Chapter 7 — Ten Years of Love, His Proposal Was Just a Bet

"The villa in Tay Son has been decorated."

The butler carefully observed Luong Thuat's facial expression. "Everything was done according to your request, using the design of Ms. Pho's old house. The items that were confiscated by the court in the past have been auctioned and brought back one by one, everything is arranged properly."

“You can move in at any time.”

Luong Thuat nodded and said nothing. Waiting for the butler to leave, he stood up and walked to the window. He bought that villa in Tay Son two years ago. At that time, Pho Chi Ha happened to mention it, saying that when she was a child, there was an osmanthus tree in her yard, and every time autumn came, the whole yard would smell faintly sweet. At that time, he just nonchalantly said "Is that so", then did not bring up that topic again. But after returning, he sent someone to search all the cinnamon trees in the city, choose the most beautiful one, and bring it back to plant in the yard of the Tay Son villa. To design the interior of the villa, he found the same company that designed the Pho family's old house and searched for drawings from decades ago to copy the original. The chandelier in the living room, the antique shelves in the study, the alcove at the end of the hallway... every detail has been restored exactly as remembered. The furniture, decorations, and paintings were confiscated by the court, and he spent money to redeem them one by one. If an item is lost and its whereabouts are unknown, he hires someone to remake it exactly like the original. He is not good at saying pleasant words, nor is he used to expressing emotions. But these things can say it all for you. Wait until you move in and see these things, you will probably understand. She wants a home, he will give her a home. She misses her parents, he will give her back her childhood. Luong Thuat picked up the phone and called his assistant.

"Where is Pho Chi Ha these days? Call her back, the Tay Son villa has been repaired, bring her over to see."

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. The assistant's voice was a bit hesitant: "Boss Luong, Ms. Pho... is no longer here." Luong Thuat frowned: "What do you mean?"

"More than a month ago, Ms. Pho left Thuong Dong. It is said that the company sent her abroad, transferred to Melbourne, for a three-year term."

The phone slipped from my ear and fell onto the table with a heavy thud. That night Luong Thuat did not sleep. The phone was right at hand and he opened it many times. There are no messages from Pho Chi Ha. He suddenly remembered that the last time she texted him, it was "Let's break up". He replied with two words: 【It's up to you.】 At that time, I didn't care. She mentioned the breakup many times, each time like an angry child screaming "I won't play with you anymore", and then automatically coming back no more than three days later. So when she sent that text message, he even felt a little annoyed, feeling like she was crazy again, and wanted to force him to comfort her. I don't want to coax. He thinks she should understand things a little, understand that he can't just revolve around her alone. He has a company to manage, social affairs to deal with, there are so many more important things than love. But she didn't understand. She always refused to understand. Luong Thuat reached for the wine bottle on the table, only to discover that it was empty. He went to the liquor cabinet and got another bottle. He didn't pour it into a glass but drank it straight from the bottle's mouth. Strong alcohol burns the throat, burns the stomach, but it was impossible to burn away the thought in his mind right now — She was really gone. It's not an argument, it's not a cold war, it's really gone. He didn't go looking for her. The next day, he still went to the company as usual, had meetings, signed documents, and received guests socially. Everything was still normal, it's just that everyone felt that he was especially gloomy today, no one dared to say another unnecessary word. On the third day, he started to feel like something was wrong. The office is too quiet. In the past, when Pho Chi Ha was still here, around three o'clock in the afternoon, she always brought him a cup of coffee and placed it on the corner of the table. Didn't make any noise to him, didn't leave, just sat flipping through magazines on the sofa next to him. Sometimes when he was so busy that he forgot to drink it, she would gently cough and clear his throat, reminding him that the coffee was cold. He doesn't like drinking cold coffee, but every time he lifts the cup and drinks it. And now, the corner of the table is empty, there is nothing. On the night of the fourth day, he called a group of people to his house to hold a party. Ngan To is too far away, I'm too lazy to go, it's better to organize it in Trung Vien. Anyway, the place is large enough, there are enough people, so if it's noisy you'll forget everything. More than half of the crowd came, some drinking, some playing cards, and the music playing at full volume. Luong Thuat leaned back on the sofa, holding a cigarette in his hand, with a row of wine in front of him. He rarely drinks like that. His self-control has always been very good, and he has never lost control in front of others. But tonight I don't want to hold back anymore. I want to get drunk, preferably so drunk that I don't know anything. Tong Y also came. She wore a red dress, curled her hair, sat next to him, helped him drink a few glasses. Someone teased, "Miss Tong is sad," she didn't deny it, just smiled. Luong Thuat didn't even look at her.

“Mr. Thuat, you've been drinking too much.” A person approached and gave him a new glass.

Luong Thuat took it and gulped it down in one gulp. The person next to him clicked his tongue: "What's wrong with Mr. Thuat tonight? Are you in love?"

"What's wrong with love? Thuat also knows how to lose love? It's definitely a business matter."

"That's right, Mr. Thuat has never looked at women in any way."

Amidst the laughter, someone put a microphone in his hand: "Mr. Thuat, do a song!" Luong Thuat did not accept, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and staggered to his feet. Someone tried to help, but he shook his hand away. The music changed to a more bouncy song. Luong Thuat was surrounded by the crowd, drinking one glass after another. His vest had long been thrown away, his shirt collar was wide open, revealing a piece of his collarbone, and the tooth marks on his shoulder were prominent. Someone took a photo and posted it to their circle of friends, attaching the words: "Mr. Thuat is going crazy tonight." When Ta Thua Quan saw that post, he was at home putting his child to sleep. He put the phone down, then picked it up again, looked at it for a moment, then sighed.

"What's up?" his wife asked.