Chapter 2 — Ten Years of Love, His Proposal Was Just a Bet

I turned my head and looked straight at Tong Y. She was leaning against the billiards table, tilting her head to look at me, a familiar smile at the corner of her mouth. I've seen that kind of smile too many times. Every time Luong Thuat and I had a cold war, argued, and almost had a rift, she always showed this face. With a light sentence "she's always like that", she turned all my resignation and self-pity into entertainment after a scene. Our eyes met in midair. She didn't shy away, she even raised her chin slightly, her whole body exuding the arrogance of someone who has been pampered since childhood. Luong Thuat turned around slightly, half-stepped forward to protect her. An action instead of a wordless verdict: Who exactly is the person he cares about? The curvature of the corners of Tong Y's lips is deeper. I also smiled. She thought she won, but she didn't know that my concern for Luong Thuat had disappeared late one night, along with the sleeping pills I swallowed. The next day, a news broke out on the front page of the economic and financial section of the Upper East Side. [An anonymous letter exposes the darkness of the Tong family group: 30 years of history of getting rich with blood, many families are ruined] In the letter, many families were mentioned by the Song family to the point of their homes being ruined. Including the Pho family in the past, the daughter of Pho Chi Ha of the Pho family was also forced to step into a worldly place. It's just that later when someone inquired, there was no trace... When this incident took hold, I was at the cemetery visiting my parents. My finger hovered over the photo on the tombstone. Mom wore a faded white blouse, dad wore a navy blue suit. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, smiling at the camera. In that smile there was the seriousness of people working in a laboratory, and also an almost naive idealism that was rare at that age. I put down the bouquet of white daisies, the petals still had morning dew. Ten years ago, on a cold, wet day like this, I could only watch helplessly as that fire took their lives. Three days later, the creditors came to my door. I pieced together the truth from their vulgar words: The company's core data was stolen, a huge flow of capital was unknown, and on the night before my father was dismissed by the joint board of directors, he died unexpectedly. I carry my nineteen-year-old shoulders, wanting to shoulder Pho Sinh Duoc Nghiep - my parents' lifelong passion. After carrying the load for eight months, I failed. Next were the resold debts, including mine, which were also sold at a bargain price. The day I met Luong Thuat was the most helpless moment in my life. I looked at the photo and smiled: "My parents taught me to live a meaningful life. He pulled me out of the fire pit. So these ten years, I have repay him with my youth, my life, my dignity, and my sincerity. I am not ashamed of myself." Two rows of juniper on both sides of the mountain road rustled in the wind, like a response. I stood up and slowly walked down the stairs. The phone in my pocket vibrated, messages from Huong Van kept coming in. 【Chi Ha, look at the news!】 【Fuck the Song family, her parents killed your parents, she interfered with your and Luong Thuat's feelings, are the Song family all sick? no!】 I stood in the middle of the stairs, reading every sentence and every word of the news. Many details in the letter matched my memories before the incident with my parents, making me clearly understand that what was written in this letter was absolutely not baseless. My mind confused, I took unsteady steps down the stairs. Nearing the end of the street, a figure stood under a streetlight, elegant in appearance, red flames flickering on his fingertips. Luong Thuat's face gradually became clearer in the light. He was calling: "...Put down the news of the Song family. Tong Y? Her parents' matter has nothing to do with her, yes, I want to protect her..." Seeing me, he walked over.

“We saw it on the news.”

"The Song family's affairs are making a lot of noise. People on the internet are throwing dirty water on her right now. Her condition is very bad right now."

He looked at me, his eyes calm.

"So I want you to come forward and correct yourself, the Pho family's bankruptcy has nothing to do with the Tong family, it's because of your father's poor business."

The wind blew down from the mountain road, making my whole body's blood cold.