Chapter 20 — The Lantern That Never Goes Out

Three days before the night of the parade of lights, a heavy rain suddenly fell on Nguyet Giang ancient town, not included in any previous forecast. The sky, which had been clear all week, suddenly turned gray in just a few hours. The strong wind made the signs on both sides of the street rattle, and then the rain poured down like a waterfall, pouring continuously.

Uyen Chi was at the workshop with Thien Vu and a few assistant workers, busy completing the last lamps, when suddenly she heard the sound of water leaking from the roof, right above the area where the completed lamps were waiting for delivery. The factory's old tile roof, which had deteriorated over the years but had not had a chance to repair it due to lack of funds, could no longer withstand the weight of the unusually heavy rain and began to reveal several serious leaks.

"Light! Must move the light now!" Uyen Chi shouted, immediately rushing to the light area, her hands shaking for fear that the efforts of the past few weeks would be destroyed in just a moment.

Thien Vu and the assistant workers immediately joined her in action, each holding a few lamps, moving quickly to a drier area in the corner of the workshop. Rainwater fell from the leaky roof and drenched their shoulders, but no one paid attention, everyone was highly focused on saving the fragile silk lanterns. If they got wet, they would be completely damaged and unable to be repaired in time before the night of the parade.

"Be careful, wet silk will spoil immediately!" Uyen Chi reminded, her voice urgent but still trying to maintain the necessary alertness to direct everyone. She quickly took out spare plastic tarps, and Thien Vu stretched them up to cover the remaining area that had not yet had time to be evacuated. The two of them coordinated smoothly despite the chaotic situation.

After nearly half an hour of struggling with the rain, all the precious lights were finally moved to a safe place. Only a few were slightly wet on the edges, luckily it didn't affect the whole thing much. Uyen Chi breathed a sigh of relief, plopped down on the floor, her body was wet, her hair disheveled, but her eyes shone with relief when she saw the long row of lights still intact.

"Are you okay?" Thien Vu asked, sitting down next to him, equally soaked, his hands still shaking slightly because he had just gone through a stressful moment.

"I'm fine," Uyen Chi replied, laughing lightly even though her body was still shaking from the cold and from the afterglow of the recent panic. "I just didn't expect it to rain at this time, as if God was also testing us to see if we were truly determined or not."

Thien Vu looked at her, his eyes in that moment contained a deep respect that was difficult to express in words. He reached out and gently brushed aside a strand of wet hair sticking to her forehead. The intimate gesture made them both pause for a moment. The surrounding space seemed to have completely quieted down, with only the steady sound of rain falling outside as the background.

"Uyen Chi," he called her name, his voice was deep and earnest, different from usual, "I wanted to tell you this for a long time, but I kept procrastinating because I was afraid the time wasn't right, afraid that the troubles between my family would complicate things. But right now, watching you and everyone else risking their lives to save each lamp in the rain like that, I realized, there is no such thing as a perfect time, it's just whether I have the courage to say it or not."

Uyen Chi looked at him, her heart beat faster, feeling what was about to be revealed but still couldn't help but wait nervously. "What do you want to say?"

"I like you," Thien Vu said, his voice sincere without any concealment. "Not just because you are talented and resilient at work, but because of who you truly are, warm, sincere, always putting the community above personal interests. I know, there are still many unresolved things between us, family matters, past matters, but I don't want to continue to hide my feelings any longer."

Uyen Chi felt a warmth spread throughout her body, dispelling the coldness of her wet clothes. She looked at him, her eyes also containing a similar sincerity. "Me too," she said softly, "I also have feelings for you, for a long time, but I'm also afraid, afraid that this feeling will be caught up in the troubles between the two families, there won't be a perfect ending."

"We don't need to have a perfect ending right away," Thien Vu replied, taking her hand, "we just need to start, then go step by step together, solving each difficulty one by one, like the way we just saved these lamps together."

Uyen Chi smiled, nodded, left her hand in his, feeling the warmth even though they were both wet and cold from the rain. Around them, the lamps that were saved in time still lay still in dry corners, like silent witnesses to the important moment that had just taken place, the moment when love, although not completely complete because family secrets were still waiting to be resolved, was officially acknowledged between the two people.

The rain gradually stopped, leaving behind a rare fresh, cool atmosphere after hot days. Mr. Khoan, coming down from upstairs after hearing the noise, saw the two people still holding hands in the middle of the factory full of lights that had just been relocated. He couldn't help but smile and quietly turned upstairs so as not to interrupt that private moment. In his heart, although there were still many worries about the upcoming festival season and his own health, seeing his daughter find happiness amid the turmoil, he felt a deep comfort, as if somehow, his mother was also smiling and watching from a far away place.

After cleaning up the mess left by the rain, Uyen Chi and Thien Vu climbed onto the roof together, trying to temporarily cover the leak with a few old corrugated iron sheets left in the warehouse, to avoid a similar situation repeating before the important night of the light parade. The work was difficult, the two had to climb onto the tiled roof, which was slippery because of the rain, but thanks to each other's support, everything was completed smoothly before it got completely dark.

"Tomorrow I will ask someone to come fix the roof more properly," Thien Vu said, when they both got down to the ground, their bodies covered in mud but the smile on their lips never fading. "We cannot let this situation continue, in case there will be another sudden rain."

"Thank you," Uyen Chi said, looking at him with affectionate eyes. "Not just because of the roof repair, but because of everything you've done over the past time. I don't think I could have gone this far without you by my side."

"You are the one who deserves to be thanked," Thien Vu replied, gently squeezing her hand. "It was you who showed me that there is a different life, much more meaningful than what I had ever pursued before. You gave me a reason to believe that I can be a better person, living true to the values I truly believe in."

They stood there, in the middle of the factory yard still drenched in rain, the last sunset light passing through the fading clouds, dyeing the sky into a gentle pink-orange strip. In that rare moment of peace, they both felt that even though there were still many obstacles ahead, they were ready to face it all, as long as they had each other to accompany them every step of the way.

That night, after Thien Vu returned to her room to change into dry clothes, Uyen Chi sat alone at the drawing table, looking out at the yard that was completely clean of rainwater, with only a few small puddles reflecting the moonlight that had just emerged from behind the melting clouds. She raised her hand to gently touch her lips, still feeling the warm afterglow from the gentle kiss that Thien Vu had placed on her forehead before leaving, a simple gesture but filled with so much sincere emotion.

She took out her grandmother's notebook, flipped to a blank page, picked up a pen and wrote the first few lines of her own, continuing the diary that her grandmother had left unfinished. She wrote about the sudden rain, about the lamps that were narrowly saved, about Thien Vu's simple but sincere confession of love, and about her strong belief that, although the road ahead is still full of challenges, love and solidarity will always find a way to overcome all adversity.

After writing, she closed the notebook, held it in her arms for a moment as if hugging her grandmother's image, then gently put it in her familiar drawer. Outside, the moonlight was high in the sky, shining gently throughout Nguyet Giang ancient town, as if silently promising an upcoming festival night that would be more complete and brilliant than ever.

She stood up, walked out onto the porch one last time before going to bed, looking towards the lamps that had just been saved from the rain, now dry and neatly arranged again, ready for the final finishing touches. In just three days, all the efforts, sacrifices, and budding feelings between her and Thien Vu will converge in a single night on the riverbank, where the light of handmade silk lamps will be lit, not to prove anything to anyone, but to honor its true value, the value that generations have silently cultivated with all their hearts.