Chapter 13 — The Sweet Taste After Criticism

On Thursday afternoon, before the appointment to meet the lawyer, Mai stopped by the small office that Kien and Tung rented to work, bringing with her a box of new cakes to test and wanted the two of them to taste and give their opinions. The office door was ajar. She was about to knock but stopped when she heard Kien's voice echoing out, talking to someone on the phone. His voice sounded somewhat tense.

“...I know, but this episode's views are skyrocketing thanks to the drama with Mai,” Kien said, his voice monotonous in his familiar work analysis style, “if it lasted a few more weeks before the end of the series, the numbers would definitely be even better.”

Mai stood dumbfounded outside the door, her heart felt like someone was strangling her. She could only hear that part before the sound of footsteps in the room made her step back in panic, not daring to listen any further, nor brave enough to step in and confront her at that moment.

She quietly left the office, still holding the cake box in her hand, walking in a semi-conscious state, the words she had just heard echoing in her head. "Views increased dramatically thanks to the drama with Mai." "Extended for a few more weeks." Is it true that this entire relationship, including that seemingly sincere kiss in the rain, is just part of a plan to increase interaction for his channel?

Returning to the shop, Mai sat absent-mindedly behind the counter, no longer in the mood to work. Linh immediately realized what was unusual and after asking again and again, she finally told her what she had just heard.

“Are you sure you heard that right?” Linh asked, her face could not hide her worry.

"I heard it clearly," Mai replied, her voice choked, "he talked about the drama, about the views, about extending it for a few more weeks before ending the series. It sounded like he was discussing a plan to exploit our story to get views."

Linh was silent for a moment, considering. "But who knows, maybe you're missing the beginning or the end. If you listen to a part in the middle, it's easy to misunderstand."

"I don't know," Mai shook her head, tears starting to flow from her eyes, "but it's obvious from what I heard. Could it be... could it be that the whole love story between me and him is just part of the script?"

In the evening, Kien texted to inquire as usual, but Mai only responded with short, cold sentences that were different from usual. Kien, even though she sensed something unusual, did not ask further, thinking that perhaps she was tired because of the plot.

The next morning, at the lawyer's office, the atmosphere between Mai and Kien became visibly awkward. She avoided looking directly into his eyes, her answer was shorter and more blunt than usual, making Kien begin to feel that something was wrong.

After the counseling session, when the group was about to leave, Kien pulled Mai back, his voice worried. "What's wrong? You seem different from yesterday until now."

Mai stood there for a while, struggling between whether to speak directly or endure silently, finally she decided to face him directly. “Yesterday I came to your office and heard you talking on the phone about... about prolonging the drama with me to increase views.”

Kien was stunned, his face showing confusion. “What part did you hear?”

"Enough to understand," Mai replied, her voice trembling as she tried to hold back her emotions, "you talked about the spike in views thanks to the drama with me, about extending it for a few more weeks before ending the series. So everything between us, is just part of your plan to attract views." Star?"

“That's not it,” Kien hastily explained, his voice urgent, “it was a call with an advertising partner, they asked about the progress of the series to plan sponsorship, I was just reporting actual data, nothing else.”

“But you said it would last a few more weeks,” Mai retorted, tears starting to well up in her eyes, “if it's not to get views, then what is it?”

“I…” Kien stammered, trying to find a clearer explanation, but in this tense situation, every word seemed clumsy and not convincing enough.

“I need time to think,” Mai said, her voice determined even though she was shaking, turning and walking away before Kien could hold her back, leaving him standing there with a bewildered expression, not understanding what had just happened that could put their budding relationship into crisis so quickly.

Kien stood silently in front of the lawyer's office for a long time, then quickly called Tung and told him the whole incident, his voice filled with confusion. "I don't understand. Mai heard a certain part and completely misunderstood it. I didn't have time to explain."

“What are you talking to who makes it sound like a drama viewer sentence?” Tung asked, trying to piece together the story.

“The call with the advertising brand yesterday,” Kien replied, trying to remember the details, “they asked about the progress of the series, I talked about the increase in views thanks to the attention from my story with Mai, and proposed to prolong it to ensure the advertising contract target before ending. But I don't mean to take advantage of emotions to get views, I'm just reporting my work."

"Then you have to explain clearly to Mai," Tung said, his voice filled with worry, "If the misunderstanding lasts for her, things will get even more confusing."

“I tried to explain,” Kien replied, his voice heavy, “but she didn't want to hear any more, said she needed time to think and then left.”

“So give her time,” Tung advised, “pressing too much right now will only be more counterproductive. Let her calm down, then find a way to explain more clearly and fully, maybe this misunderstanding can be cleared up."

Kien nodded even though Tung couldn't see on the other side of the phone, his heart was heavy with worry. He knew Tung was right, but having to stand by and watch the misunderstanding grow without being able to do anything immediately made him feel more helpless than ever, especially when he knew clearly that just one sentence accidentally heard out of context was enough to destroy what the two of them had built together for nearly a month.

As for Mai, she cycled around the street for a long time before returning to the shop, her mind still filled with confused thoughts. She wanted to believe Kien, wanted to believe that the feelings between them were real, but the words "it lasts a few more weeks" kept echoing in her head, evoking the deepest insecurity she had ever had since the beginning of this relationship - the fear that she was just a piece of content, a cool story for others to exploit, not a sincere love to be appreciated for who she was.

Arriving at the store, Mai saw Linh waiting with a worried look on her face. “What's wrong, have you talked to him yet?”

“That said,” Mai replied, sitting down on the chair, “he said it was a call from an advertising agency, he was just reporting data, he didn't mean to take advantage of anything.”

“So do you believe it?” Linh asked, her eyes searching.

“I don't know,” Mai sighed, resting her head on the table, “the rational part I want to believe him, because for nearly a month, all his actions have shown sincerity. But the emotional part of me kept doubting, afraid I was just deceiving myself.”

Linh sat down next to you, her voice was gentle but straightforward. “Mai, I understand how you feel, but you should also remember that the night Mr. Kien ran in the middle of heavy rain to fix your roof, it wasn't because of views or drama. That is a real action, coming from real feelings.”

“I know,” Mai replied, her voice choked, “but I still need time to calm down, to make sure I'm not looking at everything through rose-colored glasses just because I like him too much.”

Linh nodded, did not force her further, just quietly sat next to her best friend, allowing Mai to have private space to face the confusing emotions torn in her heart, between the belief in a sincere love and the fear of being taken advantage of, deeply ingrained from the painful lesson of that fateful first review.

That night, Kien texted again, this time a long message, trying to explain more thoroughly about the call that Mai heard, along with an apology for not being observant in realizing that his expression could cause such a serious misunderstanding. Mai read and re-read that message many times, clearly feeling the sincerity in every word, but still did not have the courage to answer immediately, just quietly turned off the phone screen, letting the messy emotions calm down over time, before she was ready to face the truth in the most complete and fair way, even though in her heart she also secretly hoped, that truth would prove that the feelings between the two were never part of any script, and that fear Being taken advantage of this time was just a temporary misunderstanding, not an irreparable rift between two hearts that had just learned to trust each other.