Chapter 3 — Sassy Boy: Heir to the Underground Family

Two weeks have passed since Duong Vinh Bach moved to sit next to Dieu Linh, and during that time, the relationship between the two has changed in a way that Dieu Linh had never imagined before. Vinh Bach began to proactively start talking more, sometimes even waiting for her at the school gate to walk together for a while before turning in different directions.

"How are you going to do your Literature homework?" Vinh Bach asked during recess, flipping through the textbook as if he were looking for the answer in it, even though everyone knew he had never read a single page of the book carefully.

"I think I will write about the topic of friendship," Dieu Linh replied, unable to hide her smile when she saw his lazy expression. "You haven't done anything yet?"

"I intend to wait until the end," Vinh Bach replied calmly, causing Dieu Linh to shake her head helplessly.

"You will get bad grades," she reminded, although secretly thinking that perhaps grades were never the thing that bothered Vinh Bach.

"It's okay, the teacher won't dare give me a bad grade," Vinh Bach replied, his voice a bit complacent mixed with sarcasm, making Dieu Linh curious about the so-called "rear relationship" that people often mention when talking about him.

This was not the first time Dieu Linh felt a difference in Vinh Bach's personality. There were times when he seemed completely like a normal boy, lazy, teasing, and even childish when arguing with Trong Nghia about trivial mattered. But there were also moments when his eyes suddenly became strangely distant and sharp, as if he was thinking about something beyond the reach of a normal high school student.

"What are you thinking?" Dieu Linh asked, when she saw Vinh Bach looking out the window with a rare pensive look.

"Nothing," he replied, turning back to look at her with his usual gentle smile, as if there hadn't been a moment of contemplation just now. "Just thinking about what to eat for lunch today."

Dieu Linh did not completely believe that answer, but she also did not want to ask further. After all, she and Vinh Bach had only known each other for less than a month, and even though the feeling of closeness between them was increasing, she still felt like there was some invisible distance that he had never let her cross.

During group class that afternoon, when the whole class was divided into small groups to discuss the topic of History, Dieu Linh accidentally heard the conversation between Vinh Bach and Trong Nghia when the two stood hidden in the back corner of the classroom.

"You seem to stay in class more often these days," Trong Nghia said, half joking and half serious. "I've never seen you sit still for more than half a class before."

"It's just work," Vinh Bach replied, his voice lowered enough that Dieu Linh had to strain his ears to hear clearly. "Don't talk too much here."

"Okay, okay," Trong Nghia raised his hand to signal surrender, but his eyes still glanced meaningfully at Dieu Linh.

Dieu Linh quickly turned away, pretending not to hear anything, but in her heart a feeling of curiosity mixed with insecurity arose. What was the "work" that Vinh Bach mentioned? Why did he and Trong Nghia had to talk so secretly, as if they were discussing something that they didn't want anyone else to hear?

She told herself that maybe she was thinking too much. Maybe it was just a normal joke between two close friends, nothing worth worrying about. But that feeling of insecurity still lingered in her mind all afternoon.

After class, when Dieu Linh was packing her books to leave, Vinh Bach suddenly asked. "Do you want to go get ice cream? There's a new shop opening near the school, I heard it's delicious."

"Now?" Dieu Linh asked back in surprise.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Vinh Bach asked, his eyes a bit like he was waiting for her answer more than he wanted to show.

Dieu Linh hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. After all, even though there were things she didn't understand clearly about Vinh Bach, she still felt comfortable every time she was with him — a strange feeling of security that she had never felt with anyone other than her family and Khanh Linh.

The ice cream shop is located not far from the school, small and cozy. The two sat at the corner of the table near the window, the late afternoon sunlight streaming in created a rare peaceful scene amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.

"You know," Dieu Linh suddenly spoke up, after eating a few scoops of ice cream, "people at school say a lot about you."

"What station?" Vinh Bach asked, his voice still bland as usual.

"That you have a huge relationship behind you, that no one dares to touch you, that you are the type of mysterious person that no one understands," Dieu Linh listed, observing his reaction. "Do you mind when people gossip like that?"

Vinh Bach was silent for a moment, his eyes looking out the window, where the sunset was gradually falling on the rooftops. "I'm used to being rumored," he replied, his voice a bit deeper than usual. "But what about you? Do you believe those rumors?"

Dieu Linh thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know if the rumors are true or not. But I believe in what I've seen — you helped me when no one else dared to, and you're always kind to me in your own way. That's enough for me."

That answer made Vinh Bach pause for a moment. His eyes looked at her with an unpredictable expression, mixed between surprise and a warmer emotion that he had never allowed himself to express.

"You're the first person to tell me that," he said softly, his voice a bit lost from his usual confidence.

"What does that mean?" Dieu Linh asked, not understanding what he meant.

"Nothing," Vinh Bach shook his head, the smile returned to his lips, but this time it seemed more genuine than any smile she had ever seen before. "Thank you, Dieu Linh."

Before leaving the ice cream shop, Dieu Linh quickly texted Khanh Linh, recounting the afternoon she had just spent with an excitement she rarely shows. Khanh Linh texted back just a few seconds later, full of exclamation points and teasing emoticons, making Dieu Linh laugh alone at the table.

"What did your friend text that made you laugh?" Vinh Bach asked, curiously glancing at her phone screen.

"It's nothing," Dieu Linh quickly turned off the screen, her face turning slightly red. "Khanh Linh was just teasing me."

"Teasing about me?" Vinh Bach raised his eyebrows, the corners of his lips curled up in amusement.

"How do you know?" Dieu Linh rolled her eyes, making Vinh Bach laugh out loud - a rare sound that she had never heard from him before.

"Because your face is red," he replied, his eyes more mischievous than the usual coldness that the whole school assigned him.

Dieu Linh did not respond, just lowered her head to eat the rest of the ice cream, but in her heart she secretly thought that this was probably the first time she saw Vinh Bach really feel so comfortable, without any hesitation or distance like before.

That evening, when Dieu Linh returned home, she still couldn't stop thinking about Vinh Bach's words, about the look in his eyes when he looked at her at that time - a look that contained something much deeper than the lazy, sassy appearance he often showed in front of others.

But at the same time, she couldn't forget the mysterious conversation between Vinh Bach and Trong Nghia in the afternoon - about the "work" he didn't want anyone else to hear. Curiosity and a small bit of insecurity still smoldered in her heart, like a small warning bell that she hadn't yet had the courage to listen to more closely.

Dieu Linh wondered if the boy who was gradually taking up an important part in her life was really as simple as what she saw, or behind that sassy and inviolable appearance, there was a completely different person hidden that she had never known?

She had no answer to that question. But she knew one thing for sure — whoever Vinh Bach was, she had begun to care for him more than she was willing to admit to herself.

And on the other side of the city, in a luxurious cafe hidden in a small alley, an elegantly dressed man was sitting quietly watching the photos sent from the phone on the table - images of Duong Vinh Bach and a strange girl sitting and chatting in an ice cream shop near Le Quy Don school.

The man smiled slightly, his eyes flashing with a hint of calculation. This might be a more interesting clue than he ever expected.

The person standing next to him, a solid figure in a dark suit, bowed his head, waiting for orders. "Do we need to investigate further about this girl, sir?"

"Just keep watching," the man replied, his voice calm but containing an unpredictable sharpness. "The heir to the Thanh Phong Hoi has never let anyone into his private life so easily. If this girl is really important to him, it will be something we should pay attention to in the near future."

"Yes, sir." The younger man nodded, put his phone in his pocket before quietly leaving the table, leaving the other man alone with a cold cup of coffee and the thoughts that were gradually taking shape in his head.