Chapter 5 — Tong Van Chieu

10I woke up in the hospital. Tong Van Chieu sat next to me, holding a makeup remover towel in his hand, wiping my tears. Seeing that I was awake, he immediately touched my forehead. Seeing that the temperature had dropped, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Your fever has gone down, is there anything uncomfortable?" I tried moving my arms and legs, it was fine, there was no pain in my whole body, so I shook my head. He poured me a glass of water and helped me sit up to drink some. After finishing drinking, we both remained silent. Perhaps Tong Van Chieu had guessed something. I glanced at him and saw him looking intently at me. He raised his eyebrows: "Isn't there anything you want to tell me?" I nodded: "A little." Just as I was about to speak, he raised his hand to stop me: "Don't say anything yet, I'm afraid you'll hurt me again." I don't even have the strength to explain to him anymore. Tong Van Chieu continued to use a makeup remover towel to wipe away my mole and tears, explaining as he did: "Today's engagement party was arranged by her, I did not agree. I didn't intend to come, I was discussing work when Tong Kieu's father suddenly asked me why I didn't come to the engagement party, telling me to advise Tong Kieu at the party, then I knew Tong Kieu had gone. You have been with Tong Kieu these past few days, if she goes then it's possible." There's a good chance you'll go too. That's when I felt something was wrong and came immediately, but still a step late." I had never heard Tong Kieu mention her family, so I asked curiously: "Tong Kieu, what happened to her family?" Tong Van Chieu's face flashed with sadness: "She is my cousin. In the past, she liked a guy, but her family did not agree. Her marriage was arranged by her family early on, they chose a very good marriage partner for her. But she didn't want to and ran away with him. After that, they moved to another city, Tong Kieu gave the boy some money to help him start his business, everything went well at first. But that peaceful life didn't last long, his company went bankrupt, he couldn't stand the pressure and jumped to his death. From then on, Tong Kieu never returned home. She said that every time she voiced scenes of pain or separation, she can scream freely and feel more relieved.” I don't know anything about Tong Kieu, but in many years she has never had a boyfriend. Looking at her cheerful appearance, I didn't expect her to have such a past. I sighed, not knowing what to say. Tong Van Chieu gently touched my face: "It's over. Tong Kieu is very strong, she overcame it." I looked at Tong Van Chieu: "If it were you, what would you do?" His whole body trembled, his eyes slightly wavered and then looked away: "That day will never come, because you are much braver than I thought." We sat silently together. 11 After a while, he asked me: "Are they making it difficult for you?" I am weak. Chili shook her head: "No." Tong Van Chieu glared at me: "If you say no, no matter how much you endure it, you have to swallow it. That year she made things difficult for you once, and you didn't say a word to me. Today you forced me to drink, do you still say it's okay?" I forced a smile: "After all, she is your mother, if we can overcome this barrier, we can be together, right?" Listening to me, his eyes suddenly became bright. looked at me for a long time, even speaking a bit stuttered. "I... I mean... I didn't hear you right, I just said..." Seeing me nod, he finally smiled brightly. "Aren't you mad at me? Not mad that I left without saying goodbye, not mad that you came back without contacting me, or not mad that you used a fake name to trick me."

you?" Tong Van Chieu thought for a moment, then gently tapped my head: "Yes, when you left without saying a word, I was very angry. The time I met you at Tong Kieu's birthday party, I was even angrier. Hearing you introduce yourself as Co That That, I was also angry. And every time I see you secretly drawing tear marks on your face, I get angry too. But after getting angry, I start to think again, is it because I'm not good enough that you always keep your distance and don't dare to come towards me? I think, if I try a little more, you will open up to me. But then I waited forever, and in the end I only received a farewell from you. You said such decisive words that I once wondered, did you never love me? But it's okay, it's okay if you don't love me. If there are a hundred steps between us, I will walk a hundred steps towards you. You just need to stand still, turn around and look at me once, I will immediately hug you tightly. And if you don't come back, it's okay, I will stand behind you, smiling and watching you walk towards the person you love." His voice became lighter and softer, but every word was engraved deeply in my heart. He said: "Tran Van, I just want you to be happy, other than that, I don't care about anything else. I don't care who brings you happiness, as long as you're happy, I'm satisfied." My tears unconsciously fell. A large invisible rock in my heart finally disappeared. It turned out that Tong Van Chieu's love for me was pure, sincere, and held back absolutely nothing. Seeing me cry, he used a makeup remover towel to wipe my tears. I pushed his hand away: "Don't wipe anymore, in a moment all the makeup will be gone. lost." He chuckled softly: "This time I changed it to a waterproof mole. At first I used a regular wet towel to wipe it but couldn't wipe it off." I was really speechless. I smiled wryly, intending to explain something, but Tong Van Chieu suddenly leaned down and kissed me. His breath blew on my face, carrying a bit of alcohol. This kiss was no longer as gentle as before. It seemed like he wanted to pour out all his pent-up emotions into that kiss. I tried to push him away, but I couldn't move. He gently bit my lip and then let go, leaning his whole body on my shoulder. He softly called my name: "Tran Van?" I gently replied: "It's you." Hearing my answer, his body seemed to relax more. He continued to call: "Tran Van." He continued to ask: "Tran Van!" This time, I still patiently answered him, but just as I was about to pat his back, I noticed my hand. I couldn't lift it up. It seemed like I was having an allergic reaction. Tong Van Chieu had just drunk a lot of wine, the alcohol still hadn't gone away, then he used the last of his strength and grabbed his sleeve: "Help..." Before I could finish, I fainted.