. But when she entered the school gate, she realized that the attention towards her had not diminished — it had even increased as the rumor spread overnight.

"Hey, are you the person that Duong Vinh Bach saved yesterday?" A group of girls from another class huddled close to her as soon as she parked her bike, their eyes filled with curiosity mixed with jealousy.

"I... I just happened to be," Dieu Linh replied, trying to keep her voice calm, even though inside she felt extremely shy.

"What a coincidence, the whole school knows that Duong Vinh Bach has never helped anyone before," another girl chimed in, her voice filled with disbelief. "You must be something special."

Dieu Linh didn't know how to explain, she could only smile wryly and quickly enter the classroom, avoiding the next questions. But as soon as she sat down at her desk, a familiar figure appeared at the classroom door.

Duong Vinh Bach walked in, his hands in his pockets as usual, his eyes glanced around the classroom and stopped right where Dieu Linh was sitting. He walked straight over, pulled a chair and sat down at the table right next to her - a seat that was usually empty because its owner had transferred schools at the beginning of the year.

The whole class immediately became excited. This was the first time during nearly two years of school that Vinh Bach proactively chose a fixed seat instead of wandering around the classroom or hiding out in the hallway as usual.

"You... are you sitting here?" Dieu Linh asked, her voice somewhat confused.

"Is there a problem?" Vinh Bach asked back, looking at her with a natural look as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, no problem," Dieu Linh quickly shook her head, feeling her face heating up because the whole class's attention was focused on them.

The class started, but Dieu Linh had difficulty concentrating when she constantly felt the presence of the person sitting next to her. Occasionally, she glanced over and saw Vinh Bach resting his chin and looking out the window, his expression absent-minded as if thinking about something far away, completely unlike the image of a student attentively listening to a lecture.

At recess, when Dieu Linh was about to stand up and go out into the hallway to get some fresh air, Vinh Bach suddenly spoke up.

"What's your name?"

The question was simple but made Dieu Linh pause. "To Dieu Linh," she replied, a bit surprised because he had never asked her name before, even though he had been sitting next to her for almost the entire class period.

"Dieu Linh," Vinh Bach repeated, as if he was memorizing that name somewhere in his mind. "That's a nice name."

"Thank you," she replied, not knowing how to react to such an unexpected compliment.

"Did those people bother you again yesterday?" Vinh Bach continued asking, his eyes suddenly becoming more serious.

"No, after you intervened, they didn't dare come near me anymore," Dieu Linh replied, then hesitated further. "I still haven't thanked you properly. Without you, I don't know what would have happened."

"I said no need to thank you," Vinh Bach shrugged slightly, but the corners of his lips curled up into a faint smile - a rare smile that not many people have ever witnessed.

That smile made Dieu Linh's heart skip a beat. She had never seen Vinh Bach smile like that - not the usual contemptuous smile when he teased teachers, but a relaxed, natural smile, making his originally cold face suddenly become much closer.

At that moment, Dang Trong Nghia - the boy sitting at the back desk, the only person in the class who could regularly talk to Vinh Bach - nudged his shoulder, smiling happily. "Hey, it's rare to see you smiling with someone other than me. What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Vinh Bach replied curtly, but his eyes still glanced at Dieu Linh briefly before turning away.

Dieu Linh pretended not to notice Trong Nghia's words, but a strange feeling arose in her heart - a feeling she had never experienced before, making her heart beat faster than usual in an inexplicable way.

During class that day, the rumor about Duong Vinh Bach moving to sit next to Dieu Linh quickly spread throughout the school, even faster than the rumor about yesterday's intervention. At the end of school, when Dieu Linh walked out of the school gate, she heard countless whispers from unfamiliar students.

"I heard that girl and Duong Vinh Bach have something going on."

"It's probably just a one-sided crush or something, she looks normal."

"Normally, even Vinh Bach would notice, there must be something special."

Dieu Linh bowed her head and walked faster to avoid hearing more of those gossips. She didn't understand why things became so complicated over a simple act of help. A series of questions appeared in her mind: Did Vinh Bach really pay attention to her, or was it just a temporary impromptu action of a person who is famous for being unpredictable? And more importantly, why did she care so much about that answer?

On the way home, Dieu Linh met her best friend from middle school - Vuong Khanh Linh, currently studying in class 11A5 at the same school. Khanh Linh ran to her, held her hand tightly, her eyes bright with excitement.

"Dieu Linh, do you know the whole school is talking about you?" Khanh Linh asked, her voice unable to hide her curiosity. "I heard that Duong Vinh Bach was interested in you, and even moved his seat to be closer to you!"

"That's not the case," Dieu Linh quickly waved her hand, her face red. "He just happened to help me once, and the seat next to him has been empty since the beginning of the year."

"What a coincidence," Khanh Linh giggled, not believing her friend's explanation. "The whole school knows that Duong Vinh Bach has never proactively done anything to anyone. You definitely have something special."

Dieu Linh didn't know how to respond, she could only shake her head and laugh. But deep inside, she couldn't deny that she was starting to be curious about the real person behind Duong Vinh Bach's cold, sassy appearance.

That night, in the Duong family's villa, Vinh Bach sat in the office, his fingers lightly tapping on the wooden table while thinking deeply. On the computer screen in front of him was still the list of students in class 11A2, but this time, his eyes lingered longer on the name To Dieu Linh.

The door opened and Lam Chinh Dao walked in with his usual serious expression. "Master, I just received a report that you changed your seat in class. Is it to conveniently observe the suspect?"

"That's right," Vinh Bach replied, his voice calm. "Sitting close will make it easier to grasp information."

"I understand," Lam Chinh Dao nodded, but his eyes still stayed on the young master's face for a long time, as if trying to find something hidden behind that somewhat too quick and too concise answer. "Just remember clearly what the main purpose of this is. The mission always comes first."

"I know," Vinh Bach replied, but a vague feeling of discomfort flashed through his heart at that reminder — a feeling he had never experienced while performing any mission before.

After Lam Chinh Dao left, Vinh Bach sat quietly alone in the room, his eyes falling on the computer screen. He remembered Dieu Linh's shy smile when she thanked him, her steady eyes when facing the group of bullies, and the way she was confused when he suddenly asked her name.

Those were completely foreign emotions to someone like him who was used to living in a world of calculation, strategy, and vigilance. In that world, every relationship has a purpose, every action must be carefully considered before being performed. But for the first time, Vinh Bach realized that he was acting on an emotion that he could not name, and that was not part of any plan he had ever made.

He told himself it was just temporary curiosity, a normal reaction to a girl somewhat different from what he had encountered in the fake upper class he was forced to interact with every day. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself, the image of Dieu Linh still lingered in his mind, refusing to disappear.

Vinh Bach did not know that this was just the beginning of an internal battle that he would have to face in the days to come - the battle between the cold mind of an underground force heir and the heart that was gradually fluttering in front of an ordinary girl that he had never intended to pay attention to.