Chapter 11 — Stupid But Strong

The photo first appeared on a netizen group specializing in neighborhood gossip, posted by an anonymous account whose identity is unknown. The photo shows Bach Duy - despite wearing a hat and mask, his distinctive figure and hair still make some sharp-eyed people recognize him - sitting and chatting intimately with a woman in a small cafe, their hands almost touching each other on the table.

The caption accompanying the photo did not clearly state Bach Duy's identity, only stating: "Has anyone noticed that the famous singer frequents the Vom La cafe? I heard the owner was the one who raised him as a child, and now he's so intimate, I wonder if there's anything shady."

The post initially only had a few dozen comments, but within just two days, it had spread throughout regional groups, then crept into small entertainment news sites specializing in hunting for scandals. Although no one has confirmed for certain that the identity of the man in the photo is Bach Duy, rumors and speculations have begun to appear densely.

Tang Ninh first noticed the change through the attitudes of her familiar neighbors. The owner of the grocery store opposite the shop, who used to come over every morning to have a friendly chat, now just nodded in greeting and quickly turned away. A few long-time regular customers began to disappear, some even deliberately glanced at her with suspicious eyes when passing by the shop.

"Miss Ninh," an elderly neighbor living nearby, who had known her family for a long time, stopped her when she went to the market to buy ingredients in the morning. "Have you heard the rumors? They say you have an affair with some singer, but I heard he was the child you raised when you were young. Is that true?"

Tang Ninh was stunned, her heart was beating fast, she tried to keep her voice calm. "Where did you hear the rumor? That's just a regular customer of my restaurant."

"Well, I just heard what people said," the neighbor said, his voice somewhat sarcastic. "But you should be careful. After all, you are six years older than him and used to be his guardian. It's easy for outsiders to look in and think wrong."

Tang Ninh tried to give a forced smile and asked permission to leave immediately, but those words were like needles prickling deep into her heart, arousing the exact fear she had carried with her for the past six years - the fear of society's judgmental eyes, of being seen as someone who took advantage of her position as guardian to cultivate an inappropriate relationship.

Not only the neighbors, even some of the restaurant's long-time regulars began to show a cautious attitude. A middle-aged woman, a regular customer who has been with the shop since the first days Tang Ninh first opened, stopped in to buy a cup of coffee to take away instead of sitting back as usual. Her eyes were a little shy when looking at Tang Ninh.

"Miss Ninh, is there something wrong with the shop lately? I've heard a lot of people whispering," she asked, her voice both curious and somewhat wary, as if she was considering whether to continue supporting the shop or not.

"It's nothing, just a false rumor," Tang Ninh replied, trying to keep a smile on her lips even though her heart was aching. The woman nodded yes, but her eyes still couldn't hide the scrutiny as she left the shop, and Tang Ninh knew that she was just one of many customers who would gradually leave the shop if the rumors continued to spread uncontrollably.

Returning to the restaurant, she discovered a few more malicious comments left on the Vom La restaurant's social networking page - strange accounts wrote harsh words, calling her a "minor seducer," despite the fact that their relationship only really blossomed after Bach Duy was twenty-four years old, six years after the guardianship relationship had completely ended. But that fact seems unimportant to those who only want to believe the most sensational version of the story.

She sat crouched behind the counter, her hands trembling as she read each comment. Tears threatened to well up in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth not to let them fall in front of the staff in the shop. Ha Thuy Duong, hearing the news from a customer of the flower shop, rushed over and hugged her friend as soon as she saw her pale face.

"Don't let those words bring you down," Thuy Duong said, her voice determined. "They don't know anything about the truth, they're just judging based on a photo and their own imagination."

"But if this spreads further, Bach Duy's career will be seriously affected," Tang Ninh said, her voice choking. "I can't let that happen again. I pushed it away to protect it, maybe I should do the same this time."

"Are you planning on running away again?" Thuy Duong asked directly, holding her friend's shoulder tightly. "Tang Ninh, you can't keep sacrificing your happiness every time difficulties arise. This time, let him decide how he wants to face difficulties, instead of you arbitrarily deciding for him like six years ago."

Those words made Tang Ninh pause, realizing that she was repeating the same old cycle - always choosing to sacrifice, withdraw, and bear all the damage herself to protect others, without ever giving them the opportunity to choose to face difficulties with her.

That afternoon, when Bach Duy stopped by the restaurant as usual, he immediately noticed the heavy atmosphere surrounding him. Tang Ninh tried to act normal, but his red, swollen eyes and slightly shaking hand when pouring coffee couldn't get past his delicate eyes.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice worried, grabbing her hand before she could pull it back.

Tang Ninh told everything, her voice trembling when mentioning the malicious comments and the judgmental eyes of the neighbors. "Maybe… we should stop seeing each other for a while," she said finally, her voice so low it was barely a breath. "Until things calm down."

Bach Duy squeezed her hand tighter, his eyes were so determined that she had to look up and look straight at him. "No," he said, his voice firm. "I won't let you face this alone. This time, we will find a solution together. It's not like I will decide for you on my own, nor will I leave you to suffer alone."

Tang Ninh looked at him, tears finally rolling down her cheeks, but this time it was not entirely because of pain, but also because of a feeling of protection and companionship that she had not allowed herself to feel for six long years. She did not know that Bach Duy's decision that night would lead to a brave public action just a few days later, marking the first turning point in the battle to protect their love from stormy public opinion.

That night, after Bach Duy left the restaurant, Tang Ninh sat alone, opening his phone to read more comments that had just appeared. Some people defended her, saying that love affairs were each person's personal freedom, and no one had the right to judge when both had long since grown up and been independent. But the majority were still harsh criticisms and malicious inferences not based on any truth. She turned off her phone, face down on the table, wondering if she had the strength to continue on this thorny path, or would she once again choose to retreat like her instincts always told her to do.

She called Thuy Duong and told her all the chaotic thoughts in her head. "I'm scared," she admitted, her voice shaking over the phone. "Not afraid for myself, but afraid that because of me, Bach Duy will have to pay the price of the career he has tried to build over the past six years."

"You heard what he said himself," Thuy Duong replied, her voice patient but firm. "He chose to stay, chose to face you. If you once again arbitrarily decide for him, you are not protecting him, you are taking away an adult man's right to choose."

Those words made Tang Ninh speechless, realizing a truth she had never seen so clearly. Perhaps, true love is not always sacrificing and withdrawing, but sometimes learning to trust the person you love enough to face difficulties with them, instead of shouldering it all yourself in silence.

She hung up the phone, looked out the dark window of the shop, the streetlights shining in, creating streaks of light on the familiar brick floor. For the first time in six years, she allowed herself to think of a future that was not one of voluntary loneliness, but something warmer, even though the road to get there certainly had many thorns waiting ahead.