Chapter 29 — Summer Rescuer

In mid-September, Bach Duong received a call from Mr. Sinh, informing him of the official decision regarding his position after the upheavals of last summer. He arranged to meet Thao Nhi right after the shift to share the news. His face had an unpredictable look that made her worried all the way to the familiar meeting place on the beach.

"What's up?" she asked as soon as she arrived, seeing him standing and looking out to sea with a pensive look.

"The Department has just decided to establish a new unit — the Marine Construction Safety Monitoring Center for the Central region," Bach Duong said, his voice still serious. "They asked me to be the Director in charge, with the task of supervising all coastal projects throughout the region, ensuring that no more cases similar to Diamond Bay could occur without being detected in time."

Thao Nhi felt her heart skip a beat. "So that means you will have to move to work somewhere else? Where is that center located?"

"That's interesting," Bach Duong said, and for the first time since the beginning of the conversation, a gentle smile appeared on his lips. "They let me choose the location for the headquarters, as long as it was convenient for moving and monitoring the entire area. And I suggested Duong Xanh."

"You... you choose to stay here?" Thao Nhi asked, her voice could not hide the surprise mixed with overflowing joy.

"Green Canal is located in the center of the coastal area I need to monitor," Bach Duong explained, but his eyes contained a much deeper meaning than simple geographical reasons. "But to be honest, that's not the only reason, nor is it the most important reason. I choose to stay here because this is where I find true meaning for my work, where I find the people I cherish most — the rescue team, Mr. Dat, and..." he paused, his eyes looking straight at her, "and because of you."

Thao Nhi felt tears rising, not because of sadness, but because of a fullness of happiness that she had never dared to dream of during the eight years she lived closed to her own pain. "I don't know what to say," she whispered.

"You don't need to say anything," Bach Duong replied, stepping closer and holding both of her hands. "I just want you to know that I found in Duong Xanh, in you, something I never thought I would find after my dream of competing was broken - a place to belong, someone to love and build a future together."

He pulled out a small box from his pocket, not a ring, but a simple silver bracelet, engraved with a small, stylized wave. "This is not a proposal, at least not yet, because I think we still have a lot to explore together before we get to that step. But I want to give you this gift, as a promise — that I will be here, by your side, through every summer, every storm, every moment of peace and challenge, for as long as you want me to be by your side."

Thao Nhi reached out and let him put the bracelet on her wrist, feeling the warmth of the metal that had just been incubated in his pocket, and the even greater warmth of the promise he had just given. "I accept," she said, her voice shaking with emotion, "and I also promise to be here, by your side, no matter how many troubles summer brings."

They kissed under the falling sunset, the steady sound of waves crashing on the shore as background music for this sacred moment. When they separated, they both looked out to sea, where the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, dyeing the sky in the brilliant orange-red mixed with the gentle purple of the approaching evening.

"Do you know," Bach Duong said, for the first time switching to a more informal form of address, "when I first came here, I just thought this was a normal work assignment, maybe lasting a few weeks and then moving on to another place, like many times before in my career. I never thought I would find a place to call home, in the true sense of the word."

"And now what?" Thao Nhi asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Now I can't imagine my life without Blue Canal, without going to this beach, without you and all the people who have become a part of my life this past summer," he replied, his voice filled with sincere affection. "This is no longer a work assignment, baby. This is home."

As they walked toward the rescue station, hand in hand, Thao Nhi felt a sense of fulfillment she hadn't felt in the past eight years — not only because justice had finally been served for her father, not only because the profession she loved had been given the recognition it deserved, but also because she had found someone willing to accompany her through all the ups and downs of life, someone who understood and appreciated both her strength and the wounds that had not yet fully healed in her soul.

In the distance, the light from the Bai Duong lifeguard station turned on, signaling the night shift was about to begin, and they both walked towards it, ready for a new chapter of their lives, built on the foundation of truth, love, and unwavering courage.

As they approached the station, the whole team was already gathered on the lawn in front of the door, seemingly anticipating something special was about to happen. Mr. Thi was the first to notice the sparkling silver bracelet on Thao Nhi's wrist, and immediately shouted with excitement.

"Is it finally official?" she asked, her eyes shining with curiosity and joy.

Thao Nhi blushed, nodded, and the whole team simultaneously clapped, bustling laughter resounded in the peaceful evening. Trong Nghi, standing in the back, smiled and looked at that scene with the eyes of a father watching his children grow up and find happiness.

"Mr. Duong will stay at Duong Xanh, working as Director of the Regional Marine Construction Safety Monitoring Center," Thao Nhi announced, her voice still a bit shy but full of happiness.

"So we will have a permanent expert to advise whenever needed," Nhat Quynh exclaimed, then winked mischievously. "And a future brother-in-law for the team, too."

The whole group burst out laughing at the young soldier's joke, a warm and familiar atmosphere enveloped everyone, like a big family that had gone through many ups and downs together to get to this day. Bach Duong stood among them, fully feeling the warmth of a community that accepted him as a true member, no longer an outsider who came and went like on previous business trips in his career.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice sincere, “for giving me a place to call home.”

After the team gradually dispersed to prepare for the night shift, Thao Nhi and Bach Duong sat alone on the wooden steps in front of the rescue station, where she had sat countless times over the past eight years, sometimes in loneliness, sometimes in contemplation about the past. But tonight, that feeling is completely different.

"Do you remember the first day we met?" Bach Duong asked, smiling nostalgically. "You looked at me with wary eyes, as if I were a threat that needed to be guarded against."

"You're not friendly at all," Thao Nhi replied, laughing at the memory. "Insisting on your 'scientific objectivity' makes me angry."

"And now, that 'scientific objectivity' has brought me right where I need to go," Bach Duong said, putting his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. "Sometimes I think, perhaps that initial collision is the strongest foundation for what we have today — because we learned to respect each other, to trust each other, before learning to love each other."

Thao Nhi leaned her head on his shoulder, looking out at the quiet night sea, the moonlight reflecting sparklingly on the calm water surface. "I think you're right. Without those encounters, maybe I wouldn't have learned to trust you enough to share the deepest things in my heart."

They sat there for a long time, not needing to say anything else, simply enjoying each other's presence, listening to the steady sound of the waves crashing against the shore like the ocean's breathing, silent witnesses to the journey they had gone through together, and the promise of the next chapters of their lives, which would now be written together.

Before they stood up to let Bach Duong drive home, he turned to her one last time, his eyes gentle in the moonlight. "Next summer, and all the summers after that, I want to stand next to you, whether in ordinary training sessions or the harshest stormy nights. What do you think?"

"I think," Thao Nhi replied, smiling brightly, "that's what I want most in the world right now."