Chapter 5 — Three Years Waiting for a Call

Tri Nghien took a step forward. "Tieu Ninh, I've been looking for you for a long time." "I know it's wrong." "I really know it's wrong." I said softly: "How did you find me here?" Tri Nghien seemed to be hurt by my calm tone. His eye sockets immediately turned red. "I looked up the flight." "Also ask your other friends." "An Ninh, can you stop being angry?" "I want to hear you talk, from now on I will tell you every day." He was so flustered that he spoke incoherently. "In the afternoon, flower shops, strawberry shops have discounts." "Whatever you want to say, I will listen." "I will never criticize you for being noisy again." I looked at him, suddenly feeling a little funny. When I brought those words before him, he complained. Now that I've taken it back, he says he wants to listen again. But the human heart is not a tape recorder. It's not that he wants to replay it, it's that he can return to the beginning. I softly opened my mouth: "Tri Nghien." He immediately raised his head, as if catching the last bit of hope. I said, “I don't want to tell you anymore.” Tri Nghien's face turned pale. "Tieu Ninh..." "I really don't love you..." I didn't want to listen anymore and interrupted him. "This matter has nothing to do with me anymore." "I've signed the divorce agreement, let's divorce." Tri Nghien seemed to be hit by this sentence, his whole body staggered a bit. The sea breeze blew between us. Tri Nghien's eyes reddened, reaching out to me. "Can we start again?" "I know how to say it." "From now on I will call your name, talk to you, and say good night to you every day." "What you wanted before, I'll give it to you now." I took a step back, avoiding his hand. "It's late." Tri Nghien's hand stiffened in midair. I looked at him and said word by word: "What I wanted before was a husband who was willing to respond to me." "Isn't it someone who finally opens his mouth after my heart is dead?" His tears finally fell. "An Ninh, can we really go back?" I was silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled a little. "Tri Nghien." "You taught me how to be quiet." "Now I won't make any noise to you anymore." "You should be happy." Tri Nghien stood still in the same place, his face a little pale. Finally, he waited for An Ninh to talk to him no longer. But it is also this An Ninh. I don't need him anymore. 8Later, Lam Van Dao also came to find me once. That day, the flower shop had just finished raining, and the paved road in front of the door was wet. She stood outside the glass door, holding a bouquet of white roses in her hand. When she saw me, her eyes immediately turned red. "Tieu Ninh." I was trimming flower branches and when I heard this call, my hand movements stopped a bit. A long time ago, she always called me that. In college, we crowded onto the same bed to watch movies. She stole my fries, leaned on my shoulder and smiled. When I fell in love, she walked around the stadium with me until dawn. She said: "Tieu Ninh, whoever bullies you in the future, I will be the first to disagree." Then I really believed it. So later, she and Tri Nghien became close, I told myself over and over again. That's my husband. That's my best friend. They won't hurt me. But the person who hurt me the most was them. Lam Van Dao walked in, put flowers on the counter. "I know you don't want to see me." "But I still want to come and say sorry to you." Tears fell from her eyes. "At that time, I really didn't think I would rob Tri Nghien." "I just felt, in front of you, he was too quiet." "But when he talked to me, it was like a different person." "Sometimes I can't help but feel

see, maybe I'm a special person." I silently looked at her. Lam Van Dao cried even harder. "Tieu Ninh, we used to be so good to each other." "Because of a man, this fuss became like this." "Is it worth it?" I finally put down the scissors. "Not because of a man." Lam Van Dao was stunned. I looked at her, saying word by word: "You clearly knew he was lying to me, and helped him hide it." "It was You heard him say I was loud, but didn't say a word for me." "It's you who considered my marriage a secret between the two of you." "Lam Van Dao, we didn't become like this because of Tri Nghien." "It's you who no longer considered me your friend." Lam Van Dao's face turned a little white. She opened her lips, but could no longer say a word of excuse. I pushed the bouquet of white roses back. "Take it away. "I don't accept flowers, sorry." She stood for a long time, then finally left holding flowers. From then on, I never saw her again. Later, when I heard what my mutual friends said, Lam Van Dao's reputation among friends deteriorated very quickly. After the story about Tri Nghien knowing how to talk but hiding it from me was spread, everyone knew that she also knew about it. Someone asked her directly in front of her: "Aren't you An Ninh's best friend?"