Chapter 10 — Wind and Snow Falling, Ancient People Return

Old People Appear

The reception after the groundbreaking ceremony was held right at a restaurant near the square, bringing together government representatives, sponsors, the project team and a number of local businesses related to commercial activities on Xuan Huong Street. Diep Khanh did not plan to attend, but the organizers sent a separate invitation, considering her as one of the typical representatives of traditional businesses in the area.

She arrived a little later, wearing a simple but elegant brown wool dress, her hair gently loose instead of tied high as usual. As soon as she entered the banquet hall, her eyes immediately encountered a scene that made her heart skip a beat: Bach Du was standing and chatting with a group of people, and right next to him, a woman wearing a bright red dress stood out from the crowd, her hand loosely wrapped around his arm with an intentional intimacy.

Diep Khanh paused for a few seconds, trying to recognize that familiar face. It took a while for the memory to come back clearly - it was Ta Bao Tram, her classmate in the same group as her and Bach Du in college, the person who often appeared in group meetings and group picnics back in those years. Tram now looks much more luxurious and confident than the image of a timid student in Diep Khanh's memories, with lightly curled hair and delicate makeup, exuding the temperament of a successful woman in the high-end wedding event business.

"Diep Khanh, long time no see!" Bao Tram was the one who recognized her first. His voice rushed forward and he gently hugged Diep Khanh's shoulder in a polite greeting style of the upper class. "I didn't expect to see you here again. I heard you still keep Aunt Yen's flower shop?"

"Yes, I still keep it." Diep Khanh replied, trying to remain calm, although inside he could not help but feel wary of his old friend's somewhat excessive enthusiasm.

"That's good, not everyone can keep the traditional family profession." Bao Tram smiled, her eyes scanned Diep Khanh delicately, as if evaluating him from head to toe. "I'm now opening a wedding event company, Silk La Event, have you heard the name? It's also your competitor, haha."

That seemingly joking statement carried an unpleasant tone that Diep Khanh recognized immediately. She nodded politely, not wanting to prolong the conversation. "I heard your business is doing quite well."

"It's okay." Bao Tram smiled, then turned to clasp Bach Du's arm a little tighter, her eyes glanced meaningfully at Diep Khanh. "Mr. Du and I have only been in touch again for a while now, since he returned home to work on this project. How lucky, I didn't expect to still keep in touch after so many years."

Diep Khanh looked at Bach Du, observing his reaction to that deliberate introduction. He frowned slightly, seemingly uncomfortable with Bao Tram's way of expressing intimacy, but because he was in a social space, he did not conveniently brush her hand away too openly.

"Tram, don't exaggerate, we've only met each other a few times through work." Bach Du spoke up, his voice was somewhat stiff, trying to create distance but still maintaining the necessary politeness.

"Eh, you make me sad when you say that." Bao Tram pouted, but when she glanced at Diep Khanh, there was no hurt at all, instead it was a sharp and terrifying scrutiny.

The conversation only lasted a few more minutes before someone else came to greet Bach Du, creating an opportunity for Diep Khanh to cleverly retreat. She moved to the banquet area, got a glass of orange juice, stood alone near the window looking out at the outdoor courtyard, trying to regain her composure after the unexpected encounter.

She recalled that in college, Bao Tram was not a prominent person in her group of friends, always standing quietly in the back, rarely initiating conversations, and usually only participating in group meetings because of the nature of common work. At that time, Diep Khanh never thought much about her friend, simply seeing her as a normal acquaintance in her large circle of friends during her student days. Unbeknownst to her, behind that quiet appearance, was a heart that was silently enduring waves of intense jealousy every time she saw her and Bach Du together.

Looking back, perhaps there were small signs that Diep Khanh unintentionally overlooked: the times Bao Tram volunteered to help too enthusiastically, the fleeting glances full of complexity every time she saw Bach Du caressing her in a crowd of friends, the careless words with a bit of irony that she then simply thought were her friend's straightforward personality. Now, looking back at the whole picture, those disparate pieces seem to be gradually connecting together, painting a completely different image of the old friend she once trusted.

"You still stand alone like before." Bao Tram's voice suddenly rang out right behind him, causing Diep Khanh to turn around in surprise.

"Brooch." Diep Khanh nodded in greeting, trying to stay calm.

"I just want to tell you something, just like old friends remind each other." Bao Tram stepped closer, her voice lowered, no longer the cheerful tone from before, but instead a cold, sharp tone. "Mr. Du is no longer the poor student he used to be. He has a career, a position, and a clear future. I think you should not affect his work here because of old feelings."

"I don't understand what you mean." Diep Khanh frowned, a cold streak ran down his arm even though there was no shortage of warmth in the banquet room, the threat hidden behind those seemingly gentle words was so clear that it could not be ignored.

"My point is simple." Bao Tram took a sip of wine, her eyes looked straight at Diep Khanh without avoiding the slightest bit. "This project is important to the city, to Mr. Du's career. I don't want to see anything, or anyone, distracting him from his work. Do you understand what I mean?"

Diep Khanh was silent for a moment, looking straight into his old friend's eyes, trying to find something in those eyes that could explain this calculating attitude. "Du and I are just old acquaintances who met again because of work. Tram doesn't need to worry too much."

"That's good." Bao Tram smiled, her smile did not reach her eyes. "I just want to remind you, after all we are old friends, I don't want to see you make things difficult for yourself because of things that have passed a long time ago."

Having finished speaking, she turned and walked away, leaving Diep Khanh standing there with a series of chaotic thoughts. Bao Tram's last words, "what happened a long time ago", echoed strangely in her head, as if it contained a deeper meaning than what was said in words. Diep Khanh could not explain the feeling of insecurity rising in her heart, but her hunch told her that Ta Bao Tram was not simply an old friend who happened to meet again.

From the other side of the banquet room, Bach Du watched the conversation between two women. Although he could not hear the content clearly, he felt the tension in the atmosphere between them. When Bao Tram returned to him, her expression had returned to her usual smiling expression, as if the conversation had never happened.

"Mr. Du, let's go have dinner after finishing work tonight. It's been a long time since we've had a chance to sit and talk for a long time." Bao Tram said, her voice was sweet.

"I still have to deal with some projects, I probably won't be able to go." Bach Du politely refused. His eyes couldn't help but glance at Diep Khanh who was standing alone near the window, her face had an incomprehensible thoughtful look.

He didn't know exactly what Bao Tram said to Diep Khanh, but a vague feeling of insecurity suddenly arose in his heart, a hunch that this old friend was not as simple as her friendly appearance.

He tried to remember his college years, trying to find in his memory details related to Bao Tram that he had never paid attention to before. He remembers, she was always present at most of his friends' group gatherings, always proactively offered to help whenever he had difficulty with group exercises, and sometimes even brought snacks to his room for very normal reasons. At that time, he simply saw it as the enthusiasm of a good friend, never thinking about the deeper meanings hidden behind those gestures.

Combined with the unfinished clue Minh Lam just found - a blurred name in Van Hoa Cao Nguyen's old capital contribution file, leaving only a vague line left - along with Bao Tram's unusual attitude tonight, Bach Du is even more determined to find out everything clearly, before the doubts in his heart become a truth too late to save anything. He quietly observed Bao Tram from afar, seeing her laughing and chatting happily with a few other important guests, her confident and seductive manner not revealing any unusual signs, making him even more cautious, understanding that the other person this time was not someone who could easily be exposed through just a few simple questions.

What made him most uneasy was not what Bao Tram said, but the way she said it—perfectly calm, like someone who had rehearsed all the answers to a situation she had anticipated for a long time. Bach Du suddenly realized that perhaps tonight was not the first time Ta Bao Tram stood before him and Diep Khanh with a prepared script.